Unresponsive and partially loads

I have a toshiba satellite L855-S5162 that runs windows 8. I can turn on the computer and log on. It loads very slowly and incompletely (does not load my main screen fully). It is also not responsive. I've restarted many times with the same result. I've tried to start it in safe mode with no success (f8 does not seem to work - I've tried holding it down and tapping it). Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!

 

You guys are awesome! I'm in the process of trying to implement your suggestions but my computer is awfully slow. I'll update you when I know more. Thank you!!

 

Can I back up what I need from my computer in safe mode? Then I could restore to factory settings?

 

Malwarebytes run with no malware identified. Things are incredibly slow/non responsive even in safe mode.

 

jmdt...

I have seen adwcleaner improve things alot with this type of situation. Actually, with slowing it's the first thing I turn to, simply because it's so easy to run and use and because it's a known safe and reliable program...

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/adwcleaner.html

 

Backups complete. When I tried to reset my computer it says, "unable to reset your OC. A required drive partition is missing." Suggestions on how to proceed?

 

I tried to refresh my computer and it says, "the drive where windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again."

 

I used directions from major's link to restore (pressing f12 when computer first turned on). I cannot get the charms to work and safe mode is very slow.

 

I think I made a bad situation worse. I was trying the disk repair but it was taking a couple of hours and seemed not to be doing anything. So I shut it down improperly and now it says no bootable device - please restart. Suggestions?

 

Great video, fun music. Unfortunately, the message I get is:
Check cable connection!
Pxe-m0f: exiting Intel pxe rom.
No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key

 

Toshiba wanted to charge me $40 for the disk but I asked for a link to create my own. I'll do so tomorrow on a different computer. What a saga! I'm sure my lack of judgment didn't help! thankfully there are wonderful people on this board!

 

jmdt...

I guess we have all been down this road before. :-o

Just for the record. When running a restore/repair/diagnostics utility during a boot up, always let it finish no matter how long it takes and no matter how much it seems the PC is doing nothing. chkdsk operations, for example, can take 14 hours or longer if there is serious corruption on the PC, going for hours on end without the processor light even blinking...

 

Thank you for suggestion and for the reassurance. Live and learn

 

Musksnipe - thank you for your thoughts on this and your support through this process. I have a feeling that there is something more as well - so I purchased another computer today that I am going to start to set up since we need a home computer. I still hope to be able to revive my old computer though.

On a related note, there used to be how to set up a new computer thread but I can't seem to find it. Any suggestions on where to find this?

 

jmdt...

NP...I just installed a program the other day that caused this same kind of problem. It wasn't recorded by my uninstaller, so I had to hunt down all of the remnants of the program to restore normal PC speed. This really takes me all the way back to Windows 98 days and even further...the battle is still real. :-D

Might this be the thread?

http://www.majorgeeks.com/content/page/how_to_optimize_that_new_computer.html

Totally out of the blue...I wonder if some weird form of cryptolocker may have found its way onto your PC. I was doing some research, and there definitely are forms of malware designed specifically to slow computers. Who thinks of this kind of thing?

musksnipe is doing a great job, just adding that seems to be that you are on the right track to restore the system as long as you have been able to retrieve everything important on the drive. Hope you are able to get it all worked out in due course and good luck with the new PC...

 

Not fun AtlBo, not fun.

Thanks for the link! There used to be an old one but this is the content I'm looking for

The cryptolocker is an interesting idea but I don't know enough about computers to comment more intelligently on this. Cruelty though! I know that I have been having issues with my computer slowing for a couple of months now and a couple of months ago I went through the sequence on this sites for malware and found no problems. It could be a RAM issue like musksnipe mentioned. I think I'll know more once I try to restore it tomorrow. Given how dependent I am on my computer for work, I couldn't not have something when the problem became more serious. I'll update you all with what I find.

 

jmtd...

Great...hope the restore gets the PC back to normal...

 

So . . . I just looked at the *lovely* link provided by Toshiba customer service. Apparently with a computer that won't boot, they seem to think I will be able to create system recovery disks! Any suggestions on how I can create system recovery disks for the Toshiba? Is there a way to access this online without having to pay Toshiba for the recovery disks?

