Computer help forum: computer turns on but windows doesnt load!

there was an windows update installed as it shut down, then the following morning i woke up powered on the computer and windows didnt load


recovery console via windows xp installation cd? i tried c:\fixboot that didnt work

yes i tried that, that didnt work

well its an

AMD 4400+ X2
2048 DDR3 RAM
400GB

what more do you need?

i have limewire installed as well bit torrent

but im sure the problem occured via the system update

ermm

i have two seperate drives, is it possible to install XP on the other drive which only contains files

well you see personally i think it was the windows update which screwed the system up why?..

well i had limewire/bittorrent for over a year without a problem then i installed a windows update then from there on this problem occured..

i am not saving any application, ive got 150GB worth of video footage from different countries i went....

Windows can be installed on ANY partition (does not have to be a primary even) on ANY drive recognized by the BIOS.

This is quite often done for many reasons, one of which is a parallel installation to use in trouble shooting or fixing another installation.

An installation NEVER requires that a drive already formatted with an appropriate files system needs to be re-formatted so existing files on a drive are not at risk (although it is always best to ensure they have been backed up if possible).

Check this LINK,scroll down to "How do I uninstall BitTorrent?"

Regarding limewire removal LINK

Tom

where the hardware item's BIOS can get installed.

After trying Bill's suggesting try disconnecting a few items, one at a time.

As you can see from the previous 15 posts, nobody knows anything except they think reinstalling windows helps.
I agree its happened to me because of windows updates, and I guess me and the first guy are the only two it happens too.

I have a gateway something with 1.5 Gb of ram and I don't have any games, chat, or funny business going on. All I can do is turn it of and on repeatedly and eventually (Thank God!) it starts.
You guys with all the ideas about changing things are missing the point. I dont think we even get to the Dos level commands. Its really dead as could be except the disk is running and you see a few flickers on your monitor.
The first time it took about two tries to restart to get going. The last time (3 wks or so ago) took about 10 times to try to get going before it did. I'd say it happened to me about 4 times over the last year.

My Gateway (WinXP home, P4 2ghz, 1.5ram, 80gb hd, etc) likes to die on occasion too. Screen is just black/blank. I move the mouse or hit a key, nothing. The computer is running while this is happening. I have to hit the power button on the computer to shut it down then restart. The first time less than a year ago Gateway had me install 2 new power supplies (they sent 2 - the first one was dead). Warrantied then. That seemed to do the trick. Now it's doing it again. Sometimes it goes to chkdsk on reboot. I got a message during this that it was checking a disk. Vol serial number 4OD8-96A5, etc. I'm unable to find any info about this. Is this referring to the hard drive(I'm assuming)? Perhaps the power supply is not sufficient and needs to be replaced with a higher rated one? I happen to have a new spare 80gb HD laying around. Think this would help to replace the original which is 5 & 1/2 years old? No obvious HD symptoms such as noise. Perhaps it's my spouses poison fingers :-)?!

Everyone thinks it is something with windows but I just had this problem last night and now I cant get on unless im at school. I get the Sorry for the problem or whatnot. and cant get into anything. Last time this had happen it was a virus that the Avast didnt catch and I have limewire but I had that well over the time it took for it to do this. So im guessing it is a virus that is not catching.

You really have a couple of options here:
1. You could beg/borrow/steal a hard drive - load windows onto it and set up in your computer as master. Set old drive as Slave and copy all files you want onto new drive, then format the old drive and copy files back.
2. Find a download for one of the "Boot disks" that are floating around. There is "Ultimate Boot Disk" or "Ultimate Boot CD or UBCD as it is known" These are free downloads and have tools on them to recover disk partitions etc. A google search will show a download site near you. Cnet used to have a link but its gone now.
3. Go to the Microsoft website and learn about the Recovery Console. (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058/en-us)

Windows would not load when computer was turned on.

I followed each of the directions listed on the black screen; nothing worked - kept going around in circles. Gateway support told me to insert the 'blue operations disk' and run a 'chkdsk.' After chkdsk completion, the black screen returned; however, this time when the 'Load Windows as normal' option was clicked, the system began to load Windows (a beautiful sound!).

All is well, but I am hesitant to turn off the computer now. I own a Gateway 500XL; so is this a Gateway or Microsoft issue?

how did you do that?

Oranje did u try pressing F8 at the startup - that will take you into the windows startup options menu and you can try booting into safe mode. From there you can try fixing the problem or uninstalling some updates or use system Restore

Normally Reinstalling windows will NOT delete any of your documents
or files (unless you are using one of the quick recovery disks / CDs that came shipped with your computer coz these usually overwrite everything)but you certainly will have to reinstall device drivers and any programs that you may have previously installed.

Limewire or Bittorrent in itself are safe programs to use, however it is possible that one of the files you downloaded may have been infected and affected your system. Judging from experience - i would believe this is more of a MS update issue - as some of them often crash or create problems (which are usually resolved by using the Last Known Good Configuration option in the startup menu).

Recovery Console would also be your best bet - from where you can run chkdsk /p and sfc to see if some system files have been corrupted and need to be replaced with the correct versions.

Good luck and let us know how it went !!