Windows not loading on laptop

[ali_james]

Hi there,

Just need a quick bit of help, shut down my girlfriends laptop and now it won't boot. It gets to the black and white screen where it you get the choice of safe mode or start normally blahblahblah. Well, it won't boot whichever one is is selected. There is an HDD test in the BIOS and that comes back as a fail everytime.

I'm reckoning I need to recover the windows or something like that, is there any way of doing it without losing personal files? (Repair windows using an install disc?!)

The laptop is an HP Pavillion dv5000.

Any help would be great, cheers guys!

 

[DavidT]

Vista or XP? If you've got Vista, you can boot from the install disc and run a recovery, which will recover all critical system boot files.

worked for me last time I had this problem.

 

[ali_james]

Oh nuts I forgot to say, it is XP Home. Cheers man, I'll see if there are any recovery disc type things for it about here cos' I'm not sure it came with a complete install disc.

Cheers!

 

[NobodyNowhereNothing]

Hi there,

Just need a quick bit of help, shut down my girlfriends laptop and now it won't boot. It gets to the black and white screen where it you get the choice of safe mode or start normally blahblahblah. Well, it won't boot whichever one is is selected. There is an HDD test in the BIOS and that comes back as a fail everytime.

I'm reckoning I need to recover the windows or something like that, is there any way of doing it without losing personal files? (Repair windows using an install disc?!)

The laptop is an HP Pavillion dv5000.

Any help would be great, cheers guys!

Hi there,

Right the drive test in the BIOS comes out as failed? The drive shouldn't be totally failed as it gets you to the windows safe mode or normal mode selection page ( That is read from your hard drive ).

Well. Try to get hold of the windows installation CD if there is one, Boot from it and you will be able to repair the OS (Maybe some files are corrupted?).

Let us know how you get on!

 

[Pseudonym]

I believe you can use any XP home install disk to repair from.

If you don't have one, download one/get one from friend.

It's not illegal to download the software if you own a license for it.

EDIT: i should have one. I recall you saying you were back in pompey for a few weeks. I'm home till wednesday, but you can pop round any day after that. If you can wait.

 

[Nick R]

It may not be illegal but your definately standing on the line

 

[Pseudonym]

Not at all, you buy a licence to use the software. As long the copy you download hasn't been cracked then its perfectly fine. It's nowhere near the line.

It is in fact almost exactly the same as making a backup copy of a disk you own.

 

[ali_james]

Cheers for the input guys, I shamelessly downloaded a windows xp iso and tried that, but it wants to delete all personal files etc, the recovery disc with the laptop will do the same. So I ordered one of these from the fabulous Kustom PC's so hopefully I'll be able to pull off all the bits and pieces onto my computer before a reinstall of windows. I'll let you know how I get on, thanks a lot

Now off for a mammoth TF2 session, can finally play it now that I'm back from uni