Cannot Start Up Pc, Only In Safe Mode

Hi,

I am not able to start up my computer, due to a shut down after very slow reactions of the pc to open up different sites. I got impatient, wanted to restart the pc to start anew, but only to return to a black screen. I have some programs on the pc, which are complicated to install, so I would very much like to avoid going back to scratch.

I am not able to open up the Belarc advisor on the internet, because I have no connection in safe mode, but I opened up in a notepad document .html instead, which has a lot of non-relevant data, so I have tried to extract bits of information. The document is large, and I can't figure out, what else is important, so if necessary, please inform me what else I should search for and find.

It's a Medion Notebook, Windows 8, 64 bit, build 9200, antivirus Avast free
2,20 gigahertz Intel Pentium B960
Board: Medion E6234 1.0
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz. UEFI: American Megatrends Inc. 503 09/29/2012
498,26 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity 301,58 Gigabytes
Hard Drive Free Space TSSTcorp CDDVDW SN-208BB [Optical drive]
ST500LM012 HN-M500MBB [Hard drive] (500,11 GB)
16262 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
Intel(R) HD Graphics
Realtek High Definition Audio

The pc has tried Automatic repair and Scanning and repair drive C., but without success. Scanning and repair reached 36% and then stopped.

In Recovery I ran chkdsk C: /f /r /x in command prompt, and it did repair some bad clusters.

Also in Recovery in command prompt I ran sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows. Windows resource protection found corrupt files, but was unable to fix some of them. I found out that sfc /scannow cannot run in safe mode, therefore this other command.

I have my Recovery disc for Windows 8, an Ultimate boot cd tools/rescue and a Hiren boot cd repair/rescue, all three from Medion. I have also talked to Medion support, but they have not been able to help.

I would very much appreciate some help.

Nicoline

 

If it boots in safe mode with stability, but not normal mode, its most likely a software issue!
If its unstable & crashes also in safe mode, its likely hardware!

Can you access the 'advanced boot options' menu in safe mode?
If you see an option 'Last known good configuration', give that a run!

If not, try a few of the tricks here.

If none of the above work and you dont have a restore point to restore to, then Im guessing no backup either?
Your only option may be to back up what you can in SM, and then reinstall windows.

 

Replicator, thanks for your reply.

No, I can't access Advanced boot options i Safe mode, but I already tried it in Recovery. Unfortunately it didn't have the option "last known good configuration", and the option Boot into safe mode didn't work either, I found another way to do it.

The pc is stable in safe mode, so maybe it's a software problem. Should I try to look through my software programs, maybe I get a hint about which program could cause the problem and then uninstall it.

Regarding restore: the only restore point I have is 4 days later than the pc crashed. It must have installed itself, while I was trying different things to start up in normal mode again.

The Medion supporter didn't suggest to update the drivers, should I give that a try? I went through the drivers that are loaded in safe mode, the system said they worked okay.

 

See if you can run this utility in Safe Mode, and then upload the log file.
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/sfc_utility.html

 

Eldon, thanks for the file. Unfortunately it cannot run in safe mode. I run it as administrator, but command prompt only opens up shortly and shuts down again.

I could try to go to Recovery, I think it's f11, but I'm not happy about leaving safe mode, it took me days to get in there, but if it's necessary I will do it. And I am almost sure that I can get into safe mode again.

I looked at my programs in the control panel. What puzzles me is that Adobe Flash Player 32 NPAPI, the exact same version, was installed twice on the same day, 4 days after the pc crashed! And it's on the same date that I have a restore point.

Google Chrome is installed 7 days after the crash! I don't understand, how it can happen.

Btw: I was watching a video on VLC (and was also trying to open up a browser, I don't remember if it was Google Chrome or Firefox, I have both,) when I tried to restart, and after that black screen

Any suggestions?

 

Take your time and peruse this.
https://www.winhelp.us/repair-your-computer-in-windows-8.html

 

Thanks, I will look at it later, I don't have the time right now. I can tell there are many steps to go through.

Thanks for trying to help with a solution.

 

It is strongly recommended to run an antivirus scan, so I wanted to get it up and running but the Avast program won't open. What can I try instead? I can't find Windows defender. If it's still on the computer, I must have deactivated it.

 

Windows Defender was deactivated when Avast was installed.

You could try a bootable antivirus tool.
https://www.lifewire.com/free-bootable-antivirus-tools-2625785

 

Don't worry too much about the hardware drivers at this stage, run a AV scan as suggested and delete ALL software programs that were installed just before the issue arose and up to this current date.
Including all instances of Adobe Flash Player 32 NPAPI

If scan comes back ok and you were successful with the software removal, try and boot to normal mode again.
Let us know what happens?

If we need to, we can try driver updates later on providing you can access SM with networking?
Eliminate the most plausible reasons first.

 

I have tried again and again to get a AV scan going, no problem creating a ISO file on USB and CD, but I can't get the pc to boot using these devices. I also created a virtual drive on Windows with the ISO file, but I don't get the option to run it.

