Hi stephenawhite,
Welcome to Vista Forums!
I realize the following post is quite long, but I've tried to cover everything at once rather than give it to you one step at a time in every post so you can proceed at your own pace.
Please don't be intimidated. It doesn't mean you have a major problem simply because it is long - I'm just trying to save time with us posting back and forth step-by-step. You possibly have already tried some of these steps - and can either try again or skip over them as you choose. While I suggest you proceed in the order presented, you can jump around a bit if you see some procedure you think might be particularly helpful (as you know the problem better than we do since you can see it). Also, it you note anything interesting or get any error messages or see a result that you think may help,
don't hesitate to post immediately so we can see if we need to adjust what you do (changing the order or adding something). The more information we have, the better we can help you.
First, when you uninstalled Norton, did you "uninstall" or did you use the Norton Removal Tool. If you just uninstalled, please use the Norton Removal Tool:
Download and run the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall your Norton product | Norton Support. Uninstall doesn't work well with Norton (it leaves remnants behind that can interfere with the system) and this tool usually solves that problem (if it is part of the problem). As you've removed your protection, I recommend you install Microsoft Security Essentials (if you can - if not, the following may enable installations from Safe Mode with Networking:
http://www.winvistaclub.com/e40.html) from:
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/ at least for the meantime (and you may want to consider it as a permanent replacement for Norton).
Do you know when this problem began? Try a System Restore to a point in time BEFORE the problem began. Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html. Be sure to check the box to show more than 5 days of restore points. If the first attempt fails, then try an earlier point or two. NOTE: You will have to re-install any software and updates you installed between now and the restore point, but you can use Windows Update for the updates. Use the recovery disk if the system prompt doesn’t work (in normal or safe mode). The recovery disk works a bit different from the above procedures but if you follow the prompts from the System Restore menu option with the above information you should be able to restore with no problems.
If the System Restore doesn't work, do a Startup Repair by booting to the genuine Windows Vista Installation Disk (or one you can borrow from ANYONE) or from a Recovery Disk with recovery options included on it. Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/91467-startup-repair.html. To boot to the CD you may need to change the BIOS to make the CD-drive first in the boot sequence. To do that, wait for the screen that tells you the F key to push to access the boot menu or boot setup. Push it quickly. Make the changes, save your work, and exit. Put the CD in the drive and reboot. When prompted, push any key to boot from the CD.
If you don't have either disk, you can make a bootable Recovery Disk using http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vista-recovery-disc-download/ along with burning software like: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/active-isoburner.html and, of course, a blank CD (perhaps made on a different computer or perhaps in safe mode with networking if that is working).
If that doesn't work, try to boot into safe mode (repeatedly click the F8 key while booting and go to safe mode with networking – or do so from the command prompt on the disk). Then let's check some of your system files:
Go to Start / All Programs / Accessories / Command prompt and right click on command prompt and click run as Administrator (you can skip this step if using the disk).
If using the disk, cd to C:\Windows\System32. Type sfc /scannow and enter and let it run. It will scan and try to fix some of your system files. Hopefully it will complete with no corruption it could not repair (if there is such corruption post back here or try to analyze it to find the problem file(s) using http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228. Try to attach the report (you may need to copy it to your desktop before it will permit you to attach it) here so we can see if they can be repaired with good copies from the installation disk (unless there are too many).
While in Command Prompt, type chkdsk /f /r and enter and let it run. It will want to schedule itself to run at the next restart. Answer yes and then reboot to run the program. It will scan and try to fix any corruption or bad sectors on your hard drive and mostly remove that as a potential cause.
If that doesn't work, then please post any error messages from the Event Viewer concerning startup (Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Event Viewer). Here's how to use Event Viewer: http://www.petri.co.il/vista-event-viewer.htm. Look in the System section.
You may be infected with malware. Try to run anti-malware programs (in safe mode with networking if necessary). To fix this problem (if it is a problem) download, install, and run the following two programs: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php and http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html. You may also want to try the new, free Microsoft Security Essentials http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Microsoft-Security-Essentials-Download-131683.html (with the caveat that only ONE AV program can be installed and running on your system at any one time). Use removal tools when appropriate http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/05/05/comprehensive-list-of-uninstallers-or-removal-tools-for-antivirus-software/. You may also want to try the free Avira at: http://www.free-av.com/ and Avast at: http://www.avast.com/index. Reboot after completing all the scans. You may also want to try the free OneCare at http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/whatsnew.htm and let it run all the options (except the registry cleaner) because that’s good maintenance (it will take some time to complete but can be done in the background).
