computer help

[Makaveli]

on my main computer (im on the laptop now), every time i turn it on it goes to the 2nd screen and it stops.

the only options i have to do anything is in that first screen where it says press delete to enter set up and f9 for express recovery, and i have no idea what to do in those

please help

 

[ChaharMahal]

if you have windows xp you mgiht want to press f8 when the computer is starting up and try to bring it up in safe mode.

you might have installed some bad driver or something to that effect.

 

[Arian]

2nd screen as in WINDOWS XP (LOADING .....)?

If so, it's highly likely that it's a hardware issue.

 

[Makaveli]

esamani i trieds f8 and nothing happened

arian the 2nd screen is the one right before the windows xp screen where it is loading. in this screen theres a whole bunch of data like pci devices listing and it also says verifying dmi pool data. its a black screen with white writing.

 

[Arian]

what happens in Express Recovery?

one thing u can do is to enter setup (by pressing DELETE) and reset your BIOS, and save changes, to see if that works.

 

[Makaveli]

express recovery brings me to a page that gives me a few options like "execute backup utility". i tried it but it doesnt do anything

im gonna try to reset my BIOS now and see what that does

 

[Arian]

can u list all the express recovery options?

one other thing.. try popping in the Windows CD, and boot from it and try the repair option

 

[Makaveli]

ok im not seeing that options. i clicked on advanced bios features and what comes is up is the following options:

first boot device
second boot device
third booot device
boot up floppy seek
flexible agp 8x
init display first

 

[Makaveli]

yeah the express recovery options are

execute backup utility
execute restore utility
remove backup image
exit and restart

 

[Arian]

look for Default Settings..

 

[Makaveli]

i did 2 things. i loaded "fail-safe defaults" and loaded "optimized defaults". that didnt do anything. is that what u were referring to or something else

 

[Arian]

did u try booting from the windows CD?

 

[Makaveli]

did u try booting from the windows CD?

no man i've lost that cd. is there any other way? can i get another windows cd and it might still repair?

 

[Makaveli]

ok i found the orignial windows cd but i cant get it to reboot or anything or do anything. im still stuck at that 2nd screen

 

[Makaveli]

ok i got it to boot from the cd and im trying to make it recover. im at the screen where theres this:

c:\>

^^ what should i type there

 

[Arian]

try repairing the windows

 

[Makaveli]

yeah i hit repair and it came to the screen that has the c:\> thing. i dont know what to type there. or heres another question. if i just install the windows cd again is that gonna take erase everything i had?

 

[Arian]

yeah i hit repair and it came to the screen that has the c:\> thing. i dont know what to type there. or heres another question. if i just install the windows cd again is that gonna take erase everything i had?

there are 2 repair options..
one is the one u tried which took u to command line..


second one is when u choose to install windows (instead of repair), and then it recognizes a version that is already installed (ur current one), then u can repair it from there, which will re-install all the windows files again (u won't lose anything).. try it

 

[Makaveli]

alright thankx ill try it now

 

[Makaveli]

ok it gives me these 3 options

- to set up windows xp on the selected item, press ENTER
- to create a partition in the unpartitioned space, press C.
- to delete the selected partition, press D

obviosuly not the 3rd option. so should i go with option 2, or maybe option 1 unless its gonna overwrite my existing stuff. under it it says.

C: partition1...................................................7938 MB (937 MB free)