Ron Schenone

Microsoft Windows Vista Won't Start – Using System Restore From DVD

Posted by on Mar 13, 2007 | 112 Comments

This was strange. Late last Friday I received a call from a relative who’s new home brew system running Windows Vista – Premium would not boot. There wasn’t any error messages just a lock up at the boot screen. Even trying to use Safemode brought up the same thing, no errors, no nothing, just a lockup.

So we tried using the Vista DVD and the repair option button. This brought us to System Restore. This takes awhile to come up, so be patient. One could easily assume that the system was not responding during this time. It’s just slow. Anyway, up came the famaliar restore screen just like if you were in a Windows environment. We selected a restore point before the problem cropped up, and the system was back to normal boot.

What is strange about this happening is that there were no new updates, software, nor any applications installed before the problem lock up occurred. And event viewer showed nothing either. And a quick scan of the system showed no bugs or critters and after this startup glitch the system is running just fine.

So my best guess is a hardware fluke or OS fluke that do sometimes happen, then disappear. The best advice I can give is to keep a eye on the system and see if this happens again. If it does we can than take a look at possible hardware issues or other software problems..

I hope this helps someone who may experience a similar problem.

[tags]windows, vista, microsoft, boot, [/tags]

  • Mick Read

    Vista has a Restore problem..A fact. It is impossible to restore to an earlier date.Type a restore point and it restores to the date one tried to restore. Any previous restore dates are erased on updates or added programs.
    After a few phone calls and a dozen emails to Microsoft they deny and problem and give you the run around. You can get to level 3. MS way of tackling problems. Sure it is easy to Format and repair. But most have to call a techy. the best thing is to return the system to MS for a refund. Before the 3 months free calls expire.That is the only way to make them admit the issue.

  • Mick Read

    Waiting for MS to call today .Plus an email promised in 72hrs. When you contact them to MS person knows NO more than the average user. I have ten problems that were automatically sent MS two weeks ago ..No Help or updates for those problems however there are a further ten that MS has updated the OS. Good job I do not lose sleep over it..

    Good luck to you out there.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Mick,
    Thanks for the information. This is the first I have about a restore issue. The only issue I have read about is dual boot systems. Vista doesn’t like XP on the same system and removes all restore points upon boot. I have confirmed this on my own system, which I dual boot on.

    Regards, Ron

  • jonathan

    the same thing happened to me, except my vista is a download and i use daemon tools to mount it. everything is real, its activated. the problem started when i went looking for a better internet protection program. i liked panda, but mines wasn’t compatible. so i downloaded a trial of the vista compatible one. after installation, it wouldn’t boot. the panda i downloaded was a beta test version. everytime i boot, to any of the options, it just freezes or restarts.

    also i installed itunes, the new one. could there possibly be a virus from apple!…not likely though, but once in the beta test version for vista, i installed itunes, then windows media player didn’t work as well as itunes, it was like slowed down.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Jonathan,
    Thanks for the information. Your comments are appreciated.
    Ron

  • Kent

    I have the same problem with my new HP and pre installed vista home premium 32bit operating system .Everytime I try to do a system restore it goes through the whole routine,restarts and then says restore has failed choose another restore point.I have done this 5 times with no luck.I have done system recovery and fixed my problems but we all know what a pain that is.Any suggestions besides some idoit from India?

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Kent,
    Have you tried turning off system restore? This will kill all previous restore points Then turn it back on and create a manual restore point. Try the restore and see what happens.

    Another thouht is to post your problem over at the LG forum. I am sure you can’t be the only person having this problem.

    http://help.lockergnome.com

    Hope this helps, Ron

  • Kent

    Im a amature and im not sure how to turn off system restore.I have done system recovery 2 times and even after that it would not restore.I would need someone to walk me through it.
    Thanks Kent

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Kent,
    Go to Control Panel and SYSTEM icon located towards the bottom if you are using classic view.

    Open SYSTEM and click on the tab SYSTEM RESTORE. Check the box to turn it off. Reboot. Turn it back on and Reboot. Then try setting a manual restore point. See what happens.

    Let us know. Ron

    PS I don’t have Vista up and running since I am using another project OS, so I did this from XP, but it should be the same. :-)

  • Kent

    I dont think I am using the classic view or something is differant,I dont see any option to turn off system restore,just run and create a new restore point is all I can find.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Kent,
    Here you go – try these directions:
    http://vistasupport.mvps.org/turn_off_system_restore.htm

    Let me know how this works. I think what you may be doing is just running System Restore itself. That’s not what we want to do. :-)

    Ron

  • Kent

    I have not had a chance to try yet,but I want to thank you for your help,its greatly appreciated.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Kent,
    No problem. And you are welcome. Let us know what happens once you try the fix.
    Thanks, Ron

  • Kent

    I decided to not do the restore,I seem to have everything working ok again.I tried it on my laptop and lost all my I-tunes. Thanks for the help anyway it is greatly appreciated.
    Kent

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Kent,
    Thanks for getting back to me.
    Ron

  • Lisa

    My comp freezes at boot up .

