Windows has failed to start

DPtheGod

Baseband Member
Messages
50
Hey,

My girlfriend and I were playing a game together, and all of a sudden my laptop she was using was hit with a blue screen of death. When it restarted, it failed to start and came up with the menu that says Windows failed to start, which may be because of a recent hardware or software change.

It recommends to start Windows repair, but when I do, it just sits at a black screen. Now, the mouse is visible on the screen. But, it doesn't do anything. I'm not sure if it's loading and taking forever or what, but I am really antsy about this. :(

Anyone have any ideas on what could have caused it, or more importantly, how to fix it? Thanks in advance!
 
Well, it could be a number of things.. but it sounds like a faulty hard drive to me. You could run a diagnostic test on the hard drive, or try to listen for some clicking from the drive (requires you to listen carefully, and actually know what your listening for!).

I've used DFT before for diagnosing a hard drive. - I'd run a full 'Advanced' test for most accurate results.

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm is where you can find DFT.
 
Ahh, I hope not. I have lots of work saved on the laptop. :(

Well, the only problem is, I'm on my desktop right now and can't get into anything on the laptop. I tried booting in safe mode, and even from a CD-Rom, and it all failed. When trying in safe mode, I got a brief blue screen flash before it suddenly disappeared and the computer restarted.

Is there a way to run this if these conditions apply to the laptop? :(
 
It should boot to a CD-R without any issue... - Please try to create a bootable CD-R and ensure that it is bootable by trying it on your desktop.

Ensure that your not trying to boot off of a DVD on a CD-RW drive as well.
 
I created a bootable CD of the image, and was able to run the diagonstic. It says the SMART Status is Good, which I can only gather means the Hard Drive is alright. Or, am I wrong? :( lol.

It doesn't seem I can do anything else here. Is there any other tool I can use to try and see if I can load the Startup Repair? It wont even come close to loading it.
 
SMART isn't always accurate.. - When you boot to the CD, it should ask if you wish to boot with ATA/SCSI support.. and then it should give you an option for Quick or Advanced testing.

Choose Advanced and let it run..
 
When I chose to start it from the CD-Rom, it immediately opened with a license agreement and asked me if I agree. When I told it yes, it scanned the drive and then came up with that menu. It said it was detecting the devices, but that's all it does. It didn't ask anything about a scan, though.

Could that mean there is any issue preventing it from doing so?
 
Hmm. BSOD normally occurs due to hardware, but can also occur because of OS issues. Virus, perhaps? Try putting a Windows install disk in; preferably one that came with your computer. Don't boot to the CD - Press F8 after the "press any key" screen until you get to a selections menu. Select "Return to OS choices" and select your operating system. If it doesn't even get this far, i'd say it's not the HDD.
 
Ahh, so do I do the F8 when the computer starts up so I can go into the Safe Mode choices? Or, do I do F8 when I choose to boot from CD? That's the only time I see the "Press any key" screen. :(
 
Press F8 any time that you do not see "press any key to boot from CD"

if this doesn't work...Do, infact, press any key when it prompts to do so. Follow instructions to do a repair to your windows installation. probably called ASR (automated system recovery). Do not attempt to repair by CMD.
 
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