 

The link from Toshiba: Here's teh link for ypu to create recovery media http://support.toshiba.com/support/viewContentDetail?contentId=2753749

How do I get into the BIOS?

When I tried the 0 on powering up, it says:
Check cable connection!
PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE ROM
No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key

The computer I bought yesterday (HP this time) has windows 8. I haven't looked into its backup options yet but if I am able to create a win8 disk from this, would it work on a toshiba?

 

Sorry for the completely clueless questions:
I downloaded the link you provided. Can I download this on a different computer to create a disk? How do I get the OEM key?

 

f12 gets me to the boot menu. I ensured that it goes to hard drive first - no go. Same message as before:
Check cable connection!
PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE ROM
No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key

 

Another clueless question,

Do you use that file I downloaded from the link to put on a portable device to connect to the toshiba? Do I run it from my new HP? (Yes, this is the level of computer *ability* you are helping in this situation )

 

I wouldn't attempt it.

Sounds like either the hd died or the connection between the hard drive and the motherboard has a problem.

Since you have nothing to lose because the Toshiba doesn't do anything, open it up, remove the hard drive, clean out the inside of the case.
Attach the Toshiba hard drive to the new computer using an adapter, after that computer has booted up.
Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812156102

If the new computer recognizes it, the drive is okay - hardware wise.

The recovery disks for a computer have to be created from software installed on that computer. So, you can not create Toshiba recovery disks on any computer except the Toshiba.
There isn't anything you download. The software is installed at the factory on the Toshiba.

 

Yikes! Can I ask how you came to this conclusion (to help me understand the process)?

Is there a way to create a boot disk for the computer?

 

I came to the conclusion that there is something wrong with the internal hard drive because of this #15 post

Then in #17, you posted this

The computer looks first at either the internal hard drive or the CD/DVD drive to see something to boot. The positions of these two are interchangeable so I don't know exactly which you have in first place. Failing to find anything in those two locations, it might also look to boot from a USB stick/external hard drive. When that fails it looks for a network drive. The PXE is the designation for the network drive. It is the last thing it looked to boot from and eventually gave up and said no bootable devices.

 

Sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone. The idea of addressing the hardware is daunting but I'm going to try it if the windows suggestion does not work.

I have downloaded the file from the link that musksnipe provided. It's a setup file. Before installing it, is it going to affect my new computer? Or am I installing a new program that will allow me to create a disk?

 

Thanks! Two questions:
1) How do I know whether to go with 64 bit or 32 bit (for both?)
2) What does the Win8 key look like? There are numbers under my computer - model number and serial number - and under my battery but there doesn't seem to be anything that says windows (except for a sticker with no numbers)

 

So . . . after googling this, it sounds like I don't have a windows key and I should have created recovery disks originally. Since I didn't, it sounds like I am out of luck unless I want to buy the disks from Toshiba or buy a new OEM Windows disk. Bummer!

 

Unfortunately, we don't have access to any desktop computers. At this point, I'm planning on just letting it go because I think it's beyond the scope of what I can do and the costs may not be worth any potential benefit.

I bought my computer from Costco and of course the warranty on it expired 2 months ago. Unfortunately same thing with AMEX (because apparently their warranty runs concurrent with Costco's - that was very frustrating to discover).

What I have learned about this is:
1)There are amazing people on this site that are willing to be helpful (thank you!)
2) I should be proactive when I see problems with my computer earlier
3) I should make backup disks early (like now with my new one)
4) Be cautious when going through the revival process (like don't do a hard shut down when my computer is trying to repair - even like it may look like it's not)

My husband (I happen to be female) will probably be happy to see me stop fiddling with the computer

 

If breaking things is a qualifier, I'm going to be stellar Yes, the cost of Windows is a consideration for an older computer.

I tried the F2 and it gets me to the bios screen and my hard drive is there but there is no option to set it back to the default. There is an option to set up defaults though. When I exited, it goes back to the same unfortunate screen. I might try the hard drive suggestion when I have some time next week. It's a realm I've never ventured into before though.

Hey the shining star on this is that I was able to back up what I needed from my old computer

My husband gets some assistance from the kids too At 3 and 5, they are *high demand*

Thank you everyone for all of your support. As I try the hard drive suggestion, I'll provide an update.