    I have an Acer Aspire bought about 3 months ago. Haven’t had any problems with it. I went away for a month & 1/2 and when i got home and tried to boot up it showed the acer splash screen then loaded a very light almost unseen screen with the windows bar, but never advanced from there. I hit the power button shut it off, restarted it and it took me to a screen that gave me 2 choices saying Your compter didn’t start up or something like that either choose Repair or Start Normal, i chose repair, then it booted up. Problem is it goes though this whole thing evertime i turn my computer on or reboot…. i have chosen the start normal option and it boots up normal, then next time i boot up i have to go through that all over again….

    any suggestions?
    Thanks
    Lisa

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Lisa,
    Try this. Turn the system off. Unplug the power than remove the battery. Let the unit sit for a few minutes. Plug the battery back in and boot from battery. See what happens.

    Next option – hello Acer. :-)

    Ron

  • Lisa

    Out of curiosity… what does that do? Reset what?

    Gonna give it a try now…. wish me luck LOL

    Thanks..
    Lisa

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Lisa,
    On some systems it will reset the BIOS. It’s worth a try just to see what happens.
    Ron

  • Lisa

    well.. that was fun LOL… I did the battery thing and it reset itself.. It wouldn’t come back on at all… nothing past the splash screen. So I called Acer they told me my motherboard needed to be replaced. Well after i stopped crying …jk, but i sure felt like it.. I remember when i first bought this comp i had an issue with my keyboard not allowing the comp to boot during that initail Vista start up.. Low & behold changed both to ps2 and it’s working lovely …. grumble growl, what the whole problem was, is that my comp was set to a restore point before i got my mouse & keyboard to work! Now i have to remember what I did 3 months ago to get everything to work…..What a hairpulling stressful afternoon, good thing is i don’t have to send it away for countless weeks to Acer to have it repaired…. gotta love computers eh.. they’ll be the death of us yet LOL… Thanks for listening
    Lisa

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Lisa,
    Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I’m glad you got it running. Unbelievable Acer wanted to replace the mobo. :-)

    Thanks for the update, Ron

  • Lisa

    LOL ya, when I was on the phone with them she was going to walk me though the OS restore process, but whenever i hit the keys nothing happened… So without knowing at that time it was the keyboard causing the problem she knew it was out of her realm of expertise (cue cards) hehe. They wanted me to send it to them for repairs. I am so glad that through all that frustration i remembered that one lil tid bit of info…. Saved me money in shipping and weeks without my life line lol.

    Glad I could share, might help someone else with a silly boot up problem. That’s twice it got me… You can bet I have this written down for the possible next time!
    Thanks again
    Lisa

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Lisa,
    I’m sure it will help someone. Thanks again for your input. It is appreciated.
    Regards, Ron

  • rita

    Ron,

    I have Vista on a Dell Inspiron 1405 and I would like to Restore it to a previous date. The problem is that Vista only lists a few dates within the past 10 days to restore it to and I want to restore it to a point that was about a month ago (I loaded a program and then traveled and now have difficulty with it).
    How do I enter a date to Restore it to that was over a month ago???
    Please help! (I keep getting this error and have noticed that my computer will not recognize me as an Adminstrator and after trying to run any programs with Administrator authority, I click the ‘ok’ button and the computer does nothing……so I simply want to Restore to an earlier date to not deal with it anymore….[C:\Windows\system32\sfc.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains and error. Try installing the program again using original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support])
    Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Rita,
    It sounds like your restore point size needs to be increased to allow for more restore points, and therefore a longer time frame to choose from.

    Have you scanned your system recently for both viruses and spyware? If so, what software did you use?

    Try this online scanner.

    http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

    Ron

  • rita

    Hi Ron,

    Yes, I tried to run the scan for viruses but when it came time for ‘administrative’ approval, I clicked the ‘ok’ button and the computer did nothing (as it does every time I give it administrative approval….). I have McAffee installed on my computer..
    I’m going to check the link you offered…..

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Rita,
    Let us know what happens.
    Ron

  • Sephi

    This is also problem on 2k and XP, I havent found a good fix for it yet besides reformat drive and load fresh, but it looks like vista at least restores..the others won’t. Im a pc tech and my team and I have seen this 4 times this month. Twice when adding memory to 12 machines, 2 crashed. Im here now looking for a fix for it again on a friends laptop who just updated itunes and rebooted…os wont boot now.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Sephi,
    Thanks for your comments. I’m sure you tried Safemode and Restore.
    Ron

  • Ronn Craddock

    My sister in-law just bought a new HP notebook with Vista. It sucks! She’s had many problems, lots of software compatibility issues.. Just recently she had left her SD memory card for her camera in her computer when she shut down, and it hasn’t booted up since.. I asked her for her Vista disk to run recovery on it, and she told me that it didn’t come with one. I didn’t belive her, and I called HP and sure enought she was right.. What do they expect people to do? I wrote and called HP complaining, and finally they said they were going to send a copy of Vista.. They never did! And still my sister in-law’s brand new computer doesn’t work. I’ve been working in the IT field for the last 5 years and I’ve never had this much hassle with something like this before.. So finaly I aquired a copy of Vista, and still no go.. I would highly reccomend staying very far away from vista at least for awhile, until Microsoft gets there stuff together..

