Laptop files corrupt or damaged ?

[diandtom]

I turned my laptop on tonight and it goes into a system recovery. It has been doing this for over a hour. Any ideas what going on and how to fix ?

[Mr_D]

Yep, that sounds like corrupted files. Probably will have to do a system rebuild after you replace the hard drive as it's probably failed.

[greystroke]

What operating system?

[Gary - K7GLD]

Lots of potential difference in "system recovery" schemes by different PC makers - both of mine MIGHT be able to restore the system back to an earlier time - but more serious crashes and recoveries will only restore the more common files - my pictures, my videos, my music, etc - but NONE of the actual programs and related files installed outside of the Windows operating system - for that, a far more sophisticated aftermarket backup and recovery program is required - but most of us only learn that AFTER a major crash...

[diandtom]

It is using Windows 7.

[Gary - K7GLD]

Windows 7 is SUPPOSED to have a more advanced recovery system built in - quess we'll find out!

Keep us informed!

[diandtom]

I think I am going to take it to a computer repair tomorrow. It just does this system repair and been doing it for hours. Let you know what they find.

[Gary - K7GLD]

Give it time - a full recovery on a large capacity HD can take quite a while to complete - if you abort it early, it CAN really screw things up...

[greystroke]

Turn it off. Then bring it back up in safe mode. I can bring mine up in safe mode by hitting F8 continually until a selection screen appears.

If it comes up you may be able to save your essential files while you investigate the hard drive. While your in Safe Mode go into accessories, system tools, and systm restore. You may be able to fix it there by following instructions.

When you get your computer Windows 7 allows you originally to save the ops system. You might have to use it.

Depending on your computer mfg you might be able to check your hard drive yourself. What you want to do is reboot the computer and bring up the Bios. I do this by hitting f10 continually while booting until the bios screen comes up(bios is not on HD). Once your are in the bios be careful not to change anything. When you leave it will ask if you want to save changes...don't do it unless you know what change you made. Now that your in the bios search around for the HD info. There should be some sort of selection to run test on the HD. There may be two. Check them both and run the tests. It should tell you if the HD is bad.

In summary,
Go into Safe Mode and do an emergency save of your files. Try to fix using Windows restore methods while in Safe Mode. If you can't fix it go into the bios and run the HD test. If the HD checks good then your will have to reload your ops system using your mfgr disk or strored W7 files.

As always with computers you may get the unexpected. Good luck

Remember each mfg is usually a little different.

[diandtom]

It is a Dell that I had almost a year. The guy at the computer repair thinks it a virus.

[Wayne M]

diandtom,
I have a Toshiba laptop. The first thing I did when I purchased it was to make a set of back-up disks so I could restore it to it's original configuration. My HD crashed and even with my expertise I could not get it to recover through the operating system recovery method. Your data files are okay if they were saved in the original "Document" type folders. Those folders are not part of the operating system. As long as the drive is not reformatted the documents and files will still be there. If you do restore using the back-up disks, or the original OEM disk, follow the instructions.

Or, replace the HD and use the OEM disk to place the OS on the new HD. Pick up the cheapest HD enclosure that you can at any electronics store. The are around $20-40 depending on lots of things. Tell the salesperson that it will be for enclosing a laptop Hard Drive. They should be able to get you the correct one, and most are compatible with many different types and sizes. Place the old HD in the enclosure an plug it into the new bootable computer. It should come up as an additional HD. Copy the files you need to the new HD system, then trash the old HD.

It is a little time consuming, but depending on your file needs it may be what is needed. In my case I had 3000+ pictures on the laptop HD and I did not want to loose them. I recovered every one of them with the last method.

Good luck.

p.s., sometimes the $99 labor fee for Best Buy to solve the problem is the cheapest in the long run, depending on how much you consider your time may be worth.

[AFChap]

thinks it a virus.

If you can't figure out what the problem is, blame it on a virus. In my 30 years experience with computers, that rarely is true, but is as good a scapegoat as any.

[diandtom]

I do have a backup disk of favorites and pictures, so all is not lost. I cannot get it to go into safe mode or anything. When I turn it on it goes into the repair mode. I could have got it fixed from Dell for $156, but they could hardly speak English and I am not going to sit a hour on the phone with them asking what did yhou say!!!! Even trying to tell her what was wrong was a fit. It is in the computer repair now and I wait for a call to get it back.

[Steve N Sal]

If you have all the backup disks and have your other stuff saved I wouldn't even mess with trying to get rid of the virus. Yours sounds like it's doing the same that my old laptop did and after the repair costs and really never getting rid of the virus to begin with. It was much cheaper going down to Best Buy, buying a new hard drive and just reload the entire system. The hard drive is not hard to install at all. Funny thing is the old computer is running better then it did when it was brand new. Go Figure.