help..computer will not boot up

sonoma2000 · 03-28-2008, 11:11 AM

Ok so here is what happened, my girlfriend left her labtop out in her car for about a day and a half in 25 degree weather. I tryed starting it up not thinking about how cold the computer was. It took along time to even start running the xp logo and the scrolling bar and then suddenly it try's to eject a disk while there wasnt even anything in there and the screen flashes and starts all over again. Another thing that is happening is the harddrive light is on all the time while restarting where as it use to flicker.

I tried starting the computer in safe mode and it does the exact same thing, screen flashes then it try's to restart and trys to eject a disk.

Also the labtop was shut down in her car and she said she heard the disk drive trying to eject a disk a whole bunch of times, but didnt really think anything of it while she was driving.

It was working fine before I was the last person on it just browing webforums, I didnt download anything new.

mEoWsMArt^ · 03-28-2008, 12:09 PM

What disk are you referring to?
By the way, have you try booting in Safe Mode?

sonoma2000 · 03-28-2008, 12:26 PM

The disk I am refering to is the cd rom drive, and yes I have tried starting the pc in safe mode and it does the exact same thing.

mEoWsMArt^ · 03-28-2008, 12:41 PM

Go to BIOS, disable the CD Drive from the boot option and save. Restart your PC again and see if your Windows could load successfully.
If your Windows can load without any problem, it indicates that your CD drive may have problem. See if this works first.

sonoma2000 · 03-28-2008, 12:54 PM

I can get into the bios and I tryed to disable the cd rom drive but it will not allow me to disable it. I can high light it and move it to the bottom of the list but it will not give me a menu to disable it.

sonoma2000 · 04-01-2008, 12:50 AM

I had some one look at the computer and he says it needs to be reformatted which I agree. He also said that he thinks the hard drive failed due to it being so cold and heating up so fast that it fried the hard drive. Which I also though due to the Hard drive icon locked on and not blinking. Also you cannot hear the hard drive running.

It sucks because it takes him for ever to work on the computer but I do not feel comfortable installing a new hard drive on a labtop.

**Dunedin** · 04-01-2008, 03:27 AM

sonoma2000

It is usually pretty easy to install a new drive in a laptop. Normally you don`t have to open up the laptop. It has its own compartment. Just a case of removing screws, pulling out the old one and replacing it.

Google for "How to replace a (manufacturer and model name) hard drive" and you should find out how to do it

sonoma2000 · 04-01-2008, 08:27 PM

does it sound like it is in fact a hard drive failure?

**Dunedin** · 04-02-2008, 04:27 AM

It could be hard drive failure.

Here are some things to check if you can.

Get your XP installation CD ready.
In the BIOS set the boot order to
floppy (if present)
CDROM drive
Hard disk
SAVE and EXIT

Put the XP CD in the drive
Reboot.

Let setup run and select the first "R" you come to just a few pages in (this is the Recovery Console)
At the command prompt type
chkdsk /r (there is a space before /)
ENTER

If the CD dive is faulty the CD probably won`t boot at all.

If the hard drive is faulty you will probably get an error about Operating System not found.

ALSO
Remove the CD drive. Look at your documents for how to do it. Or Google for it. As I said before it won`t be too difficult as they are made so you can replace them.

Once it is removed try booting up again

Even if the hard drive has gone bad the CD drive should not be misbehaving like that. I hope there is not a problem with both of them.

Try to run the checks I gave you to try to narrow down the problem

03-28-2008, 11:11 AM	#1 (permalink)
sonoma2000 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5 OS: xp	help..computer will not boot up Ok so here is what happened, my girlfriend left her labtop out in her car for about a day and a half in 25 degree weather. I tryed starting it up not thinking about how cold the computer was. It took along time to even start running the xp logo and the scrolling bar and then suddenly it try's to eject a disk while there wasnt even anything in there and the screen flashes and starts all over again. Another thing that is happening is the harddrive light is on all the time while restarting where as it use to flicker. I tried starting the computer in safe mode and it does the exact same thing, screen flashes then it try's to restart and trys to eject a disk. Also the labtop was shut down in her car and she said she heard the disk drive trying to eject a disk a whole bunch of times, but didnt really think anything of it while she was driving. It was working fine before I was the last person on it just browing webforums, I didnt download anything new.

03-28-2008, 12:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
mEoWsMArt^ Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 10 OS: Windows XP SP2, FreeBSD	Re: help..computer will not boot up What disk are you referring to? By the way, have you try booting in Safe Mode?

03-28-2008, 12:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
sonoma2000 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Re: help..computer will not boot up The disk I am refering to is the cd rom drive, and yes I have tried starting the pc in safe mode and it does the exact same thing.

03-28-2008, 12:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
mEoWsMArt^ Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 10 OS: Windows XP SP2, FreeBSD	Re: help..computer will not boot up Go to BIOS, disable the CD Drive from the boot option and save. Restart your PC again and see if your Windows could load successfully. If your Windows can load without any problem, it indicates that your CD drive may have problem. See if this works first.

03-28-2008, 12:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
sonoma2000 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Re: help..computer will not boot up I can get into the bios and I tryed to disable the cd rom drive but it will not allow me to disable it. I can high light it and move it to the bottom of the list but it will not give me a menu to disable it.

04-01-2008, 12:50 AM	#6 (permalink)
sonoma2000 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Re: help..computer will not boot up I had some one look at the computer and he says it needs to be reformatted which I agree. He also said that he thinks the hard drive failed due to it being so cold and heating up so fast that it fried the hard drive. Which I also though due to the Hard drive icon locked on and not blinking. Also you cannot hear the hard drive running. It sucks because it takes him for ever to work on the computer but I do not feel comfortable installing a new hard drive on a labtop.

04-01-2008, 03:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
Dunedin Mentor Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Over the Forth from Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 3,631 OS: WinXP Pro/Windows7 RTM Ultimate	Re: help..computer will not boot up sonoma2000 It is usually pretty easy to install a new drive in a laptop. Normally you don`t have to open up the laptop. It has its own compartment. Just a case of removing screws, pulling out the old one and replacing it. Google for "How to replace a (manufacturer and model name) hard drive" and you should find out how to do it __________________

04-01-2008, 08:27 PM	#8 (permalink)
sonoma2000 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Re: help..computer will not boot up does it sound like it is in fact a hard drive failure?

04-02-2008, 04:27 AM	#9 (permalink)
Dunedin Mentor Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Over the Forth from Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 3,631 OS: WinXP Pro/Windows7 RTM Ultimate	Re: help..computer will not boot up It could be hard drive failure. Here are some things to check if you can. Get your XP installation CD ready. In the BIOS set the boot order to floppy (if present) CDROM drive Hard disk SAVE and EXIT Put the XP CD in the drive Reboot. Let setup run and select the first "R" you come to just a few pages in (this is the Recovery Console) At the command prompt type chkdsk /r (there is a space before /) ENTER If the CD dive is faulty the CD probably won`t boot at all. If the hard drive is faulty you will probably get an error about Operating System not found. ALSO Remove the CD drive. Look at your documents for how to do it. Or Google for it. As I said before it won`t be too difficult as they are made so you can replace them. Once it is removed try booting up again Even if the hard drive has gone bad the CD drive should not be misbehaving like that. I hope there is not a problem with both of them. Try to run the checks I gave you to try to narrow down the problem __________________