Computer = Dead
lolfighter
Snark, Dire Join Date: 2003-04-20 Member: 15693Members
Snark, Dire Join Date: 2003-04-20 Member: 15693Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Need Urgent Guru-Assistance</div> After a three-week pause, I get to enjoy the internet for ten days before my computer dies. Back to the computer-lab to ask for help:
I'm running XP Home Edition, with all upgrades and patches until at least September 12th.
Today I installed some TI connection software for hooking my calculator up to my computer. After fiddling with this for a while, I put the computer on standby do some homework. When I woke it up again, I was greeted by a Bluescreen (can't remember what it said anymore). This was my first one since I started using XP, and I'd had tons of 'em while using ME, so I didn't think much of it, but proceeded to reboot. Here my trouble starts:
"Windows could not be started because the following file is missing or damaged:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM"
Damn. I tried to boot in safe mode, but this error appears before I can do that, so no luck. The error message also suggests that I use my Windows CD to try to repair the file. I boot from my Windows CD and try to do so, and this is where things get nasty:
I get to choose which Windows-installation to repair, I choose 1 (the only available choice, C:\WINDOWS, which is the location of my system folder). I get another Bluescreen, this one giving me an error message of:
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
At the bottom of the screen, there is something called Technical Information, reading:
*** STOP: 0x00000050 (0xc3c2b001,0x00000001,0x8090a78b,0x00000000)
I try this repair process a few more times, with no success. Finally, I decide there is nothing for it but to reinstall. I attempt to do so, and after hitting ENTER to choose to install Windows and F8 to accept the license agreement, I get another "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA" Bluescreen, this time with the following, almost identical Technical Information:
*** STOP: 0x00000050 (0xc<u>2be</u>b001,0x00000001,0x8090a78b,0x00000000) (I have underlined the differences)
Now I am really spooked. The Bluescreen suggests that I disable caching and shadowing in the BIOS. No options called anything with "shadow" are available, and setting Internal and External cache to disabled only slows down the computer. I've also tried restoring my BIOS to "Optimal" settings, also without results.
So as you can see, I'm stuck with a computer that won't start, and will respond to repair or reinstall-attempts with a Bluescreen. I'm stuck for a solution, so I request help by anyone who knows anything about this. If you need further information, I'll be happy to provide it.
I'm running XP Home Edition, with all upgrades and patches until at least September 12th.
Today I installed some TI connection software for hooking my calculator up to my computer. After fiddling with this for a while, I put the computer on standby do some homework. When I woke it up again, I was greeted by a Bluescreen (can't remember what it said anymore). This was my first one since I started using XP, and I'd had tons of 'em while using ME, so I didn't think much of it, but proceeded to reboot. Here my trouble starts:
"Windows could not be started because the following file is missing or damaged:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM"
Damn. I tried to boot in safe mode, but this error appears before I can do that, so no luck. The error message also suggests that I use my Windows CD to try to repair the file. I boot from my Windows CD and try to do so, and this is where things get nasty:
I get to choose which Windows-installation to repair, I choose 1 (the only available choice, C:\WINDOWS, which is the location of my system folder). I get another Bluescreen, this one giving me an error message of:
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
At the bottom of the screen, there is something called Technical Information, reading:
*** STOP: 0x00000050 (0xc3c2b001,0x00000001,0x8090a78b,0x00000000)
I try this repair process a few more times, with no success. Finally, I decide there is nothing for it but to reinstall. I attempt to do so, and after hitting ENTER to choose to install Windows and F8 to accept the license agreement, I get another "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA" Bluescreen, this time with the following, almost identical Technical Information:
*** STOP: 0x00000050 (0xc<u>2be</u>b001,0x00000001,0x8090a78b,0x00000000) (I have underlined the differences)
Now I am really spooked. The Bluescreen suggests that I disable caching and shadowing in the BIOS. No options called anything with "shadow" are available, and setting Internal and External cache to disabled only slows down the computer. I've also tried restoring my BIOS to "Optimal" settings, also without results.
So as you can see, I'm stuck with a computer that won't start, and will respond to repair or reinstall-attempts with a Bluescreen. I'm stuck for a solution, so I request help by anyone who knows anything about this. If you need further information, I'll be happy to provide it.
Comments
use Dos and type Format C:
- your drive is now clean
then boot from the Win CD
- note im not completly sure about these commands - if something screws up dont blame me - perhaps wait for a more knowedgeable guy to confirm this...
To format you'll need to put your WinXP cd in the drive and reboot and make sure you're set to boot off of cd in your BIOS, then after the installer loads you want to selection RECOVERY CONSOLE, which looks like a DOS prompt, although you have limited capability as to what you can actually do. There's no "FDISK" command as partitions are made and formatted at the same time with the FORMAT command.
Make careful note of the file system you plan to use if you know whether you were running FAT32 or NTFS. See the help on the /FS (File System) switch when you type <b><i>FORMAT /?</i></b>
If you were gonna format the drive completely (only one partition) on NTFS I believe the command would look something like this:
<b><i>FORMAT /FS:NTFS C:</i></b>
but that's just guessing off the top of my head. Again, read the help that you get when you type <b><i>FORMAT /?</i></b>
You shouldn't have to worry about any Unix....just hit the keys it asks for. Make it a full format, and Choose NTFS.
Then again, I don't deal with XP much so I might not be the best person to take advice from.
