Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP

Dodgeboyy · 11-29-2008, 04:26 PM

I have a Gateway 400VTX laptop. I installed a new harddrive and formatted it. I installed windows xp on it. Now it will not start. I can push the on key and the light for the cd tray comes on then the light for the hard drive. All the while the cd is turning, but nothing comes up on the screen. I've tried to turn everything off then insert the windows CD in the drive and turn the laptop back on while tapping the F8 key. Nothing happens. I have also tried to load the windows (Red) drivers disc, but it won't start either.
Can someone set me in the right directions to getting this laptop operating? Thanks

**TriggerFinger** · 11-29-2008, 07:27 PM

How long ago was that... when you formatted and installed Windows XP? By any chance you recall what happened that may have resulted to this? When you power ON, can you at least see it POST or how about going into BIOS settings?

Dodgeboyy · 11-30-2008, 09:28 AM

No I can not get into the Bios. I did manage to open windows last night by unplugging the power cord and taking out the battery, then holding the power switch down for 30 sec. Install the battery turm the unit on and tapping the f8 key. I then reformatted the hard drive and installed a new clean windows xp on it with the drivers. When I finished with that I installed Microsoft works on it, then when that finished it asked if I wanted to restart now or later. I said now and it went into a restart. Before it restarted I got this error message, which I failed to write down tell me that a file was missing or corruped to reinstall. I will attempt to get this thing rebooted later to see if this message will come back up.

Dodgeboyy · 11-30-2008, 11:32 AM

Here is the error message I got.
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.

How do I actually do this? Keep it simple as I'm all new to this. Can this be something I can do from a disc, if so which disc (Red or Blue)?
Thank You in advance.

**TriggerFinger** · 11-30-2008, 11:48 AM

I am not familiar with RED or BLUE CDs that you have but if you have an XP installation CD (full/retail), pop it in and go into Recovery Console. Choose the Windows installation (directory) that you want to fix and:

Insert the Microsoft Windows XP CD.
Reboot the computer, as the computer is starting you should see a message to press any key to boot from the CD.
In the Microsoft Windows XP setup menu press the R key for recovery console.
Select the operating system you wish to fix, and then enter the administrator password if there is any.
Type expand d:\i386\ntoskrnl.ex_ c:\windows\system32
You will then be prompted if you wish to overwrite the file type Y and press enter to overwrite the file.
Type exit to reboot the computer.

Dodgeboyy · 12-01-2008, 11:38 AM

I got the laptop to turn on and open windows now without doing the recovery fix as per the previous post. However after it loads everything it freezes up. Now what??? By the way what I meant when I asked red or blue disc was the windows xp operating system is on the blue disc and the drivers are on the red disc.
So what do I need to do now to get this laptop from freezing up. Please keep it simple for me. Thanks.

**TriggerFinger** · 12-01-2008, 12:59 PM

If you do not have an XP install CD, may be you can try what you have there. I doubt if it can do Recovery Console.

Btw the way, are you OK with doing a restore? I am asking this because with CDs that you have, I think (and I may be wrong) your best and easiest option is a reinstall... that is if it still has the error.

As for the freeze, run Memtest86+ to test your RAM and do HDD diagnostics. This will help rule out two possible contributors to the freezing issue. Also run NHC or SpeedFan (Google for download sites). These programs will help you see your temperature should the freeze is a result of overheating.

Dodgeboyy · 12-01-2008, 02:52 PM

I will download these programs and run them and I'll let you know what I find out. Thanks.

Dodgeboyy · 12-02-2008, 10:02 AM

It appears that the program Memtest86+ is for floopy disc as I don't understand just how to download to a CD to use on the laptop. The laptop does not have a floopy drive. Woke up this morning and the laptop would not boot. Will work on it tomorrow have to do some things first.

**TriggerFinger** · 12-02-2008, 10:06 AM

See Memtest86+ link on my sig. That will give you the ISO file that you can burn into a blank CD. You will need Nero or ImgBurn or similar to burn the image into the CD.

Laptop would not BOOT? Does it power ON? Can you go into BIOS settings at least?

Dodgeboyy · 12-03-2008, 02:04 PM

As of right now, the laptop when I turn it on, the lights will cycle on, the cd rom will run and after a while the fan will come on. It will not boot pushing the f8 key, nor can I get back into BIOS. Any ideas?

**TriggerFinger** · 12-03-2008, 02:27 PM

So you mean it is as if it is booting up but you do not get anything on the LCD? If so, try with an external monitor.

