Advice Help with a mates computer please!

[Ctuchik]

His wife pulled the power cable without turning the PC off first, normally that shouldn't cause any issues (at least i've never had it) but this time it did.

Somehow the PC refuses to boot up, every time i try i get a message saying "windows can not start, this can be the cause of recent changes in hardware or software blah di blah blah".

Then i get two options, repair and start normally.

Normal start just makes the computer reboot at the windows logo and the text "windows is starting", and the repair says it can't fix whatever the problem is.

I've tried spamming F8 to get the "boot in safe mode" option to appear but it just won't.

Is there anything else i can try that does not involve reinstalling or using my own PC with his crap?

Oh right, he's using windows XP...

 

[Raven]

Mobo fucked. Generally the only time it throws a wobbler over hardware changes is a change in motherboard. A reinstall might work but if windows thinks the Mobo has changed, when it hasn't, its likely to be shagged.

 

[Ctuchik]

Well it doesn't specifically say that something on the mobo has changed... It doesn't even say that something has changed. All it says is that it could be due to a change in the hardware or software...

But i have no way of checking...

 

[caLLous]

You'd most likely be getting error beeps during the POST if it detected any errors. As a first idea I'd try taking the CMOS battery out for a couple of minutes and then putting it back in and trying to boot again.

 

[Ctuchik]

Yeah taking out the battery was the first thing we tried, but that didn't help.

 

[caLLous]

Tried going back to just the essentials? Unplugging all but 1 stick of RAM, all non-system drives etc?

 

[Tom]

Plug his drive into your machine and edit the file as per these instructions:

How to start Windows in Safe Mode

 

[Ctuchik]

It kinda only have one stick of ram and one HD, and i don't have any spares to switch between. And i really REALLY don't want to test the HD on my computer. The guy who owns the broken one knows less about PC's then a newborn..

 

[Ctuchik]

Plug his drive into your machine and edit the file as per these instructions:

How to start Windows in Safe Mode

thanks i'll try that i guess. Maybe..

 

[Ctuchik]

Well ok. He had a windows 7 install on another hard drive and it was actually that one i tried to boot up with. I only really noticed when i tried to plug in another drive and noticed the windows XP logo.

Anyway, the XP install still bluescreens and the windows 7 install just reboots.

There can't be wrong on two different operating systems right? It almost has to be the mobo doesn't it?

 

[Scouse]

Could be a few things m8. It's a minefield you're in the middle of there.

If it's a shit old PC I'd simply say "get new PC" and then look on TomsHardware for the cheapest budget build...

 

[Syri]

There can be things wrong with two operating systems, especially if the xp install was actually from an older pc, not set up on that particular one, as xp can be very fussy about any hardware changes, especially the motherboard chipset. Changing a motherboard with xp would typically need either a lot of messing about, or a reinstall, to avoid blue screens. If the xp install was originally built on that pc, it's less likely to have had problems if it's just been lying dormant on another drive, but it's also possible it may have had an issue that caused the owner to have a separate win7 install.
If you want to do some checks on the hardware, you can always make a bootable linux usb drive (using another pc obviously) and run that, if it boots, then the hardware can't be too badly gone, and you might be able to run some diagnostics from that to see if there's anything wrong with the memory, or on the drive or something.

 

[smurkin]

There can't be wrong on two different operating systems right? It almost has to be the mobo doesn't it?

Perhaps the mbr is corrupt...the mbr can be messed up by a bad power cycle...however, odd that you would see the windows logo if the mbr is broken...perhaps you could try creating a recovery disk on a bootable media and run the startup repair - you can repair the mbr from the command prompt

 

[Ctuchik]

Could be a few things m8. It's a minefield you're in the middle of there.

If it's a shit old PC I'd simply say "get new PC" and then look on TomsHardware for the cheapest budget build...

Oh i told him that before i even agreed to take a look at it, but he's a cheap fucker and don't want to spend more money then he has to. But this will most likely not only cost him a new PC any way, it's gonna cost him an upgrade kit for my PC as well.

There can be things wrong with two operating systems, especially if the xp install was actually from an older pc, not set up on that particular one, as xp can be very fussy about any hardware changes, especially the motherboard chipset. Changing a motherboard with xp would typically need either a lot of messing about, or a reinstall, to avoid blue screens. If the xp install was originally built on that pc, it's less likely to have had problems if it's just been lying dormant on another drive, but it's also possible it may have had an issue that caused the owner to have a separate win7 install.
If you want to do some checks on the hardware, you can always make a bootable linux usb drive (using another pc obviously) and run that, if it boots, then the hardware can't be too badly gone, and you might be able to run some diagnostics from that to see if there's anything wrong with the memory, or on the drive or something.

