Solved Cannot Boot Into or Reinstall Windows

I have a situation I've never encountered before. In the past, if the OS wouldn't boot I could use F8 and go into safe mode and do a System Restore, use last known good configuration or use start windows normally, eventually getting a reboot into Windows. If that failed, I could insert the installation disc or a repair disc, repairing the OS or getting into System Restore or doing a complete reinstall. None of these options have been successful.

The computer is a Dimension E-581 desktop running Vista Ultimate 32-bit and it's used by my stepson. The OS was installed in the English language. The language being used is Chinese Simplified, although as you know it can be switched back to English once Windows is up and running. I asked him if he downloaded any new software from China or if he clicked on a link in an email or instant message and he said that he had not so I'm ruling out malware as the cause of the problem. He told me that he mistakenly clicked on sleep instead of shut down and then, realizing his mistake, he held the power button in for appx. ten seconds, thinking he could reverse his choice of shutdown. He is illiterate when it comes to computers. I have not been able to boot into Windows since he did this yesterday.

Here's the situation; if I use F8 and click on Safe Mode, Last Known Good Configuration or Start Windows Normally a blue screen flashes for a fraction of a second, it goes to the Dell screen, Windows starts to boot and then I get the "Windows Error Recovery" black screen, which gives me the same options. It's a continuous loop that I can't get out of unless I use the power button to shut down the computer. If I insert the installation disc or a repair disc it shows "Windows is loading files" for a few seconds and then I get a blue screen with error codes. The error codes change every time I attempt this. Two of the codes are Stop: OxOOOOOOOA (OxD55662DE,OxOOOOOOO2, OxOOOOOOOO, Ox888BA8D7) and Stop: OxOOOOOOOA (OxOOOOOOOA, Ox95C4OC86, OxOOOOOOO2, OxOOOOOOOO, Ox888BA8D7). Again, these error codes change every time I attempt a repair or reinstallation. When I attempt a restart it once again goes to the "Windows Error Recovery" black screen and its endless loop. On one of the blue screens I received a message pertaining to "Page Fault" but I neglected to write it down so I don't remember exactly what it said; something about page fault not being in the correct place.

I have also used F12 to boot from the CDROM drive with the installation and repair discs inserted, to no avail. It simply attempts to load the Windows files for a few seconds and then I get the blue screen flash for a fraction of a second and then I get the "Windows Error Recovery" black screen. Also in F12 I have used the Hard Drive Diagnostics which showed no problems with the drive. I tried booting to the Utility Partition and received the message "Utility Partition Not Found".

I'm stumped. Does anyone know what is happening and why I can't get the windows installation disc to work or why none of the functions in F8 have any effect? Do I need to purchase a new hard drive and install my OS on it? I'm not the dimmest bulb in the room but I'm not without experience in repairing files or reinstalling an OS. Should I remove the computer case and check for loose wire connections? I'm assuming it's a hardware problem since no software has been installed during the past few months.

Thank you in advance for your time and any assistance provided.

C.B.

OK, here's where I'm at now: I took the side off the computer case and thoroughly cleaned the inside of all dust. I removed and reseated all the electrical connectors from the hard drive to the power source and motherboard, making sure the connections were solid. I also removed all the remaining electrical connectors and reseated them.

I found the Utility disc for the computer and since there is no utility partition on the computer I tried the utility disc, which I understand contains the same utilities as on a utility partition. The Utility disc, a short while after insertion, gave me the message "I/O error reading device EXTCD001". I then rebooted, hit F12 and did another hard drive diagnostic.The test showed "PASS" and it identified the model number of the WD hard drive.

I then tried booting from the Windows installation disc again and received a blue screen showing "Page_Fault_In_Nonpaged_Area, whatever that means, with the error code STOP: 0x00000050, 0x866C0000, 0x00000000, 0x88883843, 0x00000000". I also disabled driver signature enforcement to no avail. I acessed the Acronis Secure Zone by pressing F11 during a reboot and it showed a backup from January of 2011, which is apparently after I had done a fresh reinstall and then captured an image but it couldn't access it. I'm now running the Kaspersky Rescue disc associated with the computer. The only other option I have is to try using the actual Acronis TIH 2010 installation disc that I used to create the Secure Zone on the hard drive but I don't think I'll have any luck, since I couldn't access the Secure Zone image by using F11.

If I could get into Windows or successfully use the Windows installation disc I wouldn't have any problems. I could try a System Restore or reinstall the OS. In any event, I'm unable to restart the proper way from within Windows. I must use the power button for shutdown, which of course is going to get me the "Windows failed to shut down properly" black screen every time.

