Winxp Going Fubar

[I.am]

I have WINXP laptop and lately about every third day it fails to start. "Loading Windows XP" is all I can see and you can never get in. I tried through safe mode, or last known good configuration, but yet it just hangs on the boot up screen. And about after several hours i can go to safe mode and then i do a system restore and 9 out of 10 times it works. It is hell annoying and I am a little concerned even shutting down it, not knowing whether it will start up again. All my data is on an external hard drive (160 gb).
I did scan disk etc. didnt really find any errors.

Any help would be appreciated.

I.am

[TheFilePirater]

its prolly time for a formatt and clean install

[I.am]

That is one of the options but I am not considering that right now. Has anyone encountered the same thing or can speculate for the reasons and possible solutions to this?

[Smurfette]

Originally posted by I.am+30 October 2003 - 01:30--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (I.am &#064; 30 October 2003 - 01:30)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>That is one of the options but I am not considering that right now. Has anyone encountered the same thing or can speculate for the reasons and possible solutions to this?[/b]
You said previously:

<!--QuoteBegin-I.am@29 October 2003 - 23:38
I did scan disk etc. didnt really find any errors.[/quote]

What do you mean, it "didn&#39;t really" find any errors? Either there were or weren&#39;t errors.

Check your RAM using Memtest (http://www.memtest86.com). Let it run overnight and replace it if there&#39;s any errors.
Check the hard drive for errors using WinXP&#39;s Checkdisk utility, making sure there&#39;s a tick (checkmark) in both boxes.

[I.am]

Originally posted by Smurfette+29 October 2003 - 20:41--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Smurfette @ 29 October 2003 - 20:41)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by I.am@29 October 2003 - 23:38
I did scan disk etc. didnt really find any errors.

What do you mean, it "didn&#39;t really" find any errors? Either there were or weren&#39;t errors.
[/b]
I was expecting some errors and it didnt find errors. Its just an expression for God&#39;s sake.



Check the hard drive for errors using WinXP&#39;s Checkdisk utility, making sure there&#39;s a tick (checkmark) in both boxes.

Have you read what I wrote:
<!--QuoteBegin-I.am@29 October 2003 - 23:38
I did scan disk etc. didnt really find any errors.[/quote]

I have done scan disk/ check disk with obviously a check in both the boxes.


I will try the Memtest you mentioned tonight. (How can this be related could you give some insight?)

[Smurfette]

Originally posted by I.am+30 October 2003 - 01:52--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (I.am &#064; 30 October 2003 - 01:52)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by Smurfette@29 October 2003 - 20:41

Originally posted by I.am@29 October 2003 - 23:38
I did scan disk etc. didnt really find any errors.

What do you mean, it "didn&#39;t really" find any errors? Either there were or weren&#39;t errors.

I was expecting some errors and it didnt find errors. Its just an expression for God&#39;s sake.



Check the hard drive for errors using WinXP&#39;s Checkdisk utility, making sure there&#39;s a tick (checkmark) in both boxes.

Have you read what I wrote:
<!--QuoteBegin-I.am@29 October 2003 - 23:38
I did scan disk etc. didnt really find any errors.

I have done scan disk/ check disk with obviously a check in both the boxes.


I will try the Memtest you mentioned tonight. (How can this be related could you give some insight?)[/b][/quote]

Hey, gimme a break&#33; :) No-one can help with a line like that - you might&#39;ve meant that it only found a corrupt user.bin file or even that you only lost a gig of pr0n LOL.

When you load Windows, the registry is loaded into memory and when you quit Windows writes it back to disk; if you&#39;ve got a bad stick then what gets written back is corrupt.
I&#39;ve had this myself with 2 separate sticks (on 2 different mobos and 3 different HDDs as well) - random corruption of the registry that sometimes manifested itself as registry errors on bootup, sometimes just hanging on boot and sometimes resetting half way through the boot.
That&#39;s not to say it&#39;s your problem but it&#39;s something to throw in the mix.

[I.am]

Originally posted by Smurfette@29 October 2003 - 21:03

When you load Windows, the registry is loaded into memory and when you quit Windows writes it back to disk; if you&#39;ve got a bad stick then what gets written back is corrupt.
I&#39;ve had this myself with 2 separate sticks (on 2 different mobos and 3 different HDDs as well) - random corruption of the registry that sometimes manifested itself as registry errors on bootup, sometimes just hanging on boot and sometimes resetting half way through the boot.
That&#39;s not to say it&#39;s your problem but it&#39;s something to throw in the mix.
Better&#33; http://www.mcbriens.net/liam/img/smilies/tongue.gif I prefer actual answers than people confronting me for unnecessary stuff. :)

Anyhow, I will do a Memtest, although it doesnt seem to be the case in mine, but I am not losing anything trying that so I will.

Cheers&#33;
I.am :beerchug:

[Smurfette]

Having re-read my original post, it does seem a little confrontational, which was not my intent. The trouble with written words is not being able to hear the tone as one would in a voice.

