I love my luck, I have the repair from neosmart burned to a cd and an actual vista dvd. I tried to do repair on the labtop and it doesn't recognize the vista os is there. So I clicked next, got to command prompt, and performed chkdsk c: /f, it took about 15 minutes. Then it booted to windows vista no problem, everything seems to be good. So thats 1 down. Anything I can do to protect this labtop from future errors or easier system restore like imaging? EDIT Labtop is fine, but Desktop is still screwed >.< I made a bartpe cd using windows xp home sp3, it worked on my computer and I ran chkdsk c: /f and it claimed to find no problems. I also ran chkdsk c: /r, but that seemed fine also. My computer still refuses to boot windows xp. Questions: 1. Whats the next step? 2. How do I use this free testdisk software? 3. In another thread, it says "You can also try a linux live cd to bootup your computer, that will test your hardware. If the linux livecd boots up properly then you can rule out a hardware problem." I'm afraid the problem might be hardware at this point. How would I perform this test? 4. Is there still a reason to hook up my C: to another working computer and try a scandisk with both boxes checked? 5. If this is caused by a virus, how would I kill it? 6. Can I recover data to an external HD while using the bartpe cd? 7. Would using ERD Commander to do a system restore fix this problem? http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=21154 Thanks again for everyone's support, I hope to come out of this with my desktop working at least. I have 100 CDRs ready for use.
1.) If it were me, I would just install Windows 7 and cut my losses; but then I already own 10 licenses for windows 7 ultimate, 10 pro, and 10 home premium...so this would cost me nothing. 2.) Not much use for testdisk if you have already done the scan two ways. 3.) A "Linux Live CD" is a bit like bart tools, but based on linux instead of windows. Many distros of linux have a livecd ISO on their download page. Just burn it and boot to it...and you are in linux with all the testing capabilities that you can figure out how to use. 4.) If the drive passed the tests, I see no reason to test it elsewhere...that would only be usefull if the drive had failed the test. 5.) You could boot to a barttools PE CD/DVD and use malwarebytes to scan the drive. If there is a virus, this will probably find it. 6.) Yes 7.) It didn't work when I tried it, but I only tried it twice...you might get lucky.
More Questions (links help a lot): 1. How do I do 5.)? I'm not sure how to add malwarebytes to a bartpe cd. 2. If my computer boots using the bartpe cd, does that mean I have already ruled out hardware failure or do I still need to test it with a linux livecd? I want to focus on ruling out hardware failure because that is something I will have a very hard time fixing. 3. If I am going to install anything, I've heard that windows xp pro is still the best windows os still. I'm planning to get windows xp pro sp3 from my college program. If I can copy data off of my c:, then I won't feel bad about doing a clean install of xp pro.
strewth.. just source an xp installer disk from somewhere and install it.. (borg v5 is great.. no keys or nuttin.. disposable M$ junk.. just the way it's always been.. disposable.. if it lasts long enough for you to need to reinstall without breaking all on it's own) I must have 1000 working xp keys, not that I need them having nlite on a vm.. lmfao!
LufianGuy, do you have a spare hd or can borrow 1 to load windows on to pull the info off your c:drive?
No I don't think I do. I have a couple external hds in enclosures. I copied the files I didn't want to lose from my C: to slave D: (another internal HD) using bartpe. I have one of those ide/sata to usb kits. I'm up for trying anything that might fix the problem (I'm afraid at this point I need to try to kill viruses or check if its a hardware failure). I'm just hoping I can get windows xp pro sp3 from my college and hopefully a clean install of that will fix my computer.
If you have externals, then plug them in, turn them on, and boot the system to barttools again. Copy everything you want to keep to the externals, then wipe the internals clean and start with a fresh windows install. Personaly, I prefer windows 7 x64 to windows xp sp3...but then I don't realy have any choice...XP86 can't handle partitions over 2TB or ram over 4GB, and XP64 made Vista's compatability issues seem insignificant. If you can't find a disk around, but you do have a license, then just go online and download an ISO. Microsoft is not selling the software disk; they are selling the licenses...so it is technicaly legal to download an ISO for a version of Windows that you have a license for.
Big Question: 1. If I install a clean verison of windows, you mean BOTH internal HDs (master and slave), will be wiped clean?! I thought my slave would be left untouched. If this is the case, I better try to copy files to an external HD. I tried last time, but bartpe didn't see the external HD. I'm downloading my iso of windows xp pro sp3 from my college now.
boot puppy linux from cd.. accesses ntfs drives with ease.. can also be used to partition/format a spare hdd to use as a data backup location... do it all the time. It will see every drive you have connected.. as long as they are working. Then what I do is delete the contents of C:\windoze and any odd junk hanging about on the root of C: .. like config.sys .. It's then a simple matter of leaving the format of the drive alone (keep existing filesystem) and reinstalling windoze.. Works well if you have about 4 gigs free
I got all the data off my computer onto an external hd using bartpe. I just burned my windows xp cd. I unplugged my slave so it will unaffected by the install and hope it is recognized after xp pro is installed to my C:. Ok, it sees my c: and says I shouldn't install xp pro to it since it has another os on it, does that mean I should delete the partition before I install windows xp?
yes. after deleting the partition, make a new partition then do a quick format unless you want to do a full format.
Why is this happening? So it formatted and copied the files, then it reboots to continue installation and I get this fatal error every time: Fatal Error A component windows needs to continue setup cannot be installed. Error: Installation Failed: D:/I386/asms. Error Message: The parameter is incorrect. I burned the .iso using imageburn and it said it verified right. Some fixes on the net (guessing game): Try another burning program Try another burned CD or DVD Take out 1 DIMM of RAM Try another CD or DVD-ROM Drive http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q311755/
Okay the install went through when I put it in my DVD-ROM Drive. So everything is okay now except I can't connect to the internet, my computer won't acknowledge the connection. I'm going to call Verizon up 2morrow and fix that. I'm also hoping that my slave drive is recognized when I hook it up tomorrow also. Thanks very much everyone for the help, now I gotta get my comp back to normal. EDIT My friend wants me to get internet. In my device manager my Ethernet Controller is a yellow question mark with a hazard sign, so he is going to attempt to find the drivers for me.
I thinks its onboard, I think it is this: Integrated 10/100 BaseT Ethernet (nVidia) This is the xp software and drivers: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=cà©=en&product=240406 Is there a way for me to diagnose what I have?
try that nvidia chipset driver to see what happens. click on option 2 in this link & select motherboard drivers. http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
