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laptop problem-

SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
edited June 11, 2006 in Digital Darkroom
laptop crashed-

kept getting screen 'return to windows normally' or you could choose 'safe mode' or blah blah blah-

didn't get anywhere so loaded up the good ole' restore disk ( that's a crap name!) and the laptop is still coming back to that same screen of safe mode, windows normally etc-

any ideas here?-

a bfh?--

george

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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    gefillmore wrote:
    laptop crashed-

    kept getting screen 'return to windows normally' or you could choose 'safe mode' or blah blah blah-


    any ideas here?-

    george
    Things I would try:

    1. Disconnect all unnecessary peripherals (printer, mouse, network, card reader). Choose safe mode and see if the thing boots at all.
    2. Run a complete set of hardware diagnostics (this should be on the extras disk that came with the distribution).
    3. Get a good night's sleep, if possible.
    4. Re-install Windows (last resort).

    Good luck.
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    StevenVStevenV Registered Users Posts: 1,174 Major grins
    edited June 11, 2006
    gefillmore wrote:
    ...so loaded up the good ole' restore disk ( that's a crap name!) ...

    hopefully you mean the thing that Windows can create for you, not the disk that came from the manufacturer. Compaq, at least - I don't know about other companies - used to ship systems with a "System Restore CD" which was the absolute LAST thing to use... because it would wipe the drive and restore it to the original condition as shipped. All your programs were gone, all your data was gone.
    -Steven
    my words, my "pro"pictures, my "fun" pictures, my videos.

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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    StevenV wrote:
    hopefully you mean the thing that Windows can create for you, not the disk that came from the manufacturer. Compaq, at least - I don't know about other companies - used to ship systems with a "System Restore CD" which was the absolute LAST thing to use... because it would wipe the drive and restore it to the original condition as shipped. All your programs were gone, all your data was gone.

    that's exactly what I've done (all my stuff I want and need to keep is on my desktop and backed up)-

    but my cd is not helping--I'me getting the same screen-

    george
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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Things I would try:

    1. Disconnect all unnecessary peripherals (printer, mouse, network, card reader). Choose safe mode and see if the thing boots at all.
    2. Run a complete set of hardware diagnostics (this should be on the extras disk that came with the distribution).
    3. Get a good night's sleep, if possible.
    4. Re-install Windows (last resort).

    Good luck.


    got down to reinstalling windows--getting same screen where you can choose windows or safe mode--it just goes back to that every time-

    george
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    ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,913 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    Can you elaborate a bit more on the problem? Like what happens when
    you choose safe mode? Does the box boot into safe mode or does it
    reboot into the same menu?

    Usually, when you get the safe mode option repeatedly, something is
    wrong with the disk (or other hardware). Or at least windows thinks
    something is wrong. If you can boot into safe mode and do "chkdsk C: /R",
    windows will try and fix any bad blocks on the disk. You'll have to reboot
    because to fix the disk, chkdisk (at least in the repair mode) needs exclusive
    access to the disk.

    Like others have said, the last thing you want to do is use the recovery
    CD. That's an all or nothing kind of solution. And as much as I hate to say
    this, you are far better off having a real copy of windows to do any restoration
    from.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    you're right about a real copy of windows-

    I've used the recovery disk twice (toshiba) and it still does the same thing-

    screen giving me the option of safe mode-
    safe mode with network something
    safe mode with command prompt-
    back to previous configs
    run windows normally


    it was doing this beforehand and I could not get out of it-

    finally used the recovery disk and it keeps looping back to this screen-

    would it do me any good to get a copy of windows and load it up? or do I need to get someone to look at it in case it is a hardware problem-

    thanks
    george
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    StevenVStevenV Registered Users Posts: 1,174 Major grins
    edited June 11, 2006
    the only problem with a 'real' copy of Windows is that - especially for laptops - it may not have all the drivers needed for your hardware. If you've got another (working) system, make sure you go to the manufacturer's site and download at least the disk, video and network drivers that match your system.
    -Steven
    my words, my "pro"pictures, my "fun" pictures, my videos.

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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    gefillmore wrote:
    you're right about a real copy of windows-

    I've used the recovery disk twice (toshiba) and it still does the same thing-

    screen giving me the option of safe mode-
    safe mode with network something
    safe mode with command prompt-
    back to previous configs
    run windows normally


    it was doing this beforehand and I could not get out of it-

    finally used the recovery disk and it keeps looping back to this screen-

    would it do me any good to get a copy of windows and load it up? or do I need to get someone to look at it in case it is a hardware problem-

    thanks
    george

    I'm not sure what you mean "I can't get out of it." Remember that your mouse won't work when you are in safe mode. Think MS-DOS. Use the arrow keys to highlight and the <enter> key to select.

    OK, you probably know that. So what happens when you choose Safe Mode Command Prompt? Do you get a C:> prompt?
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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    I'm using arrow keys-

    it won't go into safe mode-

    it won't go into safe mode with networking-

    it won't go to last whatever config-

    it won't run windows normally-


    all it does is go to the page that shows these options, over and over--

    I can't get into safe mode! or anything!-
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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    will a function key give me safe mode or a c prompt if I hit it while it's booting?-
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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    gefillmore wrote:
    will a function key give me safe mode or a c prompt if I hit it while it's booting?-

    Try F8.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited June 11, 2006
    rsinmadrid wrote:
    Try F8.


    Mebbe your F8 key is stuck?
    Moderator Emeritus
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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    yeah, tried f8 and got safe mode showing on all 4 corners but no safemode desktop screen-

    then reverted back to the same ol' screen-

    got windows cd from a buddy and seeing what that does before I go and spend any moolah-

    man, I really suck at this stuff-

    thanks for trying to help-
    george
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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    friend of mine took a look and found a bad ram card-

    one less gig of ram but working now-

    now, the fun begins-loading it back up--

    at lease it's working to be loaded up-

    thanks much to all-
    george
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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    gefillmore wrote:
    friend of mine took a look and found a bad ram card-

    one less gig of ram but working now-

    now, the fun begins-loading it back up--

    at lease it's working to be loaded up-

    thanks much to all-
    george
    At least you had it backed up. thumb.gif I'm a little surprised that you would be unable to boot if you still had some working RAM. I lost one card once on a Dell Win2K laptop, but Windows came up anyway using only the other card. Glad to hear that it's working for you, but I would run hardware diagnostics anyway just to make sure nothing else is wrong.

    Cheers,
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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    about the only thing I can do is change the tire on it-

    thanks much, richard-

    george
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    ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,913 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    Interesting problem. Glad to hear it's working again!

    Ian
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
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    SystemSystem Registered Users Posts: 8,186 moderator
    edited June 11, 2006
    ian408 wrote:
    Interesting problem. Glad to hear it's working again!

    Ian

    thanks much ian-
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