Last update messed up my laptop.

[Ana]

Hello,
Last night at around 2am, I have received a message telling me that Windows
needed to update. It asked me to restart now, or to wait, I selected the now
option, letting my laptop do it's thing.

After about an hour of nothing hapening and having a black screen, (knowing
it's normal) I did a manuel restart by pressing the power button of my laptop.

The laptop started to re-load. I saw the Dell 1720 logo, and the Windows
load logo, and a message telling me that windows had a problem after an
update, and to either restart in safe mode, safe mode with networking, last
known working setting, or start windows normally.

I tried all four, none of them worked.
I'm still getting a black screen no matter what I chose.

What can I do?
I looked for my windows disks, I can't find them.
And formatting is not an option, I really need the files that's on my
computer.

Thank you for your help,

Ana

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Thursday, March 12, 2009 5:44:02 PM, and on a
whim, Ana pounded out on the keyboard:

Hello,
Last night at around 2am, I have received a message telling me that Windows
needed to update. It asked me to restart now, or to wait, I selected the now
option, letting my laptop do it's thing.

After about an hour of nothing hapening and having a black screen, (knowing
it's normal) I did a manuel restart by pressing the power button of my laptop.

The laptop started to re-load. I saw the Dell 1720 logo, and the Windows
load logo, and a message telling me that windows had a problem after an
update, and to either restart in safe mode, safe mode with networking, last
known working setting, or start windows normally.

I tried all four, none of them worked.
I'm still getting a black screen no matter what I chose.

What can I do?
I looked for my windows disks, I can't find them.
And formatting is not an option, I really need the files that's on my
computer.

Thank you for your help,

Ana

Hi Ana,

I'm sorry to hear about that. If you are unable to start Windows, and
you don't have a recent backup, your only option may be to have the
drive put into another machine so your data can be copied off of it.

One one network Tuesday, I had three workstations and one server fail to
complete the Malicious Software Tool update (out of 25 I update
manually). Nothing I tried allowed it to complete. I even tried
downloading from the Update Catalog site and it failed on one
workstation. Very Strange. But there were no restarting issues on any
of them.



Terry R.

 

[peter]

1st of all you should have XP updates set to notify you of updates not
install them. That way you decide when and more
importantly WHAT to update. Since we have no idea about your settings and
exactly what you updated its hard to help you with your problem.
You should definitely be updating the high priority items...be choosy about
the optional software ones and only download MS hardware updates from the MS
update site...all other hardware should be updated from the manufacturers
website which in your case would be Dell.

At this stage I would remove the HD from the Laptop and hook it up to
another computer in order to remove all of my personal files.
A local shop might be your best option for this..unless your Dell is still
under warranty... and burn them to CD/DVD
Then it would be time to find all of the Program CD for all those programs
that you have installed since you purchased the machine.
Once the HD is back in the laptop its time to use your "recovery " CD or
Partition in order to wipe the HD and reinstall back to when 1st purchased.
Of course if you have a more recent "Backup" or "Image" of the HD by all
means use that.
After you have XP working again its time to reinstall those programs
purchased and then place your personal files back on the laptop.

You should look into Acronis True Image...a Google search will turn it up
and you can investigate this program and decide if its worth
the buy. If you had used the program prior to this mishap you would have
been up and running within 15 minutes.
hope this helps
peter

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Thursday, March 12, 2009 6:30:47 PM, and on a
whim, peter pounded out on the keyboard:

1st of all you should have XP updates set to notify you of updates not
install them. That way you decide when and more
importantly WHAT to update. Since we have no idea about your settings and
exactly what you updated its hard to help you with your problem.
You should definitely be updating the high priority items...be choosy about
the optional software ones and only download MS hardware updates from the MS
update site...all other hardware should be updated from the manufacturers
website which in your case would be Dell.

Nothing like telling someone what they "should" have done.


Terry R.

 

[peter]

Maybe Terry you should read the whole post before commenting...
By mentioning what you quoted the OP might avoid this problem in the future.

peter

 

[Ana]

The date and time was Thursday, March 12, 2009 5:44:02 PM, and on a
whim, Ana pounded out on the keyboard:


Hi Ana,

I'm sorry to hear about that. If you are unable to start Windows, and
you don't have a recent backup, your only option may be to have the
drive put into another machine so your data can be copied off of it.