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Ronn,
    Thanks for your comments.
    Ron

  • Lyndz

    Okkk Im pretty much sure that my wonderful laptop isnt going to work again and im going to have to send it off but ill give this a try as you seem to have helped others.. When I turn my laptop on it goes to one of two screens one of which says:

    A problem has been detected and my comp has been shut down to prevent damage BAD_POOL_HEADER

    Tells me to restart if its the first time ive seen it. Or to check if new hardware/software is installed properly. (Not that i can)

    Or

    Windows has failed to start A recent hardware/software change might be the cause. To fix it:
    1. Insert your windows installation disc and restart
    2. Choose your language setting and click Next
    3. Click repair your computer

    I have borrowed a installation disc seen as mine didnt come with one and my laptop already had Windows Vista on. And absolutely nothing =]

    Please help if you can? =]

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Lyndz,
    Try this:
    1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
    2. Locate the UpperFilters value under the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
    3. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
    4. Locate the LowerFilters value under the same key in the registry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
    5. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
    6. Quit Registry Editor.NOTE: After you remove the Upperfilters value and the Lowerfilters value, if you notice lost functionality in a particular program, such as CD recording software, you may need to reinstall that software. If the problem recurs, consult with the software vendor for assistance.

    7. Restart your computer.

    Note: This may have to be done in Safemode. To get into Safemode press the F8 key repeatedly during boot and select Safemode.

    According to the sources that I read, this is most likely caused by your CD burning software conflicting with your AV program.

    Hope this helps.

    PS If this doesn’t work, I’d try posting your problem at the LG forum.
    http://help.lockergnome.com/

    Ron

  • Lyndz

    Thanks firstly for the response but umm whats Registry Editor?

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Lyndz,
    Hmmm……. editing the registry is not for the novice and you may want to seek help from someone who can assist you in this matter.

    But if you are brave you can read this article:
    http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/vista/vista_registry.htm

    It has taken me years to learn how to manage and edit a registry without causing any damage to the system. You may wish to create a system restore point before proceeding.

    OR seek professional help. Just my 2 cents.

    Ron .

  • Lyndz

    I cant do that though because i cant get on to windows… The screen i told you about is the first screen that comes up when i turn it on..

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Lyndz,
    OK. Here is what I would do. I would call the computer company and ask them how to do a reinstall of Windows. Your system must have a copy of Windows in a hidden partition. They should be able to help you.

    You can also check this site as well:

    http://www.windowsvista.windowsreinstall.com/

    The copy of the DVD with Vista on it must be the same version, i.e. Basic or Premium as well.

    Good luck, Ron

  • http://windowXPWOPERAdual Santos

    Hello Ron; August 26, 2007
    this is a first for me, but we all had to get are feet wet at some time or other I am having trouuble with my computer. Whenever I write anything and try to send it everything at the moment looks good,but later I get a message that it did not send\error\NOT Responding. Sometimes the whole sssystem crasahes\freezes and locksup “Not Responding”.Any help will be greatly appreciated.

    Santos

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Santos,
    What anti-virus program are you using? Also is any firewall being used?
    Ron

  • neonix

    I was stunned that this happened today. My vista installation was already horribly broken (explorer would crash, registry destroyed, etc), so I decided to format and reinstall.

    I got this boot problem only hours after installing vista. I had only installed office 07, firefox, winamp, and mirc. Was in the process of installing nod32 3.0 and had to restart for it, and then it happened.

    Anyway, thanks for the info!

  • neonix

    Oh, I didn’t mention that just before the boot lockup, windows had “experienced a (serious?) error” Not sure about the wording, but it had the same meaning. IN other words it was microsoft spitting in my face saying I’m using a shitty OS.

  • Captcol

    Hey there Ron

    Good to see someone out there in the cyber whatsit doing the good work, helping out those that need it when they need it. Keep it up.

    I stumbled accross this site while hunting out some answers and I am amazed at the variety of issues that you have helped with.

    Personally I like vista, and have had as good an experience with it so far as I did with XP in the first year of its release.

