I have a Vista(x32) machine, no service packs( long story) which has now developed the Black Screen of Death.
I suspect it might be malware, the winlogon and userinit keys keep resetting (I am able to access regedit via the Command Prompt via the Recover Console)
For my latest attempt to fix the problem I have downloaded The Norton Recovery Disks via this laptop (Windows 7) creating an USB stick for the vista machine.
It recognises the USB stick, but after a minute or so, it comes up with this exact error message.
NortonTM Recovery Tools cannot be run on this operating system. It requires 32-bit versions of Windows XP SP2 or later.
Which it shouldn't do as my machine is Vista 32 bit (no service packs).
Any help is appreciated, and any fixing help even more appreciated. .
I have a Vista(x32) machine, no service packs( long story) which has now developed the Black Screen of Death.
I suspect it might be malware, the winlogon and userinit keys keep resetting (I am able to access regedit via the Command Prompt via the Recover Console)
For my latest attempt to fix the problem I have downloaded The Norton Recovery Disks via this laptop (Windows 7) creating an USB stick for the vista machine.
It recognises the USB stick, but after a minute or so, it comes up with this exact error message.
NortonTM Recovery Tools cannot be run on this operating system. It requires 32-bit versions of Windows XP SP2 or later.
Which it shouldn't do as my machine is Vista 32 bit (no service packs).
Any help is appreciated, and any fixing help even more appreciated. .
Do you have access to a Windows Vista installation disk? If you boot to this disk, it has some great tools on it to detect and repair boot problems. However, if you can get to the Windows logo screen, it may be something more corrupt than the boot process.
Did you create a backup before all of this started?
I have access to a repair disk, but none of the options using Command prompt I have also been able to copy my files, but don't want to do the inevitable of a Factory Restore.
I tihnk the problem might be malware, I can access regedit and the HKLM key software/microsoft//windowsnt/currentversion/winlogon reverting to cmd.exe /k start cmd.exe
Admittedly this is via the Rexcovery Console.
Is it worth carrying on or should I just restore to factory settings.
When you boot up the machine and press the F8 key, choose the 'Last Known Good Configuration'. See if that works. When you tried to get into safe mode you saw drivers loading as the scrolled by on the screen. What is the last driver it was loading when it locked?
Connected hardware can also cause boot problems. (Running regedit from the recovery console loads the WinPE registry, which is separate from the registry on your computer). If you recently plugged in any 3rd party hardware, disconnect and try again.
If you do end up doing a factory restore, first boot to the Ghost CD and create an image of your hard drive. After the factory restore, you can then pull files and folders out of that image file after you install computer security software.
Thats a lot of work copying all yor data from the command line. If you have a lot more you may want to consider using a Live Linux CD like Ubuntu.
I'm with Brian, your hard drive is failing and you need to get all your important data off it.
After your data is backed up you might be able to run a chkdsk /r followed by another startup repair and get the system to boot (douptfull). I'm assuming you didn't use the /r switch looking at the results.
Either way you need a new hard drive. To save you the cost of Windows, if you want to continue with Vista you should be able to copy or clone the old drive to the new drive and then run the factory restore from the new drive.
I finally took the plunge and have backed up using the Recovery manager to an external hard drive and Reinstalled the machine to factory settings on the old drive.
I will be performing very regular backups from now on as I agree that the old drive may be failing. How easy is it to reinstall to a new hard drive.
I finally took the plunge and have backed up using the Recovery manager to an external hard drive and Reinstalled the machine to factory settings on the old drive.
I will be performing very regular backups from now on as I agree that the old drive may be failing. How easy is it to reinstall to a new hard drive.
Hi,
The ease or difficulty of that task is a function of your abilities. For a desktop it means opening the case and putting in the new drive. You need to be sure that you buy a compatible drive so I'd check that first. I've found it easier to configure the new drive with the old drive present, but disconnected. This allows me to reconnect the drive and copy over what I want to save. Then I can remove the old drive. There are other methods and I'm sure there will be other suggestions. Go slow and document the steps you take.
Hope this helps. We'll be here when you need us.
PS: which version of what Norton product are you running?