PLEASE HELP~ Computer crash...ahh!

HelpOhHelp! · 06-27-2008, 07:09 AM

Hi!

Ok, so Wednesday morn I boot up my 3 year old HP Windows XP desktop that I have never had a problem with. Well just before the log in menu is suppose to come up, THE BSOD came!! (Black Screen Of Death), only this black screen had a blinking horizontal (underscore) at the top left.

Oh dear, let me add that I run my home computer/entire office out of this little thing.

So, I cold boot, retry, again...nothing.

So, I turn back on, and the blue HP screen comes up, at the bottome f10 for setup, etc etc. So, I push f10 - and start the setup. Me, not being that computer savvy, and not knowing what else to do, start the process of wiping out my entire computer. My smart daughter comes over, and together we realize that my computer, files, all of my programs I use for work will be wiped out!

EKK...not good. Thinking on impluse we turn off the computer (cold boot). Now what? We turned back on the computer and it began to start up, this time the BSOD did not come up (yay) BUT a black screen with a windows message did. Reading something like `You have not fully completed/installed the setup. Please finish`. Our only option is to puch OK , begins to restart and then it will come to that message, push OK, begins to restart and then comes to that message. Next quick thinking solution, SAFE MODE..where is it? It isn;t there, maybe because we have half finished the set up?

Next idea...what about the 3 year warranty I purchised through Staples, stil in affect? YES! Call Staples, bring the computer in. They tell me I can fix it and to pick it up in two days.

Come in today, guess what? I get told that my only option is to wipe out the entire computer, I will loose all my work, except they can back it up for me for an extra $$, oh ya, and this isn;t covered under warrenty! What? You mean that the only time I have to use my warrenty and it isn;t covered? The guy I talked to on Wednesday said it was covered and they nwould fix it,,, ugh

So - because of the miscommuncation, they give me back my broken computer and give me my $100 warrenty back. So I am stuck with a broken computer and $100 bucks...I would prefer no money and a fixed computer... sigh.

So, obviously I can back up my computer, but how? I dont mind wiping out my computer if I back everything up...but is this more complicated than I can do? Any suggestions, please, thanks sooo much for taking the time to read my ammusing yet very frustrating situation!

meanman · 06-27-2008, 09:22 AM

You could try putting the hard drive into an enclosure and plugging it into another pc or installing the hard drive into another pc as a slave drive this might allow you to save some of you documents and work. Or you could reinstall windows and try a program like file scavenger to recover your work. Just so you no a BSOD is a blue screen of death usually caused by a bad driver what you experienced was proberbly due to a corrupt boot sector on the hdd.

HelpOhHelp! · 06-27-2008, 06:35 PM

Thanks for responding! I cant re-install Windows, because I dont have a instal;lation CD. When I boutght the puter, it already had a downloaded version. I am not too computer savvy, for the hardware thing - could I use my laptop??

meanman · 06-27-2008, 06:57 PM

If you mean can you use the laptops windows cd im sorry to say no because it will be tied to the laptop so it wont work on the pc. you could go to the manufactures website and see if they could send you the recovery cd, Or they might be a recovery section on the hd so it might be as simple as pushing one of the keys on the keyboard to start the recovery procedure.

adarsh · 06-27-2008, 07:23 PM

Just do a repair install of XP using the XP CD(you have to buy it).

HelpOhHelp! · 06-27-2008, 10:18 PM

Repair install? What does that do? Will I be able to keep all my files and stuff? thanks!

HelpOhHelp! · 06-27-2008, 10:27 PM

UPDATE:

Ok, so from a great resource, I found that pushing f8 brought me to safe mode! Yay

But there are three options:

Safe mode
Safe mode with Networking
Safe mode with command prompt

Which one, and once I do that what will happen?

Thanks for all your help guys - I really appreciate it.

meanman · 06-28-2008, 02:58 AM

Go into safe mode and then do a system restore that might solve your problem.

imsati · 06-28-2008, 03:13 AM

^ Best advice to give at this point.

And... Safe Mode = plain old vanilla Safe mode, w/ networking = access to LAN, w/ Command Prompt = access to a text-based command line system rather than a GUI.

