Urgent help needed please

[Avo]

Hi, I'm running Vista home premium 64 bit with the latest SP.

I just installed an old game (Sniper Elite) and after installation it asked for a reboot. I did this and got the message that windows couldn't start, this could be down to a change recently made etc etc.

It then said to fix it

1- insert windows disk and reboot
2- select language and click next
3- Choose repair my computer

I did this but when I clicked repair my computer it didn't show any OS in the box to repair! It just says "If you did not see your OS in the list, click load drivers to load drivers for your hard disk"

I have no idea what to do now, please help me!

Thanks

 

[Fumz]

If you did not see your OS in the list, click load drivers to load drivers for your hard diskc

If you do not see Vista, then hit the tab to load the drivers; Vista will show up and you can then select it.

Here's a guide to repairing: How to dual boot Vista and XP (with Vista installed first) -- the step-by-step guide with screenshots

You're not dual booting, but the link is to the repair section, which will guide you through the steps you need to take right now.

 

[AvatarOfTheShip]

Also, try dabbing the F8 key after the initial BIOS screen to get the Options screen and choose Last Known Good Configuration. Otherwise try booting into Safe Mode and run System Restore. Good Luck!

 

[Avo]

I've hit the tab and it's showing me Look in: sources, but nothing is related to vista in there. Where should I be looking and what exactly will the folder be called?

Thanks

 

[AvatarOfTheShip]

Avo - this F8 thing is definitely a bit trickier than it should be, which is why I used the rather odd word 'dabbing' - you have to try and catch it just right, and then instead of loading Windows, you should get a black screen with a series of options such as Safe Mode (With Command Prompt), (With Networking) etc. Lower down you should see Last Known Good. Use the arrow keys to highlight it and then press Enter

 

[Fumz]

If it's the MBR that somehow got messed up, then you'll have to make another attempt at using the repair function. While I don't see how installing a game could do that, Windows seems to think so...

If you can tap the F8 key, do so when your keyboard lights start flashing; get into Safe Mode and follow the steps AvatarOfTheShip laid out.

If however you get an error message saying there's no drive and F8 does nothing for you, then it's back to the repair DVD. You may have to hit the load driver tab once or twice and wait a minute for Windows to show up on the screen (i think i recall it not showing up right away after i royally borked a dual boot). If Windows is present, and it is, then it should show up.

 

[Avo]

Woohooo all fixed

I took the Vista CD out and rebooted, tried the F8 key but that took me into bios and all sorts of settings! I came out and rebooted again, let it run to the original

1- insert windows disk and reboot
2- select language and click next
3- Choose repair my computer

screen and hit enter, as soon as I did that I saw a full list of start in safe mode etc etc etc. I saw the 'Last Known Good' option as you said and clicked that.

Booted up and took me to my DT

Straight away I did a add/remove of the game then a reboot and all was OK. Just to be safe I then did a system restore to last night. Tried a full switch off and the turn back on and all is good

Thanks you all very much for your help, as it's a gaming machine I thought I was going to have to start from scratch on a load of games that I'm 3/4 of the way through The worst being COD4 as I play it online and your points/kills etc get to unlock extra weapons...took me ages to get my Gold uzi :D

Thanks again guys/girls, have a drink on me :D

 

[AvatarOfTheShip]

Brilliant! You see, the rifle-in-the-clocktower solution you were considering was way premature

 

[roy69]

At a guess I would say the game altered the registry causing a boot failure. Booting from the last known configuration would have solved this.
Glad to hear your sorted.

 

[Avo]

Thanks