computer help!!!

Smurray23

Hi all
My computer (Toshiba) has decided to play dead!!!
I can turn it on... but once I put in my password it stops at the welcome screen!!! Even in safe mode.... its doing my head in!!!
Im technology challenged to say the least so if anyone has any advice on how to fix it please help!!!
Thanks

Ballyv24

what version of windows is on it?

Smurray23

Ballyv24 wrote: »

what version of windows is on it?

Hi its windows7

Ballyv24

Have you tried Safe Mode with Command Prompt?

This might help you to get your PC back to a working version of Windows. I am not sure if this is the steps are the same for Windows 7..

Make sure that you read up on what windows 7 restore points are before following the advice.

AnCatDubh

Something to try maybe: Windows 7 has a repair option available on your installation or recovery disk.

Boot from your Cd/DVD drive with your install/recovery disk.

You should see an install screen with a repair option.

Click the repair option (not the install option). It should give you a menu of different things (repair options) that you can select.

Try "Startup Repair"

It's worth giving this a go to begin with.

riclad

SEE http://www.ntfs.com/


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this is a mini demo version of windows os, fits on 1 cdr disk.

Download
Size: 171 MB
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It's a bootable CD/DVD/USB disk that allows you to boot up any computer and fix most startup and PC configuration problems. Full access to non-bootable PC Image-based physical or logical disks backup and restore. Lost folders and files recovery. Create, delete, format partitions on SSD/IDE/ATA/SATA/SCSI hard disk drives Deleted partition recovery by editing partition table. Windows administrator's password and user's account resetting

TRY STARTUP repair first,http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/startup-repair-frequently-asked-questions

Most toshiba laptops have a repair mode,

BUT THIS will delete all your data,

music, photos etc Permanently ,
it installs windows from drive c ,a hidden partition .

SEE Below link,
reinstall win7 on tioshiba laptop,

http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/HTD1303440001R01.htm

turn on laptop ,press f8 ten times or until menu appears.


YOU can also make a live cd,eg mint linux,on a 700meg cdr,
iso file 690 megabyte fits on 1 cdrom cdr disk.
this loads from cd drives,
ALLOWS you acess to all data on the hardrive.

download iso file, burn to cd using imgburn free program,
USE burn iso,image menu item,
burn at 2x speed in settings,burn options.http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=38

i did a reinstall on my laptop, took 20 minutes ,from hidden partition.
i had to download a driver to get the wifi card working ,
after the install of windows 7 on my sony ;laptop.

it formats drive c. ; theres no way to get your data,back,
music,photos, game saves

after a hidden partition reinstall as far as i can see.

try press f8, or delete, or f11,
do you mean windows logo,
welcome,

or the toshiba general startup screen.?
eg ram, model no,
dvrom type, sata type hardisk etc ?

riclad

OR wait,till the toshiba logo appears, then press f8 key,
key with f8 logo on it on top highest row of the keyboard.eg funtion key.

Cork24

Could be the regedit is corrupt or missing some startup files, if you have a ghost image I would roll back.

To safe guard your PC you should buy either true image or ghost which both can boot up a cd and roll back to the last backup you did.

I don't like windows own version of backup ,

riclad

Go to safe mode, use arrow keys,up,down,
enter KEY , to choose, safe mode Directory service restore mode.
This works to fix windows load problem,s 90 per cent of the time.

It fixes basic files which are used to load up windows,
with backup copys from a folder,
eg windows loads , you DO not lose any data.

Theres no risk to this ,it does not delete any user files, music, photos,
takes about 3- 5 minutes to do the fix and load windows 7.

Smurray23

riclad wrote: »

Go to safe mode, use arrow keys,up,down,
enter KEY , to choose, safe mode Directory service restore mode.
This works to fix windows load problem,s 90 per cent of the time.

It fixes basic files which are used to load up windows,
with backup copys from a folder,
eg windows loads , you DO not lose any data.

Theres no risk to this ,it does not delete any user files, music, photos,
takes about 3- 5 minutes to do the fix and load windows 7.

I tried but even in safe mode cant get passed the welcome screen!!!

riclad

USE repair mode from the windows install disc.
you could reinstall windows in another directory, using new directory,
not c ;/windows,
using install DO NOT FORMAT,disk, use existing media ,
in the install option,
EG INSTALL IN folder new,
that way your documents or folders,music, photos are not deleted.
can you get into safe mode ,dos prompt?
your docs will be in c;/ windows ,or c; windows old.
have you a windows 7 os dvd ?

Smurray23

Managed to get to system restore.... eeekkk hope im not breaking it more!!!!
Thanks for all comments!

yoyo

Make sure you back up all your files. These issues generally point to a failing hard drive. Backup all your files and run diagnostics on the drive would be my advice, but backup while you can firstly asap.