One one network Tuesday, I had three workstations and one server fail to
complete the Malicious Software Tool update (out of 25 I update
manually). Nothing I tried allowed it to complete. I even tried
downloading from the Update Catalog site and it failed on one
workstation. Very Strange. But there were no restarting issues on any
of them.



Terry R.

Hello, and thank you for answering my tread,
How do I take the hard drive out?
My husband has a desktop computer we can use to transfer the data, some of
it anyways.
I don't mind opening my laptop, if I knew how

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, March 13, 2009 8:02:01 AM, and on a whim,
Ana pounded out on the keyboard:

Hello, and thank you for answering my tread,
How do I take the hard drive out?
My husband has a desktop computer we can use to transfer the data, some of
it anyways.
I don't mind opening my laptop, if I knew how

Use Google. Enter in your make/model number and state "how to remove
hard drive". You should be able to find it that way.

You can buy a universal hard drive adapter that will allow you to
connect your laptop hard drive via a USB port to another computer. Then
you can retrieve your data.


Terry R.

 

[Daave]

How do I take the hard drive out?
My husband has a desktop computer we can use to transfer the data,
some of
it anyways.
I don't mind opening my laptop, if I knew how

Assuming (from your other post) you have a Dell Inspiron 1720, here is a
link to the manual:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1720/en/om_en/pdf/DT5494MR.pdf

Instructions for removing the hard drive are found on pp. 139-142.

Alternate link for hard drive only:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1720/en/SM/hdd.htm#wp1180055

The reason to remove your drive is if you need to save the data from it.
Once it's removed, you may place it in a USB enclosure, which may later
be hooked up to another PC. This way you can transfer all your data.
Once this is done you may place the drive back in your laptop and
perform a clean install if you wish. Or you may want to just keep the
original drive in the enclosure, purchase a new drive, and place that
one in your laptop. When it's time to retransfer the data from the
original drive, simply connect the USB enclosure to your laptop.

New Egg is a reputable site for purchasing hardware. Here is a link for
2.5" USB enclosures, sorted by rating:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...eValue=538:7124,542:7132&bop=And&Order=RATING

Is your hard drive IDE or SATA?

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, March 13, 2009 9:07:41 AM, and on a whim,
Daave pounded out on the keyboard:

Assuming (from your other post) you have a Dell Inspiron 1720, here is a
link to the manual:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1720/en/om_en/pdf/DT5494MR.pdf

Instructions for removing the hard drive are found on pp. 139-142.

Alternate link for hard drive only:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1720/en/SM/hdd.htm#wp1180055

The reason to remove your drive is if you need to save the data from it.
Once it's removed, you may place it in a USB enclosure, which may later
be hooked up to another PC. This way you can transfer all your data.
Once this is done you may place the drive back in your laptop and
perform a clean install if you wish. Or you may want to just keep the
original drive in the enclosure, purchase a new drive, and place that
one in your laptop. When it's time to retransfer the data from the
original drive, simply connect the USB enclosure to your laptop.

New Egg is a reputable site for purchasing hardware. Here is a link for
2.5" USB enclosures, sorted by rating:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...eValue=538:7124,542:7132&bop=And&Order=RATING

Is your hard drive IDE or SATA?

Getting a universal it won't matter:
http://www.buy.com/prod/apricorn-dr...r-w-cloning-software/q/loc/101/204394823.html


Terry R.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Start a free Windows Update support incident request:
https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=6527

For home users, no-charge support is available by calling 1-866-PCSAFETY in
the United States and in Canada or by contacting your local Microsoft
subsidiary. There is no-charge for support calls that are associated with
security updates. When you call, clearly state that your problem is related
to a Security Update and cite the update's KB number (e.g., KB999999).

Support for Windows Update:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/wusupport

For more information about how to contact your local Microsoft subsidiary
for security update support issues, visit the International Support Web
site: http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx

For enterprise customers, support for security updates is available through
your usual support contacts.