Vista not turning on! Please Help!!!!!!!!!

F

FregleyTheWise

Distinguished Member
I have an emachines t5224 vista computer. For some reason, it suddenly stopped logging on. It just freezes on a blank screen after the boot bars. I tried using the recovery cd posted here to access System Restore, but when I selected my Vista installation and hit Next, It automatically goes to Startup Repair. I left this going overnight, but it didn't ever end. If I don't select an installation, I get a menu with options that include System Restore, but when I run it with command prompt, as i have to, it says that no restore points are found. I think this is because no installation was selected. How can I access System Restore???

If it's impossible, how can I fix this without reinstsalling Vista???

Any advice or someone willing to walk me thru this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!
 
Hi Fregley, welcome to NST.
Have you tried F8 at power-up to access the extended boot menu ?
You should be able to use safe-mode or "last known good.." to access system restore.
 
Don't panic initially with a blank screen unless it has been that way for a while (Give it 1-2mins). It could simply be updates installing in the background or a fragmented drive that could be slowing things down.
 
Yes i have used the F8 menu and tried safe mode and last known good configuration. Neither worked. Also, the blank screen does not stop or go away.

PS- sorry for taking a while to respond. I had to go somewhere. I'm available now, though.
 
1. Can you cancel out of the automatic startup repair when you select your installation? If yes, than try system restore if the recovery options menu appears afterwards.

2. Try an sfc offline scan on your Windows directory to make sure none of the systems files are corrupted. "sfc /?" in the command prompt for usage.
 
If I hit cancel, a dialogue box appears that says the operation can't be cancelled.

What's an sfc? And will running it thru the command prompt that I'm not sure is running from my Vista installation work?
 
Its system file checker. It checks for corrupted critical system files and tries to repair if any are found. You can run it from the command prompt from the recovery disc. Type "sfc /?" at the prompt to see how the command is used.
 
There are a bunch of different options to run it with. Should I run SCANNOW to check all system files and repair errors, or just have it look for problems?
 
TRY REINSTALL YOU WILL GET SOME KINDA OPTION TO KEEP CERTAIN FILE / FOLDERS AND PROFILE ASWELL HOPE THIS HELPS/

SINCERLY ENERGYWIZARD

Addendum:

BUT YOU STILL INSTALL OVER EXISTING OS AND WILL MOST LIKLEY HAV TO DOWNLOAD UPDATES AGAIN
 
Last edited:
Energywizard, I don't really understand what you mean. Do I select install now at the menu instead of repair your computer? Do you mean with an actual Vista Cd (which I don't have)? Will that reinstall everything? What profile is kept?
 
ENERGYWIZARD said:
TRY REINSTALL YOU WILL GET SOME KINDA OPTION TO KEEP CERTAIN FILE / FOLDERS AND PROFILE ASWELL HOPE THIS HELPS/

SINCERLY ENERGYWIZARD


Addendum:


BUT YOU STILL INSTALL OVER EXISTING OS AND WILL MOST LIKLEY HAV TO DOWNLOAD UPDATES AGAIN
Click to expand...

Please turn your caps lock off.

Addendum:

sfc /scannow /offwindir=c:\windows
 
Last edited:
Thanks, I'll start running the scan now. Any idea how long it will take?

Addendum:

Wait, when I tried to run it, it just displayed the same thing it did when I typed sfc/? Why?
 
Last edited:
A few minutes... should give you a rough esitmate of where it is as its scanning.

Next steps...
Run chkdsk on your windows partition (ex: chkdsk /f c: ) This step well take awhile...

Last resort...
Backup your files and do a fresh re-install of Windows. The recovery disc from this site can not do this for you.
 
I started running chkdsk, so I won't be able to try the sfc thing again, but do you have any ideas on why the sfc wouldn't run, just in case the chkdsk fails?

Addendum:

Should the chkdsk display a progress report of any kind? After I ran it, the cursor just moved beneath the command and is blinking. Input isn't allowed, so I think it's doing something.
 
Last edited:
if all fails reinstall

FregleyTheWise said:
Energywizard, I don't really understand what you mean. Do I select install now at the menu instead of repair your computer? Do you mean with an actual Vista Cd (which I don't have)? Will that reinstall everything? What profile is kept?
Click to expand...

what i meant was during install the setup will ask you if you want to install over existing os and keep your files; or format and start over again.

sorry i cant help you with cd prob ***remember this would be last resort*** check for other solutions first.
 
Thank you for the clarification, EnergyWizard. I didn't know that it was even optional to keep files during a reinstallation. I wonder if a Restore CD would provide that option. That's what I have, I just don't know where it is.
 
The sfc /scannow command was used in previous version of Windows while the installation disk was in the optical drive. That verifies and replaces any corrupted or missing systems files found. The problem you are running into if it isn't hardware it would likely be video or another device's drivers.

Right when the initial post tests are complete you would keep pressing F8 in order to bring up the boot menu. If you can't get in there before planning a full reinstall of Windows you would boot off of the Vista dvd and select the command line option found in repair tools. You should be able to start up the system restore feature by the instructions seen at http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/6b969e00-d4ec-4d3a-bffe-b96107e3bda91033.mspx
 
Sorry, PC Eye, but I don't really understand what you mean. What do you mean by "initial post tests"? What would I do at the f8 menu?

Also, I can't boot off an actual vista cd because I only have a restore CD, and I don't even know where that is.
 
PC eye, sfc isn't present in XP and as far as I know anything earlier...

Fregley, what did you type with sfc that didn't work? What was the error? As far as chkdsk goes, let it do its thing. chkdsk doesn't give you any progress indication, but it'll be awhile.
 
I typed just what you gave me. After looking at the information that command prompt displayed, I kind of think that maybe I should have just used offwindir or offbootdir instead of both offwindir and scannow. That's just a guess, though.
 
Back
Top