But actually I'm pretty sure the pc is not infected, and as I remember, I think I did a scan shortly before the crash. Is it very risky to skip the scan?

A few minutes ago I tried booting into safe mode with network, but no luck. In this way I wanted to start AV.

I will now uninstall the software mentioned.

 

Check in BIOS again and ensure you have set usb as first boot device, make sure secure boot is disabled and boot is configured for legacy mode, not UEFI.

If need be, we can always create a live distro of Linux on a bootable usb to gain network access, and to get better accessibility to your files and install's on the HDD.

 

I followed your instructions, in BIOS set usb as first boot device and made sure secure boot is disabled, and in Recovery, UEFI settings, boot is configured for legacy mode, not UEFI. But still the pc won't boot with the usb. Then I set the cd as first boot , but that doesn't work either. The options for first boot is only present, when the usb or cd are plugged in, before entering BIOS.

In the drive E in Safe Mode, the cd with the ISO file is visible as CDLinux, but I can't figure out how to run it.

 

Yes thats right, the usb needs to be connected, then selected as it appears from the boot menu.
F10 save and exit.
Reboot.

Have you mounted the ISO image?

I dont use CD's anymore, but if i remember rightly back in the day we used to burn the ISO to CD and then mount it to a 'logical' drive using software......WinRar or the likes I think?

 

Regarding the usb: yes, F10 save and exit. Reboot.

Regarding mounting: I tried this by rightclicking, apparantly I have a program Power2Go, but I wasn't sure, if it was ok to use it.

I just tried something else: went into Recovery, wanted to change this command in command prompt:
bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard
into
bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

This has worked okay earlier, but now, after the changes in BIOS and UEFI change into CSM, the command is invalid.

In Recovery a new option had turned up, I can't remember the text exactly, but you could choose to use a DVD/CD. And the CD started up with ANVISoft.

It's a bit strange, because I got the message: Scan complete, no threats found. I then clicked ok, and the scan options turned up. The problem is, though, when I want to start the scan, I get the message: Error, fail to connect to cloud server. Does that mean, the pc has to be connected to the internet in order to do a scan? Or did the program already do a scan?

There's another option on the ANVISoft cd: repair. Is that worth trying?

 

I would be concentrating on booting to an external device, and making that work!
Dont quit..


Kali Linux Live

 

If I understand it correctly: can Kali Linux Live establish an internet connection?

The USB: is it necessary that it only has the Kali Linux Live on it, or is it okay that it consists of other files?

I suddenly remember that I have a TRENDnet 150 Mbps Mini Wireless N USB Adapter. Could I use that? I have used it earlier on a pc, where the wireless card broke down.

Thanks for believing in my project

 

Besides the TRENDNet adapter, mentioned above, I also found a Ultimate boot disc on USB, when I was looking for a USB to use for Kali Linux Live. Could I use that to boot into normal mode?

 

Virtually all Linux distros will be able to establish an internet connection.

The issue with Linux is that some distros are not great with wifi cards plus the process to get online can be a bit convoluted. But give it a try by all means.

Best way to get around this, imo, is to use a NIC and connect a nano router to it in order to run in client bridge mode. This method is bullet proof.

Been a while since I last used UBCD so cannot remember if there is an option to boot into normal mode but all that this option will do is is just to boot to Windows. Given that you have issues booting this will occur again. No harm trying it.

 

I have mentioned Ultimate boot disc, because I find it difficult to understand and get around the Kali Linux Live instructions. I will study more on the internet about Ultimate boot disc.

In the meantime I would like to try to connect to the internet with the TRENDNet adapter, so that I can scan for virus and also have the opportunity to update drivers. If it fails, I will try Kali Linux Live.

Could I try from Safe mode to install the TRENDNet adapter with the installation cd and give it a go?

 

Personally, it would be easier for you to connect your laptop directly to the router with a cable and avoid any Linux wifi issue

 

Yes, I thought of the cable solution also, but then it cuts off the WiFi for phones and other computers.

Instead I just succeeded in getting on the internet with the Ultimate boot disc. It has a WiFi manager that worked. Then I updated the virus scanner on the disc, did a scan, no threats found.

The disc has this option: WHHD HDD Diagnosic/Data recovery. Just want to make sure: is it okay to run? Maybe it can supply some valuable information.

I don't need the Data recovery part, I saved all my data when in Safe mode.

The disc also has a browser, so I am able to surf on the internet.

 

I didn't dare to run the WHHD HDD Diagnostic/Data recovery after I saw a warning on this site:

https://www.geeksinphoenix.com/blog...ardware-issues-with-the-Ultimate-Boot-CD.aspx

I have to warn you that some of the programs inside of the UBCD can render your hard drive unreadable or completely erase the data from it.

So instead I will try to go through the instructions, Eldon gave me a link to, on this site:

https://www.winhelp.us/repair-your-computer-in-windows-8.html

I did now do a virus scan as recommended with the help of the Ultimate boot disc.

