Jamie-C
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Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
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Yet again I'm in need of help.
Tried to turn the computer on today and a screen popped up saying something was wrong, gave me the option of booting it up in safe mode or else the last time it was working. So I went for the latter, it got to the XP loading screen and then it restarted, so I tried again but in safe mode this time and it done the same thing so theres know way of me getting to my desktop. Only way I could get it to turn off was by the mains switch too.
Is there any way out of this other than re-installing the O/S?
Was talking to my Mum and she said when she was on it a trojan warning popped up so she turned the computer off so I'm assuming this is what caused it 
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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I had this exact same issue with a customer's PC on Friday, it was caused by malware in part.
What I had to do was get the XP disc and run Setup, choose the Recovery Console option and did chkdsk /p /r - this took about an hour on so on I think a 120GB hard drive IIRC.
See here for details - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058
Next, get a USB stick and put the following free "portable" programs on it using another computer:
- SuperAntiSpyware http://www.superantispyware.com
- CCleaner http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner
Next, go into Safe Mode, log in to your normal profile and run SuperAntiSpyware from the USB stick and get it to scan the whole machine, I guarantee you will find malware relating to Security Tool and other similar shite when it's finished.
Once that's cleaned up the malware, run CCleaner and get it to scan everything in the Cleaner tab, then when that's done click on the Registry tab and run that a few times until no issues come up.
Finally, reboot into normal Windows and everything will be working OK again. 
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Jamie-C
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Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
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I bet your getting sick of me now Sam  . Thanks for the guide, I'll do it tonight, will post how it goes.
Thanks again 
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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if this doesn't work then it could be a hardware problem.
Once my work PC wouldn't boot because the front LEDs had failed.
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Russ
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
Location: Armchair
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quote:
Originally posted by adiohead
if this doesn't work then it could be a hardware problem.
Once my work PC wouldn't boot because the front LEDs had failed.
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Sam
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Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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quote:
Originally posted by Jamie-C
I bet your getting sick of me now Sam . Thanks for the guide, I'll do it tonight, will post how it goes.
Thanks again
No worries, and good luck! 
adio - @ LEDs!
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Jamie-C
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Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
User status: Offline
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Well its only gone and made things worse 
Done it by following this guide step by step - http://www.schrockinnovations.com/how-to-run-a-chkdsk-to-repair-your-damaged-hard-drive-2/
So once it had finished I exited and the computer rebooted so I tried to boot it up in safe mode, but it didn't even get as far as the XP loading screen and it rebooted, now its only getting as far as the first screen when I turn the computer on and staying there, its not even giving me the option to boot from CD now so I can't even reinstall XP to start a fresh
Looks like I'll be paying someone to sort out a bigger mess now , I don't understand what went wrong though as everything went as described in the guide.
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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That site's instructions are more or less the same as mine, but you could have run the one command as I stated, to force it to check and fix for errors (i.e. chkdsk /p /r)...
Anyways, what exactly happens when you try booting into Safe Mode? You will probably need to repeatedly press the F8 key after the BIOS screen has loaded up to get that menu up by the way.
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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possible hard drive failure
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_Allan_
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Registered: 24th Mar 04
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Throw in a new drive and install XP. See if you can use the old drive as a secondary and remove all your data if possible. Format it and try again, checkdisk etc...
If not then it's probably duff.
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Jamie-C
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Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
User status: Offline
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A lot of writing comes up on the screen Sam when I try to boot it in safe mode. Can'r remember what as its all weird shit Disk partition and aload of other stuff. Then it stops for about 10secs and reboots.
Managed ro boot it up in disc mode again so I'll run the command you said now. Althour I'm think the HD is shot as said.
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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Next time it happens try and remember what the blue screen says
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc750081.aspx
Or take a picture
[Edited on 26-05-2011 by adiohead]
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Jamie-C
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Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
User status: Offline
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Just ran dskchk /p /r again. Exited and again tried to boot it up in safe mode but it done the exact same thing.
Its not a blue screen adio, but heres a pic
It stays on that for about 5 - 10secs then reboots 
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VrsTurbo
Premium Member
Registered: 8th Jun 10
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its a driver issssue
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Jamie-C
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Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
User status: Offline
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Please elaborate....
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adiohead
Member
Registered: 28th Sep 01
User status: Offline
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I'm not sure it's a driver issue. That just looks like a PC trying to boot into safe mode to me.
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by _Allan_
Throw in a new drive and install XP. See if you can use the old drive as a secondary and remove all your data if possible. Format it and try again, checkdisk etc...
If not then it's probably duff.
I'd do this.
You need to get your important stuff from the drive
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Jamie-C
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Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
User status: Offline
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Doesn't boot up in normal mode either, gets to the XP loading screen and reboots.
Looks like I'm going to have to install XP again  , which means all my stuff will be wiped
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Jamie-C
Member
Registered: 3rd Jun 08
Location: Ballycastle
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by adiohead
quote:
Originally posted by _Allan_
Throw in a new drive and install XP. See if you can use the old drive as a secondary and remove all your data if possible. Format it and try again, checkdisk etc...
If not then it's probably duff.
I'd do this.
You need to get your important stuff from the drive
Looks like thats what I'll be doing.
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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Don't wipe your stuff yet! Get your files off first and then try some more things and before you format.
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_Allan_
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Registered: 24th Mar 04
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If his files are off I wouldn't be arsed trying to fix it imo. I've spent more time in the past trying to fix a corrupt OS/Boot sector than it would take for a fresh OS install and format. Plus its nice to have a clean drive every now and again. I would then check the drive for a few days and ensure it's working correctly. If not then bin it and get another before moving the data back across. Just my personal opinion
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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quote:
Originally posted by _Allan_
If his files are off I wouldn't be arsed trying to fix it imo. I've spent more time in the past trying to fix a corrupt OS/Boot sector than it would take for a fresh OS install and format. Plus its nice to have a clean drive every now and again. I would then check the drive for a few days and ensure it's working correctly. If not then bin it and get another before moving the data back across. Just my personal opinion
I do agree, but sometimes you have installed programs that would be a hassle to find again.
When I had HD failure I thought I'd backed up everything but I lost some important audio files which I'll never be able to find again
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oceansoul
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Registered: 19th Jun 06
Location: Sunbury, Surrey
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There is a thread like this on almost a weekly basis. Does no one have back ups of their data?
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by oceansoul
There is a thread like this on almost a weekly basis. Does no one have back ups of their data?
My mate had the back up drive fail at the same time
That's just unlucky!
I have a back up drive but can never be bothered to do it.
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Sam
Moderator
Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
User status: Offline
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The problem here is that we can't yet establish whether the problem is hardware or software (Windows, AVG) related.
If I had the PC in front of me now I'd probably have to spend several hours with it eliminating hardware issues (RAM, PSU, video card, other add on cards) before going back to trying to sort the OS side of things.
You would probably be better off taking it to a trusted computer repair place in your area TBH as these kinds of jobs are a bloody nightmare to sort and I do this day in day out!
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