Vista - Bluescreen after DISKCRC.SYS...

A friend has a Lenovo laptop running Vista Home Premium. Right now, when
booting to Vista the PC bluescreens and starts the boot process over again.
This happens in normal as well as safemode.

When in safemode the last file loaded is DISKCRC.SYS (probably just the last
SYS file that would normally load). After a few seconds the bluescreen
occurs and the laptop restarts. I don't have the details from the bluescreen
yet.

There have been no changes to the laptop.

Any idea what may be happening?

I haven't had time to do a deep inspection, but BIOS settings are all
correct and trying to boot to the last known good configuration doesn't
change anything. I don't see an option to not restart on bluescreen from
safe/normal mode boot screen.

Of course Lenovo won't send out a Windows disc and one was never created
when the laptop was purchased, so I currently don't have a disc that I can
reload the laptop with.

Calab wrote:
Do some hardware troubleshooting first, starting with the hard drive.
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

You say "of course Lenovo won't send out a Windows disc" but did you call
them? My experience with Lenovo is that they will send out recovery discs
for nothing if the computer is still under warranty and for a small charge
if it is not. If they really won't, then you should be able to install with
a Vista DVD and use the Product Key from the sticker on the bottom of the
laptop.

However, test the hardware first because there is no point in messing about
with software if the hardware is bad. One thing you can do in this vein is
to boot with a Linux Live CD such as Knoppix. If the computer behaves
perfectly under Linux, then the problem lies with Windows. If Linux is
working, you can copy the data off to an external hard drive from there. If
Linux isn't working either, then hardware is the cause.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

"Malke" <malke@newsgroup> wrote in message
news:%23msD2pfNKHA.4816@newsgroupTurns out the contents of the hard drive are scrambled. I booted of an
install disk and did a few disk scans. It seems to be fine, but now just
stops loading once the arrow comes up on the screen. Arrow still moves
around, but nothing else happens, both in and out of safe mode, even if I
leave the laptop on for hours.

I've got the drive connected to another PC, but security won't allow me to
access the files.
They want at least $50.
That is what it looks like I'm going to have to do.

Thanks!

Calab wrote:

Comments inline:
Then get the files by booting with a Linux Live CD like I suggested and copy
them to an external hard drive. If you can't figure out how to do this, have
your friend take the machine to a tech.
Although this is a bit more than HP charges for instance, it's not that big
a deal. Your friend neglected to create the physical recovery discs, after
all. $50 is way less than purchasing a full copy of Vista.

Still suggest you be smart and test at least the hard drive and the RAM.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

"Malke" <malke@newsgroup> wrote in message
news:e0vZJyyNKHA.3284@newsgroupI misread your comment before. That was the easiest solution and worked
very well!

Files are now backed up, machine formatted and Windows reloaded. All the
hardware passed testing so I'm going to chaulk this up to user error.

Thanks!