| Subject: Incomplete Boot Vista SP1 |
| Group: microsoft.public.windows.vista.general |
| Date: 9/2/2008 7:18:01 PM |
| From: =?Utf-8?B?TGVlIExvcmQ=?= [Email Address Protection] |
I recently began having a problem when booting up my Gateway Computer running Vista SP1 which I installed months ago. The OS along with all the loading programs get to a certain point (but at a different point each time) after the desktop is loaded. The HDD light stops flickering long before is usually does and all is frozen. I can't access anything with my mouse or the touchpad. I have to do a Hard shutdown. Upon rebooting sometimes everything loads completely and sometimes it does not. This started slowly a few weeks ago but has gotten progressively worse. I haven't installed any new programs recenty nor updated drivers. I have a feeling it may be a virus but no indication other than the freezing. I've done system restores and replaced the OS with a Norton Save and Restore image made a few weeks ago but to no avail. Same problem. I'd hate to do a factory system recovery as you all can imagine. Any suggestions as to what would cause this problem? Thank you. -- Lee Lord |
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| Subject: Re: Incomplete Boot Vista SP1 |
| Group: microsoft.public.windows.vista.general |
| Date: 9/3/2008 5:24:24 AM |
| From: Malke [Email Address Protection] |
Lee Lord wrote: > I recently began having a problem when booting up my Gateway Computer > running > Vista SP1 which I installed months ago. The OS along with all the loading > programs get to a certain point (but at a different point each time) after > the desktop is loaded. The HDD light stops flickering long before is > usually > does and all is frozen. I can't access anything with my mouse or the > touchpad. I have to do a Hard shutdown. Upon rebooting sometimes > everything loads completely and sometimes it does not. > > This started slowly a few weeks ago but has gotten progressively worse. I > haven't installed any new programs recenty nor updated drivers. I have a > feeling it may be a virus but no indication other than the freezing. I've > done system restores and replaced the OS with a Norton Save and Restore > image > made a few weeks ago but to no avail. Same problem. I'd hate to do a > factory system recovery as you all can imagine. Any suggestions as to > what > would cause this problem? Thank you. Since you're still getting the problem with a clean image and since the problem is random, that's a strong indication of hardware failure. I would start by testing the hard drive. Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility downloaded from the drive mftr.'s website. You will create a bootable CD with the file you download. You will need third-party burning software to do this such as Roxio, Nero, or the free CDBurnerXP Pro. Burn as an image, not as data. http://www.cdburnerxp.se/ Boot with the CD you made and do a thorough test of the drive. If it fails any physical tests, replace it. http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself, so these are just suggestions based on many years of being a professional computer tech; suggestions based on what you've written. You should not take my suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data backed up before you take the machine into a shop. Malke -- MS-MVP Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic! FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ |
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