    Keep it up

    Captcol

  • john wilson

    well this is the third drive i have blown away on vista (POS) and it doesnt mean ‘point of sale’. so to keep this short, all the data is retrievable off your disk with the right usb to hd converter. it seems that for no apparent reason the MBR (master boot record) gets blown away. if youre using vista i would recommend a 2nd bootable drive or backup your files daily. im currently testing out linux. time to make the change

  • Rain

    One of my clients laptop has this problem. About once a week Vista won’t just start. Only System Restore helps. After that, half the services won’t start – networking, printer services, so on. Iresolved it by Start -> cmd -> “sfc /scannow” (without the quotes). Its a system file checker built in Windows XP and Vista. Vista scanned the Win installation for a while, then didnt say anything, just finished and closed, and everything was back to normal – all services working. Till next week. It must be a hardware issue. But i hope that sfc /scannow will help someone else :)

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Rain,
    Thanks for the info. It sounds like you have a good handle on the situation and are aware of the possibility of a hardware issue it if continues. All the best.
    Ron

  • Charles

    I can’t boot up my computer. I have Windows Vista. I get the blue HP/Invent screen then it goes to a black screen with this at the top: “DISK BOOT FAILURE INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER”. I did not recieve a Vista disk with my computer. I ran the computer dr. disk i had and it says everything is fine. I tried to run my restore disks (it took 12), but only the first one does anything and it eventually gets me back to the “DISK BOOT FAILURE…..” Is there something wrong with my hard drive? Do I need to reinstall Windows? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Charles

  • Charles

    forgot to mention….I am also unable to run the computer in Safe Mode either. It is Desk top PC.

    Cheers

    Charles

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Charles,
    You didn’t mention how old the system was. I’d give HP a call if it is still under warranty.

    Hard disk problem? Could be. But there also could be something wrong with the recovery disks as well. :-(

  • Chris

    Same problem here. Vista was working fine and now it does not. It just hangs forever at the startup. Can’t boot in safe mode, can’t even boot from the DVD – I get the message saying “press any key to boot from cd/dvd” and then everything proceeds normally until it freezes at the start up screen again.

    I’m at quite a loss what to do now. I don’t suspect any hardware issue since the laptop seems working fine . .and I don’t suspect any user issue since the user was working normally and stepped away from her pc and found this problem upon returning.

  • Kevin

    I have the same problem now, but it started differently.

    I turned my computer off last night (didn’t install anything new, or make any changes), and this morning it froze when I tried putting my password in. I restarted my computer and then nothing was showing on the screen, even the bios. So I checked all the internal computer components and everything was running fine, I reset the bios via removing the battery and the my computer started up again. I was able to log in, (albeit 3-4 times slower) and then encountered the problems people have been facing. Every 30 seconds a program will lag, and then say (not responding) and then after a minute or so will go back to working normally. Some programs will not even open. I tried defragmenting my hd first, but after 4 hours that too froze. After it freezing and a few more restarts, I can now only start my computer up in safe mode. I tried a “sfc /scannow” in cmd and that finished and said it had found and corrected errors in system files, after that I attempted to do a system restore, but that got stuck in the initialization phase. I’m now trying to do a system restore off my vista disk, and it’s being extremely slow, but hopefully it will work.

    my computer is a custom built tower:
    - 2gb ram
    - 2.8 ghz pentium d
    - nvidia 8600 gts
    - vista hd – WD 250gb
    - 2nd hd – 320gb Seagate
    - Asus p5n-sli mobo

  • 2Stoned

    my problem is a bit different..
    vista randomly disabled a few services (after a reinstall of DX9.c ..due to error message telling me i needed DX9c installed)
    (WdiSystemHost, WdiServiceHost) .. not much of a problem. just disables the ability to repair ur network and a few other minor services that are effected by disabling (still never figured out why they’re disabled.. or how to reenable them…start option in services is grayed out)
    this was minor..
    my major issue was that when I went searching for a cure..
    my assumed quickest and most effective methood of recovery
    System Restore
    wasn’t working properly..
    as like the others.. i know u lose all previous points ..
    knowing this i try for the earliest there were at least 6 system created points
    and two manual..
    after trying to restore the earliest with no luck..
    i tried another.. then another..
    (these restore points appeared to work.. but NOTHING changed)
    so I attempted to use one of my “manual restore points”
    vista went throught the motions of curing itself.. but when the PC restarted.. something to the effect of “system restore point failed… no changes were made”
    so i tried again.. one more manual restore point
    same deal. same message
    that was my last option for restoring
    i have since been able to recover for the most part..
    idk what it is or why vista refused my restore points that I made with its software.. but this has happened b4..
    on an earlier install of vista..
    i guess ths is more of a warning than a “looking for a solution”
    my solution.. I’m going to look for a back up other than windows in the future.. anyone know of a good program?
    urphqedup@yahoo.com

  • Ali

    configuring updates: stage 3 of 3 – 0% completed. do not shut down your computer.

    hi, i have vista and this msg comes up when i start my comp. then it shuts down and the same process happens again.

    sometimes the repair wizard comes but it dosent make any difference. it even asks if it wants to system restore. but nothing happens

  • rosenrot

    Damn it. The repair CD is actually a DVD? My DVD player has been broken since I’ve had my computer… actually, I don’t even think I have the install DVD since Vista came preinstalled on my lovely $400 Toshiba piece of junk. And the CompUSA where I bought it went out of business. OMG I’m screwed. Any chance this will go away as mysteriously as it came?

