Tosihba Laptop, I/O Error at startup?

I have a Toshiba laptop with windows Vista on it. When I try to start the computer, it'll give me the option to either, "Start windows normally," or "Launch Startup Repair (Recommended)."

When I choose "Launch Startup Repair," it says, "Windows has encountered a problem communication with a device connected to your computer. This error can be caused by unplugging a removeable device such as an external USB drive while the device is in use, or by family hardware such aas a hard drive or CD-ROM drive that is failing. Make sure any removeable removable stroage is properly connected and then restart your computer."

STATUS: 0xc00000e9 INFO: An unexpected I/O error has occured.

When I choose "Start Windows Normally," it takes awhile to load, but eventually says, "Windows failed to start. A recent harward or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem: 1) Insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer. 2) Choose your language settings, and then click "Next." 3) Click "Repair your computer." File: \windows\system32\config\system."

STATUS: 0xc00000e9 INFO: Windows failed to load because the system registry file is missing, or corrupt.

The thing is, nothing happened to the computer. I've only had it for two months (no warranty, though) and nothing was wrong with it whatsoever. I've never had any problems at all. All I did was shut it off (properly) then went to use it again awhile later and it's doing this. It's never been dropped or banged or anything. There's no discs in the drive and nothing is connected to it.

What could be wrong with it and what could be done? Thanks for any and all answers you can give.

The thing is, nothing happened to the computer. I've only had it for two months (no warranty, though)

What ? 

Ninety (90) Day Standard
Limited Warranty
for Computers
Garant Garantía limitada estándar de ía limitada estándar de
noventa (90) dias para computadoras noventa (90) dias para computadoras
For Computers Purchased within the Fifty (50) United States
and District of Columbia; United States Territories;
Puerto Rico; Latin America; and the Caribbean.

Where did you buy it?

Test the memory.  Go to either www.memtest86.com or www.memtest.org and download the "free" memory diagnostic software.  Pick the appropriate download for a bootable CD, floppy, or USB drive.

You need to ensure the resultant CD, floppy, or USB media is bootable.

Boot to the memory diagnostics and let it run for a couple of hours or overnight.  It should run forever unless you stop it (ESC key?).  You shouldn't have any errors.  If you do, we'll need to figure out what it means.

Use the AC power adaptor instead of battery power to run the tests.  No use running the battery down or having it quit on you half-way through the tests.

[Moderator]

It's not a memory problem. The registry is corrupt. Continue to try to do the repair from the Vista CD, but if you cannot you may have to do a format and new install (sorry). It's also possible your HD is on the way out, which would potentially cause registry corruption depending on where the bad sectors are. Drives are not expensive, so if you do have to do the format and clean Vista installation I'd recommend first installing a new hd.

1.  Test the Memory.  If you load the "system" registry file into bad memory, it will be "corrupt".

No, I'm not sure what the problem is; but you've got to start somewhere.  Test the memory, then the hard drive to eliminate them as the source of the problem.  These tests will also exercise your CPU and motherboard to some extent.

2.  Do you have a Vista Installation CD/DVD?

Sounds like you're trying to work from software pre-installed on the hard drive.  Does that Toshiba laptop have a recovery/restore partition you can reinstall the operating system from?

Since I don't know what the underlying problem is, best I can do is provide the following links:
     Startup Repair: frequently asked questions
     What to do if Windows won't start correctly

I'm 75% sure its about to go hdd, sorry, gotta buy new one.

There is somethiong wrong with the  registry.you have just got  it for two months, you can ture to the after-service for direct help.
it is unworthy to buy a new one.

kristenson and Cottery, you need to stop posting misinformation.

You have done no troubleshooting in this thread at all and are just pulling crap out of a hat.  Please be more considerate to the posters.