computer won't boot

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:16 pm

things are fine up to booting into windows, ive tried f8 and safe mode and last known config that worked as well as booting normally

i was trying to install elder scrolls oblivion at the time when it froze

i do not knwo what to do, i went into bios and changed everything to defualt (no overclocking)

any ideas and suggestions and perhaps a different forum that would cover this would be great help!!

thx fellas

Elixer · Post by **Elixer** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 5:09 pm

Describe exactly what happens when it tries to boot. Does it blue screen? Does it make it to the Windows XP sign? At what point does it freeze? When you boot in safe mode, at what file does it freeze?

Sounds like something has gotten seriously messed up in your operating system. If you have important data that you need to save, the first thing to do is to get a boot CD and save everything. Generally you can fix a computer not booting windows by doing a repair install of windows if you need to keep your data. This works, but in my experience, as soon as you do a repair install windows gets a little bit more buggy. If that doesn't work then you may have to do a complete reformat.

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 5:42 pm

ok, a few times the windows loading screen would come up and then it would go black after a few passes (few being not sure didnt watch closely)

no bsod errors

now, it pretty much freezes as soon as the choice is made in f8(not safe mode though)

in safe mode, the error is giveio.sys

can you give me a link to where i can get a boot cd, or would just the installation cd work for this?? (new to this type of a problem and on roomies comp to post, so i dont have time to google my brains out)

if i do a windows repair, i go like im going to install a new windows, then choose repair over old installation correct??... i tried that once, it ran for like 3 seconds and then said it was done, it then did the in 15 second computer will automatically reboot.......but did not fix my problem after reboot

perhaps try this again?

thx for the quick reply!

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:02 pm

Hello,

If it boots into Safe Mode, then I would uninstall the program that caused the issue, and then see if is boots. If so, then it might work if you try it again, or it might not...

I would recommend saving a Restore Point before trying again: Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore

Trunks · Post by **Trunks** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:49 am

Maybe you have fixed your problem? Did you reinstall?
It was not clear to me if you could boot into safemode or not?

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:13 am

im sorry, no i could never boot into safe mode

it would hang on the part :: giveio.sys

i have made system restore points but i do not know how to use them without being able to get into windows

thx fellas

mattg82 · Post by **mattg82** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:53 pm

Boot from your xp cd and goto the recovery console.

Then type

disable giveio.sys (or it might be just giveio)

You can enable it later if necessary by using the word enable

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:58 pm

ok, i disabled the giveio and it froze on a different thing

it froze on TDI.sys

what do you suggest I do now?

thx

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:28 pm

Has the system worked before or is this all happening after your first installation of Windows? If the latter, then I would suspect a hardware problem. You don't mention the PSU -- what is it?

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:37 pm

no this isnt the first install

i have had this computer running for say 6 months or so

psu is fortron 450

IsaacKuo · Post by **IsaacKuo** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:02 pm

If you have access to another working computer (I guess so) with a CD burner...

...you could download Knoppix or some other Linux Live-CD. These are full-blown operating systems with applications on bootable CDs. You can run them entirely from the CD with nothing installed on the hard drive (no hard drive is even necessary).

If you can boot up Knoppix, then your problem is either corrupted files in your Windows install or the hard drive itself.

Elixer · Post by **Elixer** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:49 pm

Yeah, there are various great linux boot CDs tthat will let you back up your data, though you may have to learn a little linux to use them. An easier solution might be to pull your hard drive and put it in your roommate's computer as a slave and get your information from it that way. After that use your windows cd to do a repair install. This has saved me many a time, though I usually decide to do a full reformat soon after because windows always gets a little messed up after a repair. Another possibility is that something has gone wrong on your hard drive. Maybe there's a few bad sectors on it that need to be marked. I know there's a bootable hard drive tools cd by one of the major manufactorers that works really well, but I can't think of it now. I understand your pain because I once had a lightning strike corrupt something on my hard drive and make my computer unbootable. Those were some scary times.

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:13 am

i do not really want to go the route of linux, its mostly windows and the programs i want to save more than just random files

if you can think of that hard drive tool or if anyone else knows of a hard drive tool that might get my things back together that would be great

also any other suggestions are welcome!

i have a seperate 120gb hard drive.... blank.... are there any routes i can take with this hard drive to make this repair happen(current hard drive is 300, 150 used but i dont need prob 75g of that so i only need to try and save 75gb)

im using a school purchased windows and they only allow 2 installs, and im on my second install so just doing a new install is not something i want to do becuase then i would have to find a way to get a new windows serial

thx for the help so far and im looking forward to replies with more help!!!

as usual you guys are the best

IsaacKuo · Post by **IsaacKuo** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:49 am

Actually, I was just suggesting Knoppix as a way to see whether the rest of your computer hardware is okay. It's completely graphical. All you need to do is boot it up, see if it works, and then select "shutdown" just like in Windows.

