Laptop start up problem

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Jaredh, Oct 11, 2011.

  1. Jaredh

    Jaredh Private E-2

    Hi all,

    Hving problems with my laptop.

    I had an issue not so long ago where, upon startup, the pc would be very slow and wouldnt load up at all. I tried the samsung recovery option which took a very long time, but then crashed and turned off.

    I took it to my works IT guy to have a look at, but he couldnt work out exactly what it was. Now here is the message it displays upon start up:
    "Windows has encountered a problem communicating with a device connected to your computer.
    this error can be caused by unplugging a removable storage device such as an external usb drive while the device is in use, or by faulty hardware such as a hard drive or cd rom drive that is failing. Make sure any removable storage is properly connected and then restart your computer"

    as far as i can see, everything is connected as it should be.

    Does any one have any knowledge of this problem or any tips on how to diagnose what it is more accurately please?

    Thanks a lot.
     
  2. iain.t

    iain.t MajorGeek

    Hi,
    have you checked that your hard drive/ cd/dvd player are seated correctly?? as with laptops they get knocked about quite alot and they may have worked themselves loose. If you can give me the make and model of your machine I will have a look to see if I can find a service manual for it, that will guide you on how to remove and reseat the HDD and cd/dvd drive I would also check the Ram module(s) give the gold contacts a clean with either an eraser or alcohol wipe and firmly reseat them into their slots.

    iain.t :major
     
  3. Jaredh

    Jaredh Private E-2

    Its a samsung R519.

    Anything else you need let me know.
    Thanks for your help
     
  4. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Do you have the ability to burn an ISO file to CD to make a bootable disc? I think it might be wise to test the hard drive to see if it is going bad to rule that out. Samsung has a utility but it has to be burnt to a CD as an image file. http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/support/downloads/support_in_es.html

    Imgburn will work to burn the file. Unzip the download to get the ISO file. Install imgburn and use the "Write Image File to Disc" option. Browse to the ISO file and then hit the double icon at the bottom of the imgburn window to begin burning to a blank CD. Guide: http://www.calibancomputer.com/computer-tutorials.htm#burning

    Start the laptop from the disc and run the diagnostic program. See if it finds errors.

    Any questions please ask.

    EDIT: When you say you have looked to see that everything is connected properly do you mean internally or externally? Make sure you don't have anything extra attached to the laptop such as USB flash or external drives.
     
  5. iain.t

    iain.t MajorGeek

    Hi,
    I have searched for a service manual and cannot find one!!, though my daughter owns the same laptop as you so can give you a run through of how to reseat HDD/CD/DVD drive and Ram... though I can't at the minute as she is using it for homework. as soon as she is finished I will take progress pic's of how to do it and post them here with instructions ok! unless another geek knows of where to obtain the service manual and jumps in ;).

    iain.t :major
     
  6. Jaredh

    Jaredh Private E-2

    Please can you tell me how to create the ISO file? I am using my partners laptop and don't want to get anything wrong on here because if i do, I cant imagine im going to need a laptop where i'll be going!
     
  7. Jaredh

    Jaredh Private E-2

    Scrap that, think I've figured it out.
     
  8. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Yes, the ISO is zipped up in the download. So just right-click the ESTool301)CDROM.zip and unzip the file. That gives you the ISO.

    Then use imgburn to put the ISO on CD using "Write Image File to Disc".

    Boot from the Disc. (It should boot up automatically but if it doesn't boot from disc you can try F12 at the Samsung screen to see if you get a boot Menu where you can select boot from CD).

    Once in the Samsung utility you are only running the diagnostic. You are NOT doing the low-level format or other screenshots after you get the result of the diagnostic.
     
  9. Jaredh

    Jaredh Private E-2

    ok done that, but hit a slight snag.
    At the drive diagnostic screen (screenshot 3), after pressing enter on drive diagnostic it brings up a box saying "test loop count number", which is not on the screenshots. What do I do here? If I leave it, nothing happens but I can see on the list of screenshots that the test loop number is 1/1. However if I press enter it just returns to the drive diagnostic screen...
     
  10. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    I haven't run that tool because I don't have a Samsung drive.

    I just saw this post http://aadhoc.blogspot.com/2008/06/samsung-estool-drive-diagnostic-does.html but am not sure how to set imgburn to not finalize the disc. If you have a few spare blank discs around you could try CDBurnerXP to burn the ISO using the Burn ISO option and making sure the "finalize disc" box is unchecked.

    I think about the problem or whether a different utility might be useful.

    *****
    Just for information you are running Vista or Win7? Does it do anything when you hit F8 at startup as far as giving you Safe Mode options and do they all end up with the same error message?
     
  11. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    I tested three Samsung utilities on my non-Samsung drive and none would run. I assume because I have a different brand drive. I misread that thread I posted--it related to the floppy version of ESTools not the CD version. The CD version should work on a Samsung drive. In screenshot #2 is your HD listed as Samsung?

    If you have another CD go ahead and use imgburn to write the SeaTools utility to disc. It will let you run tests on any HD but won't attempt error repair. We can at least see if the SMART status is good or bad/tripped.

    If it isn't tripped then I think running a chkdsk /r on the HD and attempting the Samsung Basic Recovery option may be worth another try. (When you tried recovery previously did you use the basic option? Are you trying to save files currently on the OS partition of the HD? Would a Complete Recovery--losing all personal data on the drive and returning to factory out of box condition be an option for you?)

    And do check if F8 gives you any safe mode options.
     

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