[Anyer]

Okay so this is going to be one lengthy explanation! I have a custom built PC that I use for low-level gaming (i.e. Dragon Age and The Sims 2) that was built back in 2007. In the last year I've had issues with the PC, and it slowly seems to be dying on me. I had issues with it rebooting itself and twice had a friend of a friend look at it and fix it. On the second occasion it constantly seemed like the HDD was corrupting itself and removing items via Chkdisk but it was fixed.

Only side-effect is that the licence lost it's activation and my PC lost it's ability to connect to the internet meaning I could not get my Windows re-activated. I then tried to update the PC to SP3 to see if that helped and discovered my CD drive no longer worked *gross sobbing* so had to use a USB CD drive to update. That was all fine and I was using a command line/code via Run in Safe Mode every month to restart the 30-day activation period.

Today it popped up saying I had one day left to activate and as usual I was going to do the Safe Mode route except I accidentally hit Yes to activation, which made my screen just hang at the desktop background and my cursor. I restarted the PC to boot into Safe Mode and after putting the command line/code in and restarting I got the following error message at login:

"A problem has prevented Windows from accurately checking the status of the licence for this computer. To proceed your copy of Windows must be activated with Microsoft"

I then went back into F8 and hit Last Known Good Configuration and that worked, letting me get in and saving all essential files to an external HDD. I then rebooted into Safe Mode to restart the activation period again seeing as I only had one day left and went back to square one with the same error message as above. Even going into Last Known Good Configuration doesn't work anymore.

Also when I restarted the PC after saving all my stuff, a message came up as the PC was logging out of my profile. It said something about not being able to write something to a volume 2 on the HDD - not sure if that means something about my external HDD that I used to save everything on (which is fine). It also Blue Screened on me twice after that; once when I tried Last Known Good Configuration again and trying to get into Safe Mode.

I have emailed the family friend who fixed it last time but I was wondering if a new set of brains could help. Is it retrievable or will I have to bite the bullet and buy a new PC (which I cannot do as I am unemployed).

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Anyer

Sorry that you have waited so long for a reply.
Please tell us more about why your PC has lost it's ability to connect to the internet as it obviously greatly limits your options

[phillpower2]

Anyer

Sorry that you have waited so long for a reply.
Please tell us more about why your PC has lost it's ability to connect to the internet as it obviously greatly limits your options

[Anyer]

Not sure why it has, but after the second fix the Wireless Zero Configuration said it wasn't looking after my internet connection, as it thought that the software for my wireless card (the Belkin Wireless programme you can install via a CD to monitor the net connect instead of the default windows one) was doing it. I then installed said software but it couldn't detect any sort of connection, so went about trying to fix the issue with the Windows manager.

When I googled for fixes etc, it said something about looking at starting it via Services. When I followed the method to start it threw up some error message (which I did write down but cannot find) and I now cannot find it in the Services section. It sounds like the software is possibly corrupt and needs fixing, which I could have done via an System Repair or Restore if my CD drive was working *sigh*

[phillpower2]

Have you tried Safe Mode with Networking as that will install Windows generic network drivers.

[Anyer]

It's not letting me into Safe Mode with Networking - it comes up with the same message (as above) as when I try to access my normal desktop.

[phillpower2]

Options are 1: Contact Microsoft and have them activate/validate the OS by telephone/lan line http://support.micro....com/contactus/ or use an OS installation disk and a new product key.
The 30 day activation period is to make an allowance for people who cannot register the product immediately for one reason or another, like yourself for instance due to having no internet connection, it is not intended for prolonged use which can lead to the issue you are having now.

Your HDD may be the root cause of your problems and should be tested for stability, is there any more data on the drive that you wish to try and back up before testing the HDD.