If that doesn't work, try a clean boot http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135. If the problem goes away then it's just a matter of tracking down the culprit causing the problem. Follow the procedures in the article. Once found, delete, remove, deactivate, or uninstall it. Once done be sure to reset Vista back to normal status as explained in the procedures. If the problem occurs in clean mode then just restore the system to normal status and reboot - this solution is not going to work.
You may be having troubles with your device drivers, firmware, and/or software. I know you said you checked, but double-check to be sure as this does seem on the surface like it might be hardware or driver-related (though that's by no means certain). If certain the drivers are fine and updated (and sometimes Device Manager can say things are OK when an updated driver will do the trick - so updating even if everything seems fine can sometimes help - but certainly not always and may be of no help - but if you've tried all the other steps, come back to this one and give it a shot), go to the last part of this paragraph and see if the Driver Verification Manager tells us anthing useful. Otherwise, go to Device Manager by going to start / search box and type device manager and enter and then double-click on the program icon that appears. Check each device for a red x, yellow ! or white ?. These identify devices with problems (probably drivers, but also conflicts or something else). Click on each for further details and troubleshooting tips. If you need to get drivers (and you should get any you have time to do - they may help in ways beyond just resolving this problem), do so from the computer vendor or device manufacturer (NOT from Microsoft Updates). Proceed as follows to get the drivers: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/driverssupport/ht/driverdlmfgr.htm. Once you have the drivers, you can install them through Device Manager as follows: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/193584-device-manager-install-driver.html. You may also want to try the Driver Verifier Manager to see if you can identify the driver or device responsible (assuming that is the cause): http://support.microsoft.com/kb/244617.
Let's test your hard drive and RAM for hardware problems:
To test your hard drive, check the manufacturer and then get the diagnostic utility from: http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/hard-drive-support/302602-hard-drive-diagnostic-utilities.html (and/or get one from your hard drive or computer manufacturer if they have one available – it wouldn’t hurt to try both). If it fails the test, replace it. If it passes the test, then there's probably nothing wrong with it.
You can also test your RAM at http://www.memtest.org/. If it fails, test each chip individually to find those that are bad and replace them. If it passes, RAM is probably OK.
If that shows up nothing, although this is for a different purpose, it still may help us identify the problem. Go to
http://www.vistax64.com/crashes-debugging/282419-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html and follow the instructions there and post the files to your next reply. We'll try to see if that information helps identify a specific cause. Don't proceed with the next steps until you hear back from us.
If that doesn't work or tell us anything, we'll most likely need to do a system repair/upgrade using the genuine Windows Vista Installation Disk (one you own or one you can borrow from ANYONE - it won't work with a Recovery Disk or almost all OEM Installation Disks - but in the latter case it's worth a try to see if the option is presented and available). To do this you have to also be able to boot normally (which may be a problem in this case unless the computer decides to suddenly work briefly). Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/88236-repair-install-vista.html. Although this will not affect your data, settings, or programs, you should still backup your data before starting just to be on the safe side. You may have a lot of updates to re-install (including any service packs you had to remove). If the version on the system came with SP1 or SP2 pre-installed and the disk is an earlier version, then you'll need to make a slipstream disk as follows: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/151606-vista-sp1-slipstream-installation-dvd.html. Please reply before doing the next step as it is a radical option and I’d like to make sure we’ve ruled out all other options before taking that step.
If that doesn't work (or you don’t have the disk), then I'm afraid the only option is a clean install. You can use Knoppix http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html with a good ISO copier like: http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm along with a blank CD. This should give you enough access to the system (if you can't get in any other way which doesn't seem to be a problem in your case - so these alternate methods shouldn't be required) to backup your important data. If that doesn’t work, try slaving the drive to another computer and recovering the data using that other computer to access the disk. Once done, you can do a clean install either using the genuine Windows Vista Installation Disk or the Recovery Disk or the Recovery Partition (whatever process is dictated by your computer manufacturer – you may need to contact them for the procedure and perhaps to get recovery disks). To do a clean install proceed as follows: http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_install_03.asp (adapted as necessary by the procedures of your computer manufacturer). Then you will need to re-install all your programs, reset all your preferences, reconfigure your network and email settings, restore your backed up data, run Windows Update with possibly nearly 150 updates pending,...
Hopefully one of these procedures will resolve or at least identify the cause of your problem.
Good luck!
