PC problem. Help

[aam1234]

Will spare you the boring details and tell the main things that I did:

1- PC froze, so restarted.
2- Went to Restore point 1. No luck.
3- Went to Restore point 2, which is about a week earlier than restore point 1. Still no luck.

It's a Dell XPS 710 (or something like that), Win XP Pro, 4 GB ram.

Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

[Mr. Pickles]

Bare details aren't good enough. It froze? And what about it? You restarted. And?

We got all kinds of computers that "freeze" and when they are rebooted, they work. What does yours do? Nothing? Define "Still no luck"...

Just because it froze doesn't warrant a "roll back" to a previous restore point....

[Eero Makela]

Did you install anything new?
Added new hardware?
Did windows do any updates?
How old is PC?

[aam1234]

Thanks Mr.P. Was worried that too much details will turn people off.

What happened, in sequence, is:
- Started the PC, got a note to update the Flash thing (Adobe, I believe). But since I forgot to connect to the internet I canceled it.
- When connecting to the net, I got another update request...from a software that's anti-flash (can't remember the name at the moment ).
- Few posts at the Camel then started the external HD.
- Inserted the CF card, but it wasn't recognized.
- Went to Windows Explorer to see if it can see/read the external HD. It showed the files in the HD.
- When I clicked on a random photo file it froze.

Hope that and the first post can give the experts here an idea of what went wrong.

Thanks in advance.

[aam1234]

Thanks, Eero.

I think (but I'm no expert here) that those updated are what causing the problem.

[Eero Makela]

Remove CF and External HD
Reboot system if required

Does it function OK?

Next
Connect External HD . Does it work correctly?

Next
Next try CF does it work?

Try to do only 1 thing at a time to help isolate the cause.

[JPhotoz]

The above should be very helpful. Try to isolate the problem.

Sometimes the external drive gives a problem since there is so many files and it takes a while since it is external. Maybe you did not wait long enough.

Jordan

[aam1234]

Oh, the PC won't start. With or without HDs/CFs or anything else.

Well, it starts, somewhat, till that blue "dots" (for a lack of a better description) go across the screen. Then nothing happens.

Edit: when restarting (like 10 times) the external HD was off (no electricity to the HD).

[JPhotoz]

What do you mean "blue Dots"?

I don't think I have seen that before. I have seen the blue screen of death but that is writing not dots.

Can you start and do anything in Safe mode?

Jordan

[aam1234]

The blue dots are the things Windows show before fully starting. I'm sure you recognize them if you see them. They show before the sound comes out, if you know what I mean

And yes, I can start at Safe Mode (which I did like 5 times). But don't know what to do then

[JPhotoz]

Here is something simple that has worked once for me.

Turn computer off for 5 min then retry .

Jordan

[aam1234]

Appreciate your effort, Jordan.

Thanks

[Mike_e]

First try going into safe mode and then restarting normally.

Next if that didn't work, boot into safe mode (sm) and then disable your firewall and un-tick the box that tells it to start when windows starts (remember at some point to turn it back on ) and then reboot normally. If this works then go to control panel and then add/remove programs and search for the program that wanted the 2nd up date and tear it out by the lungs and reboot (or if you like the program try disabling it). If it reboots then the software was hanging your firewall. You might try the anti-virus if this doesn't work but I would try running a scan in safe mode before disabling your AV.

If uninstalling the 2nd program doesn't do the trick try un-installing Adobe flash.

[aam1234]

Originally Posted by Mike_e

First try going into safe mode and then restarting normally.

Did that 3 or 4 times.

Originally Posted by Mike_e

If uninstalling the 2nd program doesn't do the trick try un-installing Adobe flash.

You are into something here. (Pardon my ignorance) is Adobe Flash and Java the same thing. Guess not. Tried un-installing Java while I wanted to un-install Flash. Thought they were the same.

Will wait for a clarification/advice.

[Sidebyte]

It sounds as though you may have corrupted your Windows files, if so you will have to do a "restore install" of XP. Insert your original Win XP cd into the drive and set the PC to start from the CDRrom drive in BIOS. After it initially goes through the install files phase it will ask if you wish to retore from a restore disk, NO...then it will go to the second install window and ask you to press "R" to restore. YES! It will reinstall your windows files but WILL NOT detroy your program or document files, they will remain intact.
Bill

[Mike_e]

If you can find your install CD then do that but try uninstalling Adobe flash (or shockwave or whichever you have).

Before that though can you boot into normal windows far enough to bring up the task manager by pressing CTRL/ALT/DEL keys? If so go to processes and see which prog is using up all your resources.

You might also try just booting normally and going to dinner for an hour or so and see if it comes up on it's own. Sometimes it just takes it a while to stop pouting.

[aam1234]

Sounds like a good idea, Bill. If I can find the restore CD.

But hey, didn't know your name is Bill. Always thought of you as the "Papillon" guy. We both like that movie and it's music theme. That I remember.

[nyschulte]

You could also try to check the disks

if there is some sort of corruption, some files may be lost during the process, so while safe mode is working try to backup important stuff before!!
.
.
.

connect only screen, keyboard and mouse
boot in safe mode,
open a command shell and run the chkdsk similar to the following
--------------------------------
C:\> chkdsk c: /f
--------------------------------
you should see the following.
====================================
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be
checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
======================================
by answering Y disk will be marked for checking during next boot
this may take some time, depending on the size of your disk

just reboot, ideally in safe mode

if you turn off the firewall , amke sure to disconnect the network!


Nicolas

[aam1234]

Originally Posted by Mike_e

and going to dinner for an hour or so and see if it comes up on it's own. Sometimes it just takes it a while to stop pouting.

Believe it or not. I tried that, too Got new cloths but was lazy to hang them. So gave the PC "sometime to think" while forcing myself to hang the clothes in that thing (what do you call it). Unfortunately, it didn't work

[daveyburt]

i'm not sure i'm following everything 'exactly' but..

I'm assuming that both your External drive and CF drive are USB/Firewire....? Do any of your USB/Firewire device work in safe mode? Printer, scanner etc...
I'm leaning towards a USB problem from your description....

When you can start in safe mode but you don't start in 'un-safe' mode (normal mode), it's usually a driver problem. The adobe Flash plugin is a web browser plugin and should not affect the normal booting of your PC. That anti-flash thing you mentioned is troubling. There are no 'trusted' software vendors that publish such things and now-a-days, Flash doesn't need to be avoided. I would get rid of that first if you can.

What you need to find out is which of your startup drivers/applications are causing your hang. I believe that one of the safe-mode startup options is a step-by-step boot which allows you to choose which of the drivers are loaded. You can say yes or no to each driver your system is trying to load. This can be time consuming and, a little knowledge of genuine system drivers is helpful but, -process of elimination here again...boot and allow the first driver in the step-by-step list to load. If that goes well, boot again allowing the first and second driver to load. Rinse and repeat with each cycle enabling one more driver until you find the one that hangs your system in the way your describe (blue dots).

but again...i'm thinking USB problem but, diagnosing on the net is just about impossible.


good luck!