Help needed please

Just want to say hi from the UK and what a clever lot you are ;-))
Im not very computer literate but my father-in-laws computer has gone horribly wrong. Im not sure what has happened but basically when you turn it on it comes up with the options of opening in safe mode-last known good config-or normal windows. Clearly it has detected a problem somwhere to start in this manner. Anyway if i try to start in safe mode all i get is a long list of something on that black background and it jams, likewise if i try starting in any other way the windows xp screen comes up and the little bar along the bottom is moving to show its running and then it freezes. Short of taking it to the menders what can i do as it doesnt seem to want to respond to anything. Is it beyond my capabilities? Is it beyond the usual kind of help via the keyboard and does it have to go off for major surgery??? Thanks in advance and lokk forward to your knowledgable replies.

 

Hi Scully91, and welcome,

Im not the most knowledgable one here, the "clever" ones are getting there beauty sleep

Please post all the info you can, such as hardware and operating system, and any error messages you may have, and Im sure if I can't help you, someone else will soon.

 

Hi. With regards the requirement for which hardware and operating system where do i find these and what will thew answers i need look like? I appreciate most of you guys are 5 hours behind and therfore in bed but they said Einstein (i think) never used to sleep. Geniuses never do ;-)) I got time to wait...

 

Im sorry you already mentioned the operating system (XP).

If you are unable to boot the pc in safe mode, the only alternatives I know of , is to boot with your XP cd and select repair, and if this doesnt work you may have to reformat and install (use the install option)-(loose all your data).

Let me know if you are unable to use the repair option, or have any other questions.

 

My original plan (seeing as the computer is almost new) was to save all his pictures (thats about all hes got on there) and then remove everything and start all over all again ie re-install. With regards booting with a CD it doesnt seem to want to do anything. It automatically goes into the black and white screen (like the old days) and offers me a choice of how to start which i cannot do. At no time can i type anything either. I wish i could "print screen" to show u but i cant so u will have to bear with me.

 

Hmm, it would be good to know as much as posible about the computer, is it a name brand? home built? notepad?

Hang in there for a while, and Im sure someone else will see this thread and have some good ideas on what you can do to keep from loosing them pictures and other data.

in the mean while try to find some info on the pc, every little bit helps.

 

Hi. It is basically a home system, made by Tiny with an intel celeron processor. It is about 2 months old and has Windows XP. What next ...... ;-))

 

Hi Scully91. Let’s try this before doing anything drastic.

1. Turn on the computer
2. Immediately begin tapping the <F8> key.
3. Use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode and press the <Enter> key.

Assuming that works and you get into Safe Mode, go to Start_All Programs_Accessories_System Tools_System Restore. From the calendar choose a date when the computer was working well and follow the instructions. The computer will then close and reboot. If successful, you will see a notice telling you that the system has been restored to your chosen date. If not, come back here and we’ll try something else.

Please also let us know whether you hear the usual single POST beep when you try to boot the computer.

Whether or not the above works, let us know also when the computer was last virus checked, when the virus checker was last updated and whether the computer runs any anti-malware programs.

 

Right, you do not need to press F8, it automatically goes into the black and white mode and offers to open in safe mode/last known good config or run normally.
LKGC and normally the xp screen appears and then freezes
In safe mode it just immediately gives me a long list of words that seem to say something about windows/system/ blah blah blah.
I cannot at anytime type or do anything else except enter BIOS. (press delete correct??)
Dunno about any beeps.
The computer had no anti virus etc on it so i installed adaware/spybot/avg anti virus which adaware showed about 300 critical problems in the processes,registry, and files. My next plan was to completely reinstall everything but its just jammed. I could tell you what it says when it boots or even take a picture on a digital camera i suppose and then mail it to someone. Please remember it goes immediately into the black and white mode. Im sure you know what i mean like after you use a command in "run"

 

I take it you have tried Last Known Good and it doesn’t work either?
If you can get into BIOS, do so. If it doesn’t work from the screen you describe, try pressing F2 the moment the computer starts – don’t wait for the black screen. That should take you straight into the BIOS.
Look for Boot Sequence, select it, using the up and down arrows, then click Enter. Using the arrows again, make CD-ROM device the top of the list, click Enter. Press ESC, then Enter to save changes. Normally the computer would then load the os, but if it freezes, we start over again.
Before going to the next step, let us know whether you’ve achieved this one. If so, have your Windows installation disk handy.

 

Your a good man. Im gonna try that, please make sure you dont sleep tonight and am at my beck and call seeing as i am in UK ;-))) I had a little fiddle with the BIOS thing but only messed with enable and disable on certain things to make sure i didnt go too deep. Will try that and get back to ya. Thankyou.

 

Im enjoying all this on,off,switch 500 leads and switch them back ha ha.
Ok, the boot sequence had CD rom already on the top of the list.
When i tried to run it in safe mode the screen fills up with
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)/windows/system/drivers/acpi.sys
/fonts/vgaoem.fon

etc etc but they all begin with the multi(0)....etc etc

NEXT !!!!! ;-))

 

Glad you’re having fun! [I’m also in the UK BTW – where exactly are you?]

