My computer won't boot up

Hi,

My computer had no problems until the last few days. I downloaded and ran some trustworthy programs, such as Spyware Doctor, Divx, etc. After that, I couldn't uninstall programs. I have this problem in another thread but I wanted to give you the background here.

I bought a new keyboard today. The keyboard connector on my pc has a round connector but the connector on the keyboard is USB 2.0. I plugged it into USB port and it worked fine for about an hour. In the middle of doing something, my mouse froze so I reset my computer and it started to boot up again. It got to the point where it has the black screen with the Windows XP logo and the bar has the stripes going across the middle. I waited about 15 minutes to see if it would boot up but it never did.

I then tried to do a Repair. I put my Windows disk in my dvd rom drive and clicked on Repair. It loaded a lot of files and then asked what I wanted to do. There was only 1 option, #1. Repair, so at the C prompt, I typed the number 1. It then gave me a C:\Windows prompt and I had no idea what to type next. There were no prompts. I type R and Repair but neither worked.

I then reset my pc again and clicked on Tab to get into the post screen. I quickly hit the pause/break key and wrote down what it said:

I then pressed F8 for BBS POPUP and it said:

I plugged my old keyboard in again but the same things happened.

I can't get into Safe Mode.

Is there anything else I can try?

What would I have to type when I was doing a repair and I typed 1 and it then gave me a C:\Windows prompt?

 

I just followed another thread, and it mentions a problem with Spyware Doctor:

http://www.windowssecrets.com/comp/080522#story1

Additional Info: I have Windows XP x64, SATA

 

I just removed the CMOS battery and rest CMOS. I also went into BIOS and checked Default Settings. My pc still won't boot up.

 

This sounds like you pressed "R" at the first screen (the blue setup XP screens) where it asks if you want to repair Windows from the revocery console, or if you want to install Windows. DO NOT press 'R' at this screen. It won't repair anything unless you know a bunch of recovery console commands. If you want to perform a safe repair of Windows, you need to press Enter at that screen and not 'R'. Here's a link complete with screen shots that describes the whole repair process, step-by-step:
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/How-to-repair-Windows-XP-t138.html

I hope this helps!

:major
[dlb]

(oh yeah- it's not a good idea to plug in and unplug keyboards when the PC is on, esp. the PS2 keyboards; the round connector. USB keyboards can be plugged in with the PC turned on, but probably won't be functional unless the PC is in Windows. To use a USB keyboard in BIOS, you must plug in the keyboard with the PC turned off, same goes for PS2 round connector keyboards. Some BIOSes require enabling USB keyboard and mouse support and enabling USB legacy support for any USB devices to work correctly. Also, set the CD drive as the 1st boot device to start a repair install of Windows; of course, the XP disc must be in the drive before starting the install )

 

Hi dlb . . . thanks for your help.

I don't know what is happening but I received a message that said that Windows is not installed on my computer. I then pressed esc and I got another message that said that Windows hasn't been fully installed, and it asked me if I wanted to quit. I said "no" and continued but it stopped again, telling me that Windows isn't installed on my pc. I decided that I'd have to reinstall Windows. Something really strange happened to my pc for all of this to happen. One minute it was running fine and the next minute, Windows isn't installed in my pc?

Could the problem have been caused because I had the keyboard plugged into a USB 2.0 port and not into the keyboard port?

 

No. I can't imagine a keyboard swap causing something like a message saying Windows isn't installed. By the way- exactly what is telling you that Windows isn't installed? If you can post the exact error messages (word for word or really close to it) and post exactly when these messages come up, it would be very helpful. I can't think of anything or any time that would cause a message that says "Windows is not installed".

 

Before you told me, I initially tried to do a Repair of Windows by selecting Repair the first time it came up. It installed all the files that are on the disk and then another choice came up to either Install Windows or Repair Windows. At the C prompt, I selected 1 for Repair and it gave me another prompt C:\Windows. At that point, I inserted an R and then Repair but neither worked. Maybe that's when it partially installed Windows and over-wrote the existing Windows program?

When you gave me the instructions, I didn't press R at the first screen.

When the second screen came up, you said . . .

. . . so I pressed Enter at the first screen. At this point, I received the message that said "Windows is not installed" and it gave me 2 choices, to proceed or go back (esc). I first tried to proceed and I received the message that "Windows is not installed," so I hit esc and received the same message. I don't remember the exact wording of the messages except "Windows is not installed." I was at my daughter's house and she has a 5-year old boy full of energy chasing 2 dogs around the house, and a tv was turned on pretty loudly. One of the dogs wanted to play and kept coming up to the computer desk and dropping her ball and it rolled under the desk and I had to get it out for her. It was all I could do to concentrate on what I was reading so whatever else the messages said, I only scanned them because "Windows is not installed" was in large print, and it was all I needed to know. Sorry I can't help you more with that.

So the only other option that I saw was a format. I just finished installing most of my programs and all the Microsoft updates.

This time, I'm going to make Auto Recovery Disks. :major
.

 

Can I plug the new keyboard into any USB 2.0 port?
.

 

Hi,

Please confirm for me that I can plug my keyboard into any USB 2.0 port. I want to make doubly sure that it's ok.

 

id put the original on first and see what happens then plug the usb later,but first turn the computer off. and keep the usb keybord offline your comp may work again and if it does,turn off the computer then unplug the keyboard and put the usb key back on.