What just happened to my computer?

Started by Galactic Druid, August 22, 2012, 04:21:16 AM

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Galactic Druid

So I was in the middle of a post when suddenly, I got a blue screen. I haven't seen one of those since I started using 7. Anyway, within seconds of bluescreening, it turned off. I turned it back on, and it started through the usual process; Asus logo startup screen telling me I can hit del to go into bios, etc, then someone new.

It told me to please insert a proper boot disc, or something to that effect, I don't remember exactly. I turned my PC off and tried again. Asus screen, black screen. Nothing. Not even the message about using a proper boot disc.

What just happened? Is it a virus? I just started using a new antivirus...
It was running a little noisy compared to normal recently, did something break?
There's no way I can be stuck posting on my phone, I've got to be ale to do something about this...
A/As last updated 11/27 - Halfway past busy season!

Oreo

I had that happen to my HP a few weeks ago. It wouldn't boot up with anything in any of the bootable areas. I had to remove my external HD, my flash drive and the movie DVD from my videotray before starting the pc. It does the same thing any time I have something plugged in. :P I don't know if the fix is that simple or if something broke for you. It might be worth a try. : /

She led me to safety in a forest of green, and showed my stale eyes some sights never seen.
She spins magic and moonlight in her meadows and streams, and seeks deep inside me,
and touches my dreams. - Harry Chapin

Sarena

I can go from southern belle to ghetto thug faster than you can say "Bless your heart".
Status:  All caught up and loving it!


Galactic Druid

Quote from: Oreo on August 22, 2012, 04:25:21 AM
I had that happen to my HP a few weeks ago. It wouldn't boot up with anything in any of the bootable areas. I had to remove my external HD, my flash drive and the movie DVD from my videotray before starting the pc. It does the same thing any time I have something plugged in. :P I don't know if the fix is that simple or if something broke for you. It might be worth a try. : /

New problem after that. Asus screen, black screen a moment, then the usual Windows loading screen, only it stopped halfway through, turning black, with white letters that just say "Error loading Operating System".
Does this sound like a virus or a HDD error to you guys? I'm slightly more fucked with one than the other, I don't have a backup of anything on my HDD.
A/As last updated 11/27 - Halfway past busy season!

AngelicFaith

Ok, first: If you have your windows 7 disc, try starting it up using that.
Second: this looks to be a HDD error, seeing that it had an error loading your operating system.
If starting it up with the original windows 7 disc doesn´t work, then I am afraid your HDD might be broken or Windows stopped working.
What you can also try is starting Windows in safe modus, spam the f8 button after you turned on your pc.
When you start it using the windows disc? first try to see if it starts with that, if not, try the repair function that is on the cd, you can choose repair when starting up with the windows 7 disc.

Keep me up to date,

Ron

Interested in writing with me? Check my Ons and Offs and Request thread (Or my special  Werewolf/ Shifter request thread here)

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Galactic Druid

Quote from: AngelicFaith on August 22, 2012, 05:10:00 AM
Ok, first: If you have your windows 7 disc, try starting it up using that.
Second: this looks to be a HDD error, seeing that it had an error loading your operating system.
If starting it up with the original windows 7 disc doesn´t work, then I am afraid your HDD might be broken or Windows stopped working.
What you can also try is starting Windows in safe modus, spam the f8 button after you turned on your pc.
When you start it using the windows disc? first try to see if it starts with that, if not, try the repair function that is on the cd, you can choose repair when starting up with the windows 7 disc.

Keep me up to date,

Ron

Well.... crap. Going through my media discs, it looks like the 7 one is missing. I found the original recovery disc which will put it back to Vista, but the windows 7 upgrade disc is AWOL. I'll see if I can hunt it down, but if it's not in the two places I know to look, it's gone for good.

In the meantime, I'll try safe mode while I search.
A/As last updated 11/27 - Halfway past busy season!

Galactic Druid

Safe mode resulted in the same 'error loading os' message. Now I'm not even getting the courtesy of a loading screen before it happens.

What is wrong with me?  I have all the original media for everything in this bundle. Mice I don't even own anymore, 3 different video cards of drivers, several plug and play devices I never even installed, but no windows 7 disc. I may need to reformat to vista, if that will even work.

