Was on the computer & it froze up on me. Tried to start task manager to shut down FireFox (assuming it was just a firefox issue), but the task manager thing wouldn't show up. Finally, I held down the power button and powered it off as I couldn't think of what else to do. I tried to turn the computer back on, and it showed a screen saying "Windows is loading files" and paused on the screen that normally allows me to select the user/admin, but there was no user/admin option to select, so I had to power off again. The next time I tried to start up, it showed a screen saying:
Windows failed to start. A recent hardward or software change might be the cause
And it offered a chance to run startup repair. I select to run it, and the same issue as before (windows is loading files bar and then it shows the admin/user select screen without an option to choose an admin/user)
Posting from my backup comp. Comp in question uses Win7 and I can't think of any recent software changes (and definitely no hardware changes). And this is the first time I've ever seen the "windows is loading files" bar during startup
Edit: Tried holding f8 to boot in safe mode, but same thing happened
Hi ezpkns34,
What brand and model number is your PC and what Operating System are you running?
Do you have a repair disk that came with the computer (with some models it asks you to make one when new) ?.
Is all your personal data backed-up to disk or a USB drive?
Cheers,
Lee
Planning on trying out that plan of attack as it seems to allow me to transfer the files I need to my external hard drive before fixing the problem that will eventually eliminate the files from the laptop it would seem
Any comments/suggestions on following those instructions
If you have another suggestion on how to move some of the files to a USB or other hard drive, I'm definitely all ears
The attempt to follow the above link was unsuccessful. Opened notepad through the command prompt as it said, but when I went to C drive, nothing was there except a folder labeled "Recovery"
Are my files lost now or is there a different way to transfer them before losing them?
Edit: Nevermind, had to go to D drive instead of C drive for whatever reason to find my old files
Will report back with further detail on if this option is successfuo
f you have another suggestion on how to move some of the files to a USB or other hard drive, I'm definitely all ears
The best way to rescue personal data off a windows Laptop or desktop is with "Puppy Linux"
You download a Puppy Linux ISO and burn it to dis (on a slow speed of about 8x is best.
Set your Bios boot priority to CD as first boot and boot from the CD. Puppy loads into your RAM memory only as it is so small, but it is a full operating system and you can use it transfer data folders to a USB hard drive or flash drive.
A Puppy Linux disk is a handy disk to have for future emergencies, but regular backing -up of data is even better.
Thanks Lee
I managed to transfer the files I want to keep to my external hard drive
I was then going to restore from a restore point, but it's saying I have no restore points on the computer, even though I know I have made restore points at least 2 different times this year. Any suggestions on what to do next? Don't want to lose basic settings on my comp (like nvidia files and stuff like that)
There are other optional tools on your repair disk besides System Restore to try that might return your OS to working order. A system repair disc is not the same thing as the recovery disk but if that is all you have … How to Use a System Repair Disk to Restore Windows 7
If that fails, you should contact Dell who will send you a Recovery disk for your PC for about $30.
Not to step on any toes but this might be worth trying first.
The attempt to follow the above link was unsuccessful. Opened notepad through the command prompt as it said, but when I went to C drive, nothing was there except a folder labeled "Recovery"
It looks like there may be a recovery partition residing somewhere
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