I can't boot in safe mode by pressing F8, simply because the computer complains about the missing "\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" file before I can get that far, after which I can only press any key to reboot. I've tried mashing the F8 key when rebooting, but that only makes the computer flash the "\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM missing" alert and then reboot (apparently F8 also counts as "any key"). Booting off my XP CD allows me three choice: Repair, Install, and Exit. Exit obviously doesn't do anything but exit and restart the machine. Repair asks me which partition to repair, (I choose the only one available), then aforementioned bluescreen. Install asks me to accept the license agreement by pressing F8, I do so, bluescreen. No matter where I've gone so far, I've been met with "file missing" or bluescreen.
If there is any way to get a C:\ prompt without loading Windows, that might help.
Should I request that this be phased to Tech Support? I thought Tech Supp. was only for NS-related issues, but I'm no longer sure.
Ack!!! If it comes to that just use an old DOS boot disk (or a newer boot cd) to FDISK the thing. Then your XP install disk shouldn't be able to complain about anything.
EDIT: According to the Knoppix site it can only read NTFS (actually, the NTFS support in linux can write but its still rather dangerous and bugy because they had to reverse engeneer the FS, so it is disabled in most releases). But that should allow you to back up some stuff.... maybe... depends on how much you would need to back up and how you plan on doing it (CD-R, Shared folder of another system, FTP account, ect.).
1:Stick harddrive into another person's computer
2:Get data from it that you want to keep
3:Format drive
4:Boot up on some system disk or something O-o
5:Reinstall XP and stuff
Better solution: get the file off another person's Computer O-o (the one it says is missing?)
1:Stick harddrive into another person's computer
2:Get data from it that you want to keep
3:Format drive
4:Boot up on some system disk or something O-o
5:Reinstall XP and stuff
Better solution: get the file off another person's Computer O-o (the one it says is missing?) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Step 2B: Remembering not to try to back up your pr0n infront of someone...
I've thought about sticking it in another computer to wipe the C:\ partition from there, but of course the durned system administrators here are nowhere to be found. It's as if the world conspires to keep me away from my beloved computer. Oh well, drawing nearer to a solution. I just hope it's the harddrive and not a burned-out motherboard or some equally nasty stuff.
I still don't understand how a faulty Windows directory can make the Installation CD crash though...
Did it say anything about unmount or bootable or sum **** like that?
Anyways jus search google for "windows xp boot disks" or sumtin and download those from another computer. Later you would need 5 empty floppy disks (they have to be EXCEPTIONALLY clean and static free, trust me i used all the floppys in my house and they came out corrupted. (i think it wuz the drives fault no the floppys tho so don't worry.)) Now this thingy will come up and ask you to put a floppy in, then follow the onscreen instructions from there. After you have wriiten all the floppys (or atleast the first one if its taking too long) then you put the first floppy in your broken computers floppy drive and boot it up. It would start loading the floppy and you would here the floppy drive chugging along for a good minute or 2 then it would ask you to insert the next disk and so on...
When its done loading it would come up with a dos prompt and your free to do watever u want to your harddrive. (maybe wat DOOM suggested?). Yeah format it and install windows you shod be sweet.
I went to college today, fortunately today there were some extraordinary meetings, so only two lessons for me. I'd decided "This is "make computer work"-day", so I went up to the computer administrator and asked for help. I said it would take a little time, so he says: "Come back at 12:00". At 12:00 I'm back at the place with my harddrive (I curse whoever designed this cabinet, and I curse nVidia for making these clunky videocards - I had to remove my videocard to get at the HD). I say that I'd like to hook it up to another computer and see if I can access the disc from there, and then delete the primary partition (C:). So he shuts down a computer standing there with an open cabinet, which promptly triggers a bluescreen. I'm thinking "this bodes REALLY well". Oh well. We plug the thing into the computer as the primary slave. The thing freezes on startup while autodetecting the connected masters and slaves. "That thing's dead" I'm told. Great. NOT what I wanted to hear. Fortunately at that moment another of the administrators walks in and asks if we checked the jumpers. Nope, forgot that. So after fiddling around with those (I won't go into details about setting them back to master again, suffice to say there are three different master settings, and neither of us had any clue which one was the correct, not that he seemed to care), the computer starts running. Only now it can't find its primary MASTER, so it tries to boot from my disc (which of course fails). Errm. The guy gets some kind of boot-CD from a shelf and starts off that. He proceeds to load up a program called "Partition Magic" (which he seemingly swears by), which promptly displays an error message and quits again. "That thing's half-dead" is now the diagnosis. "Hmm, what about a low-level?" I suggest. "Yeah sure, but then your data's gone." As if I hadn't considered that. Finally the guy (presumably out of boredom) loads up a different tool and starts looking at some numbers. All I can make out is two sets (which I presume to be primary and extended partition), so I simply ask him if he can delete the primary partition. "Sure, but I don't think that'll help." So he does that (while obviously entertaining thoughts to the likes of "this ain't gonna work man"), I pack up my HD and head home. Back home, after fiddling with the jumpers, everything proceeds smoothly.
Yep, that's it. I knew it was just the primary partition. Ok, I didn't know it, but I strongly suspected it. And I was right. Had I gone with a low-level, all data would be gone. Thanks Mr. Admin. Next time I'll ask a classmate.
Note to danes: Get earthing on those power lines. I don't know how many times I've been shocked today. Good thing I held on to the radiator.
Other random tidbit: Hippiehair is bad for fiddling with computers.
/me does the happy dance <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Two questions though: Is "earthing" the same as "grounding"? And why would Danes require a special note about earthing?