Can't boot after update

Hello everybody,

I've tried all I can think of, but this is not my specialty. I run Windows Vista.

Last week, I did a full windows update. When it finished, I could no longer get Vista to start up. I tried running it in safe mode, and it gets stuck at crcdisk.sys.

I've tried the Startup Repair, System Restore, Complete PC Restore (didn't have one of those), and have browsed the forums for other solutions, but nothing has worked.

One forum suggested I delete \system32\drivers\sptd.sys, but I'm having trouble even getting to a command prompt from which I can attempt this. Others have recommended running 'chkdsk /f', but again, I can't get to a command prompt.

So, first question: how do I get to a command prompt if I can get through safe more (or safe mode with command prompt) successfully? I can get a command prompt from the System Recovery Options from the boot disk, but this only gives me access to the X: drive, which must be the disk itself? I don't know.

Thanks for any help or hints.

 

I believe if you want to try chkdsk from the CD the format from the X:> prompt would be chkdsk c: /f

I'm not sure if chkdsk will solve your problems but you could try. If you get a "bad parameter" error try above using /r instead of /f

Which brand/model is your PC? (I just want to check on your recovery options)

 

I had my younger brother build me the computer, so it's not all one maker. Here are the major stats:

ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Phenom II (...) Processor
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
and a Windows Vista Home Premium 32BIT from an older laptop that we transferred over to this computer.

The chkdsk c: /f worked, and these are the results:

"Windows has made corrections to the file system."

I rebooted and ran from the hard drive, and got this:

! ! 0xc0000034 ! ! 267/97425 (profram_files_windows_mail_........)

This happened before, but got to a higher number last time (all the way to 5620).

I'm going to try the StartUp Repair again, and maybe the chkdsk again, and then I'll post again here.

Thanks for your help.