I am on my son's pc cause mine is f-ed up! I go to turn it on, and I get a black screen that says windows did not start successfully. When I press enter to start it, it just shuts down. Sometimes it doesn't even get that far, I'll turn it on, and it turns itself right off. Any clue as to what's going on or what I need to do?
Well the first thing I would do is reinstall windows... Since you can't do it from that computer you can just connect the hard drive to your sons computer, save the user.dat and system.dat files (registry information - that way you won't have to reinstall everything) and delete the windows directory. Install it on that hard drive from your windows cd, connect it back to your computer and see if it works. If it doesn't the problem could be with the registry so you should try deleting the user.dat and system.dat files. Try starting the computer from that HD again and see if it works this time. If it STILL doesn't work, though highly unlikely, it's possible the problem is with the hardware. Try connecting the HD to your sons computer and making it the boot drive. If it starts fine then the problem IS with your computers hardware. If it doesn't, it's probably with the HD itself though I can't imagine being able to go through the entire proccess if the HD IS damaged. ;\
You could then save all the important files on your son's HD and try formatting yours, THEN install windows.
How old is the hard drive? Usually after about 3-4 years those things start making problems and eventually break down...
Now, if you have absolutely no idea of what the hell is it I'm talking about, it's gonna be pretty hard for anyone here to help you through the internet since you can't even start windows on that computer. I'd suggest calling a computer tech. guy to try and take care of it [img]tongue.gif[/img]
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Weight: 155lbs
Age: 18
Height: 5'9
Bodyfat: ~12%
Max squat: ?
Max deadlift: 225x5
Max bench: 115x5
I understand some of what you are saying but I have a friend that can probably come over and help me with the rest [img]smile.gif[/img] I do have a new HD to put in if it is damaged, but I will try the other stuff first. Thanks so much!
Two things I would do:
1. Hook your hd to your son's. Make it the slave drive and see if you can pull off your files (pics, favorites, documents) you want to save first. Save them to your son's hd that is working.
2. Try the windows repair if it is XP. I haven't had much luck but maybe it does actually work.
Try booting into safe mode. If it's Windows XP, hit F8 as the machine boots. Go into safe mode, then shutdown and restart. If that doesn't help, you can go into safe mode then to a system recovery to an earlier date BEFORE this problem started to happen.
You can email me if you need any help, I do IT for a living (sort of, I am a regional manager and have a few people under me).
If you get it booted...get yourself some spyware software for both your computer and your son's puter (the one's I mention below are all free). All the problems I've ran into lately have had to do with spyware/viruses.
- Spybot Search and Destroy
- Adaware
- Microsoft Spyware
(You'll probably want to run all 3 of them as they catch different things)
&%$@$&...now it won't even turn on...it starts to boot for about a second and shuts down...is this the point where i just throw it out the window? you think it needs a new hard drive?
(Kaiser - you sound just like a friend of mine..she tells me that all the time..I'm not getting one though..she calls me a mac-hater..lol)
You could also try disconnecting all the non-critical hardware like SCSI adapters, the sound card, the modem (?)/network adapter, and all other hard drives except the one windows is on.
When trying to troubleshoot most kinds of problems doing this should be the first step. The problem could be with some of the other hardware and the way it works with the rest of the computer, even though at first it doesn't seem like it...
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Weight: 155lbs
Age: 18
Height: 5'9
Bodyfat: ~12%
Max squat: ?
Max deadlift: 225x5
Max bench: 115x5
TG - Macs - they just work. We have three of them at home now. I've been using a Mac in some shape or form for the last 15 years. Have only had a screen freeze on me 3 times in that time period (all resolved by rebooting) and only had one failure where I had to do a data retrieve and reload (which they did, free of charge, at the local Apple store).
I used a Mac at home and PC at work concurrently for 8 years and when I started my own biz 7 years ago, went right to the Macs. Simply because I don't have time for the crap you are describing. They work and are truly plug and play. I'm not a programmer or IT guy, so I don't want to deal with all of the Windows headaches (which I see on my parents' PC all the time).
ya took the words right out of my mouth [/quote]Certainly a fine option; I used to solely use macs for a number of years. But, toward the end of that time (2000-ish) all the machines I used at the time froze up and had conflicts as often as any windows machine I've used since then. Has their system stability notably improved in the past four or five years?
Another program i use for spyware is spyware doctor. it's free, but you also have the option of buying the real time protection.
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"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
"Don't spend your life wishing. Spend it doing." -FishrCutB8
"You're a mutant, like a snake with two heads or a cat shy one nipple. Be thankful that your mutation is helpful." - LD
Spyware Blaster is great too, it helps by not allowing the stuff to install in the first place.
When you download any of this stuff please download it from a reputable site. I told a neighbor about AdAware, he downloaded it (spelled differently) from some place in Russia and it 0wn3d his PC. It was ugly, pr0n central.
Another viable option if you had Windows is a Linux. SuSE is a breeze to use. I use FreeBSD at home on one of my PCs, it's ok once you get the hang of it.
1. Open window (preferably at least second story, or higher).
2. Grap machine & yank it with a hard pulling motion (to free up all cords). Repeat pulling as necessary.
3. Carry machine over to window.
4. Look below to ensure no people or pets are located below.
5. If all is clear in (4), throw the damned machine out the window.
6. Close the window.
7. Walk to refrigerator.
8. Open fridge.
9. Take beer.
10. Go sit somewhere comfortable and relaxing.
11. Open beer.
12. Drink beer.
Ok, I'm really leaning towards this suggestion the most
But I will do the others....I will pull my stuff off the harddrive first...thanks for all the tips. Will probably work on it this weekend..will let you know how it goes. If all else fails though...I'm using Chris' idea
Linear Mode
