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Windows won't boot; running out of options


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#1
ATinTeardrop

ATinTeardrop

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Toshiba Satellite P850 PSPKBA-03000U
HDD: Toshiba MQ01ABD075
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hi, I'm unable to startup my computer, and am being stumped at every attempt I make to fix it. Here's what's happened so far:
 
 
 
- Upon startup, it gets past the Toshiba splash screen, then gets stuck on a black screen with a moveable cursor (but no other responsiveness), or gets stuck on the Windows welcome screen, and has once or twice immediately gone to a page reading "A disk read error occurred Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart". 
 
- The same happens in safe mode.
 
- In BIOS, the HDD is still recognised... the majority of the time.
 
- I attempted to use Last Known Good Configuration,  it got stuck on the Windows welcome screen.
 
- The "Repair my computer" option does not appear in the advanced boot options menu.
 
- I attempted to boot from a Windows System Repair disc made from my computer after it was bought, but it results in a Toshiba error screen "f3 f100 0003". There are suggestions online that this error is associated with a rootkit infection that can be removed by Kaspersky TDSSKiller. It could also be possible that this system repair disc has a write error; I am trying to get hold of another from someone else.
 
- I also attempted to boot from a System Repair disc made from a Windows 7 32-bit computer (forgetting that it was 32-bit). For whatever reason, this successfully loaded the System Recovery interface. Either due to being 32-bit or because of genuine errors, it was unable to recognise the existence of an operating system or C: drive, and as such System Restore cannot be performed, and the following:
- I attempted Startup Repair- 
- "Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically"
Problem Event Name: StartupRepairOffline
Problem Signature 01: 0.0.0.0
Problem Signature 02: 0.0.0.0
Problem Signature 03: unknown
Problem Signature 04: 0
Problem Signature 05: unknown
Problem Signature 06: 1
Problem Signature 07: unknown
- "Diagnosis and repair details: Root cause found: A hard disk could not be found. If a hard disk is installed, it is not responding."
- In Command Prompt-
- diskpart> list disk: "There are no fixed disks to show."
- chkdsk /f /r /x: "The type of the file system is NTFS. Cannot lock current drive. Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected.
- C: did not appear in the file manager accessed through notepad
 
- I attempted to use Kaspersky Rescue Disk to scan and remove malware; it was unable to see C:. After being updated, it performs a scan lasting 1-2 seconds and finds nothing.
 
- I booted from the Linux Live CD 'System Rescue CD'. I'm not familiar with Linux and to me operating the various tools here seems less than easy to understand to me. 
- However, in the file system checker 'fsarchiver probe simple', it is able to see my C: partition:
[DEVICE][FILESYS ][LABEL    ][SIZE    ][MAJ][MIN]
[loop0 ][squashfs][(unknown)][352.42MB][7  ][0  ]
[sda1  ][ntfs    ][System   ][1.46GB  ][8  ][2  ]
[sda2  ][ntfs    ][HDD    ][685.13GB][8  ][1  ]
[sda3  ][ntfs    ][Recovery ][12.04GB ][8  ][3  ]
Upon googling, apparently the initial loop0 partition is related to the live cd.
- It appears that in order to access or backup C: (sda2) I need to mount it; however in response to inputting "ntfs-3g -o ro /dev/sda2 /mnt/windows" into the command line terminal, I received:
"Error reading bootsector: Input/output error
Failed to mount '/dev/sda2': Input/output error
NTFS is either inconsistent, or there is a hardware fault, or it's a SoftRAID/FakeRAID hardware. In the first case run chkdsk /f on Windows..." etc. 
 
 
 
 
So, I've more or less run into a brick wall at every turn so far. I'm not yet convinced that actual data on the C: partition is gone, or that the HDD is suffering hardware failure- so recovering my data is the first priority, and otherwise to repair the problem. 
 
