Windows Vista O/S not starting

[Andrea4]

Ok..what if I don't know anyone that has Vista? And that link to a clean reg key didn't work. Is there a way that I could get it online from my sister's computer? She is 2 hours away from me.

And this step is very confusing to me. 4. Run sfc /scannow on the damaged Vista computer - you won't need the install disk as it goes to backup files on your HD. Do not reboot when complete

Heck all of it is confusing to me.

[Andrea4]

Well now I see that step was later changed. But still..how would I "import registry settings into damaged Vista computer"? And this Windows Installer Service is to repair Vista right? It seems like it is for adding and removing programs. Or am I wrong?

[patio]

You stated earlier you had a Vista CD...now you don't...which is it ? ?

[Andrea4]

I do! But that says to go to a computer with Vista?? I don't see anything about a CD.

[Andrea4]

1. Go to a Windows Vista (Any Version) computer that has the Windows
Installer service running correctly and run regedit(Start-Run-Regedit)

That means use a different computer that has Vista working on it right? Or can I get the registry key from my install DVD somehow?

[Andrea4]

I'm not sure about that registry key thing. But if anyone could provide some more direction for that I would appreciate it.

Or will doing this http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?c=us&cs=RC1084719&l=en&s=k12&docid=DSN_339949&isLegacy=true with my Vista Reinstallation DVD be the same as requesting a recovery CD from Dell? If I do this "reinstall" will it get rid of what is on there now? And I mean the O/S and everything. Since I was able to use Linux to get my files, I am not worried about wiping the hard drive anymore. I actually really just want to START OVER with this computer.

Just to be clear, under the F8 menu Repair Your Computer is not an option for me. Ctrl+F11 or 0 didn't work. And I guess there aren't any restore points so system restore doesn't work. Diagnostics didn't find any errors and the memory tests passed.

[patio]

Do you have a Vista CD ...or not ? ?

[Andrea4]

Yes I do! From reply #10 in this topic:

It's the one I got from Dell when I got my computer. It says Operating System Already Installed on Your Computer Reinstallation DVD Windows Vista Home Premium 32BIT.

[Andrea4]

If you're asking if I used my DVD to attempt to repair my computer. Yes, I did. Startup Repair didn't find any problems. From bleepingcomputer: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial142.html "If the repair process does not detect any problems starting Vista, it will display a list of available recovery tools." And that is exactly what it did. So I tried System Restore...for some reason there's not a restore point available. Windows Complete PC Restore doesn't allow me to do anything either. Can't remember exactly what it says. I ran the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. Again no errors.

Sorry if I did not make it clear before. But it seems like using my Vista DVD to reinstall is my only option. I just want to know if that will do what I need it to do. Essentially restore my computer to factory settings.

[Andrea4]

I'm not sure if anyone is going to reply anyways. But just so you all know, I reinstalled my O/S so no need to answer any of my other questions. I got help from some IT people at school. They said the hard drive looks ok and they were just as confused as I was about how Vista just wasn't there. I will probably be installing updates for a while but that is what I'm doing now.

[Andrea4]

Wow..so just after posting that I got a BSOD. It restarted after an update and then I got it. If I post the log here can anyone help? Should I continue updating?

==================================================
Dump File         : Mini082911-01.dmp
Crash Time        : 8/29/2011 7:28:04 PM
Bug Check String  : KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
Bug Check Code    : 0x1000008e
Parameter 1       : 0xc0000005
Parameter 2       : 0x81ce89b7
Parameter 3       : 0xa2f4f894
Parameter 4       : 0x00000000
Caused By Driver  : ntkrnlpa.exe
Caused By Address : ntkrnlpa.exe+e89b7
File Description  : NT Kernel & System
Product Name      : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Company           : Microsoft Corporation
File Version      : 6.0.6000.17021 (vista_gdr.100218-0019)
Processor         : 32-bit
Crash Address     : ntkrnlpa.exe+e89b7
Stack Address 1   : ntkrnlpa.exe+e8322
Stack Address 2   : ntkrnlpa.exe+2356cd
Stack Address 3   : ntkrnlpa.exe+1f4f49
Computer Name     :
Full Path         : C:\Windows\Minidump\Mini082911-01.dmp
Processors Count  : 2
Major Version     : 15
Minor Version     : 6000
Dump File Size    : 139,224
==================================================