Vista Not Booting, Startup Repair Won't Fix It

[Coolname007]

Thank you dark knight!

You're welcome.
Let us know if you have any more questions.

:vanishes back into the darkness from whence I came:

 

[Apsara]

I'm back!
Well it seems the F11 at bootup is not working.
HP insist that they need to get it serviced and re-"something" the hard-drive.

At this point what are my options guys?
Do I:
a. allow HP to do their thing
b. try to re-install windows vista myself
c. forget vista and just install unbuntu, hoping of course there are no other issues that will arise.

even though my laptop was still under warranty, and it was HP themselves that got me to install the service pack 1 that led to the downfall on my PC, they still tried to blame me and get me to pay for the hardware repair. I talked my way out of it thankfully; but it's all rather mysterious. How can a windows issued update do this?

 

[Coolname007]

At this point what are my options guys?
Do I:
a. allow HP to do their thing
b. try to re-install windows vista myself
c. forget vista and just install unbuntu, hoping of course there are no other issues that will arise.

I cast my vote to b. and c.
Ubuntu is actually a really neat OS, once you get used to having to use the command line to perform the majority of tasks (though, just so you don't get the wrong idea, it does have a decent GUI, as well, like Windows).
But basically, the first rule when using a Linux OS is accept the fact that it is not Windows, and don't expect it to be Windows. It is a whole another OS, that has far more security than Windows has, I can assure you. But, as in everything, it is not perfect, and you may find certain things that you can do in Windows, you can't do in Linux.
That is where multibooting comes in...
So I say go ahead and reinstall Vista, but install Ubuntu too, onto another partition, and use EasyBCD to dual-boot. That way, you can do certain tasks on Linux (such as Web browsing, your computer is more secure from viruses and the like, which are pretty non-existant on Linux), but still be able to do the things in Windows that you're unwilling to give up.

Cheers.

Jake

 

[Apsara]

So I say go ahead and reinstall Vista, but install Ubuntu too, onto another partition, and use EasyBCD to dual-boot. That way, you can do certain tasks on Linux (such as Web browsing, your computer is more secure from viruses and the like, which are pretty non-existant on Linux), but still be able to do the things in Windows that you're unwilling to give up.
Ok brother Jake,

So...I don't know how to re-install vista without installation CD's; so should I allow HP to pick her up and re-install vista? Is there a way I can do it alone without HP?
Mind you it's all free thanks to ummm gentle persuasion.

And I can then download EasyBCD once i have any operating system functioning, so that takes care of that right.

Would I need alot more RAM for this dual-system?
I only have 2G, not sure if there is room for more but I can figure that out.

Thnx ===Candice

 

[Terry60]

If it's still under warranty, make them fix it. The Vista licence is a large part of the cost of the PC, so abandoning Vista while the PC is still fixable would be throwing away a large sum of money.
There was a problem with SP1 appearing to hang at 99% installed. It had a black screen and inactive keyboard/mouse, but was still updating the HDD.
Impatient users broke the install by rebooting prematurely. It needed to be left for a long while the invisible activity quiesced.

2Gb is OK for both systems. It doesn't matter how many systems you multi-boot, they're only running one at a time and 2Gb is fine for each. (More is better if you do a lot of video or large image editing, but not a necessity.)

 

[Coolname007]

So...I don't know how to re-install vista without installation CD's; so should I allow HP to pick her up and re-install vista? Is there a way I can do it alone without HP?
Mind you it's all free thanks to ummm gentle persuasion.

Ok, so since you don't have any installation CDs, then yeah, getting HP to pick her up, and reinstall Vista would probably be a good idea then. Then once you get her back, it should be relatively easy enough to partition your hard drive, and install Ubuntu, and dual-boot with EasyBCD.
However, I'd get an installation CD of Vista if I were you, so in case you ever want to reinstall Vista (which will probably happen a lot), you'll have a disk at hand to reinstall it with. You should be able to order one from HP, perhaps at a fee, but it should be still cheaper than if you were to go out, and buy one from a store, since its still under warranty.

