Yeah, it's very possible that something could have come loose. The most fragile component in your computer, unfortunately, is your hard drive. A severe knock could bend the head and cause errors.
The easiest way to find out whether your hard drive is okay is to run chkdsk:
1. Go to your Start Menu
2. Type "chkdsk" in the search bar and hit Enter.
Just let me know if there are any errors.
I think it's probably time to try a System Restore though. If there aren't any errors, a System Restore to a point over a month ago may return things back to normal.
Hmmm, it can take from between a few minutes to an hour or so. In either case it should give you the results or an error, it should not close itself.
What we can try to do is run it in safe mode. If that doesn't work, then it may be an idea to use a light version of Linux called Puppy Linux to safely backup all your data and check the health of your disk drive.
To run in Safe Mode:
1. Restart your machine.
2. Begin pressing F8 repeatedly until the Windows Advanced Options Menu comes up.
3. Choose "Start Windows in Safe Mode with Command Prompt".
Windows will start with Command Prompt open. Simply type "chkdsk /f" and hit enter. This should automatically check for and fix any errors on the disk.
If it doesn't work, we'll go for the next option which is to try and use Puppy Linux to check the hard drive. It's fairly important that we find out whether the hard drive was damaged in the knock before we try any type of system repair or restore.
OK This is what chkdsk said when I started it in safe mode:
The type of the file system is NTFS
The volume is in use by another process. Chkdsk
might report errors when no corruption is present.
Volume label is windows.
Warning F parameter is not specified.
Running chkdsk in read-only mode.
It started scanning and about when it got to step 3 it dissappeard like before never to show up again. I restarted my cpu in safe mode twice and it did the same thing both times.
Guess it's time for Puppy Linux.
Its a download of only about 100MB, so a broadband connection is advisable for the download… Puppy is an alternative operating system….. it does not need Windows to run, and the licence to use it is free of charge and comes included automatically. It is different in its interface from Windows, but sufficiently intuitive for most folks to use it successfully without problem.
B.) Burn the iso (that you have downloaded) to CD ROM as an "image"…it must be as an image, a copy will not work!……..Imgburn is good for this, available from here:
C.) Switch on your "original" computer and Set Bios to Boot from CD as first priority…on most Dells it's F2 to enter the Bios (set up) otherwise try F12, Esc or Del
NOTE you will need to press the appropriate key (to enter the Bios) immediately after power on.
Your hard drive should be next in priority followed by USB/network if the settings provide these options. Remember to save your altered settings in the Bios before exiting.
D.) With your external back up media plugged in to a USB port I.E. External USB hard drive, flash drive etc and the Linux Puppy CD ROM inserted into the CD drive, close down your machine and:
E.) Boot from the CD, you may get a message to "press any key to continue booting from CD" so allow this, Now follow the on-screen Linux Puppy prompts (remember don't install it) let it run in memory, it will be quite happy doing so, and will allow you access to your Hard drive so you can copy off to your external media anything you need. You will soon get used to Puppy and you'll find that you will be able to use the Internet and do most things that you want to do.
Once you're in Puppy Linux I suggest backing up all your documents onto a USB drive first. Once you're completely satisfied that you have everything you need, I'll talk you through a couple of hardware tests. If they pass, then we'll try restoring Windows.
no i did not put /f behind chkdsk.
So it ran properly and it found no errors.
The first time I ran chkdsk it found an incorrect file in the file system. I guess it fixed it. because it hasn't found that error again.
I just realised that the last bit of what I said for Puppy Linux was probably useless. It comes from a generic set of instructions which assumes people are using it for backing up files.
Anyway, try running chkdsk /f again. If it doesn't come up with errors on this second pass then try your SD Card / Camera again. If it's not fixed, which I have a feeling it won't be, then follow these instructions to do a System Restore :
