Laptop won't boot in any mode!!

ellay864

My OH is currently tearing his hair out as his laptop won't let him in. He can't boot up in normal mode or safe mode. He can get to BIOS but if he selects safe, last known config it wont start from them. He just gets the blue screen which then goes off before he can read it. he has been getting the Error 0201 stuck key 42. He hasn't got any key stick as far as he can tell. He's tried pressing F8 to no avail. He diesn't have a back up disk or the OS disk so nothing he can run in that department
Anybody able to offer any suggestions?

debitcardmayhem

Gunk on the keyboard / track pad, guessing a bit but will look for keyboard codes for 42.

Edit try " or * keys for starters

Edited again B is the other key code in Hex

asc99c

The fact that it gets to the BIOS and works OK there seems to suggest it's not referring to a physical keyboard key. It does sound like something has instead gone wrong in Windows. Do you have another PC available e.g. desktop with a CD writer?

If so try downloading an emergency boot CD and see if it can boot up using this:

http://www.prime-expert.com/ebcd/

dispossessed

Firstly - turn it upside down give it a couple of good, firm taps with the palm of a hand. Next shake it a couple of times from side to side. This should relase any ingrained crumbs and dust build ups etc

Finally - A blast of compressed air around and underneath the keys can also often work wonders.

Trevor

Janey123

I had a friend who had the same problem.

Apparently one of their anti virus softwares they were using caused the problem.

It may have something to do with the RAM as well. best thing to do is take in it to an expert and see what they say.

I hope that helps.

Jane

gonzo127

the boot cd is a good idea,

however i would also suggest downloading and burning off Ubuntu as this will allow you to boot a entrie operating system (try ubuntu) from just the CD and your systems RAM.

not only will this show you if its a hardware problem or a software problem (if it works your hardware is fine and it will be a software problem) it will also allow you to access the hard drive so you can back up all yoru important files before you go about trying to fix it