My current remaining options to fix it myself that I'm aware of  are:
- Getting hold of another 64-bit system repair disc
- Try another Linux-based boot option, such as Ultimate Boot CD or Ubuntu Live
- Try another antivirus boot option
- Try to remove the rootkit (if there is one) with one of the latter two options above
 
 
 
 
 
 
I will continue trying to follow up these options, but any help would be extremely welcome!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Further background:
 
- Laptop was bought four years ago; it has never previously had any major HDD issues. It had recently begun to overheat (though not to the extent of, say, switching itself off, or noticeably affecting performance)
- I had previously been backing up to an external that wasn't big enough for both full backup of files and a system image; and windows backup consistently failed to back up incrementally. I bought a new Seagate 2TB Expansion drive and got EaseUS Todo Backup Free, and told it to do a Disk backup (effectively a system image), where it said that there was an error on an unnamed partition (my HDD only had the main C: partition, and the two smaller system/recovery partitions, so presumably the error was on one of those). It said it could continue sector by sector to bypass that part, I had never experienced any issue relating to such an error before, and I just wanted to get a backup down ASAP, so I said yes, intended on investigating the error later set it to shutdown when down and went to bed. I woke up several hours later to see that the Seagate external was no longer blinking as it does when in operation, and therefore thought the backup had finished and the laptop should be shut down, but the lights were still on. Being half asleep, I held down the power button to hard reset for inexplicable reasons, and the computer has been unable to boot since.
- Either I was right and something strange was happening at the time related to the system/boot partition error above, that happened to occur whilst backing up; or I was wrong and I caused the problem by mistakenly doing a hard reset whilst the computer was on/possibly backing up system files. 
- The backup that was created at this time was indeed incomplete and corrupt, leaving me high and dry.)

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#2
DonnaB

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Hi ATinTeardrop,

I am going to move your topic to the Computer Won't Boot - Malware Related section of the forum.

Let's check to make sure this is not rootkit related. I will prepare and post instructions as soon as possible. We will need a clean 4G USB flash drive and a clean computer to transfer files from and to one computer to the other.

Thank you,
Donna :)
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#3
DonnaB

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Hi ATinTeardrop,

Ok. Here you go... Do you have the USB flash drive and a clean computer to work from?

First of all, to protect the clean computer please do the following:

Download McShield2 to your desktop and install with default settings.
In the control center, select scanner and check unhide items on flash drives
mcshield%20unhide.JPG
Anytime you plug in a USB drive, McShield will scan the device.

Next:

1. Rufus

For 64bit systems
2. Windows 7 64bit RC Sent link to W7 RC.iso in private message (PM)
3. Farbar Recovery Scan Tool x64

Insert the USB stick Then run Rufus
rufus.JPG
Select the ISO file on the desktop via the ISO icon.

Press Start Burn
RufusISO.JPG
Then copy FRST to the same USB

frstwintoboot.JPG


Insert the USB into the sick computer and start the computer. First ensuring that the system is set to boot from USB
Note: If you are not sure how to do that follow the instructions Here

Windows 7 and Vista screenshots

When you reboot you will see this.
Click repair my computer
RepairVista_7275.jpg

Select your operating system
RepairVista_7277202.jpg

Select Command prompt
RepairVista_7277.jpg

At the command prompt type the following :

notepad and press Enter.
The notepad opens. Under File menu select Open.
Select "Computer" and find your flash drive letter and close the notepad.
In the command window type e:\frst64.exe or e:\frst.exe dependant on system
and press Enter
Note: Replace letter e with the drive letter of your flash drive.
The tool will start to run.
When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
frst.JPG
Press Scan button.
It will make a log (FRST.txt) on the flash drive. Please copy and paste it to your reply.
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#4
ATinTeardrop

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Hi Donna,
 
Thanks very much for your quick and detailed reply!
 
 
Unfortunately, I have been unable to boot from the rescue usb. Upon booting, there is the 'Windows loading files' screen with a white loading bar; followed by the next screen with green loading bar and 'Microsoft Corporation'; followed by a black screen with cursor, on which it gets stuck. I erased the usb and tried doing the whole process again, double checking your instructions to make sure; McShield did not find any malware; Rufus is set correctly and has no errors; my laptop is most definitely booting from usb, same result. (Here's the Rufus log, just to confirm.)
 
