[pinkroses2002]

I shut down my computer each time I'm finished with it. Yesterday, I started things up, and a screen came up that said something to the effect of "Windows has shut down to protect files or Windows has been improperly shut down, or the restart button has been pressed." It also said that I could try selecting the "last good configuration that worked". There was a "start Windows normally" highlighted text on the screen. Above it were choices of "safe mode" etc., yet my up and down arrow keys did not work (i.e., I could not select any of these choices). At the bottom of the screen, it said "Windows will start in" and then it was like a countdown from 20, 19, 18... seconds. Then, when it got to "zero", the screen changed to a blank blue screen. An arrow cursor was on the screen, which I was able to move about, but couldn't get to any other screen (I tried pressing F1 through F12 but nothing happened.

On another website, someone posted that when I start up the computer, wait for a beep, and then continually press the "delete" key. I tried it, and it did bring me to a screen with all kinds of menus that you can click on (AMIBIOS is what was at the top of the screen), but I had no idea what any of the topics meant, so I didn't change anything.

I have looked through some of the posts here to find a similar plight, but so far have not seen the exact problem posted. I sure hope you can help. I am sort of hesitant about calling a local company (Geek Squad) because I don't know much about computers and don't want to be told I need to spend more money than I have to in order to get Windows working again. Thank you in advance to everyone that can offer help here!

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Hello pinkroses2002.... Welcome to GeeksToGo,

I'm sorry to hear about your issue. We will try to help you resolve this as soon as possible.
Please understand we are all volunteers and we are not here all the time. Sometimes it may be a extended amount of time to get back to you. If it has been more then 3 days please shoot me a PM and I will try to get back to you quickly then.

Please do the following steps in order and post back with the results for each as they finish. Hopefully one will correct or find the problem for you.

Before trying anything I have been asked to have you try something first.

Try pressing the Fn(Function) key, then try the arrow keys when at the Advanced Boot Options screen

Run hard drive diagnostics: http://www.tacktech....ay.cfm?ttid=287
Make sure, you select tool, which is appropriate for the brand of your hard drive.
Depending on the program, it'll create bootable floppy, or bootable CD.
If downloaded file is of .iso type, use ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option), and make the CD bootable.

NOTE. If your hard drive is made by Toshiba, unfortunately, you're out of luck, because Toshiba doesn't provide any diagnostic tool.

Thanks to Broni for the instructions



How To Run Chkdsk /r from Recovery Console:


How to run checkdisk from recovery console (Windows xp). (Courtesy dsenette)

• Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.
  Note:Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
• When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
  Note:If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console.
• When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
• At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following then press Enter:
  

  chkdsk /r

• Allow this to run UNDISTURBED until completed (45 min or so)
• Report any errors

[rshaffer61]

Hello pinkroses2002.... Welcome to GeeksToGo,

I'm sorry to hear about your issue. We will try to help you resolve this as soon as possible.
Please understand we are all volunteers and we are not here all the time. Sometimes it may be a extended amount of time to get back to you. If it has been more then 3 days please shoot me a PM and I will try to get back to you quickly then.

Please do the following steps in order and post back with the results for each as they finish. Hopefully one will correct or find the problem for you.

Before trying anything I have been asked to have you try something first.

Try pressing the Fn(Function) key, then try the arrow keys when at the Advanced Boot Options screen

Run hard drive diagnostics: http://www.tacktech....ay.cfm?ttid=287
Make sure, you select tool, which is appropriate for the brand of your hard drive.
Depending on the program, it'll create bootable floppy, or bootable CD.
If downloaded file is of .iso type, use ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option), and make the CD bootable.

NOTE. If your hard drive is made by Toshiba, unfortunately, you're out of luck, because Toshiba doesn't provide any diagnostic tool.

Thanks to Broni for the instructions



How To Run Chkdsk /r from Recovery Console:


How to run checkdisk from recovery console (Windows xp). (Courtesy dsenette)

• Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.
  Note:Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
• When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
  Note:If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console.
• When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
• At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following then press Enter:
  

  chkdsk /r

• Allow this to run UNDISTURBED until completed (45 min or so)
• Report any errors

[rshaffer61]

Let's check your memory and make sure there is no issue with it. Download memtest86 from the link in my signature below.


Get the file that is named Download - The one you want is "Download - Pre-compiled Bootable ISO (.zip). When it downloads, it will be labeled memtest86+2.11.iso.zip
Unzip the file once you download it. You should have a .iso file in the unzipped directory. It will look like a zip file in some cases but the file name will now be memtest86+2.11.iso

if you don't have a burning program that will burn .ISO files get burncdcc in my signature below.

NOTE...do not put a blank cd in until burncdcc opens the tray for you
1. Start BurnCDCC
2. Browse to the ISO file you want to burn on cd/dvd ....in this case its memtest86.iso
3. Select the ISO file
4. click on Start
Make sure the bios is set for the cd drive as the first boot device
Put the cd in the cd drive and then boot your computer.

Running the Diagnostic Program:

The basic diagnostic screen has five main sections of relevant information. Three at the top which are labeled, PASS %, TEST %, and TEST #. This will basically show you the total progress of the current test, the overall progress of the diagnostic test, and the test number is currently performing.

On the middle left hand side of the of the program interface there is a “Wall Time” section that will keep track of how long the diagnostic test has been running for. This just gives you an idea if you are not attending the testing process.

The main section to look for is the lower half of the screen which is usually blank. As long as the memory testing is going ok with no errors this section of the screen should remain blank. If the diagnostic program finds any serious faults in the memory you will see it display a memory dump of address’s in this section. This is similar to what is displayed on your screen when you encounter a blue screen of death.

You now have most everything you need to know about setting up and testing your memory with diagnostic programs. This guide should help you get to the source of any intermittent problems related to your memory.

Run memtest for at least 2 hours:
If it starts showing any errors during that time then you will have to replace the memory
If there are no errors after 2 hours press Esc and that will end the tests
We will then try other options