 

Thank you so much for your help I now succeeded booting the pc into normal mode. I followed the instructions on the following site that Eldon gave me a link to:

https://www.winhelp.us/repair-your-computer-in-windows-8.html, which had a link to using clean boot, which I did, but it didn't help:

https://www.winhelp.us/clean-boot-windows.html, so I went on to clicking this site's link: System File Checker (SFC):

https://www.winhelp.us/troubleshooting-windows.html#sfc

When I ran sfc /SCANNOW in command prompt, again I got the message: Windows resource protection found corrupt files, but was unable to fix some of them.

The site says that this most probably means that permissions of a file do not allow checking or replacing it. To resolve this, first type cd /D %windir% and press ENTER. This will open the folder where Windows is installed. Second, type icacls * /T /Q /C /RESET (mind the spaces!) and press ENTER. This will revert file and folder permissions in your Windows folder to their defaults. You will see really many "Access is denied" messages in the process, but this is expected.

I was not able to run this command cd /D %windir%, but I was able to run the next command icacls * /T /Q /C /RESET.

After you have run this command you are asked to try and run sfc /SCANNOW again, but the result was as above mentioned.

The instructions are then as follow:

If you still get the same error, use the chkdsk /r command to run an exhaustive disk check. Because Windows is running from the same drive, you will see the "Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process" error. Press Y and then press ENTER to schedule the disk check for the next restart.

Which I did and after the restart the pc ran scanning and repairing of drive C for a couple of hours. The pc then booted into safe mode again and I had to figure out how to try to boot into normal mode.

I found this solution: press Windows Key + r, write msconfig, open Boot, uncheck Safe Boot, click OK, restart. I was really happy to see my desktop again in Normal mode.

I ran sfc /SCANNOW in Normal mode, still got the same error message, but it says:
Please do not worry if you do not experience any problems with Windows, but SFC fails to repair all files. If everything works, there is no need to fix it.

I have a problem with very high CPU use, I will start another thread in the hope that you can also help me there.

 

It's good to know you can finally boot into normal mode.
You should now follow these instructions.
https://www.ghacks.net/2018/03/16/use-dism-to-fix-issues-sfc-cant/

 

Thanks Eldon. Have saved that page for future use if needed.......

 

Thanks a lot, I'll do that Just took a backup of the Windows partition. Hope to be able to figure out how to go through the different steps.

 

I ran the different commands and the last one, DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth message said afterwards:

The restore operation completed successfully. The component store corruption was repaired. The operation completed successfully.

Any other suggestions as to what I could do to optimize the pc? Before running the DISM I tried a system restore, because I had an issue with the wireless not working, but the pc was not able to do the restore.

Maybe the DISM fixed the fault of the system restore or it fixed something else. I won't do a system restore now in order to find out, it might undo, what DISM just fixed.

 

Run the attached batch file and upload the log file which will be on the Desktop.
It's a Check Disk in read only mode.

 

Thanks, Eldon, as soon as I have finished a task on my computer that I needed to do, I will upload the file.

 

Here's the result of the bat file.

 

Your disk has bad sectors.
Backup your important files and run chkdsk /r again.

 

The chkdsk /r finished.

 

Here's the new .bat file

 

0 bad file records processed.
2584 KB in bad sectors.
I don't like the latter. Is everything back to normal?
Be sure to backup your important files.

 

Yes, I have backed up all important files, I did that as soon as I got into safe mode. Apart from high cpu use here and there, the pc seems okay. Is there any way to find out in details, what is wrong? Like from the CBS log or other programs?

 

Analyzing the CBS.log file is a lengthy affair.
The easiest is to open Task Manager > Processes.
Click the CPU tab and take a screenshot.
Click the Memory tab and take a screenshot.
Upload the 2 screenshots.

 

Firefox was open, and I had a vlc video running Right now everything seems okay.

Here are the 2 screenshots.

I have an old Hiren boot cd, repair/rescue, with some diagnostic tools, could that be of any help?

I took a full image/backup of the Windows partition with Macrion reflect on an external harddisk. And in the house we have another computer completely identical to mine,but I have no idea, if the Windows partition on that other pc can be of any use.

I remember just now that I tried to uninstall Google Chrome in safe mode, but because I had no internet connection, I couldn't fully uninstall it. Can this have an impact and create a corrupted file?

 

The CPU and Memory usage looks fine considering you had Firefox and VLC running.
You don't need any diagnostics tools.

 

Ok, anything else I can try in order to improve the computer?

One thing, Medion support was suggesting, was to update drivers, if I succeeded in getting on the internet, but at that particular time I wasn't even in safe mode. What do you think? It's an old computer, it is 5-6 years ago I bought it.

 

What do you want to improve?
Both CPU & RAM usages are low.

Don't update drivers unless there is a problem.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

 

Eldon, thank you so much for your help I am very grateful. I won't update my drivers.
I cross my fingers that the computer will keep on running okay.

One last question: If I start all over from scratch (factory settings) do you have any idea, if that will cure the bad sectors?

 

No.
Save for a new HDD or SSD.

 

Good to know! Thanks a lot for the answer, now I know what I am up against! Once again: thank you very, very much for all the help in this forum