what to do if the system files fail?

[Aryna]

The system files on my mom's laptop needed to be updated, but she wasn't confident in my ability to back-up the system files, so she wouldn't let me, and now the only way you can use it is if you start it up in safemode, which is annoying. So..., what should I do? Without my mom having to pay for a computer tech guy to fix it.

[benryves]

Run System Restore? That's what it's there for, after all.

[Aryna]

thanks, i'll just do that without asking my mom, or else she'll, wait, i think i'v tried that, and i think it didn't work.

[koolmansam375]

did you run chkdsk?

[Aryna]

No, not yet, my mom won't let me do anything to it, so I have to wait until she won't catch me so she can't yell at me.

[SonicBoom95]

Well, sounds like you know what to do, so we don't really have a job to do. Your problem sounds like something I came across years ago: "hai guise my mom wont let me use the computer but its broke so i need to fix it but she wont let me halp pls kthxbai!@!!"

[Aryna]

But see, that's the problem, I know what to do, but, I actually don't know how to actually do it, if that makes any sense at all, plus, my mom keeps hovering over my shoulder whenever I'm trying to fix it, so I can only look to see if I could actually do anything.

[SonicBoom95]

[magicdanw]

Haha. Just don't run a google search on "google," and we should all be fine.

Why don't you tell us what error messages you receive, and what the current status of the computer is? Then we can do our best to help you out.

[SonicBoom95]

[JoostinOnline]

[SonicBoom95]

...didn't he say that his mom was the one telling him not to System Restore?

I use masculine pronouns for clarity.

[Aryna]

He? He? Excuse me (that was said in a very sarcastic rude way), but the HE you are referring to, is not a HE, but a SHE. And, I did a syschk last night, and, it nothing showed up, and I don't have Norton Antivirus, yet system restore won't work..., so..., I have no idea what to do now, and, I don't want my mom to have to pay somebody to fix it when I might be able to.

[magicdanw]

I'm sorry, but could you please provide a bit more information? Specifically, are there any error messages that show up? What exactly happens when you try to boot into Windows normally?

[TylerMcL]

A few things you might want to clearly state before we continue any further:

1. What version of the windows environment are you running?

2. What exactly is it saying when you try to boot into windows without any special start-up specifications?

3. At what point did it stop working? What happened to possibly stop allowing windows to operate correctly?

4. Do you still have the OS installation disk that probably came with your mother's computer?


So I can't really make any suggestions for any solutions at this point. Not to be a smart-alec, but I'm very experienced with the windows OS installation and repairs, for I have spent most of my time using windows, trying to re-install it, or re-configure it correctly .

What I can say is the following few statements:

1. If your mother is having problems with you trying to get it to work again, just tell her that it can't get any more worse at this point. Anything that you try to do at this point in the restoration will only open the possibility of the OS's partial or full recovery.

2. Depending on what OS version you are using, I might be able to provide a link for a vista OS recovery/repair disk, specially designed for situations like this. I have a copy right in front of me, so I might just be able to use a FTP to transfer it directly to you -- if need be. I don't exactly remember how I ever came across it .

ALSO -- if your mom is worried about the data on her computer, I suggest the following:

Download and burn a copy of the Linux Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron installation CD. This amazing operating system is completely free, with the exception of the requirement of having to own a blank CD and a burner. This CD has the option to boot directly from the disk and run at near full capacity with absolutely no changes to your system. This will give you access to your windows partition, regardless of Windows state. You could then back-up your data that way, and either put it on CD's or on an external hard drive.


I hope this here helps somewhat. If you need any direct assistance, feel free to email me at Tyler.McLaughlan@Yahoo.com or IM me at MoneyBagsTyler. Please don't ask about the AIM screenname -- I've had it since I was in 4th grade or so.

[Aryna]

Well, there aren't any error messages, and when I start it up normally, nothing happens, and, the version of windows is Windows XP professional, we don't have the cd, and, I don't remember when it stopped working, i think two to three weeks ago.

[magicdanw]

What do you mean nothing happens? What screen does it stall/stop at? Unless the monitor ceases to exist, something happens

[JoostinOnline]

[TylerMcL]

Yeah, not to be a snot or anything, but you gotta be more specific than that

Regardless, my option to at least back-up your data without having to install another operating system, still exists.

Here's the link for the latest stable ubuntu release:
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Since it sounds like an older computer, I'd assume it is a 32 bit processor.

And for your XP problem, you should be able to use this package to boot into your XP OS.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/thankyo...displayLang=en#

And something must come up when you try to boot. Either you just blew your monitor, or your graphics card, something should show. If even the BIOS load screen isn't appearing, either your motherboard is fried, along with the whole computer, or the above possibility. If it's not a hardware issue, that file, once burned onto a CD should do the job.

[Aryna]

Okay, what I mean by nothing comes up when I boot it up is, it'll try to boot normally, but, nothing happens, it just stays trying to boot up. So, I guess, what I meant by nothing comes up, no error messages come up.