Vista startup problem

hi everybody

im just going to skip the introduction for the now

i have a sony vaio laptop running vista home premium and Ubuntu 10.04 on a hard drive partition (a friend installed it)

the problem im having is, when i start up my laptop with vista it will get as far as the green bar then stop loading, no matter how long i leave it, it will just stay like that and not load so i turn the laptop off and back on again and i am greeted with start up repair

it would go through the motions and the laptop would be up and running but then it stopped doing this, start up repair would start repairing the problem then stop there. No matter how long i left it for it would be stuck at this point

one of the other issues is i am as much use as a chocolate fire guard when it comes to computers, vista has crashed on me before which resulted in me having to reboot the system and loosing everything in the process however i have managed to find some sense and back everything up before it started to refuse to start up so rebooting the system is an option

in the mean time i have been using Ubuntu but seeing as i know hee haw about computers its somewhat of a challenge and i liked the fact that with vista i could plug stuff into my laptop and by the medium that is black magic it would work

thanks in adavance for any help given, its much appreciated

If you create a recovery DVD, you may be able to boot to recovery options
Create Recovery DVD

The Vista recovery disk is used to boot Vista when it won't boot - to run Startup Repair, System Restore, access a Command Line, Recover using a Vista Backup Image, etc.
System Recovery Options. Choose an option tht will not cause you to lose your stuff.

If Vista will not start now, boot the Recovery CD to run Startup Repair which automates System Restore as well as numerous other tests including System File Checker which can repair system files which are not corrupted beyond repair.

If Vista still will not start, try booting into Safe Mode to run sfc /scannow to repair System files.
Special Thanks Given to Seven Forums.


Below is a bulletin distributed by MS to explain the start up procedure when Windows will not boot.

• Startup Repair. Startup Repair is a Windows recovery tool that can fix certain problems, such as missing or damaged system files, that might prevent Windows from starting. Startup Repair is located on the System Recovery Options menu, which is on the Windows Vista installation disc. If your computer has preinstalled recovery options, it might also be stored on your computer's hard disk. For more information, see Startup Repair: frequently asked questions and What are the system recovery options in Windows Vista? If your computer does not include Startup Repair, your computer manufacturer might have customized or replaced the tool. Check the information that came with your computer or go to the manufacturer's website.
• Change restart settings in safe mode. If your computer is stuck in a loop where Windows fails, attempts to restart, and then fails again repeatedly, restart your computer in safe mode and select the Disable automatic restart on system failure checkbox. For more information, see Advanced startup options (including safe mode).
• Reinstall. If no other options have solved the problem, and you are sure that your computer's hardware is functioning normally, you might need to reinstall Windows. A custom (clean) installation of Windows will permanently delete all of the files on your computer and reinstall Windows, so only use this option if all other recovery options have been unsuccessful. After the installation, you will need to reinstall your programs and restore your files from backup copies. For more information, see Installing and reinstalling Windows**.

thanks for the help
ill have a look over the links provided and try to get it sorted

Take your time, we will be here for you.

hey everyone

one other issue is, I never got a recovery cd with the laptop
the laptop crashed a while ago and I rebooted Vista from a hard drive partition after that it was fine until the problem I am having with start up