Windows 7: Please help, I can't turn my laptop on anymore!

I really don't know what to do, and I'm not at all familiar with computer language and children and grandchildren are too far to help.
I have had my toshiba for almost 4 years and a month ago, my hard drive died.
I brought it to a shop where they managed to save my data and put it on a "new" second hand hard drive. When I got my laptop back from them, I didn't have vista anymore, but windows 7!
During the last week, my laptop has started to take longer and longer to start up.
But now, what I get is this:
- if I try to start windows normally, it takes about 30mins to bring me to the password page. Once the password in, I'm stuck with a black screen, arrow in the middle and nothing else for hours!!!
- each time I try to turn it on, I get the option to launch start up repair. It gets just worst. Once the files uploaded, I stay stuck on a totally black screen for about 20mins or more, then I got the welcome screen and an arrow, but it doesn't ask me the password... It's been stuck there for the last 2 hours.
- yesterday, I managed to turn it on after an interminable wait, but then everything was either incredibly slow, or simply not working. Today, it simply looks dead, and I'm myself desperate. I really want and need it to work now.



I will be so grateful for your advises but please bear with me when it comes to using computerised language. As I said before, I'm am a novice.
Thanks you all, looking forward to reading you.

Hi Dee1Sis, welcome to the Seven Forums.

Please notice the below is just my personal opinion, based on my own experiences with various laptops. Other members might give you other advice, this is what I think.

Almost four years is a long time for a basic laptop. Although there are plenty of laptops working fine after several years, when they start to fail it can be a never ending story. The hard drive is often the first to fail. In your case it sounds as if not only the HDD was broken but also the so called disk controller, the part of the motherboard that takes care of the communications between CPU (processor) and disk drives.

As the replacement parts & work needed for laptops can cost quite a lot, my recommendation is to let your Toshiba to retire and get a new laptop.

If you get your laptop up and running, I would like to ask you to run two built-in Windows 7 tools to try to repair as much as possible. First run Check Disk (chkdsk) as told in this tutorial step 8: Disk Check.

When done, run System File Checker (sfc) with Scannow option as told in this tutorial: SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker.

Kari

Thanks you Karl for your quick answer.
I totally understand what you mean by letting my laptop retire. It is part of the plan, but not before another 2 months or so. Right now, I'm am a writer and without my laptop, I have to say it's hard to come back to the old pen and paper.
On the other hand, I'm afraid your solution won't work for me because there's been a little chance during the last hour. Each time I try to turn it on normally, a bright blue screen with white writings appear and then it turns itself off, and back on again. The problem is, I don't have the time to read what it says on the blue screen. So it's a definite, I won't be able to turn it back on...
Please, tell me what's the next step other than throwing it in the bin and loose my work?

A long shot but in my honest opinion worth to try:

Can you access another computer, to download Windows 7 ISO file from Microsoft (Digital River)? If yes, here's the link: http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-58996.iso. Download then the Microsoft ISO tool to burn the ISO file to DVD.

When you have the Windows 7 Home Premium x86 DVD, try a repair install as told in this tutorial: Repair Install

If this works and you get the laptop running then run the two commands I mentioned in my last post.

Kari

Can I ask a question? I am not a laptop person, but before you got the blue screens, when you started the laptop how long was it before you saw the 'starting Windows' logo?

Dee1Sis,

The repair shop took you.

If the computer still starts, then what you are going to need is the 25-character product key.

To make sure you get the Product key, and not the product ID, then there are 3 different programs that I can recommend:
!. SPECCY (Link in my signature)
2. SIW (link in my signature)
3. Belarc Advisor Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit, for software, hardware and security configuration information on your computer. Software license management, IT asset management, cyber security audits, and more.

In Speccy:
Operating System | fourth line down, called Serial Number

That is the 25character product key

DO NOT POST THE PRODUCT KEY!

Let me know when you have the key.

I saw a similar problem with a new changed Hard drive ... The Hard Drive was as good as new , but the other repairman didn't stick the Sata ribbon well . Take a screwdriver and open the Hard Drive case , and stick the ribbon firmly ...

Good luck ...