#!%#*! Computer Again!

[UffDa]

Gol Durn computer crapped out on me again! This time it looks like a biggie. I was editing a picture and it froze. I couldn't reboot, so I turned it off. When I turned it back on, it says that my Windows 32 System Config Sys is either missing or corrupt. Windows will not load in any shape or form. Since it's a 4 year old Dell, I don't have a Windows XP disc.

It looks like the only way I can recover is with a XP disc. I'm going to try to borrow one. Any other ideas?


BTW, I'm using my laptop right now.

 

[STEELWHORE]

I just had the same problem,my lenovo rescue recovery repaired some of the files but not enough to get windows running.I had to do do a factory restore in the end,lost everything.They may have been other ways but computer problems are way over head.

 

[cuphead]

Nope, you were a victim of malware, irreversible unless you have the cd.
Chances are a simple restore from your cd will not be enough, you will have to format and reinstall fresh.

in the future I would strongly suggest a program called, MalwareBytes or SuperAntiSpyware.

I also fell a victim to this just about a month ago, tried everything from booting in safe mode, file sharing the config etc. Nothing. I however loss big time. See when your reall pissed off and trying to get things back up asap because of a deadline you do stupid things, one of those stupid things was accidently formatting 2 drives, C: and Harchive -> photos,logs,portfolios,movies,mp3s, the works).

Best of luck to you. hopefully this was constructive enough for you to know exactly what to do and future precautions that can be taken.

 

[UffDa]

cuphead: you may be right, but I have malware bytes and PC Tools running. As I have discovered in the past, that may not be enough. Some malware still gets around the protection.

I'll see what happens when I get a hold of a Windows CD.

I would sure be nice if these things still had DOS. At least you could get your stuff off of the hard drive.

 

[gazz98]

Did you lose your xp and the driver disks that came with the Dell? Call Dell and get another xp disk and the driver disks if you can. It might cost a few bucks for shipping but its worth having the disk(s) around. Best to reload xp on your puter with a fresh disk if you can. Having the drivers help too rather then looking up each driver from the specific website.

 

[AJ]

Try booting from a CD and see if you can copy/move the important data files off of your HDD.

AJ

 

[Gollnick]

Running XP? That's no problem in and of itself; it's one of Microsoft's better products. But, it may indicate an older PC. The sudden crash can be symptomatic of bad electrolytic capacitors. Electrolytic capacitors are components on the motherboard. Physically, they resemble little beer cans standing up on the board. Electrically, in a nutshell, they stabilize the power voltage. Internally, they contain -- should contain -- a few drops of a liquid electrolyte solution. Over time, that solution can leak out and dry up.

Fortunately, these parts are fairly easy to replace. A local computer repair shop can replace the capacitors on your board for a small fraction of the cost of a new PC.

 

[Josh K]

Lucky it was XP and not Vista you were running.

Of course, if a replacement is imminent, you could get an Apple. I still have Apple computers (laptops and desktops) that are 10+ years old and still working fine.

 

[smegs]

cuphead: you may be right, but I have malware bytes and PC Tools running. As I have discovered in the past, that may not be enough. Some malware still gets around the protection.

I'll see what happens when I get a hold of a Windows CD.

I would sure be nice if these things still had DOS. At least you could get your stuff off of the hard drive.

There's a way to get your system back even if you can't boot into windows. It involves a lot of typing in the Command mode (Xp's version of Dos). Basically, it involves copying fresh XP startup files from "C:\windows\repair" to a tmp directory, deleting the corrupt files from "C:\windows\system32\config" and then copying the fresh files in the tmp directory back into "C:\windows\system32\config". This will allow you to boot into Windows. From there you can copy the files that you need in the "snapshot" folder from a "restore point" in the "C:\System Volume Information" dircectory back into "C:\windows\system32\config".

After this, your system will be fully restored with all your programs, files etc. intact. I have a detailed step-by-step text file if you want it. I found it on the internets and it works all the time. People think I'm a genius when I bring their computers back from the dead. I don't discourage their illusions. Three things must be in place before the resurrection.

1. You must have a bootable XP disc and change your BIOS to boot from CD
2. The problem is software related and not hardware related
3. You must have restore points

Email me for the instructions or I could post them here. It's somewhat lengthy but it's pretty slick how it works.

 

[mikeal]

Try booting from a CD and see if you can copy/move the important data files off of your HDD.

AJ

+1

A Linux live CD (Ubuntu is a good choice) should let you read your HD. Have a USB key or external hard drive plugged in when you boot up and copy your important files to it. You may also want to copy your favorites and if you use an email client (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc) your local emails. If you use webmail, you don't have to worry about your email.


The Dell should have a recovery partition on the hard drive. If you want to start from scratch, I think alt-F11 during boot up will get you to the recovery wizard. This will restore your PC to the way it was when it came from the factory. All of your files and installed programs (MS Office!) will be gone, so make sure that you have a backup.