11-29-2008, 04:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
Dodgeboyy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP I have a Gateway 400VTX laptop. I installed a new harddrive and formatted it. I installed windows xp on it. Now it will not start. I can push the on key and the light for the cd tray comes on then the light for the hard drive. All the while the cd is turning, but nothing comes up on the screen. I've tried to turn everything off then insert the windows CD in the drive and turn the laptop back on while tapping the F8 key. Nothing happens. I have also tried to load the windows (Red) drivers disc, but it won't start either. Can someone set me in the right directions to getting this laptop operating? Thanks

11-29-2008, 07:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP How long ago was that... when you formatted and installed Windows XP? By any chance you recall what happened that may have resulted to this? When you power ON, can you at least see it POST or how about going into BIOS settings? __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

11-30-2008, 09:28 AM	#3 (permalink)
Dodgeboyy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP No I can not get into the Bios. I did manage to open windows last night by unplugging the power cord and taking out the battery, then holding the power switch down for 30 sec. Install the battery turm the unit on and tapping the f8 key. I then reformatted the hard drive and installed a new clean windows xp on it with the drivers. When I finished with that I installed Microsoft works on it, then when that finished it asked if I wanted to restart now or later. I said now and it went into a restart. Before it restarted I got this error message, which I failed to write down tell me that a file was missing or corruped to reinstall. I will attempt to get this thing rebooted later to see if this message will come back up.

11-30-2008, 11:32 AM	#4 (permalink)
Dodgeboyy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP Here is the error message I got. Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe. Please re-install a copy of the above file. How do I actually do this? Keep it simple as I'm all new to this. Can this be something I can do from a disc, if so which disc (Red or Blue)? Thank You in advance.

11-30-2008, 11:48 AM	#5 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP I am not familiar with RED or BLUE CDs that you have but if you have an XP installation CD (full/retail), pop it in and go into Recovery Console. Choose the Windows installation (directory) that you want to fix and: Insert the Microsoft Windows XP CD. Reboot the computer, as the computer is starting you should see a message to press any key to boot from the CD. In the Microsoft Windows XP setup menu press the R key for recovery console. Select the operating system you wish to fix, and then enter the administrator password if there is any. Type expand d:\i386\ntoskrnl.ex_ c:\windows\system32 You will then be prompted if you wish to overwrite the file type Y and press enter to overwrite the file. Type exit to reboot the computer. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

12-01-2008, 11:38 AM	#6 (permalink)
Dodgeboyy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP I got the laptop to turn on and open windows now without doing the recovery fix as per the previous post. However after it loads everything it freezes up. Now what??? By the way what I meant when I asked red or blue disc was the windows xp operating system is on the blue disc and the drivers are on the red disc. So what do I need to do now to get this laptop from freezing up. Please keep it simple for me. Thanks.

12-01-2008, 12:59 PM	#7 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP If you do not have an XP install CD, may be you can try what you have there. I doubt if it can do Recovery Console. Btw the way, are you OK with doing a restore? I am asking this because with CDs that you have, I think (and I may be wrong) your best and easiest option is a reinstall... that is if it still has the error. As for the freeze, run Memtest86+ to test your RAM and do HDD diagnostics. This will help rule out two possible contributors to the freezing issue. Also run NHC or SpeedFan (Google for download sites). These programs will help you see your temperature should the freeze is a result of overheating. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE Last edited by TriggerFinger; 12-01-2008 at 01:02 PM.

12-01-2008, 02:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
Dodgeboyy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP I will download these programs and run them and I'll let you know what I find out. Thanks.

12-02-2008, 10:02 AM	#9 (permalink)
Dodgeboyy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP It appears that the program Memtest86+ is for floopy disc as I don't understand just how to download to a CD to use on the laptop. The laptop does not have a floopy drive. Woke up this morning and the laptop would not boot. Will work on it tomorrow have to do some things first.

12-02-2008, 10:06 AM	#10 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP See Memtest86+ link on my sig. That will give you the ISO file that you can burn into a blank CD. You will need Nero or ImgBurn or similar to burn the image into the CD. Laptop would not BOOT? Does it power ON? Can you go into BIOS settings at least? __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE Last edited by TriggerFinger; 12-02-2008 at 10:08 AM.

12-03-2008, 02:04 PM	#11 (permalink)
Dodgeboyy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP As of right now, the laptop when I turn it on, the lights will cycle on, the cd rom will run and after a while the fan will come on. It will not boot pushing the f8 key, nor can I get back into BIOS. Any ideas?

12-03-2008, 02:27 PM	#12 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Gateway Laptop won't start windows XP So you mean it is as if it is booting up but you do not get anything on the LCD? If so, try with an external monitor. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE