Hello! Before I begin to explain my problem, I wanted to mention that I am essentially an average user without a significant background in diagnosing computer problems. I have attempted to scour the web for solutions to my problems but the problems themselves have changed often enough that I am completely lost at this point. I am hopeful that someone on this forum will be able to guide me to resolution, even if that doesn't mean I end up with a fully operational system.
Quick background: I bought my computer (Dell Latitude D830, Intel Centrino Duo processor) used from a fellow who refurbished older machines as a hobby. He sold it to me running Windows 7. I cannot recall which version it was but I think it was home or home premium, pretty sure it was 64 bit. He did not provide me with a copy of any software. It has been almost completely problem free until about 2 weeks ago. That day, when I turned the computer on it took something like 10 minutes to boot, and windows was very slow/delayed in processing the simplest commands. I ran a full virus scan, a malware scan, disc cleanup, and defragmenter and no problems were found. I learned about sfc /scannow and every time I ran it it found problems it couldn't fix. I ran checkdisc several times as well and it was always finding bad clusters and repairing them. The computer's performance improved incrementally but it kept trying to download and install the same updates over and over unsuccessfully, which slowed things down, so I turned off the automatic updater, and at last it operated like normal again, except that I would occasionally get error messages saying windows couldn't find MSVCR90.dll . A day or two later, the computer entered its current state of (non)functionality.
Now: When I press the power button, the Dell startup screen appears as usual, but it presents me with the choice to run startup repair or start windows normally. If I run startup repair, when it's finished it restarts and sends me back to the aforementioned choice. If I attempt to start windows, it restarts and sends me back to the choice. If I F8 and attempt safe mode, it restarts and sends me back to the choice.
I attempted to create the AVG USB rescue disc and was able to boot the computer with it, but the tool was useless as it didn't recognize the hard drive but could only scan or otherwise interact with the USB drive itself.
I'm prepared to accept the possibility that my computer is a total loss, as disappointing as that may be, but I would like to try to save it if there's hope. I have reached the end of my diagnostic powers and so submit myself to the wisdom of this forum.
Quick background: I bought my computer (Dell Latitude D830, Intel Centrino Duo processor) used from a fellow who refurbished older machines as a hobby. He sold it to me running Windows 7. I cannot recall which version it was but I think it was home or home premium, pretty sure it was 64 bit. He did not provide me with a copy of any software. It has been almost completely problem free until about 2 weeks ago. That day, when I turned the computer on it took something like 10 minutes to boot, and windows was very slow/delayed in processing the simplest commands. I ran a full virus scan, a malware scan, disc cleanup, and defragmenter and no problems were found. I learned about sfc /scannow and every time I ran it it found problems it couldn't fix. I ran checkdisc several times as well and it was always finding bad clusters and repairing them. The computer's performance improved incrementally but it kept trying to download and install the same updates over and over unsuccessfully, which slowed things down, so I turned off the automatic updater, and at last it operated like normal again, except that I would occasionally get error messages saying windows couldn't find MSVCR90.dll . A day or two later, the computer entered its current state of (non)functionality.
Now: When I press the power button, the Dell startup screen appears as usual, but it presents me with the choice to run startup repair or start windows normally. If I run startup repair, when it's finished it restarts and sends me back to the aforementioned choice. If I attempt to start windows, it restarts and sends me back to the choice. If I F8 and attempt safe mode, it restarts and sends me back to the choice.
I attempted to create the AVG USB rescue disc and was able to boot the computer with it, but the tool was useless as it didn't recognize the hard drive but could only scan or otherwise interact with the USB drive itself.
I'm prepared to accept the possibility that my computer is a total loss, as disappointing as that may be, but I would like to try to save it if there's hope. I have reached the end of my diagnostic powers and so submit myself to the wisdom of this forum.
My Computer
- Computer type
- Laptop
- Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
- Dell Latitude D830
- OS
- Windows 7 64 bit (uncertain which version)
- CPU
- Intel Centrino Duo
- Antivirus
- AVG Free 2014
- Browser
- Internet Explorer