[Anyer]

The only issue with getting them to validate it over the phone is that they will not continue unless I have the codes from the Activation Window for the phone option to validate (believe me I've tried); whenever I did try to open the Activation Window either by clicking on the little key icon that popped up on the taskbar reminding me how many days I had left or trying it via the Start -> All Programs -> Accessories route it would never open. I had read about there issues like that due to IE but after installing ie8 it still wouldn't come up. And using an OS disk wouldn't work as my CD drive still doesn't work.

I managed to back up all my game data etc onto my external HDD so there isn't on there that I don't need access to. I am currently running a Chkdsk to see if it comes up with anything (currently at the verifying free space stage) and as yet nothing has come up showing any issues, unless it tells you all of them right at the end.

Beginning to wonder if I should just scrap this PC and if and when I get a job start saving up for a new one.

edit: After running a Chkdsk which found nothing, I am now having difficulties in getting into Safe Mode! After I selected Safe Mode and it asked which OS (the only option was obviously the one I have) it starts listing drivers it is loading and then just hangs after loading the following:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\JGOGO.sys

I can hear that the HDD is actively doing something but not sure what if it's not moving forward. Seems like my problem has gotten worse!

edit2: Well seems to have gotten over that and I'm now back in Safe Mode.

Edited by Anyer, 10 June 2012 - 10:51 AM.

[phillpower2]

Do you have another memory stick which will enable you to download and run a HDD diagnostic tool such as http://www.megaleech...e_USB_Maker_Kit

[Anyer]

Just to ask - will this work even if I cannot make a CD of the Boot Manager it talks about/links to in point 6? Well I can make it on another computer/laptop but then I cannot use it as my CD drive doesn't work. Or could it just be a case of stick in the USB and see how it goes? Just hope getting into Safe Mode after all that hassle isn't a fluke!

Oh and I have managed to make a USB using that process that is ready.

Edited by Anyer, 10 June 2012 - 11:32 AM.

[phillpower2]

The idea of testing the HDD now is to make sure that it is capable of being used in the future otherwise you will be stressing and wasting your time trying to install an OS that will not work down to a bad HDD, checkdisk does not test a HDD like Seatools does.

[Anyer]

The idea of testing the HDD now is to make sure that it is capable of being used in the future otherwise you will be stressing and wasting your time trying to install an OS that will not work down to a bad HDD, checkdisk does not test a HDD like Seatools does.

I understand that, but as I cannot us my CD drive I cannot use the Boot Manager that it mentions in point 6. I just started up my PC with the USB that has the USB bootable programme on and nothing happened - it went straight to the warning message as usual. Am I able to run that programme in Safe Mode at all?

[phillpower2]

Sorry but what point 6, where?

[Anyer]

In the link you gave to download the Seatools and make a Bootable USB Disk, it has a point 6 where is says "Have your computer boot from this newly created SeaTools For DOS usb disk and you will launch directly into the interface as shown below." - part of that text links to this http://www.megaleech...rboard_Support. This talks about how to get the computer to boot from USB as BIOS doesn't support it. It says to burn an image of a Boot Manager to CD and use that to allow the computer to boot from the USB. That I cannot do as my CD drive does not work.

Or am I just complicating things. Sorry about this!

[phillpower2]

Step 6, says
•Have your computer boot from this newly created SeaTools For DOS usb disk and you will launch directly into the interface as shown below.

What you need to do is set your boot sequence in the BIOS so that it boots from the USB stick first, not all BIOS are accessed using the same keys so I have included a link to help you http://www.hiren.inf...bios-boot-cdrom custom built systems often use the F8 key.

[Anyer]

Oh god now I feel silly As soon as I turned on the PC with the USB in and hit F8, the USB was listed in the boot devices and I am now in the SeaTools menu. Sorry for confusing matters.

Which of the three tests should I run? That and how long in general do these tests take? I only ask as I have to be somewhere very early tomorrow morning and I'm not that keen on letting it run all night (as it's in my room). If it takes too long I'll try running it tomorrow.

Edited by Anyer, 10 June 2012 - 02:05 PM.