PC won't Start Up

[Paddy]

Please Help My daughter's computer will not start. When
the problem first occured the message on the monitor ask
which mode to start up in "Safe Mode" or "Windows as
Normal" after reading the the prompt we dicided to let it
start in the "Windows As Normal" mode all was okay up
untill when a blue screen appeared and it started running
through its sequence after that when it tried to restart
it just cut out, and went back to loading up the prompt
screen again. So i left the comp; of for a while and
tried to switch it back on again, again it came up with
the prompt screen. left it as before W.a.N. this time the
blue screen just blinks on the monitor and it restarts
all over again back to the safe mode prompt screen.
Please, Please, Please, Please, Help! My daughter needs
her computer fore her college work we are hoping that
none of her essays etc have been lost. Many Thanks Paddy

 

[Bob Day]

Please Help My daughter's computer will not start. When
the problem first occured the message on the monitor ask
which mode to start up in "Safe Mode" or "Windows as
Normal" after reading the the prompt we dicided to let it
start in the "Windows As Normal" mode all was okay up
untill when a blue screen appeared and it started running
through its sequence after that when it tried to restart
it just cut out, and went back to loading up the prompt
screen again. So i left the comp; of for a while and
tried to switch it back on again, again it came up with
the prompt screen. left it as before W.a.N. this time the
blue screen just blinks on the monitor and it restarts
all over again back to the safe mode prompt screen.
Please, Please, Please, Please, Help! My daughter needs
her computer fore her college work we are hoping that
none of her essays etc have been lost. Many Thanks Paddy

Could be a whole lot of things including viruses, spyware,
hardware problems, hard drive corruption, ... But it
sounds like your P1 is to see whether you can recover
your daughter's files on the hard drive. You might install
it as a slave drive on another computer to find out. Get
someone knowledgeable about hardware if you don't know
how to do this: there are a lot of details to watch out for.

Does the computer emit any beeps when you try to start it?
If so, please describe.

-- Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com

 

[Jim Macklin]

It sounds as though some hardware, such as a video card or a
driver is bad. Suggest that you contact a qualified
professional for help. The average computer store guy or
gal is likely to cause the loss of the data on the hard
drive if they are not careful.
Try starting in safe mode, this does not try to load all the
drivers and application/services that normally load on
booting. The display will look blocky and very large, the
icons will be in different locations, this is normal in safe
mode.
You can find her essays and other files and copy them to a
floppies. Then you can look at the device manager to see if
any device is showing problems.

Just a reminder to all out there in cyber space, if you have
any data that you just can't live without, burn a CD-R now
and again every week at least of your My Documents folder.
If the data is really important, do it daily

If your daughter is in college, contact the computer
department for advice about the problem, be sure that the
saving of the data is a top priority. Many people thing the
first think to do is reinstall Windows. That is not the
first step, even if it become necessary after doing
everything else. Boot to safe mode and recover files to
floppies. Try booting a Windows 98/ME emergency floppy,
what you want to find out is if the computer hardware has a
problem and what it is, then replace the hardware. If it is
software problems, try to determine what software and fix
that. Troubleshooting takes time and experience. That also
means you can spend "real money" finding and fixing the
problem. Most computer shops make money by being fast, at
the expense of your data. Again, backup before a problem
helps. But if you can start safe mode you can access and
copy your files.
Big and small business do things in an organized manner,
back-ups are done automatically, to several places at once
on and off-site. Ghost images are created of hard drives,
problems can be fixed quickly because they plan for the
expected problem.

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.



message | Please Help My daughter's computer will not start. When
| the problem first occured the message on the monitor ask
| which mode to start up in "Safe Mode" or "Windows as
| Normal" after reading the the prompt we dicided to let it
| start in the "Windows As Normal" mode all was okay up
| untill when a blue screen appeared and it started running
| through its sequence after that when it tried to restart
| it just cut out, and went back to loading up the prompt
| screen again. So i left the comp; of for a while and
| tried to switch it back on again, again it came up with
| the prompt screen. left it as before W.a.N. this time the
| blue screen just blinks on the monitor and it restarts
| all over again back to the safe mode prompt screen.
| Please, Please, Please, Please, Help! My daughter needs
| her computer fore her college work we are hoping that
| none of her essays etc have been lost. Many Thanks Paddy

 

[Guest]

Hi Jim,
Thanks for reply, I've tried what you said "try in safe mode" but even that freezes half way through and shuts down and restarts again, with the safty prompt screen showing with all the different modes to select. I've tried all other modes to get it to boot but nothing happens. What I might try is change my screen to her computer to see if you are right about it being a video card or somthing. I'll let you know.

Paddy

 

[Guest]

Hi again Jim,
Srry no luck there, switched monitors over and it still will not boot. It just goes into Prompt safe sode screen and again witch ever Mode I choose it switches off and on again (breifly flashing the Blue screen).