Has my laptop experienced a fatal error?

accessgranter · 11-02-2009, 02:26 AM

I have a Dell XPS that I got about 15 months ago (the summer of 08, give or take a few months). It's worked perfectly up until now; I had up-to-date spyware (Spybot), Adware (Ad-Aware), malware (Malwarebytes) and virus protection (McAfee). It was a computer outfitted with Windows Vista.

Anyway, a week or so ago I started to receive messages that would pop up from the little icon toolbar in the bottom right hand corner saying that certain programs were corrupt, and it told me to use the 'chkdsk' utility. I did so, and it reported back with no problems, so I just ran the various programs that I listed up there, and that was done with (they also reported no problems). As the week went on, almost every program I started up started to give me that same message, from AIM to MSN, to Firefox itself, and finally Windows Explorer. The computer had been getting laggier and laggier, and finally, I had to shut down the computer because it was freezing for such great periods of time.

I tried to shut it down, and I got an error message saying that the logon system was not responding, so I shut it down manually (holding down the power button). Upon restarting it, it ran Chkdsk again, and this time experienced an 'unspecified error'. It was for the D: drive, though, so I restarted the computer and cancelled the check for the D: drive, and had it check the C: drive....to which I received a nice stream of gibberish. It was random symbols and such, so I once again shut it down, and when I started it back up once more, it told me that Windows was unable to start, and now it tried to run some program to fix the disc, which never completed.

I'm now stuck without my laptop, as it won't even boot up Windows...what's my next step? I'm at a library computer right now, and I have no idea what to do. Being in university, I kind of require my laptop so I can do my assignments and online quizzes and all that other stuff...do I get it reformatted? Is Vista (as I've heard so so so many negative things about it) the problem? Any help would be appreciated and as this is urgent, the sooner the better! Thanks a lot!

Hefemeister · 11-02-2009, 02:31 AM

start with a vista boot repair.
How to automatically repair Windows Vista using Startup Repair

based upon your experiences I am leaning towards a failing hard drive. Get your data backed up and download the hd utility program for your specific hard drive to test it's integrity.

moshkid213 · 11-02-2009, 02:41 AM

I honestly love Windows 7 and hate Vista. Windows 7 is a nice investment as it is even more user friendly then Vista/XP combined. You also probably won't need to find a single driver when you install Win7.

Microsoft finally did something worth while IMO.

accessgranter · 11-02-2009, 02:58 AM

Thanks for the fast replies! I am now home (have been for a while), and I'm using another computer to follow these instructions while having my laptop on my...well, my lap.

I have a question, however; how do I run this HD Utility Program if I can't boot up Windows at al? Furthermore, how do I know what my 'specific hard drive' is? Sorry if these questions sound elementary, but I'm not particularly well versed in computer things. Thanks again!

Hefemeister · 11-02-2009, 03:01 AM

If you can get windows back up and running then you can look in device manager to determine the make and model of your hard drive.

Many of the utilities also come in a bootable version as well.

Work on repairing windows first, backup data then we will worry about further diagnosis.

accessgranter · 11-02-2009, 03:32 AM

Alrighty, so, since my last post, I've been working on the problem to no avail. I found the CD that came with the comp, and booted it up from the CD, and went through the steps in the link you gave me until this screen:

I went straight to "Next", and I didn't click "Load Drivers". It went back to Startup Repair, as it did before I booted it up off the CD, and this time after a while it asked me to restart the computer, to see if the problem had been fixed. I did so, and it automatically ran the Chkdsk utility again. This time, when it checked the D: drive, it actually went to the "Stage 1 of 3" thing, but then it froze and stayed at that screen forever.

Should I have clicked "Load Drivers"? I also have a CD here that explicitly says "Drivers and Utilities", but I wasn't 100% sure if I should have tried to Load Drivers, for fear of screwing up the computer more than it already is.

accessgranter · 11-02-2009, 03:35 AM

zomg. Right after I hit the post button, I looked back over my laptop, and it was doing crazy things. It was, once more, going through the Chkdsk utility of the D: drive, and then the entire screen filled with this:

PADDINGXXPADDINGXXPADDINGXXPADDINGXXPADDING

and it continued on in that fashion until the whole screen was filled, ending with a nice 'An unspecified error has occurred."

Oddly enough, right after that, the computer booted up, and took me to the screen where I'd enter my password to login. I did so, and now it's a black screen...I have no idea what's going on, to be honest >_>

moshkid213 · 11-02-2009, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by accessgranter

zomg. Right after I hit the post button, I looked back over my laptop, and it was doing crazy things. It was, once more, going through the Chkdsk utility of the D: drive, and then the entire screen filled with this:

PADDINGXXPADDINGXXPADDINGXXPADDINGXXPADDING

and it continued on in that fashion until the whole screen was filled, ending with a nice 'An unspecified error has occurred."

Oddly enough, right after that, the computer booted up, and took me to the screen where I'd enter my password to login. I did so, and now it's a black screen...I have no idea what's going on, to be honest >_>

Advice? Re-install windows without formatting your drive. That way you still have your files. Etc. But you get a new clean OS.

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