MBRinst, safe mode stopping on avg...

Not sure where to begin, blue screen of death, memory scan, avg, unable to find 2 hdd, last good config, msconfig...I am all over the place. Need to know where to start. Ive attached a pic of the results of one avenue I chose. Windows 7, Compaq Presario

Thank You so much! I know this isn't anything to go on, but I truly have no clue where to begin.

Jason

 

Yes indeed, you are all over the place. Just take a deep breath and try again. State what OS you're using, then list each of the things you've tried and what the results were. Can you boot to safe mode? Can you boot to a rescue environment using a repair/restore disk? There are a lot of smart people in here but you gotta give 'em something to work with.

 

when starting windows normally= blue screen
start up repair= pic below (first post)
esc to f1 sys info f2 sys diag f9 boot device opt f10 BIOS setup f11 sys recovery
system info= sys board 3577, amd c-50, 2GB mem,

diagnosics smart check=passed, short dst=failed, memory test=passed, start up test=failed
safe mode w/networking stops at avgidsha.sys sits forever. blue screen unmountable boot volume goes to repair

 

she has no restore disk? Should I include more information? I appreciate your guidance

 

jdoginc...

Here is something similar:

http://forums.avg.com/us-en/avg-forums?sec=thread&act=show&id=202313http://

and another one:

http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/topic/pc-cant-boot-avg-problem

Hope this helps

 

I checked out the links above. The second link instructs the user how to download a free legal 30-day trial Windows DVD ISO file that you would need to burn to DVD. With that you will at the very least be able to get to a command prompt from where you can use the MBR fix suggested by plodr (that's assuming your hard drive isn't kaput). I downloaded the ISO, burned it to DVD and it's legit. Should at least let you know whether it's your hard drive or a driver incompatibility.

 

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. It doesn't look good you are right. I went to HP and then to Microsoft and found this thread: ""I have windows 7 on my computer and when I start it up, it brings up the black command prompt box and says "couldn't perfom the screening because couldnt detect 2 HDDs on this system"".

so I created the recovery cd by AVG. Looked at some tutorials (that don't quite match my issue, of course) to no avail. It didn't find any viruses, but found some registry keys. I still come up with the same error issues, but keep landing on this MBRINST issue. I am convinced I need to fix the MBR. I recall doing this before...dloading an MBR, loading it into my Dell....XP Pro. But not quite sure of how I did it, lol. Should I keep digging around? Again, thank you, the Mods on here really have saved my butt countless times, and I appreciate it!

 

This has turned out to be more of a community effort than usual, I thank you all for your time. I have given up on avg as plodr has suggested. Im jumping from option to option, with much of the same result. Ive managed to make it to another snag, but I feel that it is a snag farther down the line, closer to my issue. I used my win7 laptop to create a system repair disc. (typing in "create system repair disc" in my search bar) I then put it in comp2, changed the boot order to optical drive first. It started into repair, went to blue windows 7 back drop, and instead of giving the mbr inst warning in dos, it sat....forever..then 15 minutes later I had to choose a language. (all options greyed out though) pressed enter. I am now stuck on "system recovery options"
image attached
Do I continue to watch the blue circle spin? or do I start up again, hoping for less hang ups? does it read "0mb" partition size because D is my disc that didn't copy right? is her computer's optical disc not D:?

 

image failed on upload.

 

I am assuming from the previous posts in this thread that you are running Windows 7 (I didn't see where you ever specified your OS) In any case, if you can get to a command prompt then you can rebuild the corrupt MBR by overwriting it with a new generic Window 7 MBR. (Note: as far as I know, this command should only be used on Windows 7)

At command prompt type:

bootsect /nt60 :X /fixmbr (replace X with your systemroot drive, usually C)
Note that there's a space before and after "/nt60" and another before "/fixmbr"
Hit Enter and....
Sorry, it's been a long time since I used this command and I don't know if there are any confirmation screens or not. I'm sure you'll figure it out.

Reboot

Good Luck !

