Laptop not working

Zee · 01-01-2011, 21:49

My laptop keeps rebooting before loading into windows. Startup repair doesn't work, it just hangs, safe mode doesn't work, the screen goes blue and reboots, tried loading into last good known config not working. I disabled wireless, bluetooth and USB (i think) in bios and still no luck.

I cant reinstall windows because it hangs on the startup is loading page.

Does anyone know what could be wrong, nothing is attached and i didn't add any new hardware to the system.

Paul K · 01-01-2011, 22:20

Could be hardware on the laptop failing if you cannot re-install. Have you got any extra RAM in the laptop? If you boot from the CD can you access the tools to do things like scandisk?

Zee · 01-01-2011, 22:29

how would i do scandisk with the CD because startup repair hangs. so i boot from CD and then what?

Paul K · 01-01-2011, 22:35

http://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=5097

01-01-2011, 22:37

is the HD being picked up in the bios ,i have limited knowledge but everything you are trying to do i.e start up repair or reinstall is usually held on a partition on the hd and if that has failed then nothing will happen when you try to load windows

Paul K · 01-01-2011, 22:39

Not all Laptops come with recovery partitions, also if the partition is in trouble you can often lose the recovery tools too. Sometimes rebuilding from the CD set is the only way to get around major issues but hopefully...

01-01-2011, 22:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

Not all Laptops come with recovery partitions, also if the partition is in trouble you can often lose the recovery tools too. Sometimes rebuilding from the CD set is the only way to get around major issues but hopefully...

It does sound like the only option is a recovery disk or the os disk ,but if the HD is knackered that won't help

Paul K · 01-01-2011, 22:46

Nope not at all hence the checkdisk, if it's up the creek there is no option but to change the hard disk if possible and reload.

Zee · 01-01-2011, 22:59

after going through the menu and selecting the languages, i select repair your computer and thats when it hangs, there were no other options to load command prompt

01-01-2011, 23:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zee

after going through the menu and selecting the languages, i select repair your computer and thats when it hangs, there were no other options to load command prompt

Do you know if you have a recovery partition or do you have the OS disk
Do you have a recovery disk ,
Are you running vista
Have done a chkdisk to eliminate a HD problem

haydnwalker · 01-01-2011, 23:11

Sounds more like a memory fault to me than HDD. IF your laptop has more than one RAM chip in it then one of them is b0rked... Can you reboot and get into the BIOS? If so check the HDD is detected, and check how much RAM the BIOS is detecting, if its less than it should have, then that confirms (or not) my suspicions.

If you can get hold of another laptop and swap the HDDs out that would also help in the diagnostic progress.

progers · 01-01-2011, 23:23

What operating system are you running?

If it's XP, read this, I had the same problem, reboot on error which is a (stupid) MS default

Zee · 01-01-2011, 23:25

In bios it says

fixed HDD Hitachi
e-SATA = none
system memory 628KB
Extended Memory: 3069 MB

Its supposed to have 3GB RAM so is this right?

Operating system is Windows 7 64 Bit

01-01-2011, 23:29

you say it freezes at startup is loading. Can you explain how you get to this point?

make and model of laptop please

01-01-2011, 23:30

I managed to completely bork my new netbook while trying to do a backup, recently - all I got when trying to boot was a request for a system disk. I'd also borked the recovery partition.

The only way out was using the restore disks, which luckily I had burnt using an external DVD drive - however I did need to go into the BIOS & change the boot priorities to allow the sytem to boot from the external drive.