[kelvinb]

H E L P ........... ( pls )

My wife has an acer aspire 3680 which came with pre loaded windows XP ( just about still see the key code underneath )

the other day she did a system restore and since then the whole thing will not boot but goes through a boot up loop xp looks like its about to start then up comes a black screen giving the safe mode option etc but even trying these it still loops round.

I have read several forums and tried the AVG restore in case it is malware related via the usb boot up and cannot see anything untoward

We have booted it up in DOS and can see all her files and programs etc but other than that have no idea what to do.

This machine never came with a Windows repair / reinstall disc but I remember having to burn 7 cds on the day she opened the box as a ' Back Up' ??????? but no idea where they might be now......

so Geeks and Geekesses any ideas ( other than scrap it ) would be most welcome

thanks for looking

M

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go here http://www.thecomput...om/files/rc.iso

Download that ISO file and buirn the CD using this program
http://www.snapfiles...dlburncdcc.html

make sure in the bios the cd drive is the first boot device....put the cd in the cd drive..boot your computer....


when you boot from rc.iso you will get a blue screen and it will say setup is loading files...
then it will say its starting windows...
you will get to a screen that says ...do you want to install windows or 2nd choice it to repair windows..
press r to repair...you will get to a ...C:\>.......this is where you type in chkdsk /r

type in chkdsk /r press enter
note the single space before the /

While chkdsk is running, you will see a black dos box... Chkdsk will display the specific stage it is checking as well as the percentage of completion of the stage. You cannot do anything else on your computer while chkdsk is running. When chkdsk is finished, it will automatically reboot your computer.

NOTE this can take a long time to complete..it may even appear to hang or get stuck at a certain % for a couple of hours...then complete...it may even back up and go over the same area...this is normal...let it run...there are 5 stages
DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER WHILE RUNNING CHKDSK or you can have severe problems...
remove the rc.iso cd and reboot...if it does not boot into windows

Here is a link explaining the use of the recovery console
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

However as you are using just the Recovery console and not the actual XP CD, although the chkdsk will work and certain other commands which we will try if that is not successful, any command that uses files from the XP CD will not of course work

Edited by Macboatmaster, 20 May 2011 - 08:56 AM.

[Macboatmaster]

go here http://www.thecomput...om/files/rc.iso

Download that ISO file and buirn the CD using this program
http://www.snapfiles...dlburncdcc.html

make sure in the bios the cd drive is the first boot device....put the cd in the cd drive..boot your computer....


when you boot from rc.iso you will get a blue screen and it will say setup is loading files...
then it will say its starting windows...
you will get to a screen that says ...do you want to install windows or 2nd choice it to repair windows..
press r to repair...you will get to a ...C:\>.......this is where you type in chkdsk /r

type in chkdsk /r press enter
note the single space before the /

While chkdsk is running, you will see a black dos box... Chkdsk will display the specific stage it is checking as well as the percentage of completion of the stage. You cannot do anything else on your computer while chkdsk is running. When chkdsk is finished, it will automatically reboot your computer.

NOTE this can take a long time to complete..it may even appear to hang or get stuck at a certain % for a couple of hours...then complete...it may even back up and go over the same area...this is normal...let it run...there are 5 stages
DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER WHILE RUNNING CHKDSK or you can have severe problems...
remove the rc.iso cd and reboot...if it does not boot into windows

Here is a link explaining the use of the recovery console
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

However as you are using just the Recovery console and not the actual XP CD, although the chkdsk will work and certain other commands which we will try if that is not successful, any command that uses files from the XP CD will not of course work

Edited by Macboatmaster, 20 May 2011 - 08:56 AM.

[kelvinb]

Hello

thanks on that - have burnt the disk as described followed your instructions but am not given the option to type in chkdsk r/

this screen says:

1: C:\WINDOWS

which windows installation would you like to log into
<to cancel, press ENTER>?

unquote

we cannot type in anything at this stage - but if we press 1 we get :

Type the administrator password:

unqoute

problem is the only p/w we have for this machine is the one we use for log on which doesnt work nor does the XP key code nor does the chkdsk /r

we get 3 attempts then the computer reboots and we are back in a cycle..........

