Computer Help

Raspberrypicker · Post by **Raspberrypicker** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:44 pm

I kno, this is a question. But I put it in the general discussion since it's not a programming question.

My dad broke his computer, so I'm gonna see if I can fix it. It fails to start up, and says some file or something on the harddrive has been changed.
It asks me to run Windows normally, run it in safe mode, run it in safe mode using a network, run it in safe mode using command prompt, or run it from a previous checkpoint were windows was working fine.

I tried all these options, but get the same result and am brought back to the same screen.

I still acess the boot menu and all that stuff, but being the tech noob that I am, I don't exactly know what boot does. I'm gonna do some research to see if I can actually fix it.

If you know anything about computers give me some advice, otherwise my dad will just get a new computer and he will let me take the broken one apart

Mentat · Post by **Mentat** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 1:04 pm

Boot means to start up. I think it's the program that actually turns on the computer and lets everything run. No Boot = No computer.

It sounds like a disk problem. If it is serious, then I think you really can't do much about it, except for playing around with it

.

But I don't exactly have an affinity toward computer hardware, so I don't know for sure.

Raspberrypicker · Post by **Raspberrypicker** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 1:13 pm

ok I've been reading about it a little bit, and I think I can diagonose it:

Maybe...a virus has erased the boot sector program, which won't load the OS.

This can't be all that good then, lol.
Is there anyway to re-write the boot-sector program manually or something like that?

Mentat · Post by **Mentat** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 3:31 pm

Was the computer physically damaged?

I highly doubt anyone could write to boot thing, because the computer has to fully boot up so you can write to it. Unless you have some very fancy equipment from IBM, Dell, or Intel.

Regardless, it sounds like you're getting a new computer

.

Raspberrypicker · Post by **Raspberrypicker** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 3:54 pm

yes well all of the internet sources have pointed me in the same direction. I have to load up a recovery disk that came with the computer, the bad side: it will delete everything, even the OS, lol. So then I gotta re-install the OS as well. So this is kind of a last resort to me, and then if that fails I get to take it apart!!!

But when I was playing around with it, there was an IDE DPS SELF-TEST (i have no idea what an IDE or a DPS is, just the test part) but it said the driver needed to be replaced. As far as I can tell that's the only driver on the computer, so maybe that's my problem.

Honestly, I kno nothing about computers so yes, i think my dad will be getting a new computer

Brandon · Post by **Brandon** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 3:56 pm

get a MS-DOS bootdisk and try "FDISK /MBR" reboot and hope it works
Or maybe try to read up on the recovery console if its XP

Post by **sid6.7** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:52 pm

do the FDISK thingy as the very very very very very last resort...

MystikShadows · Post by **MystikShadows** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:16 am

If it's windows 98 or windows 95, you can try the following.

reboot (in MS-DOS prompt only.

Then go to c:\Windows\system with the DOS CD command.

CD \
CD Windows\system

Then

Attrib -r -s -h user.dat

then

del user.dat

then reboot, Windows should recreate a new user.dat file. That's fixed alot of situation for me in the past.

If it's windows ME or 2000 or XP, then this probably won't work.

let me know.

Raspberrypicker · Post by **Raspberrypicker** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:28 pm

yes it's windows XP.

Well I have some good news and bad news:
We ended up using the recovery disk, which in turn deleted everything, lol.

But at least it's working now...and that means I don't get to take it apart, oh well