Hangups and Boot Problems

[No_Skillz]

Yesterday, while watching a movie and surfing the net at the same time, my computer started having hang-ups which lasted about 5 seconds at a time at 2-3 min intervals. Finally it froze altogether at which point I rebooted.

1. First reboot got me to my desktop where the system froze
2. Second reboot got me to the windows loading screen, where it stayed for a long time and rebooted by itself again
3. Third time I chose to reboot in safe mode. Started running AVG 8.0 scan and spybot, but froze again. Scans were not complete
4. Fourth time never made it to windows load screen, just blank and eventually self rebooted again
5. Fifth time got into windows safe mode again, balloon popped up on taskbar that said "Unknown Hard Error" along with a popup box that said the same thing. At this point I thought hard drive was bad since it would stop whenever there was a hangup.
6. Rebooted a couple more times each time with the system hanging up at different points, including a hangup while loading safemode again.
7. Last reboot everything just went back to normal. I did a system restore point from the day before. Restore gave me the same hangup problems that I experienced at first so I undid the restore.
8. Did a reg clean, disabled some startup services, downloaded some windows updates, ran spybot and AVG both of which were clean.

Everything seemed fine for a while.

Today, things have gone totally downhill. After being on for most of the day with me cleaning up the HD and registry a bit, I decided to do a CHKDSK. CHKDSK started after it asked me to reboot. It eventually got stuck on step 5 out of 5, at 5%. It was there for over an hour. Thunderstorms rolled in and we lost power for a bit.

Now computer does not boot.
With Normal Mode or Last Good Boot Settings, it gets to the windows load screen and restarts itself.
With Safe Mode it loads a bunch of stuff, prompts "Press ESC to cancel SPDV.sys" (or something like that, it's only on the screen for a second) and restarts itself.

I am using XP Home SP2.
Right now that's all the computer does.   Any help is appreciated.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Do you have the Original Windows XP CD?

Also, Do you have another computer handy?

[No_Skillz]

Yes I have my original XP CD.

Yes my alternate is this laptop from which I am posting.  My Desktop doesn't start at all.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

I suggest putting the Windows XP CD in the malfunctioning computer and boot from it.
From there, you can perform a Repair Install. More info here:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

(Don't worry, you will not lose any of your files)

[No_Skillz]

Dudeoxide;

Thanks for the help.  I already tried sticking in the CD but nothing changed.  Do I have to go into bios and change boot order to CD first?  I would have tried it but ever since I "tried to fix" it the first time and everything went to *censored*, I'm afraid to do anything.

Any way to find out exactly what went wrong and fix it?  How do I make sure this doesn't happen again?

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Yeah, you have to change the boot order in the Bios. You should be able to get into the Bios Setup if you keep pressing either F1, F2 or F10, DEL or ESC.
More info here:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000192.htm

How do I make sure this doesn't happen again?

One step at a time, we have to find out what's wrong first.

If after you do the Repair Install and it starts working, it could have been a software problem (recent downloads or installs)
If this doesn't fix it, if could be a hardware problem (recently added hardware or just wear and tear).

[No_Skillz]

I'm stuck at this point:

Repair was NOT one of the options for my main partition so I exited and went into the repair config (as the link you posted directed me to).  I typed in bootcfg and I got:

Use the BOOTCFG command for boot configuration and recovery

BOOTCFG /ADD
BOOTCFG /REBUILD
BOOTCFG /SCAN
BOOTCFG /LIST
BOOTCFG / DISABLEREDIRECT
BOOTCFG / REDIRECT [PORT BAUDRATE] | [useBiosSettings]

Followed by a description of what each command does

C:\> "cd.. *censored* do I do now?  "

The instructions on that page you linked me to says:
1.Boot with XP CD or 6 floppy boot disk set.

 2. Press R to load the Recovery Console. 

 3. Type bootcfg. 

 4. This should fix any boot.ini errors causing setup not to see the  XP OS
      install. 

 5. Try the repair install.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Repair was NOT one of the options for my main partition

What do you mean by this?
You sure you followed this part?

[No_Skillz]

Yep, followed that exactly and got:

The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space on this computer.

Use the up/down arrows to select an item.
To set up XP on the selected item, press ENTER.
To create a partition in the unpartitioned space, press C.
To delete the selected partition, press D.

I could select between (what I assume is) my HD "C: Partition 1 [Unknown]" or "Unpartitioned space 8mb".

The repair option was not available so I went on to the next item on the page, which was Warning 2.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

That's a problem. From what you have told me so far, it appears something has happened with the XP Partition.

I strongly suggest you remove the current HD and plug it into another computer as a Slave.
This way you can either access your files and back everything up or find out if the drive is corrupted or not.

Do you not have access to another desktop at all?

[No_Skillz]

I have an ancient Dell, but I always thought hardware was difficult to mess with on those?  Forsee any problems?