HOWEVER........

I think we have found all 7 discs but reluctant to run them in case we lose all data - any advice MOST gratefully received

regards

M a r t i n

[Macboatmaster]

The password being asked for is the admin password. If you have never set one it will be blank.
Try simply leaving it blank..
Selecting the 1. and then press enter with it blank.

Edited by Macboatmaster, 21 May 2011 - 01:51 PM.

[kelvinb]

Tried it already without any luck - also tried admin, password, acer, the wifes log on password you name it i tried it

have read about this elsewhere but threads werent resolved - any ideas ???

regards

m a r t i n

[Macboatmaster]

Without being able to get into the recovery console, your options are rather limited.

What was the reason for the system restore in the first place.?

It appears that the restore point may have been corrupt and that is the reason for your current problem.

Possibly your best option at this stage is to secure your data.

You have two options.
1. Is to take out the hard drive, place it in a 2.5 enclosure connect it as an external drive to another computer and recover your data that way.

2. Use Puppy Linux as per the instructions below.
See this and make that Puppy Linux CD

There are a number of ways of recovering your data. One is below and probably one of the best.
Puppy Linux
See this link
http://distro.ibibli...fulldrivers.iso
Get puppy-2.16-seamonkey-fulldrivers.iso download it and burn it to cd using this
http://www.snapfiles...dlburncdcc.html

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 puppy-2.16-seamonkey-fulldrivers.iso
3. Select the ISO file
4. click on Start
make sure in the bios the cd drive is the first boot device....
• Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
Once that is done then click F10 to Save and Exit
You will prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit. Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings.
Make sure the cd you burned is in the cd drive before clicking Y and then your system will reboot. Puppy will boot and run totally in ram...if your hardware is is good working order you will know...
after you get it running and your at the desktop...you take the puppy linux cd out and then you can use the burner to copy all your data to cd/dvds - but THIS GUIDE is for using a USB flash pen or hard drive.
you can also use it to backup your data to a external usb harddrive..just have it hooked to the computer when you boot up with puppy...
==========================
quick guide for saving data...music..files on a system that will not boot using puppy Linux..
after you get to puppy desktop..
click on the drives icon...looks like a flash drive...top row..it will list all the drives connected to
your computer...

click on the red icon for the drive you want to mount...in this case its a flash drive ...puppy will
mount the drive..the drive icon turns green when its mounted...
minimize the drives mounter window..you will need it again in a few minutes..
drag the right edge of it sideways to shrink it to its narrowest size...about half the width of the screen...then drag the window to the right edge of the screen...
now click on the icon that looks like a filing cabinet (kind of yellow) on the main drive...it should
already be green..
you will see a list of all the folders on the main drive Usually your C: drive..shrink that window to
the narrowest you can..about half the width of the screen...drag that window to the left side of the screen...
at this point you should have 2 windows open on your desktop..the flash drive on the right side..
go back to the folders on the C: drive...click on the documents and settings folder...then your user
name or all users..find the folders that has your data..
drag and drop the folder with the data you want to make copies of to the flash drive window...
your options are to move ..copy ect...JUST COPY..if its to big you will have to open the folder and
drag and drop individual files until the flash drive is full...after you get the files copied to
the flash drive...
Click on the drives mounter you minimized earlier
UNMOUNT THE FLASH DRIVE by clicking on the green icon..you will once in awhile get error messages when
unmouting the drive..ignore them..when the flash drive icon turns red again its safe to remove the
flash drive.. and download to another computer.
Ensure the other computer can read them...
now delete the data on the flash drive...take it back to the misbehaving computer and plug it in

again..click on the drives icon again and repeat until you have all your data transferred to the working
system..
Remember to only click once! No double clicking! Once you drag and drop your first folder, you will notice a small menu will appear giving you the option to move or copy. Choose COPY each time you drag and drop.

YOU ARE DONE!!! Simply click Menu >> Mouse Over Shutdown >> Reboot/Turn Off Computer. Be sure to plug your USB Drive into another working windows machine to verify all data is there and transferred without corruption. __________________

Edited by Macboatmaster, 23 May 2011 - 10:40 AM.