 
 
Spoiler

Edited by ATinTeardrop, 26 September 2016 - 05:24 PM.

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#5
DonnaB

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Hi ATinTeardrop,

Are you sure your OS architecture is 64 bit? The chkdsk log shows 32 bit?

Windows version: Windows 7 SP1 32 bit

I will need to send you the 32-bit version of the RC.iso file in a PM and will need you to delete everything on the flash drive so you can redo the instructions above. Expect a PM from me shortly with the link to the 32-bit version. :)
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#6
DonnaB

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Aha! I just reread what you wrote above:

I also attempted to boot from a System Repair disc made from a Windows 7 32-bit computer (forgetting that it was 32-bit). For whatever reason, this successfully loaded the System Recovery interface. Either due to being 32-bit or because of genuine errors, it was unable to recognise the existence of an operating system or C: drive, and as such System Restore cannot be performed, and the following:


I have a strong feeling your system is 32 bit and that is why the 32-bit version System Repair disc worked for you and why you were unable to boot from the rescue usb I had you made. I gave you the wrong version. Please see my last PM so you can download the 32-bit version of RC.iso then try again. :)
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#7
ATinTeardrop

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That's not a chkdsk log from the problem laptop, it's the Rufus log of the iso burn to USB procedure on the other clean computer, which is 32-bit. I just put it up to confirm there wasn't a burn error (probably unnecessary of me).

I'm afraid I can 100% guarantee that the laptop in question is 64-bit. Given the weirdness of the 32-bit repair kind of working, I will try the new download just in case something strange happens... but it's 100% 64 bit.
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#8
DonnaB

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Very weird. I have never seen rufus create a log like that. I'll have to try that on my system so I'll know next time.

Yes. See if the 32 bit version of .iso works since the 32bit rescue disc did. Usually it will not work if it is not the correct architecture. You may have to use the 32 bit version of Farbar Recovery scan as well. Here's the link just in case:

For x32 (x86) bit systems download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool.
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#9
ATinTeardrop

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So, the 32-bit version does the exact same thing as the 64 (stuck on black screen after loading files from disc); I managed to get hold of a system repair disc from a Windows 7 64-bit computer and that did the same thing, as now does my old repair disc (when I first tried it, it showed that Toshiba error). Consistent at least, I guess.


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#10
ATinTeardrop

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Some current success, touch wood, I am using an Ubuntu live cd, which is showing the HDD in the filesystem most of the time (unlike anything else, although it is treating it more like an external than a harddrive), and I am managing to backup my files just by dragging and dropping onto my external (I'd rather just stick to this safe, currently working method for now, rather than getting my head around some Linux command-line tool, given my unfamiliarity with Linux and lack of success in that department so far). My intention is to complete this, and then try to run an antivirus like BitDefender or ClamAV or something in Ubuntu.. Advice is still very appreciated!


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#11
DonnaB

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That is strange that you can get linux to see the drive but not the rescue USB I had you create. I have never had this trouble before. I asked a friend to have a peek here to get his opinion. I'll keep you informed to any ideas, advice, etc.

In the mean time, if you would keep trying to get the USB to work. From my own personal experience when playing around with this technique, I know how easy it is to overlook something very simple either when creating the bootable with the iso or executing the instructions.

Try booting into the rescue USB on your good computer to see if we can eliminate if this is user error or computer issue.
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#12
ATinTeardrop

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To be fair, the rescue USB might be able to see the drive, it's just never able to get that far...

I tried the rescue USB on the clean computer and it worked fine. I tried it and the x64 repair disc again, with the same old result of not booting; interestingly, the 32-bit repair disc that had previously (and surprisingly) booted but been unable to see the drive, now is unable to boot in the same fashion as the others. And the Windows Defender Offline rescue disc does exactly the same. Seems like anything Windows can't get far.