Jake

 

[Apsara]

Ok, so since you don't have any installation CDs, then yeah, getting HP to pick her up, and reinstall Vista would probably be a good idea then. Then once you get her back, it should be relatively easy enough to partition your hard drive, and install Ubuntu, and dual-boot with EasyBCD.
However, I'd get an installation CD of Vista if I were you, so in case you ever want to reinstall Vista (which will probably happen a lot), you'll have a disk at hand to reinstall it with. You should be able to order one from HP, perhaps at a fee, but it should be still cheaper than if you were to go out, and buy one from a store, since its still under warranty.
Thanks Jake, Great idea!

I'll ask HP again about the installation CD - which I should have got upon purchase anyway in my opinion. when I asked HP for it/them last night I was told that I did not need installation CD's as everything I needed was in there; and that IF I had made my recovery Cd's then I wouldn't be in this situation. So is that correct? - all I need to do is create recovery Cd's when my laptop's fixed, and should this happen again I just run the recovery CD's? To me installation and recovery CD do not sound the same. :wtf:

Addendum:

Hi Terry,

HP have agreed to fix her at no cost thankfully.
When I installed SP1 it did take forever, but it didn't hang at 99%. I left it to automatically restart and it was at this point of restarting that the first signs of a problem appeared - it just could not open and went straight to windows recovery. But nothing in windows recovery was working.

However, if you are saying that the updates are definately ok and most of this is user error; I'll be sure to be fully backed-up before doing another wondows update and definately not shutdown prematurely; and as was suggested in another thread - I can take out one of the RAM sticks as well. I'm almost loathe to install anymore updates from now. My laptop has run out of warranty after this...don't think I could afford another meltdown.

If it's still under warranty, make them fix it. The Vista licence is a large part of the cost of the PC, so abandoning Vista while the PC is still fixable would be throwing away a large sum of money.
There was a problem with SP1 appearing to hang at 99% installed. It had a black screen and inactive keyboard/mouse, but was still updating the HDD.
Impatient users broke the install by rebooting prematurely. It needed to be left for a long while the invisible activity quiesced.

===Candice

 

[Terry60]

When you get the fixed PC back from HP, first thing you should do is go into the HP recovery environment and burn the backup recovery set onto optical disks. There will be an option to do this. Generally those disks will enable you to do all of the functions that the hidden recovery partition does, which can be a reinstallation of the OS, or a complete factory reset, but the hidden recovery partition can get damaged too, hence the wisdom of a belt and braces policy of burning a portable copy.
That's why HP were a bit curt with you. They provide the facility for you to make the copy but, judging by the numbers we see on these boards, quite a few users don't bother until it's too late.
They will include the tailored equivalent of a Vista installation disk but only including the drivers specific to your PC, not the all-purpose all-drivers version you'd buy in the shops, but also (for the factory reset) all of the bundled software that came with Vista too.

 

[Apsara]

When you get the fixed PC back from HP, first thing you should do is go into the HP recovery environment and burn the backup recovery set onto optical disks. There will be an option to do this. Generally those disks will enable you to do all of the functions that the hidden recovery partition does, which can be a reinstallation of the OS, or a complete factory reset, but the hidden recovery partition can get damaged too, hence the wisdom of a belt and braces policy of burning a portable copy.
That's why HP were a bit curt with you. They provide the facility for you to make the copy but, judging by the numbers we see on these boards, quite a few users don't bother until it's too late.
They will include the tailored equivalent of a Vista installation disk but only including the drivers specific to your PC, not the all-purpose all-drivers version you'd buy in the shops, but also (for the factory reset) all of the bundled software that came with Vista too.

Hi Terry, thanks for all the answers but....:S wots a belt and braces policy of burning a portable copy? So CAN Imake this surefire copy or not?

Do I just need to make the repair discs?
Or do I need to insist upon or buy the installation CD's?
Is there a difference btwn the repair discs and the installation discs?

I'll happily make repair discs now that I know what I know :booyah:

But just want 2 b sure I don't need nuffin else from them b4 our pays surely pass in terms of the warranty etc...

===Candice

Addendum:

one last touch guys...I know I have 2xslots for RAM and she's away for repair til tomorrow, so how do I know the most amount of RAM she can take?

I do alot of graphic design, so it made me wonder Terry when you said I may need more for large image edits - which I do constantly!!!:nerd:

>.<>.<

 

[Terry60]

The disks you make for free from the recovery options are what you would have to buy from them if you needed some and hadn't bothered to make your own.
If you go to the Crucial website, you'll find a little routine that tells you the maximum amount and type of RAM which your machine can take.