Hi Jessie2012,

Welcome to Vista Forums!

First let me apologize for blocking your duplicate threads - they aren't permitted on this forum and they only lead to confusion as you get different and possibly conflicting responses (or different people waste time providing the same or similar responses in several places). And I'm sorry it took so long for anyone to respond here - but now it's an active thread and we'll be seeing it through until we find some type of solution or at least try to identify the cause and recommend what to do next. At this point, we're not even sure if it is a software or hardware problem.

Please do NOT use the recovery disks provided by the Manufacturer at this point (or procedures for using a recovery partition if you have one) - that will wipe your system clean and we haven't even backed up your data yet or tried anything to fix this in a less radical fashion. That is much too drastic at this point (though it may come to that). System Restore is fine and I include that also below (in fact, as the first option) along with instructions.

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. 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 (yes, I know you tried through the system, but I'd like to see if using the disk works any better) 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 or to a flash drive 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.

Try the Memory Diagnostics Tool from the disk and see if it detects anything: Memory Diagnostics Tool.

Can you boot into Safe Mode (see Advanced Boot Options)? Do you have a genuine Vista Installation Disk (or one you can borrow)? If you have to completely restore the system, how does that work on your computer? What is the manufacturer, make, and precise and complete model of your computer?

That's about all we can do with the disk. Let's see where that leaves us. I await your reply with the reports and files and explanations and answers so we know how to proceed.

I hope this helps - and sorry it took so long to reply.

Good luck!