 

I did say that I am using 7, but it wasn't in a very organized manner, lol. There are two instances where I get a command prompt line; 1. the image in post #1, and I cannot type anything, and 2. RIGHT before that image appears for a SPLIT second.

 

So, you haven't been able to get to a functional command line by any means? What happens when you press F11 during boot? The only thing that I could suggest is that you try what plodr suggested a few post back (using Windows 7 DVD). You can download a legal copy (ISO) at the following site:

http://www.askvg.com/direct-downloa...nd-untouched-windows-7-iso-32-bit-and-64-bit/

You'll need to burn the ISO file to DVD and you'll need your Product ID to convert it into a non-expiring version but it will still work for 30 days without the Product ID. If that doesn't work then the only other thing I can think of is to get hold of a Linux boot disk (Live CD) that includes programs for disk checking/repair and/or reconstructing the MBR. I'm by no means an expert in this area of computing but it seems to me that you've got yourself a busted hard drive. :cry

 

Wow, that was almost the exact account that jdoginc gave. Seeing as it was an IT person who responded, I'd say that jdoginc should probably start shopping for a new hard drive. Good news is that some large commercial resellers like Amazon.com have extended their "Black Friday" sales through to Christmas.

 

don't give up on my yet folks....I cant give up just yet. this screen came after many hours (after I went to bed) I have access to the system32 folder...not sure if I should back out and choose "next' instead of "load drivers"..any suggestions...besides new HDD?

 

I apologize for highjacking my own thread here...but I have access to System(C: ), recovery (E: ), local disk (D: ) hp_tools (F: ) Boot (X: ) and (G: )is my Repair disc...although (D: ) has no display of MB information...the others do..I just don't know where to go from here...

 

:-D Now, that's funny (the part about hijacking your own thread, not the fact that your hard drive seems to be kaput). Are you saying above that you have a repair disk? Can you boot the computer to a rescue environment with it (like summoning up a functional command line)? You should read your own posts. You sound like a kid with ADHD who hasn't taken his medicine in a few days. If the reader doesn't understand your question then they aren't very likely to jump in and help, even if they have the answer.

Also, you might try posting an intelligible question in the hardware forum rather than this software forum.

 

I have yet to see an operable command line. They either flash across the screen and disappear, or display information, stay on-screen and I am unable to use the command box. I created a repair disc/win7 dvd as suggested by plodr, altbo, and yourself. I booted to the install disc. Even though each screen would come up during the "repair" process, it took hours in between for some of those screens to appear, minutes for others. The computer gives me "system recovery options" 1. Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows. Select an operating system to repair." It then lists one drive with 0MB Local Disk (which happens to be (D). Followed by option 2: "Restore your computer using a system image that you created earlier" I left option 1 selected, and chose "load drivers". It then brings up a list of drivers that seem to still be on the computer: System(C: ), recovery (E: ), local disk (D: ) hp_tools (F: ) Boot (X: ) and (G: )is my Repair disc...although (D: ) has no display of MB information...the others do. In each of those there are many files, i.e. system 32, WINDOWS, HP folder, even a regedit program. I don't know which to choose, I fear I have one shot at this. Thank You again.

 

jdoginc...

Since there isn't anything on D:, I think you can rule it out.

Please don't hold me to this, but the default installation path for an OS installation is drive C. It seems safe to me to discard recovery (E: ), local disk (D: ), hp_tools (F: ), and (G: ) Repair disc. That leaves C and X. Boot (X: ) could be boot tools from HP, not sure.

If you have the same installation of Windows you had when you started with this PC, I think you can be confident that drive C is what you need to repair, and it is likely your normal boot OS. Again, please don't hold me to this...

At any rate, I don't think this is your last chance. Even part way completing a boot causes good things to happen, even if you are booting to a CD/DVD. Windows 7 (especially...moreso than XP and Vista) has some native repair features that function during boot. Think of each step forward as taking you closer to getting your PC back in line. That's really the way it is with PCs in my experience...