Okay, let's say it's a worst case scenario and this is an HDD crash. would I be able to save anything if I don't try reformatting? I'm just wondering if I have anything to lose at this point...
A/As last updated 11/27 - Halfway past busy season!

AngelicFaith

#7
well, all i can think of now is that you need the windows 7 disc... You can try borrowing it from someone else.
once you have the disc, use the repair option on it. It seems that windows somehow became corrupted.
If the repair doesn´t help, go to the store where you got the pc from, and ask them to backup your files, because then you will need to do a complete refreshment on your pc A.K.A reinstalling windows.
OR, you can try make a boot USB stick with Ubuntu 10.10 and you can backup your files through that.

I have both windows 7 and Ubuntu 10.0 on my laptop for if my windows stops liking me.

*Edited*

Ubuntu 10.10 is no longer supported, you´ll need to download the latest instead.
link: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
you can choose between 32 and 64 bit, if you got 4GB or more RAM, choose 64 bit.

Interested in writing with me? Check my Ons and Offs and Request thread (Or my special  Werewolf/ Shifter request thread here)

Apologies and Absences: Update 03-10

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gaggedLouise

Quote from: ThatRPGuy on August 22, 2012, 05:25:50 AM
Safe mode resulted in the same 'error loading os' message. Now I'm not even getting the courtesy of a loading screen before it happens.

What is wrong with me?  I have all the original media for everything in this bundle. Mice I don't even own anymore, 3 different video cards of drivers, several plug and play devices I never even installed, but no windows 7 disc. I may need to reformat to vista, if that will even work.

Okay, let's say it's a worst case scenario and this is an HDD crash. would I be able to save anything if I don't try reformatting? I'm just wondering if I have anything to lose at this point...


Wow, that sounds bad. If you opt for leaving it in for service (as sounds likely), have them try to ghost or backup the hard drive to a new one, and do it as soon as possible. That might well work even if you can't get the HD to start at this point. It's quite possible to copy or ghost a HD even though the connecting gates to the motherboard are dead, or even if the drive has suffered some damage. You don't want to lose all that was stored on the machine.

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

Galactic Druid

So bottom lining it, don't try reformatting it, right?
A/As last updated 11/27 - Halfway past busy season!

AngelicFaith

Quote from: ThatRPGuy on August 22, 2012, 05:55:27 AM
So bottom lining it, don't try reformatting it, right?

Yes, don't reformat it right away.

Interested in writing with me? Check my Ons and Offs and Request thread (Or my special  Werewolf/ Shifter request thread here)

Apologies and Absences: Update 03-10

Come and enter The Breeding House of Vinicus. We ensure the fulfillment of all your breeding wishes

gaggedLouise

#11
Quote from: ThatRPGuy on August 22, 2012, 05:55:27 AM
So bottom lining it, don't try reformatting it, right?

Exactly, better leave it in with some tech guys you trust - or do it with somebody else's Win7 disc. Preferably an OEM one, or it might run into trouble if the machine is a different brand, has a different processor and so on.

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

Galactic Druid

What is OEM? I may need to take it to the geek squad...
A/As last updated 11/27 - Halfway past busy season!

Oreo

From experience beware the Geek Squad. Their first response is to wipe out everything on the HD. Plus they took 5 weeks to replace my motherboard. :P If it is still under warranty, maybe, but if possible look for a repair shop. They are generally cheaper and try to save your stuff.

*sends hugs*

She led me to safety in a forest of green, and showed my stale eyes some sights never seen.
She spins magic and moonlight in her meadows and streams, and seeks deep inside me,
and touches my dreams. - Harry Chapin

gaggedLouise

#14
Quote from: ThatRPGuy on August 22, 2012, 06:30:52 AM
What is OEM? I may need to take it to the geek squad...

A copy of Windows (or any software) that's been bought separately, not bundled with hardware (the latter is a retail copy). So it's a "clean" copy, without any presets, tweaks or system add-ons to match it to what's hardwired into the machine. Lots of machines are sold with Windows preinstalled and then the install may have modifications to optimize it with that particular machine line. It won't be anything you notice from the outside as a user, if you would compare how the system shows up in two different Windows 7 machines, but the mods are there and sometimes (not saying always) they will create errors and stop the install if one tries to load Windows from the install disc on another machine with different hardware.

