computer wont start after updates

[KimiD]

so i dont know really anything about a computer... please try to put everything you say in terms i can understand

two days ago a screen popped up telling me that my laptop would restart in 10 mins for updates... i clicked restart now

it went throught step one and step two fine... it came to step three and would get to 54% and stop then it would say computer shutting down it would shut down restart go back to that same screen get to 54% and repeat... i turned it off and tried to restart it in safe mood but it did the same thing...

im away at college so i cant ask my dad for help and the computer techs arent open till later on this month...

if you guys have any ideas what i could do to try to fix this problem let me kno

thanks

[Bromide]

Your problem sounds a lot like what happened to me last winter. The short answer is to contact the computer manufacturer’s support web site and ask for help. If your computer came pre-installed with Vista then Microsoft probably won’t help unless you pay them. What brand is your computer? Go to their web site, look for tech support and see if you can file a help request. You will need the model and serial number and detailed problem description. They should give you advice by email.

My computer is a Hewlett-Packard. HP gave me 3 things to try.
1.   System Restore
a.   This is part of Vista and restores a backup copy of the registry to fix problems.
2.   Startup Repair
a.   This is a tool provided on Vista’s retail installation DVD, and might or might not be included on your hard drive or recovery DVD, if you have one.
3.   System Recovery
a.   This is the most drastic repair and will erase all your documents and settings.

Look at this web page for instructions on the first two options plus a forth option that might apply to your problem, although you would need a geek friend to help edit the computer registry. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949358
Here is one about Startup Repair … http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/5c59f8c1-b0d1-4f1a-af55-74f3922f3f351033.mspx#EU   

System Restore is the quickest and easiest to try:
Turn on the machine and immediately start pressing the F8 key [once or twice per second] until the Options Menu appears, [black screen, white letters]. Your mouse won’t work on that page so use the up & down arrows to highlight ‘Safe Mode with Networking’ and press the enter button. Lots of white text will scroll by, but eventually a desktop will appear and you can do this:

* Go to Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore.
(or)
*Press the WinKey on the keyboard, type Restore then press enter.

Then follow the Restore Wizard’s instructions to restore to a date before the problem update occurred. The computer will stop and, hopefully, restart successfully. It didn’t work for me, but it might for you. If not, follow the computer tech support people’s advice. If they say you need a recovery disk and you don’t have one you should be able to order one from them and follow their instructions.

If nothing works, remember it is possible to physically remove the hard drive, connect it to another computer and at least save your data. Consider doing that before resorting to System Recovery.
Let us know how it goes.

[Microsoft’s help site is at http://support.microsoft.com/.]

[Quantos]

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