DDs' 2 laptop won't start-up properly - 'Windows loading Files/Start-up repair'

[Fab Foodie]

OK
Need help. Just returned from 3 days away and presented with boprked laptop.

About 6 today watching Peep-show on 4OD, computer shut-down unnanounced, background went purple and for a millisecond a white pixillated face with x for eyes and a speech-bubble appeared, then powered-off.

Now when starting the computer says:
"Windows is loading Files"
Dialogue box "Startup repair"

Dialogue box "Startup repair cannot repair this computer automatically"

---> Send info to Microsoft/Don't send


We've got to system restore but it won't restore, it says run chkdsk /R
We can get a command prompt.

Laptop is Dell Inspiron running Windows 7. All should be up to date.
Any ideas?

Cheers
FF

 

[rusky]

Have you run chkdsk /r as it suggests??

 

[Norm]

Did it look like this?

If so, I accuse you of using Google Chrome as a browser.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Did it look like this?

If so, I accuse you of using Google Chrome as a browser.

Correct!

Now what to do?

 

[Fab Foodie]

Have you run chkdsk /r as it suggests??

errr, I would if I knew how.... Food Science is my specialism.

 

[rusky]

At the command prompt simply type chkdsk /r

 

[Fab Foodie]

At the command prompt simply type chkdsk /r

"The type of file system is NTFS."
"Cannot lock current drive."
"Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected."

 

[rusky]

Try chkdsk c:

 

[Norm]

I think we've got 2 problems here.

That screen is the Chrome equivalent of a 404, it just means that the page it was looking for wasn't found. That is probably a symptom rather than the cause.

Possible causes are:

1. Windows took a brainfart and losing your network connection was part of the problem
2. Your laptop ran out of juice, it shut itself down and corrupted itself in the process
3. If you were watching full-screen, Windows downloaded an update (there have been a few this week), put up a dialogue box which said "shut down if you don't click here within X minutes" which you didn't see, so it shut down.

The good news is that you've got a working PC, and it's possible to download and create a "system repair disk". Google that phrase or check out the Microsoft page here.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Cheers Norm, will look into it.
One thing that bothers me is that we don't hear the hard-disk spin-up.

 

[Norm]

When a friend had problems a few weeks ago, we created a repair disk using the AVG site, which checked out for nasties as it did it. Found a few doozies on there, which might be your problem.

Can you get into the BIOS when it boots (it'll say hit F1 or F12 or Escape or something)? That way you can see the boot sequence and see whether it does at least identify a hard disk present.

 

[ian turner]

rusky is correct as I assume the command prompt is in the restore partition you booted in by pressing a function key at startup or sticking in the restore cd so you're trying to chkdsk the wrong drive.

 

[Fab Foodie]

rusky is correct as I assume the command prompt is in the restore partition you booted in by pressing a function key at startup or sticking in the restore cd so you're trying to chkdsk the wrong drive.

Correct, should we chkdsk C?
I don't think we have a restore disk, though we have the disks it came with.

 

[ian turner]

Er yes, that's what it's asking you to do afterall

 

[delport]

"The type of file system is NTFS."
"Cannot lock current drive."
"Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected."

Why would it say the above for a hard drive?

Write protected is something i'd relate to a removable drive?Usb stick?

What do you have plugged into the laptop at the moment?usb hard drive, a usb stick?

If you have a usb stick in there or sd cards remove them and try again.

Chkdsk is for hard drive repair, in other words no one is asking you to do reinstalls, or find install cds at the moment.