Vista Repair Help

[jlab89]

Vista Repair Help - Cant Log into safe mode, or repair CD

I have a dell 1525 running vista home premium 32bit.
Just a few minutes ago I was transfering music from my hard drive to my external hard drive, while on the internet looking at videos. I noticed that the file transfer process was taking a while so i decided to cancel the process. Some error message popped up after a while, being stupid I didn't write them down and kept watching my videos. My desktop disappeared and i cou;dn't start task manager so i decided to restart my computer...

When I restarted I was greeted with "Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause.
To fix the problem:
1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart the computer.
2. Choose your language settings and click next.
3. Click "repair your computer"


It also gives me the following options:
4. Safe Mode
5. Safe Mode with networking
6. Safe Mode with Command Prompt
7. Last known good configuration
8. Start Windows normally


When I restart booting from the reinstall dvd from dell and i get to the repair my computer part, vista isn't listed in the options to repair. And I can't browse my main hard drive.


Also when I start into safe mode, all the driver load then I get a quick flash of a blue screen which says(i video tapped it then slowed it down to read the message):


A problem has been detected and windows[COLOR=#05408F ! important][COLOR=#05408F ! important][/COLOR][/COLOR] has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:



Disable or uninstall any anti-virus, disk defragmentation or backup utillities. Check your hard drive configuration and check for any updated drivers. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer

Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0x00000024 (0x00190444, 0x873D3200, 0xC0000102, 0x00000000)




Is my hard drive lost forever? It could load the safeboot info, so I could still save my documents, right?

 

[stoneys-nutz]

Hello jlab89,
Have you tried F8 on boot-up and loading "the last known good configuration" ?, this may help, or you could try a system restore from the repair options using the Vista DVD/CD.
Hope this helps, good luck and post your results.

 

[jlab89]

I tried that last boot config and the blue screen reappears for a slip second then my computer reboots. The CD doesn't help me cause Vista I not listed in the options for operating systems to repair. If I click load drivers, I don't know where to look for the file it wants

 

[jlab89]

Also I just ran the diagnostic test, found by pressing F12. And I received the error code 2000-0146.

 

[jlab89]

any help? please. Are my documents still there? If they arent is there a way to do a fresh install properly

 

[jlab89]

I know I'm not supposed to post back to back, but im about to reinstall windows and delete everything, but before I do that I want to make sure there is no way to recover my documents

 

[SIW2]

There probably is.

Boot the Vista cd to the command prompt ( when it doesn't find any installations, click Next, click command prompt.

Type: ( press enter after each line )

DISKPART

LIS VOL

( make a note of exactly what it says to post back here)

SEL DISK 0

DETAIL DISK

EXI

 

[jlab89]

Thank you SIW2, for your help. I typed it in exactly like you said and this is what I got:

X:\Sources>DISKPART

Microsoft DiskPart Version 6.0.6001
Copyright <C> 1999-2007 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: MINWINPC

DISKPART> LIS VOL
VOLUME ### | LTR | LABEL _____| Fs | TYPE _____| SIZE | STATUS | INFO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOLUME 0 ___| E | VISTA_SP1_H | UDF | DVD-ROM | 3406MB | Heathly |
VOLUME 1 ___| D | RECOVERY ___| NTFS | Partition | 10GB | Heathly |
VOLUME 2 ___| C | ____________| RAW | Partition | 220GB | Heathly |
VOLUME 3 ___|__ |_____ _______| FAT |Partition | 71MB | Heathly | Hidden

DISKPART> SEL DISK 0
Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> DETAIL DISK

Disk ID:B8000000
Type: ATA
Bus: 0
Target: 0
LUN ID: 0
Read-Only: No
Boot Disk: No
Pagefile Disk: No
Hibernation File Disk: No
Crashdump Disk: No

VOLUME ### | LTR | LABEL | Fs | TYPE | SIZE | STATUS | INFO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOLUME 1 ___| D | RECOVERY ___| NTFS | Partition | 10GB | Heathly |
VOLUME 2 ___| C | ____________| RAW | Partition | 220GB | Heathly |
VOLUME 3 ___|__ |_____ _______| FAT |Partition | 71MB | Heathly | Hidden

 

[jlab89]

I even did a detail volume on 2 (my C drive) and this is what I got
Disk --|Status|Size----|Free-----|Dyn|Gpt|
Disk 0 | Online | 233GB | 2559MB | ---|----|

Read Only: No
Hidden: No
No Default Drive Letter: No
Shadow Copy: No
Dismounted: No
BitLocker Encrypted: No

Volume Capacity: 220 GB
Volume Free Space: 220 GB
====================================

So is it saying that all of the capacity is free space.... so everything is gone?

 

[SIW2]

C is RAW . That means the partition table is reporting it as unformatted.

The data is still on there.

You should be able to recover the previous correct partition table using the free Partition Wizard boot disc.

Partition Wizard Bootable CD allows user to boot computer directly to manage partition.

Boot PW ( make sure NUM LOCK is on when you get to the bit asking for screen resolution, then type 1, press Enter)

In the main Window , click Disk 1 at the top to highlight it , then click Partition Recovery in the Left pane.

Do a Quick scan of the whole drive.

Tick ALL the partitions you want to keep ( C, D, and the 71mb one) .

Click OK , Apply.

 

[jlab89]

I'm so Happy! Haha I didn't see that repair disk option, I clicked that and after a little bit I restarted and windows loaded! I'm logging on right now and I am going to back up all my documents. If more goes wrong I'll let you know

 

[SIW2]

Probably best to make an image of your drive regularly.

PARAGON:

Paragon Backup & Recovery 10 Free Edition

How to Create an Image with Paragon B&R 10

How to Restore Data with Paragon B&R 10

MACRIUM:

Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - Information and download

How to create a disk image with Macrium Reflect

How to create the Macrium Linux rescue CD

How to recover your PC using the Linux rescue CD

 

[Aphrodite86]

Hello,
I don't know if it is okay not to start a new thread and commenting on an old one, please forgive me if I'm not posting to the right place.
Could you please help me?
I have a friend who lives far away from me and who has pretty much the same problem jlab89 wrote about here... she is not very tech-savvy, but was able to get the information from the prompt (she doesn't have the Vista cd, as it was already installed in her Acer notebook when she purchased it, and the seller did not give her the o.s. cd). Her notebook is running Windows Vista Home Premium (she doesn't know if it's the 32 or 64bit version, I would guess it's the 32bit version).
Suddenly, her notebook stopped working and she now can't boot Windows. The Vista Repair tool says it cannot solve the problem, same goes for the memory check etc - I have tried the same options jlab89 tried (when I say "I", I mean "she" - I was giving her the information on the phone). This is basically what she gets from the prompt:


Only the disk/volume 0 is recognized, the others all give the following: "The disk you specified is not valid. There is no disk selected".

She already has the Partition Wizard Bootable CD that SIW32 suggested jlab89 to use - could you please tell me how she should proceed? I would love to help this distant friend, she only has one notebook/computer and uses it to keep in touch with far away friends.

Thank you so much!
Elena

 

[matt4x4]

I can't help you much.