Happened to me when my old pc broke down this summer. After it had been rebuilt, it turned out I needed a new copy of Windows XP. I'd bought it without any OS and installed the system twice before from mum's XP SP1 cd which she had gotten with a different machine, it had worked fine at those times, but now it stalled and I had to get a new XP SP3 OEM cd. Fortunately I could get that at a good price, and a legal copy, from the repair man.

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

Sarah Morgan

First off, I'm not tech savvy when it comes to computers, so I probably can't help with fixing whatever the problem is, unfortunately, but I wanted to drop in and wish you luck on being able to fix it without a reformat.  Keep us posted on how it goes, and I sympathize with having no fun writing with your phone!  A friend of mine lets me use their iPhone sometimes, and I'm definitely faster in typing on the computer than I am with that!

Last time I had to have the computer looked at in the shop, it literally took the guy like three months to get it back to me.  Most of them are quicker than that though, and if I remember right I think the guy was the only one working on the computers he got, with no one to help him and doing it from his house, so that was kind of a special case.

gaggedLouise

#16
Louise agrees with Oreo that some (knowledgeable) geeks tend to just go for clearing everything in order to troubleshoot, and taking an inordinate amount of time to do something one didn't ask them to do. Repair shops are better, or the place where you bought the can if they do their own servicing (ask them about this, some of them will ship it on to another support firm and then you're left sitting).

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

SaturnCeleste

Quote from: ThatRPGuy on August 22, 2012, 06:30:52 AM
What is OEM? I may need to take it to the geek squad...
Original Equipment Manufacturer.  When it went to the blue screen, did you happen to get any of that written down?  Also, is your computer making a noise when it's on?  Do you know what size your power supply is, and can we  have a little info about your computer please.
To some, steampunk is a catchall term, a concept in search of a visual identity. To me, it’s essentially the intersection of technology and romance. – Jake von Slatt
Saturn Reads Tarot (Free) & E*rotic Readings,
Lickable Limericks, Saturn's Celestial Void, Saturn's Celestial Sojourn


Adammair

Ok, first, DO NOT reformat before trying any of the mentioned ideas. That being said, Try to get your hands on a Windows 7 disc (any version should do. I have a Win 7 Pro disc, that I could loan you, just PM me your info, if you can't find a copy nearby) and use the repair function after booting from it.

Also, look into the Ubuntu Linux option, as well. You may have to use a friend's computer with a DVD burner, to make a copy of the disc image onto a writable CD/DVD, but Ubuntu is totally free, and it's the hot new thing in Linux. It's supposed to be very user-friendly. It has a slightly different interface from Windows, but it should get you through.

Here's hoping you can get your issue solved as soon as possible, with as little loss of data as possible, as well. *crosses his fingers, prays, chants, does a rain dance, etc.*

Afterwards, MAKE A BACKUP of everything on your computer, as well, and store it in a safe place, in case something should go wrong, again, Heaven forbid. I can't stress the backup enough. BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!

Galactic Druid

I think I've tried everything I can tonight. I need some sleep. Thanks to e trying who offered help and advice. I PMed you, Adam.

I've been putting off gettin an external HD for far too long. The moment this is behind me, that's my first investment.
A/As last updated 11/27 - Halfway past busy season!

SaturnCeleste

Good luck and if you game and if you hear noises when you start your computer you might want to check into a power supply, they go out often, believe me.  Anymore with today's games and usage I recommend at least a 650 or higher--again depending on if you play PC games.
To some, steampunk is a catchall term, a concept in search of a visual identity. To me, it’s essentially the intersection of technology and romance. – Jake von Slatt
Saturn Reads Tarot (Free) & E*rotic Readings,
Lickable Limericks, Saturn's Celestial Void, Saturn's Celestial Sojourn


mayovagn

This does sound like a HDD issue.

Yes, don't for gawds sake take it to the geek squad.

