lap top not starting up!!!!

[harwood red]

Here I go again. My son has a Toshiba Tecra T9100 and when you switch it on it has the following on screen:

we apologize for the inconvenience, but windows did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this.

If your computer stopped responding, restarted unexpectedly, or was automatically shut down to protect your files and foleders, choode last known good configuration to revert to the most reent settings that worked.

If a previous startup was interrupted due to a power failure or becuase the power or rest button was pressed or you aren't sure what caused the problem, choose start windows normally.

(then there are the following options)

Safe mode
Safe mode with networking
safe mode with command prompt
last known good configuration(your most recent settings that worked)
start windows normally


Have tried them all but about 5 seconds into loading it flashes to a blue screen with writing on (but not enough time to read what it says) then switches off and then it starts all over again...

any ideas anyone??? (crikey got writers cramp now )

[shakermaker]

oof.
Our last PC did that.
'Last' being the operative word I'm afraid.

[entwisi]

windows buggered I'm afraid.

Does he have any data on that needs rescueing? I can get stuff off before you splat it and re-install

[harwood red]

Originally Posted by entwisi

windows buggered I'm afraid.

Does he have any data on that needs rescueing? I can get stuff off before you splat it and re-install

He does, quite a bit of his GCSE stuff which he is panicking about... will talk to my friend who installed it as we don't have the windows disc for it. Plus I have no idea how to splat and reinstall it either

[Splinter]

I take it you did not make a recovery disk when you first got it. If you did not, you have no choice but to buy a copy (or get a knock off). If you buy, you can get a 'student' copy for your son, which will be quite a bit cheaper.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Don't do it until you've rescued the bumph though or you'll lose it all.

[harwood red]

thanks all, just waiting for a phone call off my friend who got the lap top to see if he made a recovery disc or has the original still

[Neil]

Originally Posted by harwood red

thanks all, just waiting for a phone call off my friend who got the lap top to see if he made a recovery disc or has the original still

You still need to get his stuff off before you try to restore or reinstall windows. It's much safer to know you have it all on a disc before you let someone try and fix it.

[entwisi]

if it has a legit license sticker you can use any disc.

You need to make absolutely sure you have a copy of the GCSE stuff BEFORE anyone attempts to fix it, Windows setup is very good at formatting discs when you least expect it.

Shout if you need help

[blazey]

Take out the battery for a little while and the power pack and pop it back in again.

I was angry at mine for a day but it wouldnt even get far enough for me to use the windows disk properly, just wouldnt go far enough. Anyway I pulled out the battery for some reason as I always remember my boyfriend pulling out my battery in my desktop pc to reset BIOS or something.

Anyway it did the trick lol.

[davo69]

Originally Posted by blazey

Take out the battery for a little while and the power pack and pop it back in again.

I was angry at mine for a day but it wouldnt even get far enough for me to use the windows disk properly, just wouldnt go far enough. Anyway I pulled out the battery for some reason as I always remember my boyfriend pulling out my battery in my desktop pc to reset BIOS or something.

Anyway it did the trick lol.

that happend to mine and i done the same come to think of it twice works fine now

[WillowTheWhisp]

I remember someone saying about doing the same with remotes which don't work.

Pardon me for being dim but I didn't know desktops had batteries. Where are they and what do they do?

[blazey]

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

I remember someone saying about doing the same with remotes which don't work.

Pardon me for being dim but I didn't know desktops had batteries. Where are they and what do they do?

Small watch battery type thing thats held in place in two clips. You pull it out with a knife or a flat headed screw driver carefully and it resets the BIOS, so it resets your time and everything so to speak.
You shouldn't do it on a regular basis but it helps normally for bad shutdowns like the one the threads about.

I'm not just making it up, I was all prepared to send the laptop back and it just came to me. My laptop does the same thing if i shut it down badly after a crash, ie turn it off with the power button.

My boyfriend works with computers so he fixes mine all the time. Computer fixers dont tend to suggest nice easy things over the phone as they tend to charge £60 an hour typically!

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by blazey

Small watch battery type thing thats held in place in two clips. You pull it out with a knife or a flat headed screw driver carefully and it resets the BIOS, so it resets your time and everything so to speak.
You shouldn't do it on a regular basis but it helps normally for bad shutdowns like the one the threads about.

Thanks Blazey - you learn a little something every day.

[blazey]

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

Thanks Blazey - you learn a little something every day.

Well in some cases, unlike telly remotes, it will work, and I certainly think Harwood Red should give it a try before taking it to be fixed for god knows how much he'll charge.
If it doesnt work then fair enough but it doesnt hurt to try some home remedies first, plus with laptops its obviously much different as it seems to do it with just pulling the battery pack out of the back, so your not likely to damage the insides.