Ubuntu live CD

 

[mikeal]

There's a way to get your system back even if you can't boot into windows. It involves a lot of typing in the Command mode (Xp's version of Dos). Basically, it involves copying fresh XP startup files from "C:\windows\repair" to a tmp directory, deleting the corrupt files from "C:\windows\system32\config" and then copying the fresh files in the tmp directory back into "C:\windows\system32\config". This will allow you to boot into Windows. From there you can copy the files that you need in the "snapshot" folder from a "restore point" in the "C:\System Volume Information" dircectory back into "C:\windows\system32\config".

After this, your system will be fully restored with all your programs, files etc. intact. I have a detailed step-by-step text file if you want it. I found it on the internets and it works all the time. People think I'm a genius when I bring their computers back from the dead. I don't discourage their illusions. Three things must be in place before the resurrection.

1. You must have a bootable XP disc and change your BIOS to boot from CD
2. The problem is software related and not hardware related
3. You must have restore points

Email me for the instructions or I could post them here. It's somewhat lengthy but it's pretty slick how it works.

I wouldn't mind seeing those instructions.

 

[UffDa]

smegs, thanks for the email.

I tried a Windows XP disk and it says that I don't have a hard disk. Lying POC!:grumpy: It looks like I have hours of work to do.

 

[proud2deviate]

Open her up and make sure all of your connections are good. I once had a computer where the power cable had somehow worked free from the hard drive. Gave me fits until I figured it out.

Also, just today I was working on a family member's computer. Nothing was working right until I got the bright idea that the data cable for the hdd might be faulty. Swapped it out, and sure enough, all was well afterward.

This is also a good time to clean it out. Years of dust can cause thermal problems. Get some canned air, take it out on the porch, and let her fly. Pay particular attention to the fans and heatsinks.

Also, you might try going into the BIOS and making sure things are right there. Your hard drive will probably show up as "secondary master" or somesuch. Make sure the date/time settings are correct. If your CMOS battery (usually a lithium button battery somewhere on the motherboard,) took a dump, it might be able to mess things up.

The BIOS is accessed by different means for different systems. Usually holding a certain key as you switch the power on. ESC, delete, F1 or F10 are common.

 

[Dinkum]

Simple fix too is to remove the battery on the motherboard. My PC craps itself sometimes and doing this (CMOS Clear essentially) is the easiest way to do it.

Turn off PC
Remove power cable
Wait 10 secs so no LED's are lit on the Motherboard
Remove battery
Replace battery
Turn on
Go to the BIOS or whatever your maker may call it
Go to 'Boot'
Make sure the the hard drive is listed and seen, if you are using SATA drives on an older pc it sees them as SCSI devices not as regular harddrives
Make sure 'CD ROM' is the first device listed as a boot device, followed by Hardrive if you are going to try and restore with a disk.

I would try the battery thing on its own though, you may be surprised.

 

[UffDa]

I'll give all this stuff a try tomorrow and I'll post the results. Who knows, some of this stuff may even work.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[kozak6]

Seriously, though, a Linux live cd is a good bet.

My pc took a big fat dump on me, and I'm posting right now using one.

I'm using Puppy Linux. It's only 60 mb. There's some weird quirks, but it seems to work sort of ok.

 

[UffDa]

Right now it's looking grim. Windows loads from the CD, but when I enter "r", I get the message that Windows can't find my hard disk. I ran all the onboard diagnostics and everything seems to be working fine.

It seems to me that if the diagnostics does read/write tests that pass, the cables and hard disk should be fine. Maybe not, but that's all I have.

I took the box outside and opened it up. It was actually pretty clean for a 4 year old computer. I blew the dust out and reseated all the connections. It still doesn't work. The backup battery seems fine. The date and time in setup is correct.

 

[Josh K]

Right now it's looking grim. Windows loads from the CD, but when I enter "r", I get the message that Windows can't find my hard disk. I ran all the onboard diagnostics and everything seems to be working fine.

It seems to me that if the diagnostics does read/write tests that pass, the cables and hard disk should be fine. Maybe not, but that's all I have.

I took the box outside and opened it up. It was actually pretty clean for a 4 year old computer. I blew the dust out and reseated all the connections. It still doesn't work. The backup battery seems fine. The date and time in setup is correct.

Your hard drive could have failed.

 

[UffDa]

Your hard drive could have failed.

Maybe, but you would think that it would not pass all the test.

I googled that problem and it seems to be a fairly common one. The only problem is that answers don't seem do anyone any good. The "expert" want you do download stuff and create stuff. Hmmmmm. If my computer was working well enough to do that, I wouldn't be asking for help.

 

[Josh K]

Maybe, but you would think that it would not pass all the test.

I googled that problem and it seems to be a fairly common one. The only problem is that answers don't seem do anyone any good. The "expert" want you do download stuff and create stuff. Hmmmmm. If my computer was working well enough to do that, I wouldn't be asking for help.

What do you mean "pass all the test" ?

That's windows booting off of the CD drive, nothing to do with the hard drive.