I am a bit concerned by this result too because at what I posted earlier my main HD was: C: Partition 1 [Unknown]  476930MB <476929MB Free>  Does that mean there's nothing in there?

Should I follow this before I try the HD swap?
http://webcast.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=8658-0

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

That would be my first guess. If it says C: Unknown, we have to prepare for the worst.

I apologize but I actually have to go for about 30 mins to an hour. If you can, hook the Hard Drive up to another computer as a slave and see if the computer recognizes it.

[No_Skillz]

Not a problem.  Talking to anyone at all more knowledgable than me is better than me hacking away by myself.

I won't have access to the other desktop until tomorrow, possibly later this week, but I will try that link that I posted and see what happens.  It looks like the tutorial basically makes backups of core system files and replaces them with fresh ones from the CD, so I hope it won't mess with any of my other files on the HD (if they're still there).

[No_Skillz]

Well, was following the directions (on http://webcast.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=8658-1).  Went into Recovery Console and typed in md c:\windows\tmp just like it told me to and got "Access is denied."

Even tried (from your link):
c:\>copy K:\i386\ntldr C:\
At the recovery console and got Blue Screened (A prob been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage...)

I'm starting to suspect that I'm not supposed to get a "C:\>" at the recovery console...  besides, none of the dos commands I know work (not that many).  "dir" gives "An error occurred during directory enumeration." "cd \windows" gives "The path or file specified is not valid."  I'm starting to lose hope.

I also ran a chkdsk which told me that I have approx 10/500gig free (which is correct), with one or more errors on the volume.  Don't know what to do from here.

I'm out of ideas at this point.  I guess I'll wait for further advice while making plans for getting access to another desktop tomorrow.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Yeah, I think there is something wrong with the partition itself.

We'll know when you hook it up.

I do have another option you may want to try out if you have time.
If you want, I can give you a link to a Portable Linux which you install onto a Flash Drive.
Once installed, you can plug the Flash Drive into the broken computer and boot off it.
This way you can see if you can access C:\ Drive or not.

[No_Skillz]

Flash drive as in USB flash drive?  I have a 128mb...

Also, if I get to plug in the HD tomorrow, what am I supposed to be looking for?  Just seeing if I can access?

And I can't find the pins to make it a slave.  Argh. 

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

And I can't find the pins to make it a slave.

Have Faith. 

Flash drive as in USB flash drive?  I have a 128mb...

Argh, you need at least a 256. 

[No_Skillz]

Well, looks like that's out.  If I can't find the pins I'll just head up to Best Buy near here.  They have a service dept. that should have that.

Btw, nice Halo comics.  Made me  when I was 

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Lol. Nice OLD Halo Comics. I've got about a dozen waiting to be updated....

[No_Skillz]

I have my HD hooked up to a friend's computer as we speak.  All of my files are there (thank god  ).  I am currently making copies of my important stuff, but I would still like to salvage this HD if possible since I have alot of useful installed programs on it.  Is there anything I can do?

My tech friend suggested:
chkdsk /r
fixboot
fixmbr - up to me, might erase everything

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

I think you would want to try Chkdsk /f.
Not sure about Fixboot. I found this though:
http://www.computerhope.com/fixboot.htm

However, I think a reinstall of Windows may be in order.

[No_Skillz]

I came home from my friend's house and plugged in my HD.  It started without a problem.

  / /

What can I do in case this is just a fluke?  I'll be leaving this thing on for a while until I'm sure I'll be able to restart it without any issues.

[Broni]

Run HD diagnostic: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

[No_Skillz]

I have downloaded and run Seatools (Seagate HD) for windows.

SMART scan failed.
Short Drive Scan Passed

Currently doing a Long Drive Scan, however I will be leaving in about 10 hours for a weeklong vacation.  I'm not sure if it will be done by then so I figured I'd post up what result's I've gotten. (Taking a really long time... about 2 hours and only 20% complete)

What do these scans tell me?
What do I do after this scan?
Do I still need to do a chkdsk /f or /r?

Sorry for the slew of questions, trying to learn as I go.

[Broni]

SMART scan failed.

It means, that your hard drive is on its last legs, and it may fail at any time.

Do I still need to do a chkdsk /f or /r?

No. Manufacturer diagnostic program is more reliable.
This would explain all your problems.
You're do for new hard drive.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Thanks for having my back 

All the moving you were doing with the hard drive could have pushed something in place but, I would have to agree with Broni.
A bigger and better hard drive is in order.

[No_Skillz]

Are there any brands/companies that you guys would suggest?  I've had this Seagate for only about 1.5 years, can't believe it's going bad already.  I had a HD fail on a laptop once, and that was after ~4 years, always on, with a defrag running nightly for about 2 of those years.  I'm looking for at least 500g.

Is there any way to transfer the data from this HD onto a new HD so everything is exactly the same?

[No_Skillz]

Don't mean to bump, but I'm about to order a HD.  Any suggestions?

