Bloody computers!

[Benner]

I have just had a fun couple of hours trying to fix my laptop after the wife sent me a link to some stupid dancing elf site which caused my computer to freeze up for ages and require manually turning off.  When I tried to turn it on, I get options to start it up in "safe mode", "safe with commands", "safe and something to do with networking", "using previous settings" and "start as normal".  I tried each option and Windows starts to load up but then it just switches off again after briefly flashing up a message on a blue background that happens so fast I can't read it.  I tried a different hard disc and although I got further, it still switched off mid start up.

So, anyone have any suggestions?  Also, is there any was I can use the hard disc out of my laptop in another one?  I tried a swap but all I got was a black screen.

The laptop I now have is actually in 2 halves and held together with duct tape   It also has a few keys missing. 

[nuphoria]

Oh, that doesn't sound too good

If you have a copy of windows on disk, you may be able to boot from that and get at it that way. I suppose the obvious causes are a virus or a corrupt win file, both of which may require that you reinstall the damn thing. I'm not an expert, just been there before and hated it.... try not to throw it out of the window or use power tools on it, well not yet anyway.

Someone here must know more 

[Benner]

I don't have a disc.     The wifes computer had a similar prob which needed a full re-install resulting in a total loss of all data.  I REALLY don't want to be doing that. 

Micah, come save me!!! 

[Teofilo]

looks like formatting the hard disk and reinstalling a new OS, Ben.
Do you have a hard disk enclosure?

[Crouton]

You can get a USB enclosure for a 2.5 inch hard disk and you will be able to recover the data that way, just make sure you buy the right one for your hard disk.  They are either for SATA or IDE drives.

There are also available adapters so you can connect a laptop hard disk to a standard IDE or SATA header on a motherboard, but this requires you to have a PC and you'd have to have it open.

You can also boot the laptop from a Linux bootable CD like Knoppix and just burn your data to CD or DVD media from within the Linux Graphical user interface.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

[Benner]

You can get a USB enclosure for a 2.5 inch hard disk and you will be able to recover the data that way, just make sure you buy the right one for your hard disk.  They are either for SATA or IDE drives.

There are also available adapters so you can connect a laptop hard disk to a standard IDE or SATA header on a motherboard, but this requires you to have a PC and you'd have to have it open.

You can also boot the laptop from a Linux bootable CD like Knoppix and just burn your data to CD or DVD media from within the Linux Graphical user interface.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

Yeah I have plenty! 

I can aquire a PC very easily.  Have you got a link to the thing I'd need?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Take it to a pro and have them recover your data before you wipe it. 

I would also consider a new laptop- it sounds like your was on borrowed time when you joined this forum.  They are pretty cheap nowadays.

Def

[Nikos]

In that "Safe mode"/"Safe mode with networking"/... screen there should be an option to disable automatic reboots on error. That should allow you to read the actual error message on the BSOD and that would give you a clue as to what went wrong. The easy way out is to find the installation media and perform a system repair. If that doesn't work you'll need to go into system console and restore to a previous restore point...

[Benner]

Erm there is a slight prob with taking it to a pro as I have some "sensitive" files on there...

Yeah it's done me well and the time has come to upgrade.  Just that money issue to solve first.

[Benner]

In that "Safe mode"/"Safe mode with networking"/... screen there should be an option to disable automatic reboots on error. That should allow you to read the actual error message on the BSOD and that would give you a clue as to what went wrong. The easy way out is to find the installation media and perform a system repair. If that doesn't work you'll need to go into system console and restore to a previous restore point...

I didn't see that option.    I'll have to have another look, but I thought I tried each option.

[Crouton]

You can get a USB enclosure for a 2.5 inch hard disk and you will be able to recover the data that way, just make sure you buy the right one for your hard disk.  They are either for SATA or IDE drives.

There are also available adapters so you can connect a laptop hard disk to a standard IDE or SATA header on a motherboard, but this requires you to have a PC and you'd have to have it open.

You can also boot the laptop from a Linux bootable CD like Knoppix and just burn your data to CD or DVD media from within the Linux Graphical user interface.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

Yeah I have plenty! 

I can aquire a PC very easily.  Have you got a link to the thing I'd need?

Here are links for products that would allow you access to your laptop hard disk once it is installed in this device.

The links I am providing are just the cheapest not necessarily the best or fastest.

If your laptop hard disk is IDE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145329&cm_re=usb_2.5-_-17-145-329-_-Product

If your laptop hard disk is SATA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707189&cm_re=usb_2.5-_-17-707-189-_-Product

Once you install your hard disk into this device it will show up in My Computer as another drive and you can copy all your data to the host or burn/backup to other media.

[Benner]

That looks what I need!!    Now to find one in the UK...

[Crouton]

The option I mentioned for booting the laptop from Knoppix requires that your laptop be fully functional but this option can be tried out for free by downloading the Knoppix live cd from http://www.knoppix.com/  burning it then booting the laptop from it.

This way would be quite a pain if you haven't done it before or haven't had a ton of computer experience but it is a great option.  Knoppix contains a CD/DVD burning application which would allow you to burn your data to discs.  
Infor here:  http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Knowing_Knoppix/CD_reading_and_writing


You can also mount your entire hard disk as a network share using SAMBA from teh Knoppix disc but that is not easy and I wouldn't recommend it.

If your data is super important, which is likely since it's your data, you can actually make a hard disk image of the hard disk as is using a program like Norton Ghost or better Acronis True Image http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/  This way you won't lose any data no matter what you decide to do.  Even if you take it to a shop you should back it up first, for most techs it is much easier to format and reinstall an OS than it is to diagnose a problem and fix it.