No he installed both XP and windows 7 on that PC, he was basically testing windows 7 on a separate drive to see if he liked it more then xp.

Perhaps the mbr is corrupt...the mbr can be messed up by a bad power cycle...however, odd that you would see the windows logo if the mbr is broken...perhaps you could try creating a recovery disk on a bootable media and run the startup repair - you can repair the mbr from the command prompt

Hmm ok, i'll try that. But corrupt mbr on two different hard drives just from pulling the power cord without turning the PC off first? Both on the win 7 and XP drive i get as far as the windows logo before it reboots on win 7 and BSOD on win XP..

 

[WPKenny]

Why not try an Ubuntu Live CD / USB?

LiveCD - Community Help Wiki

If it boots off that then you know the computer's mostly working. If that fails that it's a strong indicator the hardware's faulty.

 

[Scouse]

Why not try an Ubuntu Live CD / USB?

LiveCD - Community Help Wiki

If it boots off that then you know the computer's mostly working. If that fails that it's a strong indicator the hardware's faulty.

You're such a lurker @WPKenny.

Post moar!

 

[Ctuchik]

I tried that live cd suggestion using a USB stick but it didn't work.

I'm done with that fucking computer now.

Thanks a lot for the help guys, really appreciated..

 

[Raven]

I refer you to post number 2.

 

[Ctuchik]

Ok now i'm pissed off. We have changed MB, RAM and CPU and there's NO FUCKING DIFFERENCE!!

XP BSOD at windows logo and windows 7 still says it can't start because there may be a change in the hardware (which actually is the case now), and if i try to boot up anyway it reboots *just* as that stupid window animation starts....

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??!?

 

[Ctuchik]

ok, ytried reinstalling XP.

Can anyone understand this error, "STOP: 0x0000007b, (0xF78DA63C, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)"?!?!?!?

 

[Moriath]

ok, ytried reinstalling XP.

Can anyone understand this error, "STOP: 0x0000007b, (0xF78DA63C, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)"?!?!?!?

Google might

 

[dysfunction]

A little google and....

1. On start up enter BIOS
2. Expand the "Drives" section
3. Go to "SATA Operation"
4. Change this from "RAID Auto/AHCI" to "RAID Auto/ATA

 

[Ctuchik]

Google might

I tried, one of the hits i got that were quite close to the problem we had were a few hints about a possible boot sector virus. Ah well, can't do anything about it now any way. He came and picked the PC up this morning on his way to work to have someone more knowledgeable than me look at it.

 

[Raven]

Motherboard still fried.

 

[Scouse]

Ok now i'm pissed off. We have changed MB, RAM and CPU

You've basically built a new PC - so you have to do a full reinstall.

 

[Ctuchik]

Motherboard still fried.

Doubtful as the new Motherboard he bought got tested at the shop before he bought it. The only things we reused was the PSU, graphics card and hard drives. But sure, if there is something massively wrong with the hard drives it may have fried the new MB too. But i don't really care any more.

You've basically built a new PC - so you have to do a full reinstall.

Yeah i know that, but the problem was that the PC BSOD'd during setup.

That's where i gave up and told him to take it to a repair shop.

Basically what happened was that i booted up the PC with a win XP disc and the PC started to do the normal setup things, but before it even got to the part where you chose if you want to do a format reinstall or just a repair and what not it BSOD'd.

He then rang a friend he had that from what i understood worked at some repair shop and asked him (and do not ask why he didn't go to him in the first place) and according to him the guy said that something was "locking the boot processes" or something. But i wasn't really interested enough at that point...

Anyway the PC is out of my hands now and i'm not touching that thing again even if he paid me to...

 

[Raven]

Doubtful as the new Motherboard he bought got tested at the shop before he bought it. The only things we reused was the PSU, graphics card and hard drives. But sure, if there is something massively wrong with the hard drives it may have fried the new MB too. But i don't really care any more.

The original board was fried, if he fits a new one he will still get the same message that the "hardware may have changed" That's what happens when you swap a mobo, or a mobo goes pop.

No other component will give you that message. A change in mobo always means a re-installation of windows.

*And with Windows 10 requires a re-verification of your CD key or a new copy of win 10