    That’s it. I’m saving for a Mac. :(

  • Mark

    Ali,

    I’m having exactly the same problem, my pc get stuck in the loop of configuring the update, restarting and configuring update 3 of 3 again.

    I have tried system restore, it restores fine but I still have the same problem
    Have tried last known good login (or what ever it’s called!) still have the same problem.
    Safe mode, same problem……

    This is the first issue I have had with vista but if I lose everything I don’t think I will put it back on my laptop.

    BTW what system are you using Ali? Mine is a Toshiba A120 laptop (I think), wondering if it is a Toshiba/vista compatibility issue?

    Thanks,

    Mark

  • Luis

    Hi, I have a huge problem and cannot find anything related to it on the internet. I’m running Vista Ultimate on an HP Media Center Pavillion. Because of a number of bugs in the Vista system I decided to restore a “Complete Windows Restore” from a backup I made when everything worked fine. I am able to restore ok .. but when I boot up into windows many system programs and resources say something like: “so and so program has stopped working .. Windows will notify you when a solution comes available .. close”. I’ve tried everything including reformatting the drive and doing a clean install of Vista Ultimate .. but whenever I do the restore I get the same thing. I have stripped the computer to bare essentials and still have the same problem. I can’t even do the windows system check because the same popup comes up with the same type of message.

    Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I’ve been at this for almost a week and I’m this close to pulling Vista out and installing XP.

    Thanks,
    Luis

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Luis,
    Quick question. What are you using to do the restore? The built in restore feature or a third party app.?

    Let us know.

  • Luis

    Hi, thanks for the quick response. I am using the system restore from the windows installation disk.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Heh Luis,
    There is your problem. A restore does a new copy and thus won’t read previously installed software. After a restore you will need to reload your software.

    I hope this helps.

  • Luis

    The startup programs I’m talking about are windows system programs .. some I can remember are “com surrogate”, “explorer”, “task manager”, etc. Even when I use “c:\fsc /scannow” I get the same error boxes. I am doing a “Complete Windows Restore” from a “Complete Windows Backup” not a restore point.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Luis,
    OK. Thanks for the clarification. Let me see what I can find out.

    Is this a new system or an older HP? Also do you experience the same problem when you do a clean install?

  • Luis

    The computer is 6 months old. A clean install works fine but it’s after I do a restore of my backup that “windows services” stop working.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Luis,
    It appears that MS is having some issues with the backup – restore feature in Vista.
    Check this post out and subsequent links.

    http://blogs.technet.com/james/archive/2008/02/06/vista-backup-errors-and-apologies.aspx

  • Mike

    Hey! OMG i just had a huge problem. I didn’t change anything on my computer yesterday, but today when i booted it up it got stuck on the windows loading screen like you described earlier. I turned it off and when it started up again i got the option to figure out what was wrong. After a few minutes of scanning windows gave me the option to do a system restore to a point when it worked well. I decided to go for it. BUT NOW when i boot my computer up ALL of my personal files have been erased. ALL. I do 3d animation and modeling and so all of those long hours i put into my projects are gone, not to mention a couple school projects!!!!! What the hell is going on and how can i solve my problem? Please help, i’m pulling my hair out!!!

  • Mike

    oh god! I decided to do a system restore to a previous point on my comp to see if i could undo what had been done, and now when i try to login, i get the message “User Profile Service service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded.” WTF! this is soooooo bad! btw i’m using my old computer right now if you’re wondering…

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone
  • kacey

    I have windows Vista home premium on an HP Pavilion (a6300f pc). Last night my computer stopped working – I turned it on, and it just sat on the blue HP startup screen forever – so I clicked the f8 key and tried to start in safe mode – wouldn’t do it.

    after trying many different things I ended up doing a system restore (ugh) – EXCEPT when it was done, it said I had to click “finish” to restart my computer (this is at the end of the system restore process). I clicked “finish” and it locked up. I did it again – let it sit for 2 hours – same thing.

    It will let me get as far as the computer saying the system restore is complete, but locks up when i click finish to restart – and when i turn it off and back on i can NOT get to windows of any kind other than the f10, f11, f8, ESC functions from the blue HP screen.

    if anyone knows how i can fix this i’d so appreciate the help – oh also – i have no disc – it says on the hp website (which is very little help btw) that this version of windows has it built in so that i don’t need a disc, and it must because i put no disc in and it runs the whole recovery and says it’s done – just won’t restart or let me into windows. I’m about to lose my mind – and i bought the computer new about 3 months ago

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Kacey,
    First, have you checked on your HP machine to confirm there is not a utility available to create the disks?

    If no such utility exists, I would call HP and DEMAND the disk[s] be sent to you. Be firm in your request.