Better safe than sorry,  I've seen some pretty sad situations when people lose data.

Good luck.

[Whoey]

you can boot ubuntu off the CD and should be able to read any files off your windows drive there (and dump to another usb drive or similar) reinstalling windows over top of windows also may work (NOT formatting!) I'm a bit half asleep atm, will feed more info in the morning...

[Benner]

Thanks Crouton. 

Micah, look forward to hearing from you when you are awake. 

[Medic82]

I would recomend

[Benner]

It did nearly get to visit the end of my garden. 

[Whoey]

Ok here's my thoughts:

Option 1. reinstall windows overtop of windows... this requires a windows CD. This will break any service packs/updates you have installed, but at least the computer will be in a functioning mode and you can recover/backup your stuff, and you can always re-update...

Option 2. get/download/burn/order an Ubuntu disk (http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download), it should be possible to run right off the CD, and you can also take advantage of the memory test on this... I have had a similar thing happen on my inlaws laptop, and turns out a stick of memory went bad... let the test run at least a few cycles, if there are no errors, it's all good, if there are a couple errors, it's not good, but not fatal, and if there are heaps of errors, you need to swapout the ram (in which case, the aforementioned buy a new one might be a better solution, as you'll get a much better system for the money...) If the memory test is ok, then run ubuntu off the CD... it's similar enough to windows, and you can probably even surf with just some basic setup (wifi key) this also should be a good enough environment to plug in a usb disk or SD card(s) to dump your important files.

I have tried knoppix disks in the past, and while they work just fine for me, I find the latest ubuntu disks are a lot more normal user friendly.

I'd offer to come over and fix it, but I can't quite afford a flight... and that would also probably cost more than buying a new one

[MultiMat]

You mean Control + alt + delete does not fix every pc problem

[Whoey]

benner check: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=14&subid=72 for enclosures...

also http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=2&cat=4&subcat=242

and check your local Maplin, (or online) http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?menuno=12756

I can point you at a more specific one if you tell me the model of the laptop...

[Whoey]

actually, something like this may be the perfect solution: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143274

[Benner]

Just off to work now, but I'll try burning an Ubuntu disc when I get home tonight and give that a try. I'll let you know how I get on.

[Whoey]

you could also try booting the ubuntu disk first, if it kicks up massive errors, then try the memory check... you may want to consider setting up the machine to dual boot too...

[Styerman]

I dont mean to be a Poo head , but all my computer anghst went away when I went Mac . No trauma , no drama , just does what it says on the tin ! Suck it hard Microsoft ! A Lawyer , and a dentist of my aquaintance have both switched to Imacs , and would never consider a windows based lifeform again .

Chris

[Whoey]

I dont mean to be a Poo head , but all my computer anghst went away when I went Mac . No trauma , no drama , just does what it says on the tin ! Suck it hard Microsoft ! A Lawyer , and a dentist of my aquaintance have both switched to Imacs , and would never consider a windows based lifeform again .

Chris

While this is the case for most people... I was working on a client site the other day, and the guy who was doing the graphics for the client could not send me the graphics because his mac died. It took him a week to get it back online, and send us the files... this considering that he had them stored externally and had to take his mac in for servicing...

All machines have flaws, once Mac starts getting the level of popularity of Windows machines, it will have the same problems... I have more of a beef with the price they are sold for than how they work.

[John]

My laptop does this occasionally I opt for start windows normally touch wood it's worked so far 

[Roadie]

I dont mean to be a Poo head , but all my computer anghst went away when I went Mac . No trauma , no drama , just does what it says on the tin ! Suck it hard Microsoft ! A Lawyer , and a dentist of my aquaintance have both switched to Imacs , and would never consider a windows based lifeform again .

Chris

You mean macs that when upgraded to Snow Leopard you had to be really careful as in some cases logging on as the guest account would remove all your data and make it damn near impossible to recover? Oh yeah they are just dandy

[glorn]

I dont mean to be a Poo head , but all my computer anghst went away when I went Mac . No trauma , no drama , just does what it says on the tin ! Suck it hard Microsoft ! A Lawyer , and a dentist of my aquaintance have both switched to Imacs , and would never consider a windows based lifeform again .

Chris

I have used both Mac and Windows machines over multiple generations of each, and I can honestly say that they both can have issues.

Many of the Apples I used had freeze problems. You had to save your work much more often than you should, or risk losing it all when the Mac went stiff.

And while I have never had a serious infection or anything on a Windows machine, I will admit that they require more diligence in keeping them clean and safe. And they do tend to crash as they get older and loaded down.


But the one thing I have seen again and again is simple user error and poor judgment with regard to surfing, downloads, and software. Most of the folks I know who have computer issues on a continuous basis would have these issues on any machine regardless of OS. Why? Because they don't really know how to maintain the thing properly. They run no antivirus software. Or they have one, but they never update it (or set it to update itself). They don't scan for malware... ever. They download stuff they should not download. They never clean up the hard drive. Etc.

I would happily use either a Mac or a PC.. no preference here. Mostly I am Windows these days due to cost. Macs are just too pricey for me right now.

The main thing to keep in mind about the whole Mac vs. PC debate is this: There are many more users of PCs than there are Macs. That means there are more reviews to be read. And more reviews means a greater instance of bad reviews.

And between you and me... I find that Mac users think the OS is gonna solve all of their issues related to a lack of knowledge, and this is how they justify the cost. But then when there is a an issue with their Mac, they keep quiet about it. You wouldn't buy a Lamborghini and then bitch to your friends about how uncomfortable it is... no... you would smile and say, "Oh, I adore it!"

 

[Whoey]

video contains some language...

[Nikos]