Need Help With a Laptop:Windows Will Not Load

[sskijr]

Bought a Gateway Laptop last Christmas and my wife works with it. We've had constant problems with windows not loading upon startup. A friend of the family is a computer "guy" and he restores the computer to factory settings and it'll work for a few days, and than windows won't load again. Do any of you guys want a sidejob to permantly fix this problem? Or maybe you can lead me in the right direction.

Thank you

 

[canuck]

Bought a Gateway Laptop last Christmas and my wife works with it. We've had constant problems with windows not loading upon startup. A friend of the family is a computer "guy" and he restores the computer to factory settings and it'll work for a few days, and than windows won't load again. Do any of you guys want a sidejob to permantly fix this problem? Or maybe you can lead me in the right direction.

Thank you

Talk to Mr White Rabbit on here. He knows his stuff and works for ammo.

 

[Brychan]

I am not a computer guy, nor did I play one on TV or even stay in a Holiday inn. But I would back all my files up, then re-image (wipe the hard drive) then reinstall windows.

 

[cpc1027]

But I would back all my files up, then re-image (wipe the hard drive) then reinstall windows.

What he said. That is my last resort when having computer problems, and it hasn't failed me yet.

 

[z_darktemplar]

Sometimes if the BIOS has bugs, funky things can happen. You can try updating the BIOS through Gateway's website if they have a newer version. It should be under the Drivers and Downloads section on the website. Some manfacturers require you to call customer service when you do something like that or else it could void your warranty. So check in advance. If you do update your BIOS, back up your files in advance.

 

[sskijr]

I am not a computer guy, nor did I play one on TV or even stay in a Holiday inn. But I would back all my files up, then re-image (wipe the hard drive) then reinstall windows.

How do I do that? The computer did not come with a backup disk with windows, it was already loaded.

 

[cpc1027]

My last gateway came with discs, so I don't know what the deal is now. I think you should be able to get recovery discs from gateway, but they will probably charge you.

 

[Rockzilla]

there is a hidden partition on the drive sometimes a "fat" other times NTFS partition it shows up using MS Dart's disk, ERCD recovery disk or Disk partitioning Software, where they hide stuff. What's the O/S Win 7? when you say won't load..screen says no O/S,missing NTLDR? little more detail please. Move all of your files that you need first..

-Rock

 

[cpc1027]

there is a hidden partition on the drive sometimes a "fat" other times NTFS partition it shows up using MS Dart's disk or ERCD recovery disk.

-Rock

My gateway laptop had a partition that was listed as a virtual hard drive and was loaded with the recovery software. You might check and see if you have one of those and then you might not need the discs

 

[sskijr]

When you turn the computer on it says:

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software chage might be the cause. To fix the problem:

1. Insert your windows installation disk and restart your computer.
2. Choose your language settings, and then click "Next."
3. Click "Repair your computer."

If you do not have this disc, contact your system adminstrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.

Status: OxcOOOOOOf

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.



These are the exact words on the screen. Is the requred inaccessible device the hard drive? Also, I don't have a windows installation disk.

 

[Rockzilla]

Boot loader on the drive may have gone south, first unplug all usb devices except the ones needed for the keyboard and mouse, then try to boot up. have you installed any other devices recently?

 

[sskijr]

Boot loader on the drive may have gone south, first unplug all usb devices except the ones needed for the keyboard and mouse, then try to boot up. have you installed any other devices recently?

It is a laptop... so no devices are plugged in. We haven't installed any devices recently.

 

[Allium]

i hate to say it but idf you get it going get ALL the files off. You may just need a clean install - so reinstall windows operating system. Im stuck doing that - wifes computer was hit hard with viruses, a day later it was still coming up with hundreds of infections. So doing wipe and reinstall as I type.

 

[sskijr]

Come to find out, we were supposed to create recovery disks when we first go it... Of course we didn't, ugh.

 

[cpc1027]

Come to find out, we were supposed to create recovery disks when we first go it... Of course we didn't, ugh.

I hate that...my girlfriend went through the same thing and she didn't create the discs either. I don't know why the commercial computer manufacturers stopped just shipping the discs with the computers. This is one of the reasons why I just build my own computers now.

 

[Rockzilla]

It is a laptop... so no devices are plugged in. We haven't installed any devices recently.

some people have usb hubs plugged in, printers, other thing connected to the usb ports.

Have you tried pressing any of the following at boot up:

F10
F11
CTRL+F10
CTRL+F11

You may also able to access the restore partition by pressing F8.

F8 works just tested on my Toshiba laptop (I know you have a Gateway, but worth a shot) and I'm given the option "restore the partition...
turn the laptop off and wait a few turn it back on hitting the "F8" key and you should be presented with a screen with several options (depending on how the Gateway bios is)

Recovery disks are very easy to make...
There are many places to go and will walk you through the process.
Here is a wealth of knowledge:
http://www.msfn.org/board/forum/165-windows-7/

WinPE, Barts PE to name a few
-Rock

 

[MrWhiteRabbit]

Talk to Mr White Rabbit on here. He knows his stuff and works for ammo.

Thanks for the shoutout! (And I used to work for Gateway, too!)

Most of the advice here is pretty sound regarding format/reinstall. The pre-installed factory crap is usually just useless crap on top of Windows. And the CDs that ship with some computers (others have the cheaper alternative - an image of the CD in a separate partition) will set the machine back to factory defaults, but it's those factory defaults that are probably causing your issues.

I see from another post that you're having a problem even making those backup disks, so I ask this: Do you have an MS sticker on your original packaging or perhaps the underside of the laptop itself that has your MS Serial Number? If you were to, hypothetically, acquire that same version of Windows from another (less "factory") method, you should be able to use that serial number to activate your new crap-free barebones installation of Windows.

 

[Rockzilla]

If you were to, hypothetically, acquire that same version of Windows from another (less "factory") method, you should be able to use that serial number to activate your new crap-free barebones installation of Windows.

agreed... should be able to (SLIC - depending)

-Rock

 

[MrWhiteRabbit]

agreed... should be able to (SLIC - depending)

-Rock

True, depending on the route OP takes, the SLIC version will matter, but it may be as simple as disabling/hiding KB971033. We'll see how he wants to proceed.

 

[Dave MP]

This would be more fun!

.