I'd be more than willing to purchase a new hard drive. The WD 320 GB drive that's in the computer now would cost only $75.00 or I could get a WD 500 GB for only $95.00. However, I want to determine that the hard drive is actually the problem before I purchase something I may not need.

I was advised by someone in another forum to remove the hard drive from the E-521, insert it into one of my other Dell desktops and then go to Computer, Disk Management and then reformat it. I'll attempt this after my current efforts are completed but I'm not so sure the different computers have the same hard drive wiring connector. If the wiring connector is the same I'm not so sure I can get the OS to start since it wouldn't run in the E-521. I'll work on that tomorrow.

A page fault occurs when software tries to access a portion of RAM that isn't allocated for it. If you can access it, you might try unseating and reseating it even though this error is normally a software problem.

I suggest the hard drive tools from Seagate. Also have you tried running a live linux distribution? Have you tried testing the ram with memtest?

wither 3 said:

A page fault occurs when software tries to access a portion of RAM that isn't allocated for it. If you can access it, you might try unseating and reseating it even though this error is normally a software problem.

Click to expand...

Thank you, wither, for your response. I appreciate the assistance. I was considering it while checking the other connections but then forgot to do it. I'll do it tomorrow. It's easy to access.

What stumps me is not why it happened but rather why I'm unable to access the hard drive to do a System Restore or do a clean reinstall of the OS. The hard drive diagnostic shows "PASS", the drive is recognized,the connections are solid and everything in the BIOS seems to be fine.

C.B.

I ran the Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 and it located and removed eight viruses. I was then able to "Start Windows Normally", at which time chkdsk ran automatically. During the chkdsk scan dozens of index entries were deleted, dozens of orphaned files were recovered and the journal was repaired. Microsoft Security Essentials had been disabled and System Restore was also disabled, showing no restore points. sfc /scan now could not be run. I was in the process of starting to run several more antivirus applications when a small window appeared on the desktop, stating "Windows has encountered a critical problem and will shut down" or something similar. Windows shut down one minute later. This happened after several restarts so I decided to go into Safe Mode to run the antivirus programs but I continued to receive the shutdown message and after one minute the computer would shut down and restart. I then decided to use the Vista installation disc to do a repair of the OS but no repairs were made. I decided to reformat and do a clean reinstall. I assume that some unrepairable damage occurred due to the viruses and it could not be repaired. I don't have a problem with a clean reinstall of the OS and this time I will reinstall the Acronis TIH 2012 I had been using and had uninstalled due to all the problems I always have with any version of Acronis TIH. I'll keep a backup in the Acronis Secure Zone and a few backups on the two 1TB external drives I have. Hopefully, this will give me an easy way to overcome this problem if my stepson once again uses downloaders or software applications he gets from China, which is how he created this mess. I'm also going to create an Administrator account for me and a standard account for him so that he can't install any of this Chinese crap without my acknowledgement and permission.
I thank everyone for their time and assistance. I appreciate it very much. By the way, the memory checked out OK.



C.B.

I figured the RAM would come out okay.

Too bad you had to go to all that trouble to recover.

I think your plan to create a separate account is the right one. Maybe you also need to set parental controls for him.

Viruses can do some pretty awful things to an OS. It probably could have been repaired however the required time might have exeeded the time to do and update a fresh install. Sometimes it is just best to start over. It's a good idea to retain complete control over a computer operated by someone so reckless just remember to use a strong password.

Also get something like macrium reflect and keep an image of your computer on an external drive to recover from. update your image monthly and delete the older ones when disc space is getting tight

Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - Information and download

I thank everyone for their time and assistance. The viruses ran unchecked for who knows how long. Anyway, I'm on my second clean reinstall since this problem occured. I'm having trouble installing Vista SP1. I've never had any problems installing past service packs on XP, Vista and Win 7. I have another thread going on this issue.

I've used Acronis TIH for years but I shut it down prior to the virus damage; however, I did retain a backup in the Secure Zone but it could not be accessed using F11 at startup or by using the actual installation disc. The backup could be seen by Acronis but it could not be accessed, which I blame on the virus problems, not Acronis. I've had many problems with each version of Acronis TIH I purchased and their technical support department is basically nonexistent so although I retain ownership of my current edition I will never buy anything from Acronis again. I rely strictly on Windows backup and recovery discs now, saving the backups to two external drives.

C.B.