BleepingComputer.com: Can't Boot Vista Or In Safe Mode

A few weeks ago, my HP notebook stopped booting all together. I think it happened after allowing it to download some windows updates. It won't get past the black microsoft screen with the frozen green traveling bar. I can boot in normal or any of the safe modes, last system config, etc. or run startup repair. When booting, stops at crcdsk.sys. I ran a hard drive test and it checked out OK.

After doing some searching in the forums and consulting with a few HP chat support reps, I ordered and received an OEM recovery disc. I changed my boot order to boot from the OEM recovery disc first, saved the setting, and turned the computer on to run the disc. The disc seems to have no effect. I still can't get it past the black screen with microsoft and the frozen green traveling bar. Any other suggestions PLEASE?!

Has Startup Repair completed successfully - or did it report that it was unable to repair any problems? In which kind of boot (Safe/Normal mode) does it stop at crcdsk.sys?

When the first HP screen comes up when first booting the computer, press the "Esc" key. That should get you to a boot menu where you can force the system to boot from the OEM Recovery disk. What happens when you try that?

usasma, on Jul 10 2008, 07:20 AM, said:

First, thank you so much for replying to my call for help.

1. When I try to start the computer normally, I get the Windows Error Recovery Screen with the option of Launch startup repair or start windows normally. When I select to start normally, I get the black Microsoft screen with the green traveling bar that goes across the screen once then stops and freezes in this state. When I get out of this and try again, this time selecting startup repair, I get the "Windows is loading files..." and then white bar travels across the screen, completing in about 10 seconds. Next, I get the black Microsoft screen with the green traveling bar. The bar travels for approximately 5 cycles then freezes. There is no apparent activity afterward no matter how long I wait. Now, If I power on/off and go into the advanced boot options and select to start in any of the safe modes, it goes down the list and stops at the driver CRCDSK.SYS. It says please wait on the bottom and freezes on this for an eternity. Note: I can not get into the advanced boot options with the recovery disk in the drive.


2. When I press the ESC key on the HP logo, it gives me a boot menu screen. Number 1 is "ATAPI CD/DVD ROM Drive" and number 2 is "Notebook Hard Drive". It is already on number 1 (highlighted in white) so I press enter on that selection to try to boot from the OEM recovery disk. Next, I hear the disk start spininng , I get a black screen for a few seconds, then a screen that says "Windows is loading files.." with a white bar that begins to slowly travel across the bottom. After a little more than a minute, the bar travels completely across the bottom and then I get a black screen with a cursor blinking in the top left corner for a 10 seconds or so. During this time, the disk stops spinning, starts spinning again, stops spinning and then I get the black Microsoft screen with the green traveling bar. The bar travels partially across once and then stops. There is no hard drive light activity and the CD/DVD Rom drive is quiet. I have left it stay on this screen for up to four hours monitoring it with no changes.

I have about 1000 digital photos of my children/family/vacations, etc on the computer that I would love to be able to salvage. Other than that, I have little other software on there and all of that can be reloaded at some point. I would love to just have a working computer again. I do not have a VISTA installation disc, only an OEM Recovery disc.

Hope this helps...Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

I'd suspect a hardware problem with your laptop and would suggest that you look for alternate ways to attempt to save your photo's.
You can do this most easily by slaving the hard drive to another computer (the adapter will cost about $30 US). You'll need to know if your hard drive is SATA or IDE before purchasing, so please post back with the exact model number of your HP laptop: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...duct&dlc=en

HP Pavilion DV9207us. Which part of the hardware seems to be the problem?

I'm just guessing here, but since you're unable to boot from the CD, I'd say that there's a problem with the CD drive or it's controller on the motherboard. Since Startup Repair won't run normally, this is a further hint that something is wrong outside of Windows (could be the motherboard or the graphics card that's built into the motherboard).

Saving the pictures should be your first priority (IMO). If it's a problem with your hard drive, then the likelihood of recovering the pictures decreases with each time you turn the system on. If it's a problem with another component, you'll have to backup your pictures before sending it out for repair anyway.

According to this page: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...693&lang=en
You've got a 120 gB SATA hard drive so you'd need a SATA to USB adapter. I've had good luck with this website in the past: http://www.usbgear.net/
We've purchased 3 of these units for use at work and we are very happy with them: http://www.usbgear.net/productdetails_new....23ASD&cats=

I am in the process of saving my files using one of the adaptors you described. Thanks again for your help on this.

Update:

I had a friend help me save all of my files to DVD and wipe the hard drive clean to start fresh. He then tried to re-install Vista and XP only to get to the same windows screen with the green traveling bar before it freezes. He believes the problem is with the video on the motherboard also. He also found that HP had a widespread problem with the video chips on the motherboard and extended the warranty on certain models and serial # ranges, however, mine falls outside of the range. According to him, it is a pricey fix for the part and installation. I am looking into this now. Might be worth it to just buy a new whole computer.