Toshiba Computer mysteriously wont boot anymore

[mayheamk]

So i have a Toshibal laptop running windows xp, it is bought many few years ago. the problem with this laptop is i was using it regularly just like any other days and after shutting it down the night and turning it back on it wouldnt boot to windows anymore. what happens exactly is it shows the windows xp logo loading for 1-2 second, and about a millisecond it shows a blue screen and it restarts and whole thing again and again. i have tried safe mode but nothing would work. i also have a windows xp CD, but it only gives me a fresh install option.
is there anything i can do to fix this computer?

 

[EzioAuditore]

At the install screen, doesn't it list 'Press R to repair'?
See if you can follow the steps to do a repair install as directed here- pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxprepair1.htm
You'll need your product key,

 

[mayheamk]

No there isnt any Repair button in windows XP installation.

 

[EzioAuditore]

Does your laptop has any system recovery partition to restore it to default factory status?
Also, can you boot to windows in safe mode? It seems like a BSoD error.

 

[mayheamk]

I can not boot into windows in any way.

 

[mayheamk]

what can i do?

 

[Bumpkin]

Most likely, your laptop has a recovery hidden partition. When starting your computer in the first few seconds watch the screen closely, there should be a key to press to enable the restore process back to when it was factory new.

Or go to the Toshiba support site and enter the model information and find out their method to do a factory restore to get it back like the day you bought it.

 

[seavixen32]

Check this out: How to use the Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility

 

[mayheamk]

okay, but would i lose the data on the computer by restoring?

 

[Bumpkin]

Yes you will lose all data, you will be back to factory new.

As EzioAuditore stated, you should be able to do a Repair of the OS using your XP disc. You will have to boot using the CD. Change your bios to boot from the CD first and the HDD second or look for a key to press at startup to select boot device.

 

[mayheamk]

i see. but why did this happen in the first place?

 

[Bumpkin]

Who knows what happened. It could be a software, hardware or virus problem. You won't know until you boot with your XP disc and see if that fixes your problem.

If you make regular backups and images of your hard drive you will have better options to get going again.

Check out the Backup & Restore forum here Backup and Restore - Windows 7 Forums

 

[mayheamk]

okay, but i am planning to save the datas. i am planning to install windows 7 back up the datas and do a fresh install after that. is that possible?

 

[gregrocker]

You can copy out your data externally to USB now with free Paragon rescue disk to recover data, or use Win7 DVD or Repair CD: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console

If you have a Win7 license would you like to install it on the machine? Or would you prefer to repair or reinstall XP?

Before attempting repairs I would download Windows Defender Offline to burn to CD or write to flash stick, boot and run a full scan, since XP may not repair if it is infected.

There are two repair prompts when you boot into the XP CD as shown here: XP Repair Install. You should be sure to have an OEM channel XP SP3 CD for your exact version.

At the first Repair prompt, open the command line to type in Bootrec.exe /fixboot, then hit enter and type bootrec.exe /fixmbr, hit enter again. Reboot to see if it will start.

If not follow the tutorial to the second Repair prompt at the point where you would start Install to see if you can run the full Repair Install.

If not you can reinstall XP, run Toshiba factory Recovery from its partition at boot, or Clean Install Windows 7. You should have your data copied out by then.

 

[mayheamk]

Hi
thanks for the information, although im not sure if that was an advertisement or something related. i cant even boot to windows so that program you said isnt for me. i have inserted my xp CD but there isnt any repair option. but my question is can i install win7 in a same drive as xp was installed?

You can copy out your data externally to USB now with free Paragon rescue disk to recover data, or use Win7 DVD or Repair CD: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console

If you have a Win7 license would you like to install it on the machine? Or would you prefer to repair or reinstall XP?

Before attempting repairs I would download Windows Defender Offline to burn to CD or write to flash stick, boot and run a full scan, since XP may not repair if it is infected.

There are two repair prompts when you boot into the XP CD as shown here: XP Repair Install. You should be sure to have an OEM channel XP SP3 CD for your exact version.

At the first Repair prompt, open the command line to type in Bootrec.exe /fixboot, then hit enter and type bootrec.exe /fixmbr, hit enter again. Reboot to see if it will start.

If not follow the tutorial to the second Repair prompt at the point where you would start Install to see if you can run the full Repair Install.

If not you can reinstall XP, run Toshiba factory Recovery from its partition at boot, or Clean Install Windows 7. You should have your data copied out by then.

 

[orko76]

Before you redo your windows you might want to take out your laptop hard drive and back-up all your data to another computer

 

[mayheamk]

thats a good idea. however i am trying to save the trouble by installing win7 into same drive as xp was installed. is that possible though?

 

[EzioAuditore]

thats a good idea. however i am trying to save the trouble by installing win7 into same drive as xp was installed. is that possible though?

Yeah thats possible. Greg has already instructed you on how to go about that.
Notable is the fact that this laptop is "many few years old", windows 7 may or may not perform so well. Moreover, you have also not given the specs of that laptop. So, installing 7 may not be a good idea.
You should backup all your data and clean install XP as anything newer than that would probably result in a sluggish computer. XP Service pack 3 still has 2 years of support (updates, patches etc.) left.

 

[gregrocker]

Hi
thanks for the information, although im not sure if that was an advertisement or something related. i cant even boot to windows so that program you said isnt for me. i have inserted my xp CD but there isnt any repair option. but my question is can i install win7 in a same drive as xp was installed?

You can copy out your data externally to USB now with free Paragon rescue disk to recover data, or use Win7 DVD or Repair CD: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console

If you have a Win7 license would you like to install it on the machine? Or would you prefer to repair or reinstall XP?

Before attempting repairs I would download Windows Defender Offline to burn to CD or write to flash stick, boot and run a full scan, since XP may not repair if it is infected.

There are two repair prompts when you boot into the XP CD as shown here: XP Repair Install. You should be sure to have an OEM channel XP SP3 CD for your exact version.

At the first Repair prompt, open the command line to type in Bootrec.exe /fixboot, then hit enter and type bootrec.exe /fixmbr, hit enter again. Reboot to see if it will start.

If not follow the tutorial to the second Repair prompt at the point where you would start Install to see if you can run the full Repair Install.

If not you can reinstall XP, run Toshiba factory Recovery from its partition at boot, or Clean Install Windows 7. You should have your data copied out by then.

What are you talking about? What is an advertisement? I gave you the tools to copy out your files using a free bootable Paragon CD or the Win7 DVD, then attempt to repair XP or install Win7 instead.

The blue links are tutorials you click to read how to do the things you ignored. You are not doing an XP Repair install correctly, and even if it doesn't appear at the second Repair prompt I gave you Commands to run in the first Repair command line which you also ignore.

You completely ignore these options I took the time to type out as though you can't read and then ask if I gave you an advertisement? What kind of breathtaking nonsense is this?

 

[mayheamk]

okay no need to get angry now, even though i was asking you if you were...