I didn&#39;t say why as you said there weren&#39;t errors, but running checkdisk with those settings is like the old scandisk &#39;thorough&#39; setting, which would enable you to mark bad sectors as such and perform a repair-install (not that bloody useless recovery console thing) to salvage what you could before changing the HDD.

[I.am]

Originally posted by Smurfette@29 October 2003 - 22:32
Having re-read my original post, it does seem a little confrontational, which was not my intent. The trouble with written words is not being able to hear the tone as one would in a voice.

I didn&#39;t say why as you said there weren&#39;t errors, but running checkdisk with those settings is like the old scandisk &#39;thorough&#39; setting, which would enable you to mark bad sectors as such and perform a repair-install (not that bloody useless recovery console thing) to salvage what you could before changing the HDD.
:) So it is.

----
Thats what I meant. I did the scandisk = checkdisk, with thorough setting already. My last option was system restore which i dont usually prefer but does come in handy at times like this. I dont think there are bad sectors in the HDD. It has to be something else. I might just do a reinstall to see if that helps. Otherwise last resort would be to format my hdd which I havent done since i bought the laptop(2 yrs - i know :rolleyes: )

[I.am]

It didn&#39;t work. Anyone else has any suggestions/ insight into this?
*bump*

[Kunal]

format and clean install

[cborga1985]

Originally posted by Kunal@30 October 2003 - 14:52
format and clean install
yeah format and clean install like he said

[I.am]

Like I said that is my last option&#33; I was hoping to fix it without going through formatting my HDD.

[boyzeee]

have you done anything differently lately? ie updated any drivers from windows update? changed or added any new hardware? changed anything in your bios? are you using an external mouse? what are the specs of your laptop? more info please ;)

[I.am]

Originally posted by boyzeee@30 October 2003 - 17:42
have you done anything differently lately? ie updated any drivers from windows update? changed or added any new hardware? changed anything in your bios? are you using an external mouse? what are the specs of your laptop? more info please ;)
:)

Well, I do install tons of software weekly and a do a lot of work on it. Havent updated any drivers nor added any new hardware. I have an external HDD(160 gb) (internal 20gb),256 Mb Ram, external wireless mouse, USB 2.0 PCMCIA card, wireless networking card, usb Kodak webcam, thats about it. These things are there in the laptop for over a year now. Never had any conflict with any device or with windows so to speak.

[boyzeee]

the only reason i asked if you had changed anything is that it sounds like a hardware fault or conflict, first thing i would check is the battery on mobo and date settings in bios, i would also unplug anything non vital ie ya camera and if you got a spare mouse swap them over. i know you say these things have been installed for a while but worth a try removing them to see if one of them is the culprit, also i would update your graphics driver and you say you install alot of software, have you installed any cdwriting software? clone cd or deamon tools as an example? most cd writing s/ware install their own vxd (virtual drivers) and if you have used sys restore it may have stuffed the registry settings for them. if so try and reinstall said programs. you could also boot from the windows cd and let windows try and repair the windows directory, you will have to update afterwards, worth a try, formatting is often suggested to quickly and i would do it only as a last resort, try and think what you did or was doing prior to the problem to try and trace the cause. goto accessories and then sys info and look at the history of ya pc as it may give a clue to root cause of the problem ;)

[I.am]

@boyzee, thanks for relpying and suggesting things which unlike others who rushed too fast to formatting.
I havent install any cd-writing softwares. But my time on the clock often changes about every week or so(although its synchronized with internet). I dont think that has anything to do with this or is it?

If one of the hardware is conflicting, what is the solution. My guess is my webcam might be a culprit as it is the only thing i installed less than a month ago, and i do get occasional instal new hardware screen although i have installed its drivers.

[Evil Gemini]

go into msconfig and see whats in your start up. Their is probably something in their thats hanging it.

(just if you dont know, start, then run, then type msconfig then click on the start up tab)

[boyzeee]

if ya clock keeps going out of sync i would change ya mobo battery and i would check ya bios settings as a duff battery will have prob set them to default although it does sound like it could be ya camera, goto manufacturers website and download latest driver, i had a similar problem with my logitech cam, new driver sorted it. it wouldnt hurt to update all ya drivers, graphics, mouse, modem etc from manufacturers sites, there are bound to be a newer drivers for all of them if you not updated them or just used the supplied discs, these bits of kit sit on the shelves for months sometimes and the drivers supplied are usually well out of date. also updating your usb drivers might help. sorry couldnt be of more help ;)

[I.am]

Originally posted by neattairoski@30 October 2003 - 19:21
go into msconfig and see whats in your start up. Their is probably something in their thats hanging it.

(just if you dont know, start, then run, then type msconfig then click on the start up tab)
Nah, I full customize all my services and startup.

Edit: Moreover, the computer hangs at the bootup screen not after reaching windows.

[I.am]

@boyzee, thanks for replying. Although I got the driver for webcam off the manufacturer&#39;s website about less than a month ago but i will still try updating that and other drivers.
May be it is time to format :&#39;(

Thanks everyone whoever replied.