Nick

riclad

SAY you use system restore ,last restore
restore date july,07,

YOU ,LL lose all data ,files ,music, downloaded ,after july 07.
A live cd ,eg mint linux gives you a chance to backup any files to a usb drive,or another drive partition, e, ,f etc etc
sometimes it fails,eg cannot complete this restore operation.
in most cases i see A virus deletes the startup files ,stopping windows loading
eg do a virus scan when you get a chance.
OR the hardisk may be faulty.

riclad

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/windows-7-recovery-environment-command-prompt/

Fix startup files from dos prompt in windows 7
see
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-system/corrupt-file-at-startup-can-not-start-up-win-7/b7129bd4-abf5-44e8-b136-9d9bb9a22c60

c) The System Repair tool will search for a valid operating system and will report that “Windows found problems with your computer’s startup options. Do you want to apply repairs and restart your computer?”
d) Click ‘Repair and restart’ and reboot again to the Windows 7 System Repair environment.
e) Click ‘Next’ at the keyboard selection prompt and when the ‘System Recovery Options’ screen appears verify that the “Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows” is selected.
Note that on your Dual Boot system there now should be only one operating system listed. Click the ‘Next’ button.
f) Now from the menu list select the ‘Command Prompt’ option.
g) At the DOS prompt type the following three commands:
bootrec.exe /fixmbr
bootrec.exe /fixboot (may return an 'Eliment not found' message)
bootrec.exe /RebuildBcd
h) Close the command prompt window and click the ‘Startup Repair’ option.
i) The repair process may take some time, so wait until the process completes at which point you will see two messages “Windows cannot repair this computer automatically” and “Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically”.
These messages are the result of the radical changes made by removing the other drive. Ignore the Send/Don’t send options.

Cork24

Using Linux live cd won't work Linux use a differnet boot loader then windows and also a different file system, plus most cases lived won't show the C:/ of the host computer..

Best bet is to take the hard drive out and put it into a differnet computer as slave

dunworth1

riclad wrote: »

SAY you use system restore ,last restore
restore date july,07,

YOU ,LL lose all data ,files ,music, downloaded ,after july 07.
A live cd ,eg mint linux gives you a chance to backup any files to a usb drive,or another drive partition, e, ,f etc etc
sometimes it fails,eg cannot complete this restore operation.
in most cases i see A virus deletes the startup files ,stopping windows loading
eg do a virus scan when you get a chance.
OR the hardisk may be faulty.

No you wont system restore does not affect user files and documents so your
documents,music etc.. is fine

what system restore will remove is any installed programs after the restore point was made.

so if you had a restore point from the 1/9/13 but you installed the sims 3 on the 2/9/13. the sims 3 wont be installed if you do a system restore

starlit

Have you got blue screen of death? Usually too much memory used or applications installed.

yoyo

doovdela wrote: »

Have you got blue screen of death? Usually too much memory used or applications installed.

BSOD means hardware or software (device driver etc.) issues. Number of applications or memory use will not trigger a BSOD. A Failing hard disk, faulty memory module/video card, faulty driver etc. will

Nick

ZeroBarry

doovdela wrote: »

Have you got blue screen of death? Usually too much memory used or applications installed.

Multiple anti-virus applications running concurrently will also cause a BSOD.

As mentioned by some of the others, a LIVE CD can be beneficial if you are trying to retrieve data from the laptop. If you think the problem is too far gone to fix (At this stage you would be probably looking to buy a new one, hence why you want to retrieve as much data as possible.)

As you are currently attempting to repair the PC,

"Last known good configuration (advanced)" will start windows with the last successful driver and registry configuration. For more info check this out: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ie/windows-vista/advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode

For a start-repair disc tutorial check this out:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2083-system-repair-disc-create.html

All the best

mordeith

Cork24 wrote: »

Using Linux live cd won't work Linux use a differnet boot loader then windows and also a different file system, plus most cases lived won't show the C:/ of the host computer..

Best bet is to take the hard drive out and put it into a differnet computer as slave

I created a Linux Mint bootable USB last week to fix a friends laptop which wouldn't book properly. Linux loaded no probs and I could see and access all files on the C drive of the laptop no bother.

riclad

i used linux mint ,to boot up pcs, and backup files on at least 5 pcs,
IT CAN acess any windows ,files ,folders on the hard disk.
see
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15761/recover-data-like-a-forensics-expert-using-an-ubuntu-live-cd/VD/USB and install.

. Note that in Linux drives are not C or D or E, but /dev/sda1 or dev/sdb2 instead.

MINT IS the closest linux os, to windows, in terms of ease of use,
menus ,layout,are similar to windows menu,s.
MINT CAN acess and copy files from windows 7 os hard disks,
fat32 and ntfs file format.
Most pcs use ntfs file format if windows is installed on them.

ZeroBarry

mordeith wrote: »

I created a Linux Mint bootable USB last week to fix a friends laptop which wouldn't book properly. Linux loaded no probs and I could see and access all files on the C drive of the laptop no bother.

