BleepingComputer.com: Laptop won't start

When I turn the laptop on, it says it needs to do a startup repair. When I tell it to go ahead, it says it can't be fixed automatically. I've tried a system restore, but I don't entirely know how this works, it told me there were some discs not in the selected restore point, so I just tried for the C: drive. but it told me it failed due to an unspecified error, and also that there was not enough space.

In the error report it says something about the registry being corrupt.

I don't really want to lose any of the data if I can help it, I created the first recovery disc that it told me to when I got the computer, but I haven't done any backups since.

thanks

P.S It's a Compaq

Vista

Can you get into Windows at all? Have you tried Safe Mode? To do this, try tapping the F8 key repeatedly just before the Windows Splash Screen comses up (the first Windows screen that you see).

Try both Last Known Good Configuration and Safe Mode in that screen.

It won't work in safemade either. Last Known Good Configuration didn't help either.

Any more ideas?

thanks so much

I would try a bootable diagnostic utility available from the manufacturer of your hard drive. You can get links to the most common ones here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic28744.html

I'm not sure which one I'll need, or how to use them. Could you help out a bit more please? thanks

Go to Start and type in "devmgmt.msc" (without the quotes) and press Enter
Click on the + sign next to Disk Drives
Let us know what the entry there says.

I can't get to "start"

Sorry, I don't read back to the beginning of all topics!

Download the CD image and the Users Guide for the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test (DFT) from here (it's free): http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Follow the directions to make a bootable CD from the image file (another option is Alex Feinman's ISORecorder Power Toy available for free from here: http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/Vista.htm )

Boot from the CD and let it test your drive. Accept the defaults (by pressing Enter). Once you get to the test selection menu, select "A" for the Advanced test, then press "S" to Start the test. Let it run until it finishes. Let us know what it says at the end (generally a green screen means it's OK, a red screen means it's bad).

There were a few options, but I just clicked enter, which was for number 1 of each option. I assume that's what you meant. It's now running an advanced test. I'll let you know what it says at the end.

Jen

Yep, I've git the red screen.

I guess I should choose sector repair?

If it offers Sector Repair that's the best choice for you. Be advised that this will wipe data off of the hard drive - so you're likely to lose data and will probably have to reinstall Windows.

If the Sector Repair is successful run another test with the tool afterwards to ensure that it's fixed everything.
Then it depends on what caused the sector(s) to go bad. It could fix it and you won't have any further issues - OR - it can just postpone the complete failure of the drive. If the retest shows bad again, I'd assume the drive was dying and would make plans to get a replacement as soon as possible.

With some info on the make and model of your laptop we should be able to figure out what kind of drive it is. The drive's are easy to replace and (with a set of recovery disks) are easy to set Windows up on.

It seemed to fix it. So I ran the scan again, and it said all was well (green screen). But then I tried to restart normally, and The same problem was there. I'm running the test again now.

I do have the Vista recovery discs, which it told me to make when I first got the laptop. And I know its a Compaq. If any of that helps.

The test still says it's OK. (green). But it's definitely still not right.

Sector repair attempts to repair the sectors - but as I stated, you may lose files/data because of it. It attempts to rewrite the data back to the sector in an attempt to repair it - if it's not able to repair it, then it marks it as bad and moves on to the next block.

In this case, since it doesn't boot, I'd suspect that the beginning sectors on the disk were what was repaired.

Will the Startup Repair work now? Give it a try and let us know the results (if any).



The DFT tests your physical hard drive. This doesn't account for any of the file system stuff on the hard drive, nor does it account for Windows.

Startup Repair tests the file system stuff on your hard drive (along with some other tests). It's the fix of choice for these sorts of errors. It can fail for many different reasons - but the most common is a bad hard drive. When the DFT asks you if the list of devices is correct - please jot down the numbers there and post back with that info (it's usually enough info for us to identify your drive). Once we find the drive make and model, we can recommend a more specific test for your hard drive. I refer people to the manufacturer of the hard drive because the manufacturer usually builds in extra stuff that only their diagnostic can read.

Also, it's not just the hard drive that can fail. One example is a failure of the device (on the motherboard) that controls the hard drive. This will give similar symptoms, but won't be revealed by a hard drive test. In those cases I recommend the SeaTools by SeaGate because their test includes a Hard Drive Controller test.

OK. Startup Repair didn't work.

Here's the device list:
No:00
Device:ATA
Address:PCI IDE 2 master
Device Name:HTS541680J9SA00
Capacity:80.03 GB