 

thank you ALTBO! The repair cd was created from my dell laptop, and I am attempting to repair a Compaq laptop. Both have Windows 7. As you stated, getting something to change on a restart is definitely SOMETHING better. Given that all of those drives are showing up, and especially the HP stuff...Im sure there is a light at the end of the tunnel. That stuff is buried somewhere on this thing!

 

jdoginc...

If you are up for a little adventure, take a look at below:

Since you have a second computer. You might consider taking a look at this utility:

http://falconfour.com/projects/7

I have seen it recommended several times on Major Geeks, and I have yet to see any complaints about the utility. I have used it on a virtual installation of Windows XP I had in VirtualBox, and it does work. I didn't burn it to disk for this, but it does work, and if necessary I have the ISO and can burn it.

Creating a boot disk like this is something you can do right now while you are considering which disk to restore with your Windows 7 restore disk, and it will work on any PC. Having a diagnostics disk you can use on boot with your current problem PC would give you the ability to take a look at the contents of each of its partitions, so you can determine which drive is the main OS drive and then focus your restoration on that partition. This also makes it possible for you to move files to a remote disk or flash drive if necessary. Actually, the list of things you can do with a utility like this is practically endless. Down the road, if you ever have trouble with an OS installation and aren't able to get into Windows, you can just drop the disk in the tray, start the PC, and go to work rescuing files (moving them to a flash drive or other secondary drive) or performing repairs. You can even access the internet using the utility.

See here for more information and for the link to download the ISO torrent (about half way down the page). Yes, you will need a torrent client to torrent (download) the ISO:

http://falconfour.wordpress.com/category/bootcd/

After obtaining the ISO, to make sure it will work, then download the patch file (link at the top of the above page) and extract the contents of the file. Open the folder and drag the ISO onto the patcher .exe. Follow the instructions to have the 4.61 updated ISO. Then just burn it to disk and save the ISO someplace in case you need to burn another one.

and then visit the Facebook for more information:

https://www.facebook.com/F4UBCD

It's a little bit of a chore getting the ISO and updating it, but this is worth the effort, and I recommend making this type of diagnostics utility. It will help put your mind at ease about your problems.

Just a note...I haven't tried the 4.61 patched version. 4.6 worked for me on Windows XP.

Once you get that OS repaired, you can remove anything you want to keep from partitions you would like to discard (if any), put the files on a backup drive or whereever you like, and then you can use a good partition program like EaseUs Partition Master Free to get rid of any unnecessary partitions. No point in keeping information on a PC that isn't of any use.

By the way, if it were me, I would run that Windows 7 repair disk on the C drive of the distressed PC, even if I didn't know what was on there. Just me...

 

I'm with AtlBo, I'd run it on the distressed PC. That's what the repair disk was made for.
BTW, great post ! And a great tip... I love Live rescue discs and haven't found one that I really like. This one sounds promising. I guess I'm finally going to have to break down and learn about torrents now :mad

 

Yes rustysavage, I know there has been some controversy over using some boot utilities, but I haven't run across any complaints about this one. I have seen it numerous times mentioned here at Major Geeks.

There are others like Ultimate Boot CD for Windows that are also recommended here, too. Many stick by the live Linux disks. Haven't tried one. I guess it's just a matter of preference...

 

Thank you so much Chaslang! From what I can see, everyone here is correct, lol. If this computer is not salvageable, is there a way to extract the info? Preparing for the worst, hoping for the best!

 

Thank you everyone for your time and input. I learned something from each and every post. I have decided to pull the HD out of the computer. I bought a USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE adapter. I hooked it up to my laptop. I dloaded a program names "recover my files" and found every single file that was thought lost! Now I just have to figure out what program to use, if I need a program, and do it without purchasing anything else! If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Do I move this to another category?
Again, LIFE SAVERS!!
Jdoginc

 

What programs to use for what exactly?

I've read the entire FAQ and don't recall there being any rules or restrictions that would prevent you (the Original Poster) from taking the thread in a different direction once the original problem has been solved or otherwise dispensed with.