    All the best, Ron

  • Sum

    hi,
    configuring updates: stage 3 of 3 – 0% completed. do not shut down your computer.

    hi, i have vista and this msg comes up when i start my comp. then it shuts down and the same process happens again.

    sometimes the repair wizard comes but it dosent make any difference. it even asks if it wants to system restore. but nothing happens

    I am using dell D430 model. Pls help……..

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone
  • http://Damo Damian

    Hi guys

    My gf is using an Asus vista home premium.

    The computer frooze as she was in word then she turned it off. When she restarted it says that it was forcably shut down and to choose a mode to start. Any mode that is selected just resarts the computer even safe mode. The closest she got was putting in the recovery disk and booting from the disk but that is a reinstall and she will loose all her files. (not backed up). The repair causes the loop to occur and can’t even get into the repair screen. Most problems I seem to read about is about an update loop however there was no update undertaken. HELP!

    pressing F10 got into some command prompt screen I think with some code but pressing enter just restarts

    Unfortunately the details are minimal as I am a fair distance away from the computer (200km)

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Damian,
    Send her this link and see if it helps:
    http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial148.html

    Regards, Ron

  • http://Damo Damian

    Thanks for that… unfortunately she took it in to get fixed at the place she bought it as the recovery disk was an ASUS one not a vista dvd…

    They say that a repair will erase documents? I thought a system restore only affected the system files is that true?

    They are charging her for the back up and recovery of files plus restore…

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Damian,
    A repair usually will leave documents untouched. But it is a good idea that files be backed up. Anything go can wrong when dealing with Windows. :-) Also have her get a Vista CD from Asus or there may be a process on the system to do this.

  • http://Damo Damian

    Hi Ron

    Thanks a lot for your help appreciate it..

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  • Sean

    I just got my new HP laptop a week or so ago and I’m having some problems with it. Up to this point, everything was working flawlessly, no problems at all. Then, I inserted the Kodak picture cd to upload the pictures to my documents and I had to restart to officially install the Kodak program, it never fully restarted (it wont go to the login page). I’ve tried all the restore options, but as you know, you have to restart to make it work but I still have the same restart issues.

  • Mr. disivio

    My vista keeps looping, custom built system. Its home basic, with
    2gb ram on a Quad processor using an ATi radeon 512 mb videocard. Samsung 320 GB SATA Harddrive and an IDE CD drive.(listed parts in case anyone knows theres some incompatibility error)

    It was working fine till today when i got home. it just wont start. When i tried putting in the vista CD it just takes forever to load, then blue screen about some pool problem(STOP: 0x000000DE)
    It was working great until today though. I have no idea what went wrong. I went through all your comments and tried almost everything(anything possible as a i cannot get into windows.)

    So please help me :)

  • Graham

    Hi,

    I seem to be having a simular problem to those already mentioned, i have a HP Pavillion laptop running Vista Home Premium which i have had for just over a year and never had any problems with until a few weeks ago when i came back off holiday. The problem started with the laptop just freezing at radom times and if i was doing something it would just pixelate the screen so i had to hold in the power buttom and restart it which them seemed to come back no problem. Last night i was working on it and it froze again so i help the button in but this time when i tried to start it normally it only got so far then blue screened and when it restarted again it gave me the option to ‘Auto Recover’ or something but that failed so i tried to manually restore it to an earlier version but after waiting about 45 mins whilst it tried to resotre it then told me it couldn’t resore due to a missing file.

    I don’t know what else to do except try to re-install it but i’d rather not if there is another way. I have recently backed up all my data so hopefully i shouldn’t loose anything.

    Can anybody help me please??

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Graham,
    Do you have a Vista DVD? If not, borrow one and see if you can do a restore from the DVD.

  • Graham

    Hi Ron,

    I’m going to borrow one from work and try as you suggested.

    I have been speaking to a couple of people who I work with and somebody else with the same laptop had a simular problem and they had to replace their hard drive but i hope my problem won’t be so drastic. Apparently there is a known problem with HP laptops having this problem.

  • http://stephen-michael.com Stephen-Michael Elliott

    So, I’m not a computer no it all but i was expierceing this kind of problem. Vista would never go past the “please wait screen” when I would start up. Could always long into safe mode though. I just did a system restore, and did the manuel date select and went back as far as i could (knowing the last program i really didnt wanna get rid of) and selected that date. Restart and up perfect now.

  • Robby Blum

    My hp just did this to me today. exactly as first described. It freezes after the login in regular and safe mode. Is there anyway to fix this since i don’t have a restore disc because hp charges you for one. Is there anyway to fix it through linux? I don’t even know where to start looking for this.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Robby Blum,
    May I suggest borrowing a Vista DVD.

  • Anthony

    Hi,
    I’m having a problem. I’m using a Compaq laptop and I can get past the vista loading screen but get a black screen and no response before I get to the login screen.

    I turn the power off and on and then run system repair. Eventually it uses system restore and after a long time boots up normally and there’s no more problems.