If Knoppix doesn't boot up, then maybe you've got a hardware problem other than just the hard drive or corrupted Windows files.

Of course, Knoppix is also great for helping recovering your data. It's a full featured operating system with a capable software suite.

In any case, THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR. You're not actually installing Linux or otherwise messing with your existing Windows install. It runs entirely off of the CD.

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:56 am

ok, i understand you about knoppix

ive been trying to do a repair install of windows and it crashes when it has about 17 mins left, reboots and then says it is going to restart the repair installation

does this lead me to believe its some kind of hardware like my hard drive or another component?

Groovealufagus · Post by **Groovealufagus** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:16 pm

If you are getting to the boot menu by pressing F8 and you're running XP, have you tried selecting to option to boot to last known good configuration?

fastturtle · Post by **fastturtle** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:18 pm

Aowen512: First thing I'd do is pull the 300 gig drive and do a clean install onto that blank spare. Then see if windows boots correctly.

If so, install your anti-virus and update it before connecting the other drive and trying to recover your data. As far as the school saying anything, if it's their hardware, they should fix it; otherwise they have no right to tell you anything about activation as that's between you and Microsoft and they allow 3 activations in a 12 month period before you have to call them at their expense to activate.

gud4u · Post by **gud4u** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:19 am

From your post, I understand the PC boots to DOS, but won't boot to Windows. True?

Try to isolate the problem as much as you can.

Reset BIOS to safe defaults. Check PS voltages in BIOS for proper nominal values..

Physically remove and re-install video card and all cables, checking for physical connection problems.

Disconnect all drives except boot drive.

Try booting with only a single RAM stick. If failed-boot, try the other stick. If still failed boot, reduce FSB to 100MHz. If still failed boot, set memory command rate to 2T.

Hope this helps!

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:26 pm

i had a very similar problem recently. I had to do a full format and flashed the bios to boot just to be sure but everything is fine now

I tried for days to get windows to load but couldnt get in. Im guessing it was a really bad #SS virus or something.

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 8:43 pm

well i tried diff sata cords to no help, diff power connector no help

need to reseat ram, try single sticks etc

psu rails are good

i found on maxtors website a harddrive diagnostics tool and ran all of the tests and it found no probs at all, its called powermax

when im running windows repair, when it is registering things(not sure exactly what it says as im not staring at screen but its around 17mins left) it always reboots and then restarts the repair saying that it didnt finish and it just does this in a loop

i currently installed windows on my spare drive and eveyrthing is working perfectly on my crappy spare... i know i could extract the things i need now but i still dont want to give up on getting the 300gb to work, huge pain to reinstall sooo many programs

thx for the replies so far!

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 2:45 pm

I take it by the no responses that no one has ever come across this or you are not sure how to remedy this.

I going to wait a few more days to see if anyone can help and then im just going to do a full install.

Thx for the help so far guys!!! please please keep them coming though

ribs1 · Post by **ribs1** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:06 pm

I would stop wasting time and reformat.
1. Pull Hard Drive
2. Mount in another working computer
3. Transfer Data to working computer
4. Remount drive in borked computer
5. Install Fresh copy of windows
6. Make sure system is working good
7. Transfer data
All this can be done in about 3 hrs
ribs1

caddyon34 · Post by **caddyon34** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 2:08 pm

im having a problem with my pc its a shuttle xpc and it was working fine until one day it stopped working and began freezing. it rarely works and stopped booting. At first i thought it was cause my cpu was overheating and i bought thermal creme and it didn't do anything plz need help.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 2:39 am

Greetings & welcome to SPCR,

It could be any one of several things causing this. I would forst check the RAM: boot with the Ultimate Boot CD, and run either the the X86MemTest or the Prime test (both in the Mainboard Tools). If it makes it for several hours, then you can eliminate the RAM as the cause. If it does crash, and you have several sticks of RAM, then run it with one stick at a time, and find the problem one.

After doing this, we will have a lot better chance of helping you.

computer won't boot

computer won't boot

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