There are certain versions of these LIVE CD's that enable access to the drives. They are used by forensic technicians to capture data without making changes to the registry etc by booting up the Native OS (be it Windows etc). This preserves evidence for court usage.

Examples of these LIVE CD's are CAINE (Computer Aided INvestigative Environment) which is based on the Linux Ubuntu Distribution, Backtrack (Ubuntu based also I think) & Fedora Security Lab (Fedora Based Obviously)

All of these have a Drive Mounting Tool (Disk Utility on CAINE, possibly the same on the others) that enable the user to mount the appropriate disk drive and file system (NTFS, FAT, Ext3) etc and view/modify/cut/copy the files from the Drive to an external drive.

In Disk Utility the file systems & drives will appear as dev/sda1 or dev/sdb2 much like in Linux MINT, generally the drive can be identified by its capacity e.g. 80GB, 200GB, 500GB, 1TB depending on the sizes. The drive your looking for will be dev/sdb2, 80% of the time.

As I mentioned earlier and in direct response to the OP, I would only recommend the use of these tools as a last resort if you desperately need to obtain the data from the old/ busted PC for use on your New Laptop/Desktop.

mordeith

As I mentioned earlier and in direct response to the OP, I would only recommend the use of these tools as a last resort if you desperately need to obtain the data from the old/ busted PC for use on your New Laptop/Desktop.

Why a last resort? Is there some risk to the existing data on the drive?

riclad

I agree with you ,re forsensic disks,etc
but for a non expert , i think mint 7 is the easiest live cd to use.
JUST to acess ,or copy files from the hardrive ,
IF YOU CANNOT a system restore, or do not wish
or you are not able or ready to do a windows 7 reinstall.

Theres no risk in using a live cd,it does not touch the hardrrive ,
unless you choose to install it to drive c;/
MINT 7 needs 5 gigabyte disk space ,
new 5 gig partition,
this will set up a dual boot menu on the pc,
linux, or windows , on bootup .
leaving windows ,os, data ,folders ,docs, as is
IF You choose to install it to drive c;/

livecd means it just runs from the cd disk normally.

ZeroBarry

mordeith wrote: »

Why a last resort? Is there some risk to the existing data on the drive?

As the other posters mentioned, there a multiple other methods developed and made available by Microsoft etc such as "System Restore", "Windows Start Up Repair" and executing "last known good configuration" to repair the start processes on the OP's laptop.

I only mentioned it should be a last resort, as in "it is the last thing they can really do" to salvage data from the drives for use on a new PC.

Meaning after they have attempted everything else, the last thing they could possibly use is a live CD or Linux Distro to retrieve the data for use on a new PC.

And yes, at times, the windows functions used to repair the start up process, depending on which you choose can cause data loss, e.g. System Restore and Last known good configuration.

riclad

IF you decide to restore os from hardrive,restore partition
then its a good idea to use a livecd, to backup data ,music otherwise
.it,ll be deleted .
If there,s data ,info on it you consider important.

yoyo

I'll just re-iterate that this could be a hardware issue. The more times you try to re-install Windows on a dodgy hard disk the more damage you will likely do. If you have important data on the disk then I would recommend backing up the data while you can, if even possible. Then I would recommend running a full hard disk test (chkdsk is fairly useless as a diagnostics tool) with something like Seatools for Dos. If this fails then you will need a new hard disk.

Nick

johnnybmac

riclad wrote: »

SAY you use system restore ,last restore
restore date july,07,

YOU ,LL lose all data ,files ,music, downloaded ,after july 07.
A live cd ,eg mint linux gives you a chance to backup any files to a usb drive,or another drive partition, e, ,f etc etc
sometimes it fails,eg cannot complete this restore operation.
in most cases i see A virus deletes the startup files ,stopping windows loading
eg do a virus scan when you get a chance.
OR the hardisk may be faulty.

Not sure where that came form mate, but, that is not the case. Any installed stuff (Programs, apps, toolbars etc.) will be removed though...

Cork24 wrote: »

Using Linux live cd won't work Linux use a differnet boot loader then windows and also a different file system, plus most cases lived won't show the C:/ of the host computer..

Best bet is to take the hard drive out and put it into a differnet computer as slave

This is very rarely the case. Most Linux distros can easily handle NTFS or FAT. Ubuntu or Mint (plus many others) will happily do the job...

doovdela wrote: »

Have you got blue screen of death? Usually too much memory used or applications installed.

What?

yoyo wrote: »

I'll just re-iterate that this could be a hardware issue. The more times you try to re-install Windows on a dodgy hard disk the more damage you will likely do. If you have important data on the disk then I would recommend backing up the data while you can, if even possible. Then I would recommend running a full hard disk test (chkdsk is fairly useless as a diagnostics tool) with something like Seatools for Dos. If this fails then you will need a new hard disk.
Nick

The voice of reason

mathepac

It's probably rebelling against overuse of the "!" key