XP Problem! Help needed??

[zendawn]

My sisters computer has crash and needs some help getting it back on track.
Unfortunatly I've only used 98 so could not help but hopefully someone on here might be able to help?

The problem.

1. The screen froze while browsing the net.
2. Reset the computer.
3. Got a blue screen saying something like:-
'If this is the first time you've seen this message then you need to restart'.
4. Would not get passed this screen even with numerous restarts.
5. Tried to use recovery disk but stalled at 29%

I'm afraid this is 2nd hand info so cannot give anymore info than above.

If anyone has any ideas whats wrong or how it can be solved then thanks in advance.

[Paul M]

Very hard to tell from that but I would hazard a guess at a HD failure.

[Chris W]

sounds like it could be a harddrive failure.... but more info would give a better idea!

[swoop101]

re-boot, press f8 after the beep and choose safe mode.
if it boots try and do a system restore to first boot today if poss.

if it will not boot do above again but choose last know good config.

post back

[zendawn]

Sorry, about the lack of info shes not up on the tech terms and im in a different location so cannot see the problem 1st hand.
Do you mean the HD faliure was the cause of the 1st screen freeze or
the cause of the failed restart or reinstall??

[zendawn]

Originally Posted by swoop101

re-boot, press f8 after the beep and choose safe mode.
if it boots try and do a system restore to first boot today if poss.

if it will not boot do above again but choose last know good config.

post back

I did ask her to do a safe mode reboot and she said she tried that, (assuming she knew what I meant, will clarify later.)
Does the system restore need the recovery disk? as its the recovery disk that stalls at 29%?

[swoop101]

the blue screen of death was probably caused by a small error that damaged a system file.
If a system restore point can be accessed and used the problem might be sorted.

the system restore points are found through the help section in xp.

[Chris W]

Originally Posted by zendawn

Does the system restore need the recovery disk? as its the recovery disk that stalls at 29%?

nope it doesn't require the recovery disk it uses files that windows has stored on the hard disk

[willie]

Such is the joys of using M$ product other cause for this could be faulty memory chips again without further info it is hard to pinpoint the exact cause.
i would try changing the memory on the pc

[zendawn]

Originally Posted by swoop101

re-boot, press f8 after the beep and choose safe mode.
if it boots try and do a system restore to first boot today if poss.

if it will not boot do above again but choose last know good config.

post back

I've just checked with her, and it seems she didnt do a safe mode restart (not up on the terms). So ive told her how to do the safe mode restart and shes gonna give it a try. Will have to wait till tomorrow now as they are going to bed afterwards.

[zendawn]

Originally Posted by monkeybreath

nope it doesn't require the recovery disk it uses files that windows has stored on the hard disk

Would trying to reinstall it, and stalling at 29% cause any problems or will it ignore it like when you cancel a download?

[zendawn]

Originally Posted by Web Junkie

Such is the joys of using M$ product other cause for this could be faulty memory chips again without further info it is hard to pinpoint the exact cause.
i would try changing the memory on the pc

I think the original freeze was just a normal freeze that sometimes happens. Its the lack of knowledge after that has caused more problems.
Not sure what the blue screen was (dont think it happens on 98?) but a safe mode reboot and restore should have solved the problem but I think they didnt do a safe mode reboot?

[zendawn]

UPDATE:

Just phoned me sister to see how she is getting on.
They left windows installing over night and was loaded by the time they got up, seemed it hadnt stalled but was behaving liike defrag does at 10%.
Anyway, the computer was still acting funny, so they did the safe mode reboot and managed to run spybot, which found a lot of reg key changes.
Seems the initial freeze was due to a trojan download.
They cleared those and all is back to factory settings.
Thanks for the help and advice guys..

[swoop101]

Good news, glad they got it fixed

Thanks for letting us know.

now it might be a good idea to install a good little application that protects the registry, called regprotect from http://www.diamondcs.com.au/index.php?page=regprot

Make sure that they have anti-virus software that is updated DAILY and make sure that they have a firewall.

If you need any further help do not hesitate to ask, there are many great people here that will line up to give assistance.

[hawkseye000]

Originally Posted by swoop101

it might be a good idea to install a good little application that protects the registry, called regprotect from http://www.diamondcs.com.au/index.php?page=regprot

neat program.. ive just installed it