I have managed to back up almost all of my files to an external via Ubuntu. An attempt to run a dd image (for completion's sake, I guess?) failed once it reached a bad sector on the hard drive.
I also began to run the BitDefender rescue CD, and was having more success with that than previous attempts at antivirus boot CDs, but then my laptop shut itself off in the middle of a scan (it had discovered about 100 input/output errors and one infection so far), and wouldn't turn on again for five minutes... a problem that seems nearly completely unrelated to anything else that's happened, and which I suspect might be due to overheating, though why on earth it would be bad enough to do that now and not during all the previous things I've been trying to do with it over the past few days I don't know.



Anyway, say I recover my final personal files, and BitDefender (or another antivirus) runs but fails to solve the problem.. what then? Without Windows solutions, would I be able to repair the boot partition (if that is the problem) and save my system? And if not, then it would probably be down to destructively restoring the HDD to factory settings (there are Toshiba tools at startup to do that, which may or may not work, else it could be wiped and clean installed), and then if tests show that there are still errors, replacing the HDD?
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#13
DonnaB

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After extensive research on the ERROR: F3-F100-0003, it seems to be a Toshiba specific error code and I have yet to come across a topic that states this could be associated with any kind of rootkit. The majority of topics that I encountered, the error code appeared on computers that were experiencing hard drive problems. I can't find any reliable source of data that states that error code F3-F100-0003 is anything more than an umbrella term for hard drive issues.

Personally, I would continue to collect and save all the files you on the computer that you cam not live without, then see if you can access the Toshiba folder on the C:\ drive and navigate to the Utilities > Diagnostic tool to see if you can check the hard drive, if it is even installed on that computer. Even one bad sector can be a problem.

I was hoping you would be able to use the Recovery USB I had you to create to access the command prompt and run chkdsk /r. Are you able to boot the computer into the Advanced Boot Options menu and choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt to run chkdsk /r? You could also burn a seatools disc to check the hard drive as well. Instructions can be found SeaTools for DOS

No sense in running any security software till you found out if the drive is healthy. Further stress could even send it over the edge. I'll contact one of our expert hardware gurus to see if he will have a look at this topic. He may have some ideas on how to check the hard drive as well.
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#14
ATinTeardrop

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- The topic I found that associated F3-F100-0003 with rootkits was here: http://forums.toshib...p/315880/page/2   That said, I haven't encountered that error when trying to boot from a Windows disc for days- now it just hangs after loading the files, as previously described. 

- I've recovered all personal files

- I can't use the Toshiba diagnostic tools because I'm only getting this far/able to navigate the drive in Linux environments

- I'm not able to boot into safe mode with command prompt

- SeaTools for DOS either freezes shortly after the GUI appears, or it says "No Hard Drives Found; if you believe this to be incorrect, check cables, drive power connection and jumper settings, and then try again."

 

- In my defense, I thought I had already recovered all personal files when I began the BitDefender scan (knowing that it could possibly cause more problems- though so could many of these scans and things in theory), and was thus prepared that if things were made worse, I could always wipe/return to factory settings/replace HDD which seems increasingly likely to be the outcome anyway. But yes, since that antivirus scan interrupted by a shutdown, the frequency with which Ubuntu can see and read the HDD has dropped significantly. Yes, an unhealthy drive seems awfully likely, though on the other hand almost every error that looks like corruption/bad sectors turn about to be inconsistent, and may work/copy fine after a restart. Worth mentioning that the HDD still shows up in BIOS.

 

Thanks for your continued help!


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#15
DonnaB

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Since you do have all your personal files backed up, what is your next plan of action? I did ask our resident unbootable expert to have a look at this thread and he agrees with me that this is leaning towards a faulty hard drive and not a rootkit infection.

I also asked one of our expert hardware techs to have a look and he is willing to have a look from the faulty hardware viewpoint.

Intuition tells me that if you try accessing the hidden recovery partition to restore back to factory condition, the process might fail. It's worth a try since there is nothing to lose.

I can easily move your topic back to the Vista/W7 forums so Phillpower2 can have a go at it. The choice is yours. Let me know what you would like to do.

Thanks for your continued help!


My pleasure. :)

Donna :)
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