Right, next step. Don’t try to run the CD in safe mode. Try this:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD in the drive. What happens next depends on whether your computer freezes at this point. If it does, restart with the disk still in the drive. If the computer doesn’t freeze and the disk doesn’t do anything, leave it there and just restart anyway. If by any chance the disk runs and displays the What would you like to do? menu, click Exit and leave the disk there.
2. Turn off your computer, wait ten seconds, then turn it back on. If you are prompted to start the computer from the CD, do so.
3. After Windows XP Setup starts, press ENTER to continue the setup process.
4. Press ENTER to choose the option To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER. Do not choose the Recovery Console option.
5. Press F8 to accept the licensing agreement.
6. At this point the Setup program will search for previous installations of Win XP. If Setup does not find a previous installation of Win XP, you might have a hardware failure. In that case click No, I still have a problem when I try to start Windows below, and then click Next to continue troubleshooting. Then come back here and hope I haven’t gone to bed.

If Setup does find a previous installation of Windows XP, the following message will appear:
“If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, setup can try to repair it. Use the up and down arrows to select an installation.
To repair the selected installation Press R.
To continue without repairing, Press Esc."
Choose the appropriate installation of Windows XP, then press R to attempt to repair it.
7. Follow the remaining directions on your screen.

Good luck!

 

Hi, im in Leamington Spa. I will try that in a minute but what happens if it does nothing at all??? Shall i come back to you??

 

i presume you mean the "system driver and factory reset cd"??

 

ok, it wont do anything. You turn on the power and it beeps then comes up the black and white screen and says boot from cd and then its flashing and then says we apologise for the inconvenience but windows did not start succesfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this. If your computer stopped automatically to shut down and protect your files chose last known good configuration.
It makes no difference whatsoever what i do. If i chose LKGC or ""run normally" the xp screen comes up and the little blue dots move along and then freeze. if i choose safe mode or safe mode with networking or with command it just comes up with a screen full of that multi(0)disk(0) etc etc etc.
It dont matter what i do with the CD it dont make any difference whatsover. Now what??????

 

When you first power up, does it beep just once or multiple beeps? I'm thinking that the Boot Sector is corrupt, but if it's mutlple beeps then it could very well be a hardware issue.

Also did this problem start after you ran Adaware /Spybot? You might have inadvertantly deleted something needed for Windoze to start. Been there, done that.

 

I think this mans hit the nail on the head.
Firstly it only beeps once
Secondly remember i said that i put adaware etc onto the pc. Well it came up with infected files in the processes and registry. Now in my small brain im sure that if something says windows or system or the like it shouldnt really be deleted so i advised the father in law to send it to the menders, the wife went and ran adaware and got 300+ infected files, regisrty keys and values and processes and zapped the lot. Ever since then IMO thats what buggered it.
So whats the next course of action??

 

Just to bring this to the top again...If i have messed up something to do with Windows does it need to go off to the menders? Sorry but i need to know whether to take it today or not, Cheers guys.

 

Good morning Scully91. Just got back here to see your latest news. I’m not sure that the disk you mention is the right one. What you need is a Windows XP installation disk. Maybe Sg. Major Suesman knows whether the one you have contains the XP setup, not just the drivers and BIOS resetting.

 

Please excuse me if im wrong but neither his pc or my pc came with an XP dics. The only one is a system driver/software library and factory reset version xp1.1 (well that what mine is). I thought XP would already be on the machine but thats why im a car trader and not a computer whizzkid.

 

My first computer 2yrs ago was a compac. I was having problems and not knowing it, compaq was too cheap to give recovery discs. You had to burn them yourself or pay for them from compaq, which really sucks for a beginner, which I was. Most companies do give you recovery discs, hopefully you have one and don't have to pay for it.

 

Yes, XP would have been installed on the computer when it was bought, but a recovery disk containing the XP operating system is needed to reinstal or repair it.
Can you check what’s actually on the disk you have by browsing the contents. Did you use the disk that came with the Tiny or were you using the disk from your own computer? Even if some things got deleted by Ad-Aware, it should still be possible to repair Windows this way.

If the computer was new when bought – 2 months ago you said – then it should still be under some kind of warranty. Have you tried ringing Tiny (if they’re back from holiday) to ask them for support and to send you a recovery disk containing the XP set up.

 

My pc is also a Tiny bought approx 2 years earlier. All i got is the disc i mentioned earlier, his disk looks similar but is inside the machine right now although i can get it out if you wish? As for sending it away surely seeing as i reckon its my mrs that has cocked it up and removed something important then they will know and charge me extortionately.
Come on chaps, there must be a way to get this thing running? I dont have a Windows CD here and never have and i didnt get one with my pc either.

 

I know you have already tried booting from cd, but what Options were givin' to you. I know the "Last Known Good Config' thing, but what else? I don't have much experience with those useless disks they give people & I'm not at all sure if you can reformat with it. Always seemed asinine that they, in some cases, refuse to give up the OS that you certainly paid for.

I will ask my local puter guru about this when she comes home. She's helped me out many many times.

 

Safe Mode
" " with networking
" " with (something else!!)
LKGC
Normally

 

ok on the comp your on now do you have total access to it or not if so d/l drive copy from the inet and set your malfunctioning hd as slave and just follow the screen then you will have a dup of the good hd if still no boot chunk it in the garbage its corrupt email me if you want a copy of xp i can tell you where to dl ...:E

 

Scully91, when you saw the ‘boot from cd?’ query did you press Enter before the flashing etc began?

What was the letter and/or number at the end of all the 0000?

e-mail me if you want.

 

The "boot from cd" was not an option but was telling me what it was doing..
I have taken it to the menders so thanks to everyone who tried to help. They suspect that it may be knackered XP and will reinstall it....Watch this space....