If you can first thing I would do is buy a replacement hard drive, as its likely yours is actually dying.

Course, I may know what I am doing...

If you do this, and you can source a copy of win7 (you could pm me about that...), depending on your asus (laptop presumably asus don't make a lot of desktops) you can turn the lappy over and find the hard drive panel, (a lot of netbooks don't have this) and take out the old drive, slide in the new one replacing any hard drive furniture from the old to the new.

The use the win7 disk to install the operating system on the new disk. All your old data of course is not still on the old hard drive, so you will need an external hard drive solution to take care of that should you decide to go this route.

A copy of hirens boot disk is highly recomended to ensure you don't have ram or other issues.

I think you mentioned it could be running hot, grab some canned air and hose out your vents and fans carefully.


*Hugs*



M.
All hail Eris! Kallisti! All Hail Discordia!

Member in good standing but poor sitting and terrible leaning of the Most Secret Order of the Stone Bonker of the Kakapo

Sarena

Hon, I have my Windows 7 disc, full install OEM, not an upgrade disc.  See the PM I sent you for more details.  *hugs*
I can go from southern belle to ghetto thug faster than you can say "Bless your heart".
Status:  All caught up and loving it!


Galactic Druid

Quote from: SaturnCeleste on August 22, 2012, 08:05:29 AM
Good luck and if you game and if you hear noises when you start your computer you might want to check into a power supply, they go out often, believe me.  Anymore with today's games and usage I recommend at least a 650 or higher--again depending on if you play PC games.

I'm pretty sure it's not the PSU. It's very new (650 for the record), and everything else seems to be booting fine.
Quote from: mayovagn on August 22, 2012, 09:00:32 AM
This does sound like a HDD issue.

Yes, don't for gawds sake take it to the geek squad.

If you can first thing I would do is buy a replacement hard drive, as its likely yours is actually dying.

Course, I may know what I am doing...

If you do this, and you can source a copy of win7 (you could pm me about that...), depending on your asus (laptop presumably asus don't make a lot of desktops) you can turn the lappy over and find the hard drive panel, (a lot of netbooks don't have this) and take out the old drive, slide in the new one replacing any hard drive furniture from the old to the new.

The use the win7 disk to install the operating system on the new disk. All your old data of course is not still on the old hard drive, so you will need an external hard drive solution to take care of that should you decide to go this route.

A copy of hirens boot disk is highly recomended to ensure you don't have ram or other issues.

I think you mentioned it could be running hot, grab some canned air and hose out your vents and fans carefully.


*Hugs*



M.

Desktop actually. And here's the weird part. I got the PC just as 7 was coming out. I had to fill out a mail in for to get 7. The reformat disc will bring me back to vista, and the 7 upgrade isn't an official windows product, it's an Asus disc that does an upgrade to 7 from the installed vista only. The product key is the windows certification sticker on the side of my tower.

Heat isn't an issue for me, I'm happy to say.

If I get a new HDD and install windows on it, do you think the keycode on the sticker on my PC will work?
Quote from: Sarena on August 22, 2012, 09:47:52 AM
Hon, I have my Windows 7 disc, full install OEM, not an upgrade disc.  See the PM I sent you for more details.  *hugs*

I love you.
A/As last updated 11/27 - Halfway past busy season!

gaggedLouise

#24
Quote from: ThatRPGuyIf I get a new HDD and install windows on it, do you think the keycode on the sticker on my PC will work?


It should; the product key isn't one-on-one linked to a given machine or a given hard drive. It worked for me a few years ago when the HD had stopped responding to the motherboard and I had to reinstall: after getting a new drive in I used the old recovery cd (which was originally a retail copy from my mother's pc, bought a year before I acquired this one) and rebooted XP from that one. Both in the original install and in that reload, the disc came from a different machine of a different brand. It should be the same in Windows 7, and linking the system's legitimacy to a specific hard drive (the one that's in the machine when it's bought) would have been really stupid.

Bar codes are linked to what edition of the system it is though, so if you had Win 7 Home Premium and her OEM dvd is for Win 7 Enterprise it could mean a bit of trouble. But yes, borrowing it sounds like a great solution. Hope it works out.

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"