Jump to content

Welcome to Geeks to Go - Register now for FREE

Need help with your computer or device? Want to learn new tech skills? You're in the right place!
Geeks to Go is a friendly community of tech experts who can solve any problem you have. Just create a free account and post your question. Our volunteers will reply quickly and guide you through the steps. Don't let tech troubles stop you. Join Geeks to Go now and get the support you need!

How it Works Create Account
Photo

weird xp problems


  • Please log in to reply

#1
underscore04

underscore04

    New Member

  • Member
  • Pip
  • 4 posts
hi everyone i was wondering if anyone could help me with a series of problems my computer has been experiencing. first off its great to be here and i appreciate you're help in advance :) basically ever since yesterday i have not been able to boot my computer properly. whenever i turn on the computer the computer freezes and has black screen when booting the floppy drive and the light on the floppy drive remains solid as if it has froze. ive found a way around this by pressing f8 and booting from there but i dont want to have to do this every time i turn on the computer. (btw my hardrive is partitioned). next when i do manage to start the computer the programs im in namely firefox tend to lose focus and another unknown program is stealing focus. ive done a thorough virus scan including archives and ive done an adware/spyware scan with super antispyware. it found some tracking cookies and trojan both have been removed/quarantined. still i get internet explorer popups randomly even though i never use it and they just appear on the desktop. Lastly with all this i cannot hear audio anymore when playing an audio clip. ive checked the soundcards and everything seems to be fine yet there's no audio. before yesterday ive never experienced anything like this before! i know its a lengthy problem if anyone can help me its much appreciated
  • 0

Advertisements


#2
Oddysee

Oddysee

    Spammer

  • Banned
  • PipPip
  • 88 posts
I'm running late for work so I'll quickly tell you how you can sort out the floppy drive issue.

You need to go into BIOS. How to get into BIOS is different for each computer. It's usually F10 though, could be DEL, ESC, F1 etc.

Once in there (it's different for each computer) you should be able to find your boot up options (Boot Options, Boot, Boot Order etc). Write down your boot order before you make any changes. So you can always change it back! Change the boot order so Floppy Drive is no longer in the list (or put the floppy drive under your hard drive). You change the list by using the + and - keys. Once done save and exit BIOS.

The first drive you have first in the list. Will be what the computer boots from first. The second drive will be the device it'll boot from second etc.

When your computer has booted and you're back on. Check to see if your floppy drive is faulty. Save files on a floppy etc.

Before you attempt to do anything I say. Research and read up about it first.

Edited by Oddysee, 02 July 2010 - 12:18 AM.

  • 0

#3
underscore04

underscore04

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 4 posts
ive tried this and it doesnt seem to work, i disabled the floppy drive from booting in the bios menu and although it does not boot i still get a black screen and the computer freezes right there
  • 0

#4
Oddysee

Oddysee

    Spammer

  • Banned
  • PipPip
  • 88 posts
At least we know it's not the floppy drive causing the problem now.


Lets eliminate another couple of things. When your computer successfully boots up. Make a Windows XP boot disk and then try and boot from it. Post here whether it boots up from there successfully or not.

You could also try using Fixmbr. You can read about it here http://www.microsoft...r.mspx?mfr=true

You should save any important documents before attempting to fix your computer.

Edited by Rorschach112, 02 July 2010 - 04:40 PM.

  • 0

#5
underscore04

underscore04

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 4 posts
ive successfully booted up with the windows xp boot disk, what does this mean?
  • 0

#6
Oddysee

Oddysee

    Spammer

  • Banned
  • PipPip
  • 88 posts
That means your problem is either your Master Boot Record, Boot Sector, or the NTLDR file.

I guessed Master Boot Record first. So lets try that. You can fix this by running Fixmbr (Fix Master Boot Record) as I've mentioned in my post before. You will need your Windows XP disk to do this. Click on the link I previously provided and do some research about it before you attempt to Fixmbr.

One thing you will need to do before you use Fixmbr.

If you haven't saved all your important documents yet. You should do it before you start to repair your computer.

Edited by Rorschach112, 03 July 2010 - 06:14 AM.
removed malware advice

  • 0

#7
underscore04

underscore04

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 4 posts
alright i got into the command screen from the windows xp disc and its asking which drive do i want to run the recovery console on c:\ or d:\
the problem is i have two instances of xp installed and i have a partition and the drive i want to run the fixmbr on is the e:\ drive (the second partition on the c drive) yet its not listed am i just supposed to choose the c: drive?
  • 0






Similar Topics

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

As Featured On:

Microsoft Yahoo BBC MSN PC Magazine Washington Post HP