06-27-2008, 07:09 AM	#1 (permalink)
HelpOhHelp! New Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6	PLEASE HELP~ Computer crash...ahh! Hi! Ok, so Wednesday morn I boot up my 3 year old HP Windows XP desktop that I have never had a problem with. Well just before the log in menu is suppose to come up, THE BSOD came!! (Black Screen Of Death), only this black screen had a blinking horizontal (underscore) at the top left. Oh dear, let me add that I run my home computer/entire office out of this little thing. So, I cold boot, retry, again...nothing. So, I turn back on, and the blue HP screen comes up, at the bottome f10 for setup, etc etc. So, I push f10 - and start the setup. Me, not being that computer savvy, and not knowing what else to do, start the process of wiping out my entire computer. My smart daughter comes over, and together we realize that my computer, files, all of my programs I use for work will be wiped out! EKK...not good. Thinking on impluse we turn off the computer (cold boot). Now what? We turned back on the computer and it began to start up, this time the BSOD did not come up (yay) BUT a black screen with a windows message did. Reading something like `You have not fully completed/installed the setup. Please finish`. Our only option is to puch OK , begins to restart and then it will come to that message, push OK, begins to restart and then comes to that message. Next quick thinking solution, SAFE MODE..where is it? It isn;t there, maybe because we have half finished the set up? Next idea...what about the 3 year warranty I purchised through Staples, stil in affect? YES! Call Staples, bring the computer in. They tell me I can fix it and to pick it up in two days. Come in today, guess what? I get told that my only option is to wipe out the entire computer, I will loose all my work, except they can back it up for me for an extra $$, oh ya, and this isn;t covered under warrenty! What? You mean that the only time I have to use my warrenty and it isn;t covered? The guy I talked to on Wednesday said it was covered and they nwould fix it,,, ugh So - because of the miscommuncation, they give me back my broken computer and give me my $100 warrenty back. So I am stuck with a broken computer and $100 bucks...I would prefer no money and a fixed computer... sigh. So, obviously I can back up my computer, but how? I dont mind wiping out my computer if I back everything up...but is this more complicated than I can do? Any suggestions, please, thanks sooo much for taking the time to read my ammusing yet very frustrating situation!

06-27-2008, 09:22 AM	#2 (permalink)
meanman Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: england Posts: 1,864	You could try putting the hard drive into an enclosure and plugging it into another pc or installing the hard drive into another pc as a slave drive this might allow you to save some of you documents and work. Or you could reinstall windows and try a program like file scavenger to recover your work. Just so you no a BSOD is a blue screen of death usually caused by a bad driver what you experienced was proberbly due to a corrupt boot sector on the hdd. __________________ my sig Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient 95W Edition ocd to 3.15 ghz Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 "SSC Edition" 1024MB GDDR3 CoolerMaster Stacker 832 Coolermaster 700W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU Want to join a cod5 clan?www.tdk-gaming.co.uk

06-27-2008, 06:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
meanman Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: england Posts: 1,864	If you mean can you use the laptops windows cd im sorry to say no because it will be tied to the laptop so it wont work on the pc. you could go to the manufactures website and see if they could send you the recovery cd, Or they might be a recovery section on the hd so it might be as simple as pushing one of the keys on the keyboard to start the recovery procedure. __________________ my sig Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient 95W Edition ocd to 3.15 ghz Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 "SSC Edition" 1024MB GDDR3 CoolerMaster Stacker 832 Coolermaster 700W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU Want to join a cod5 clan?www.tdk-gaming.co.uk

06-27-2008, 07:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
adarsh Platinum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Dubai Posts: 895	Just do a repair install of XP using the XP CD(you have to buy it). __________________ http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/7130/kainzr2.jpg Your views about my post are highly appreciated. Please bear in mind that I too am human, and therefore am prone to making errors. If you think that I am wrong, please do not hesitate to PM me suggesting a better fix. Thank you. Please visit Punk's gallery

06-28-2008, 02:58 AM	#8 (permalink)
meanman Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: england Posts: 1,864	Go into safe mode and then do a system restore that might solve your problem. __________________ my sig Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient 95W Edition ocd to 3.15 ghz Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 "SSC Edition" 1024MB GDDR3 CoolerMaster Stacker 832 Coolermaster 700W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU Want to join a cod5 clan?www.tdk-gaming.co.uk

06-27-2008, 06:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
HelpOhHelp! New Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6	Thanks for responding! I cant re-install Windows, because I dont have a instal;lation CD. When I boutght the puter, it already had a downloaded version. I am not too computer savvy, for the hardware thing - could I use my laptop??

06-27-2008, 10:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
HelpOhHelp! New Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6	Repair install? What does that do? Will I be able to keep all my files and stuff? thanks!

06-27-2008, 10:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
HelpOhHelp! New Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 6	UPDATE: Ok, so from a great resource, I found that pushing f8 brought me to safe mode! Yay But there are three options: Safe mode Safe mode with Networking Safe mode with command prompt Which one, and once I do that what will happen? Thanks for all your help guys - I really appreciate it.

06-28-2008, 03:13 AM	#9 (permalink)
imsati VIP Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: EHT, NJ Posts: 3,094	^ Best advice to give at this point. And... Safe Mode = plain old vanilla Safe mode, w/ networking = access to LAN, w/ Command Prompt = access to a text-based command line system rather than a GUI. __________________ --Jay Creepy Lurker Guy

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