[Broni]

It's little bit of a luck, too.
Seagate is well know brand, but unfortunately, 250GB HD died on me, being 6 weeks old.
Western Digital? Samsung?

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

I have a Hitachi. I think they go up to 500GB but I'm not sure.

[patio]

Seagate on their high end drives still have a 5 year warranty...

Otherwise WD Caviar drives are pretty much bulletproof...( 3 Year Warranty )

[No_Skillz]

I've gotten my new HD (WD Caviar 500g) and used the trial version of Acronis Home to clone it.  I verified that the data was there by booting with my old HD as primary.  However, when I use it as primary I get the message "Error loading operating system."  I booted with my xp disk and tried to repair it (NOT recovery console, don't know what the main one is).  It'll scan the HD, copy some files, save configurations, but then after reboot it goes back to "Error loading operating system."

My old HD is still alive.  However, I accidentally did a repair on this drive and now whenever I do anything, Windows Installer pops up and "prepares to install" something and everything hangs up.  It's almost unuseable.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Did you do this for a Repair Install?
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

[No_Skillz]

Yes, I did this:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI

It gets to step #6 and gives me "Pressy any key to boot from CD...(I don't press anything here) Error loading operating system."

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Hmmmm.....Can you try the repair again?
In the mean time, I will do some searching.

[No_Skillz]

I have done it 3x already. 

I once read somewhere that insanity is repeating the same action over and over again expecting a different result. 

[patio]

Try the WD diagnostics tools to clone the drive instead of a trial program...
They are available at the website if your Caviar didn't come with a CD...

[No_Skillz]

I can't clone my old one anymore because I accidentally did a repair install on it.  This happened even though I set my new HD as #1 and the old one as #2 in my bios. (I did the repair thinking that it was going to work on the primary, #1.  Naturally, I was wrong.)

Now the old HD barely runs because "Windows Installer: Preparing to Install..." pops up on every action and hangs everything up.

[patio]

Clean install on the new drive...
Then use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard to get settings from the old drive.

[No_Skillz]

Will that transfer over my installed programs too?

[patio]

No.
Files and settings only...
Apps will have to be re-installed.

This is a good time to start considering a regular backup strategy.
I use Acronis True Image but there are others...

[No_Skillz]

  Alright as a last ditch effort I guess I'll go this route.  Thanks for the tips.

[patio]

No problem and good luck...
You may want to read up on FAST first...some people find it confusing.
I've used it with better than average results although it can be quirky...

[No_Skillz]

I've done a full format on the new HD and tried to do a fresh install of Windows XP.  It does the same thing as before, where I boot form disk, choose to install a fresh copy of windows, it copies some files, reboots, and gives me "Press any key to boot from CD...(again I don't press anything) Error loading operating system."

I am running this new HD as SATA and it's the only one hooked up.  It's brand new.  There are no jumper pins in.  It's being recognized in bios.  Am I missing something?

[No_Skillz]

Just a little update (take a deep breath):

I've figured out why the new HD doesn't work.  The access mode in BIOS needs to be set at "Large" instead of "Auto" for reasons beyond me.  I tried this and the HD was finally recognized.  Unfortunately, at this point I had already formatted the HD trying to install XP from scratch.

So I decided to get my old HD working again and hopefully be able to clone it.  The Windows Installer popups I was getting was an old version, so I had to update it at microsoft.  This enabled it to tell me that it had been trying to access Adobe Acrobat Pro all along, and was searching for the CD.  However, I no longer have the CD, I convert most of my stuff to ISO (what else is a 500g HD good for?).  My daemon tools didn't work after the repair install due to SPTD being old/nonexistant.  So I reinstalled that, got my adobe ISO loaded up, and erased that problem.

Keep in mind that the Windows Installer had been popping up upon EVERY action and hanging the system up for 1-2 mins (drove me out of my d**n mind).

I then did all my windows updates, including IE 7.  Big mistake.  After rebooting, it would get stuck on "Setting Personalized Settings for: Internet Explorer."  I restarted in safe mode, disabled IE through Control Panel - Windows Components, which fixed the problem.  (Booting normally, IE7 works fine, which is a mystery to me since I unchecked it in safe mode.)

So, the old HD seems to be working fine again (minus the SMART failure) so I am back at square one, using Acronis Home Trial to clone the HD, this time with the BIOS set to "Large" for the new HD from the start.

Wish me luck.

[No_Skillz]

Good news.  It's worked. 

I was even able to change the HD access mode in BIOS back to "auto" afterwards.

I am currently on my PC with all my files and programs.  I figure I'll use the old HD as backup until it dies.

There are still some small bugs to work out (*censored* is SCSI/RAID and why does it keep wanting to install?  Disabled in device manager unless you guys think I need it.) but all problems seem miniscule compared to the other catastrophic failures and the amount of effort I've spent over the past week.