Vista will not launch

ReeceH92

Member
Hello everyone,

I am having issues repairing my parents' laptop. It is a Sony VAIO (VGN-NS10L) that is approximately 3 and a half years old. It has Vista.

Every time it boots, it launches the black screen that prompts either "Launch Startup Repair" or "Start Windows Normally". It is very slow and takes a few minutes before it reaches this screen.

When I "Launch Startup Repair", it attempts to repair but says every time: "Windows cannot repair this computer automatically. At this point it gives me some "problem details": http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg528/ReeceH92/DSC00628.jpg and http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg528/ReeceH92/DSC00629.jpg.

It gives me three options: "View diagnostic and repair details", "View advanced options for system recovery and support", or simply shut down.

The "diagnostic and repair details" seem quite long, so I have decided not to include them at this point until I know they're of use. However, if anyone wishes to know these details, partially or in full, I will be happy to provide it.

The "view advanced options" goes onto "System Recovery Options". From here I have tried the following:

System Restore:
- This takes an extremely long time to load. Every time I click it says that the program is "already running". I assumed it simply wasn't loading, until it opened later on while I was in the "Windows Complete PC Restore" window.
- It may be worth noting that all restore points (of which there are over 20) have "Install: Windows Update" in the "Description" field.
- The first attempt was at the earliest possible restore point, back in May. This resulted in an error (http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg528/ReeceH92/DSC00634.jpg).
- I then selected the most recent restore point. It then said it was successful, and I allowed it to reboot the system. As before, it took several minutes to load, staying on a blank black screen.

Windows Complete PC Restore:
- There is no backup file available.

Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool:
- This also takes a very long time to complete. I cannot remember the exact message but I think it found no problems or solutions (I am currently running it again now and will update with the exact message).

Command Prompt:
- I have tried the "sfc /scannow" prompt in CMD. After a few minutes, it says "Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service".
- I also tried "sfc /verifyonly" and received the same message.
- I have not yet tried "sfc /scanfile" or sfc /verifyfile", simply because I do not know which file to scan/verify.
- I did notice that the drive used here is "X:". Is this right? Or is this supposed to be the "C:" drive?

In the F8 boot menu, I have also tried:

Safe Mode:
- I have tried all three safe mode options, and all result in another blank screen, followed by the "Launch Startup Repair" screen again. It seems that there is no way that I can see of launching Windows.

I will update this thread with further details and images if necessary. I hope the details I have specified are of some assistance and please feel free to ask me for more.

Thanks in advance!
Reece
 

My Computer

The slow response of system restore is normal. Irritates me too.

it doesn't surprise me that the May restore point didn't work.

Instead of the latest restore point, try going down the list maybe four or five points.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Cyberpower
    CPU
    Intel Quad CPU Q6700 2.67 GHZ
    Motherboard
    NVIDIA 780i
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI GTX 560 TI Twin Frozr
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster SB Audigy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2436
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung HD 105SI WDC WD20
    Case
    Apevia XJupiter
    Cooling
    air
    Mouse
    Logitech MX 600
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX 3200
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
I agree with wither3. SysRestore will sometimes take a long time to load. Also, you got the message that another instance of SysRetore was running because you clicked Restore again before the first attempt had been completed. Unless your parents install/uninstall programs often, choosing a restore point much closer to now is wiser. Frankly, I would purge the restore points. Check this great tutorial by Brink to better understand what you're working with and how to tweak SysRestore. http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76227-system-restore-disk-space.html

Do your parents know approx when the last time Vista loaded properly occured?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion s3700y (PC)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+
    Motherboard
    Pegatron Acacia
    Memory
    3GB Micron Technology (PC2-6400)
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 8400GS
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Compaq WF1907
    Screen Resolution
    1360x768
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 320GB
    Case
    Slimline
    Cooling
    A little fan
    Mouse
    Logitech M305
    Keyboard
    eMachines Enhanced Multimedia
    Internet Speed
    2703 kbps
Thanks for your replies, wither 3 and markaz. I did try several of the restore points, but to no avail.

However, I can confirm that I've fixed the laptop by restoring to factory default - the reason I didn't before was because I didn't realise it was possible without going into Windows. After looking online, I found that there is a shortcut to get to the restore to default screen.

To anyone reading with the same problem with a Sony VAIO, I did the following: as it booted, I held down Alt + F10. I then ran the diagnostic test first (this does take a few hours, so you may wish to skip it), which confirmed that there was a fault with the hard drive. I then restored the C: drive, and now its working again.

Also thank you for the link, it may just prove useful in future. :)
 

My Computer

Glad you took care of their problem. When you say "restore to factory default" and "restore C: drive", what exactly was restored? The entire system? Startup only?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion s3700y (PC)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+
    Motherboard
    Pegatron Acacia
    Memory
    3GB Micron Technology (PC2-6400)
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 8400GS
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Compaq WF1907
    Screen Resolution
    1360x768
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 320GB
    Case
    Slimline
    Cooling
    A little fan
    Mouse
    Logitech M305
    Keyboard
    eMachines Enhanced Multimedia
    Internet Speed
    2703 kbps
Apologies for my late reply. The entire system was restored, and I re-installed Windows. This isn't recommended for anyone who doesn't want to lose their data if they can help it of course, although like me it could be your only option.
 

My Computer

Getting ready to do the same because of constant freezing that I can't remedy. Just took 2 days backing up 4 1/2 years of vids, pics, docs, etc. Glad you got your folks' problem solved regardless.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion s3700y (PC)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+
    Motherboard
    Pegatron Acacia
    Memory
    3GB Micron Technology (PC2-6400)
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 8400GS
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Compaq WF1907
    Screen Resolution
    1360x768
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 320GB
    Case
    Slimline
    Cooling
    A little fan
    Mouse
    Logitech M305
    Keyboard
    eMachines Enhanced Multimedia
    Internet Speed
    2703 kbps
At least you have the chance to back it up. This whole thing has been a reminder that I should back things up more frequently too. It wasn't my files and nothing too valuable was lost thankfully, but still, I should know better. Thanks again for all your help. Unfortunately I now have a new problem with a different laptop! There's another thread in this forum, I'd appreciate it if anyone could take a look.
 

My Computer

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