Windows XP start up problems

megan050903

Hoping someone can help!

Since yesterday I have been having problems starting windows on my Toshiba A60 laptop. Whilst online, it shut me out and came up with the usual error message. I then tried to log back in and it the error message was 'system32, error' please install windows again with the original set up cd (which I don't have as was already installed when I bought the laptop.

I tried again and it loaded fine but then booted me out again about 10 minutes later. Seems to be very hit and miss since then and will boot up only sometimes.

Has anybody any ideas what the problem may be and what I can do.

Thanks to anybody who can help.

spurs1234

This could be a software or hardware problem the only real was of finding out is by restoring your laptop back to factory settings or get a harddrive and ram diagnostic tool (not windows based) you should have some recovery disks provided with the machine use them , but remember when these are used this will wipe everything that was on the hard drive...


You can Get Diagnostic Cd for free at http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

Or if you havent got Adsl or Dsl Try this for the Hard drive Test (floppy disk needed) HardDrive test

or for the ram test use this...MEM Test

ichiban1962

sounds like a hard drive failure......
do you hear excessive noise from your laptop? vibration of any sorts..
go into control panel-->administrative tools-->computer management-->
storage-->device management to check if partitions are healthy
If you have Windows XP try the error check scan.
Start --> My Computer --> RIGHT CLICK the hard drive icon (usually local drive C) --> Properties --> Tools tab --> Check Now
Another dialog box will open called "Check Disk Local Disk (C) with two options: 1. Automatically fix file system errors and 2. Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Put a check mark in the box next to "Automatically fix...." and click Start. You will probably get a message asking if you want to run the scan the next time you start your computer. Say Yes and reboot. The scan will run. If you get any error messages, follow the prompts

megan050903

ichiban1962 wrote:

sounds like a hard drive failure......
do you hear excessive noise from your laptop? vibration of any sorts..
go into control panel-->administrative tools-->computer management-->
storage-->device management to check if partitions are healthy
If you have Windows XP try the error check scan.
Start --> My Computer --> RIGHT CLICK the hard drive icon (usually local drive C) --> Properties --> Tools tab --> Check Now
Another dialog box will open called "Check Disk Local Disk (C) with two options: 1. Automatically fix file system errors and 2. Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Put a check mark in the box next to "Automatically fix...." and click Start. You will probably get a message asking if you want to run the scan the next time you start your computer. Say Yes and reboot. The scan will run. If you get any error messages, follow the prompts

Thanks for this - just tried the above and no issues found. In answer to your question re excessive noise, the answer is no.

Is there anything else I can try?

spurs1234

sounds like a hard drive failure......
do you hear excessive noise from your laptop? vibration of any sorts..
go into control panel-->administrative tools-->computer management-->
storage-->device management to check if partitions are healthy
If you have Windows XP try the error check scan.
Start --> My Computer --> RIGHT CLICK the hard drive icon (usually local drive C) --> Properties --> Tools tab --> Check Now
Another dialog box will open called "Check Disk Local Disk (C) with two options: 1. Automatically fix file system errors and 2. Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Put a check mark in the box next to "Automatically fix...." and click Start. You will probably get a message asking if you want to run the scan the next time you start your computer. Say Yes and reboot. The scan will run. If you get any error messages, follow the prompts

Hard drive Failure most of the time doesnt have any noise and the scan you recommend only moves bad sectors to a differant part of the drive and would not tell you if the drive has a pyshical fault...

Try downloading the bootable hard drive test im my first post and see what that says , however dont do the 90 sec test , do the Full Test

Browntoa

any windows xp disk will do,you just need to copy the file over from it after booting on it

first try checking all the core DLL files by going to the start button , bottom left of the screen

in the run box type

sfc /scanow

and press enter

and let it run through and check they are not corrupt

Skyhigh

You can't tell that it could be a hard drive failure from a simple system 32 error.


Its most likely, as everyone else said, that some of your Windows system files have been corrupted, possibly by an external program or more likely by a recent software installation....or even more likely a Windows update.

Although you bought your laptop with XP installed, if you bought it from a vendor such as PC World (bleh..), Samsung, Toshiba...anywhere really, as long as it wasn't 2nd hand from a 'mate', then you can request a Windows boot disk free of charge.
Why?
When you buy a PC with Windows installed, you're still paying for the Windows licence, you don't pay for the CD with it on by the *right* to use it and companies selling PC's should provide you with a CD providing you request it.


NOTE:If the laptop is under warranty, fiddling with the operating system may invalidate your warranty!


As Browntoa said, get your hands on an XP disk (home or pro, depending on your version, yes this DOES matter), stick it in and check the files.

If you reboot with the disk in, you can choose to 'boot from disk' and then enter the Recovery Console where Windows can replace your core system files - this usually works ok.
(So you don't have to re-install, it just replaces a few files).

:!:

megan050903

Thanks everyone for your help - looks like I will be taking a trip to pc world! (lucky me!)

Might be able to shed a little bit more light on the situation - after I finally managed to log on a windows error message came up (the one where it asks if you want to send error report) and apparentley there is a problem with the video device driver.???

By the way, I haven't installed any new programs recently.

Thanks again!

Browntoa

this is quite simple to do

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/driverrollback.mspx

How to Roll Back a Device Driver

Windows XP knows how to work with thousands of different hardware devices like digital cameras, video cards, and scanners. Because each of these devices is unique, your operating system needs a unique way of communicating with each one. It does so with a program called a driver.
If you're using a piece of hardware for the first time or if you're suddenly having problems with a trusty piece of hardware, the first step you may want to take is to update your drivers. This means replacing your old driver with a new one. Unfortunately, an updated driver may not fix the problem and, in some cases, it may do more harm than good.
However, each time you update a driver, Windows XP automatically saves a copy of the previous driver on your computer. If you think a recent driver update may be making your computer unstable, you can use the Driver Rollback feature to get rid of the new driver and replace it with the last one that worked. Driver Rollback permits only one level of rollback (only one prior driver version can be saved at a time); this feature is available for all device classes, except printers.

try "roll back driver"

Browntoa

if that does not work then tell us which Video card it is and we can look for the driver for you and you can Update it

megan050903

how do I find out what video card it is? - sorry bit of a simpleton with computers!