    Is there any way I can stop this happening. The computer will load up eventually but it’s annoying having to go through the system restore process. I don’t get to choose when to restore to, it does it automatically. I don’t think I’ve ever set a restore point and I’m not so good with computers…any help is appreciated thanks.

  • Les B. Ian

    Hi,

    I tried to unistall AVG anti-viruis from my vista computer by using system restore and now none of my programs can open up and AVG has still not uninstalled.

    I could really do with ur help.

    Thanks

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Les,
    Try restoring your system back to where it was and than do a uninstall from Control Panel – Programs and Features.

    See if this works for you.

    Regards, Ron

  • Angelo Molarit

    Hi Ron, the previous do not apply to me, but maybe you can direct me to a solution.
    This morning my HP m8100y shot down and when I got it on, it gave me the HP blue screen with choices to hit :
    Esc= Boot menu (it freezes saying “loading boot menu”),
    F10 = setup (freezes saying “loading setup”) or
    F11 = System recovery (Nothing happens, with or without the recovery disk inserted).
    I am willing to reformat bu how do I access the recovery disks?

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Angelo,
    I went to HP’s site and found this link:
    http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00899280&lc=en&dlc=tr&cc=tr&lang=tr&rule=1373&product=3463405

    Note this: Make sure there are no USB devices, CD/DVD’s or other devices connected to the system and try booting again following the info on this page.

    I’ll also post your request for help in an article and see what we get.

  • Angelo Molari

    Ron, thank you for your prompt answer. I followed the link, but I cannot have the F10 key to work. It get stuck saying “Loading Setup” going nowhere. If I take out the Bios battery, will harm anything?
    Thank You for your help.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Angelo,

    Check this link. There are some other suggestions as well.

    http://wp3.lockergnome.com/blade/2008/10/21/reader-needs-help-with-hp-computer/#comment-167015

  • Angelo Molari

    Ron, thank you very much for your help.
    It looks like I need a new computer.
    I have removed the battery and replaced it after 15 minutes, and, I don’t know if this is relevant, but the ONLY difference was that when I press the button to shut off, at first, it took few seconds, I had to keep the button pressed; after several tries this period of time has been shortened until now it shuts instantly.
    I am going to tell the same to your friends that took time to help.
    Thank You

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Angelo,
    Thanks for getting back to me.

  • Erin

    Hi, so i got my comp shipped to me when i moved and when i turn it on now, i just get the blue HP invert screen and nothing works, cant get in to set up or safemode or anything. I have vista OS and the comp is only about 1 1/2 years old and was working fine untill the day it was shipped.
    Can anyone help??????
    THANKS!!!!

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Erin,
    Unplug your computer and open the case. Make sure all of the connectors from the power supply to your mobo and hardware are secure. Also check that your RAM is fully inserted and that your cpu and heatsink are also securely in place.

    If you are not comfortable in opening the case, find a friend that can assist you.

    Regards, Ron

  • Mario

    Dear Ron Schenone
    I need advice. I got problem when Vista is loading at the start. It get freeze there. When I’m going to shut down or restart it, I can boot only in Last Known Good Configuration, but not always.
    Actually my Vista is clean new copy week ago installed, and I haven’t got any viruses or something. My drivers are up to date. I haven’t much programes. Also my hardware is new, and I am using oem motherboard. Could be some hardware error, my ram memory is ok because I tested it. My software is new so what should I do? Please I need help, I tried with ps2 tastature I found out something here, but still it freezes :( ((

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Mario,
    There are numerous reasons why Vista or any version of Windows won’t start properly.

    If you have two sticks of RAM, remove one stick and reboot. Do the same with the other stick. Remove it and reboot. Is there any difference or does the system still hang?

    Try using CCleaner to clean out any gunk hiding on the system.

    Do a disk defrag.

    Let us know what happens.

  • Mario

    Mr Ron Schenone,

    I tried everything… Actually first I defrag my disks and I used CCLeaner but nothing happens. Vista can’t start…
    Even I formated and installed it on another partition but same problem I can’t start :( ((((
    Today I remove one of my ram memory stick, also second one but still system hang :( (((((
    I have drivers only for my wireless stick and graphic card.
    Please help me, I dont know what to do anymore…
    My configuration is,
    Motherboard: Intel Foxconn P965 965X7AA
    CPU: Intel Core2Duo E6600 2.4 GhZ
    2GB Ram memory
    Graphic Card: GeForce 9800 GT 1GB.
    I got two hdd one is 300GB the other one 500GB
    Could be some hdd error?
    Thank You Mr.

  • Mario

    Mr. also I forget, could be problems because of SP1? Because back in time I got some problems with SP1? Or maybe with my motherboard?

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Check this link Mario. I posted your problem for reader feedback.

    http://wp3.lockergnome.com/blade/2009/02/22/vista-wont-start-reader-needs-assistance/

  • randee

    I have an HP dv7000 notebook. It came with Vista Home Premium w/ sp1 and I’ve only had it about 4 months.
    My mouse pad quit working so I hard restarted the thing and when it restarted, all I got was a blue screen with my arrow in the middle. I let the thing run to do a start up restore, following the advice to the prompt that it would take at least an hour.

    14 hours later, it still hadn’t found any problems and still won’t boot right.

    Any suggestions?

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello randee,
    Sounds like a hardware issue. Since it is still under warranty It is time to call HP.

  • Chris

    I have an HP m8120n with Vista- less than 2 years old. One day my computer just shut itself off. When I tried to restart- it wouldn’t boot. Unplugged, tried again multiple times, then it worked for a day and shut itself down again. Tried to restart said there was an error, do I want to restore or have Windows try to fix (something to that effect) I said yes. The computer said Windows couldn’t fix it. I did this several times, but to no avail. Then I tried to do a system recovery. I put in the disks that I had made when I first got the PC, it went through the whole recovery process and seemed to work. Told me to click finish. The computer turned off and tried to boot, but it still won’t restart. One interesting note, when it tries to boot, at the black screen with words “microsoft” on the bottom and the progress bar with green dashes- some of the dashes are red! What does all of this mean? Do I need a new HD, MOBO, PC? Help!

  • Amanda

    Hi,
    I have a HP Special Edition Pavilion. It came with Vista Home Premium. I recently reformatted because it was over loaded with viruses. After reformatting everything was running great, better than when I first got the laptop. But, my spacebar was loose and i was typing rather fast with…no..spaces showing up and i got frustrated and pressed down the space bar , i guess, too hard. The computer then froze, and shut down. upon start up i received a “System Recovery Options” window. it then lead to options that ive tried over and over. I’ve even tried reformatting agian. It will not go to the desktop or anything. It keeps going to the “System Recovery Options” and no farther. I try the options, it restarts and back to recovery options. What do i do??
    Thanks so much for any advice/help.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Amanda,
    If I had to guess it would be that you may need a new keyboard. If the space bar is locked in place it could be what is causing the problem. May I recommend a professional take a look at your system.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/blade/2007/03/13/microsoft-windows-vista-wont-start-using-system-restore-from-dvd/ melvin

    ok i have windows vista acer aspire 5515 series
    i deleted mcafee my exspired security system now i can log in it goes to the splash screen after sayying you the was a [problem with your startup that cannot be fix manually and now im tryying to find a burnable back up disc can you help me with that

  • Ward

    Hé Ron,
    i hope you can help me.
    I got my laptop for 3 weeks now , an acer aspire with 4gb 2.00 processor 320 gb and vista .
    But suddenly when I wanted to start up my laptop it didn’t come further then the loading screen (the bar with underneath © microsoft corporation) after that the screen becomes black (not just black but black like it turned off) then i have a screen with my mouse and that it is loading . But then it should load vista but it doesn’t . I can move my mouse and use my keys but it doesn’t do anything anymore.
    I’ve tried taking out the battery and starting up in safe mode.
    Greetings,
    ward

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hello Ward,
    If you can get into Safe Mode, I would try doing a System Restore back to a date before the problem happened.

    Here is a link showing how to use the restore feature:
    http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-system-restore/

    If you continue to experience problems may I suggest that you post the problem at our help section here at Lockergnome:
    http://help.lockergnome.com/vista/

  • Anonymous

    I am using my other computer now. My brand new Windows Vista is just the blue screen that comes on before the screen that looks like a command prompt. It locks so no keys I press do anything to fix it. The mouse doesn’t show up, either. It was working perfectly around thirty minutes before this happened, and ever since it hasn’t worked at all.

    Anonymous

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Same advice Anonymous – try a system restore. Let us know what happens.

  • Sharon Sands

    I am having a similar problem. I have an HP Pavilion a6342p-b that is not even 2 years old yet. Has been working fine except it seems to lock up sometimes when in sleep mode and the only way to bring it back is to reboot. The other day when I rebooted I got the blue HP screen but it had black lines running through the entire screen and no keys or the mouse would work. It took several attempts at turning it off and even unpluggin the power cord before it would get past this screen and load windows. I have not installed any new software (unless the kids have that I don’t know about!). I have spent the day backing up files so that I have them just in case. Do you think the system restore will help with this situation?

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Sharon,
    If your stuff is backed up, go for it. If SR doesn’t help try using a anti malware program and run it.

    Here is a free version of Malwarbytes:

    http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

    OR Google Pack has Spyware Doctor also for free:

    http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer.html?ciNum=13&hl=en

  • Help

    My brother has a HP dv 6000 series he used a system recovery DVD that HP gave him on his computer and at first it would say “”windows could not complete the installation. Please restart the intallation process” but after a couple of times retrying the DVD it managed to boot up for only a minute or two then it well restart and it continues to do this in a loop. Safe mode does cause it to stop restarting but i dont know what to do next. Help!