Help!Vista won't run!

rachos89

New Member
Hi,
I'm just wondering if anyone can help me. I'm self-taught with computers for the most part (basic knowledge) and have a Dell Inspiron 1525 with either Vista Home or Vista Home Premium (not sure which).

I was watching a programme online and noticed my other open windows seemed to have frozen (the cursor was doing the busy rotating "o" symbol and when I attempted to bring up the other windows nothing happened). Ultimately even the window I had open froze so I tried CTRL-ALT-DELETE to open Task Manager. Nothing happened. I turned off my laptop and turned it back on. I selected "Start Windows Normally" and got as far as the Microsoft Corporation page with the loading bar...but the Windows logo never appeared. After about 10 mins I freaked out and turned off my laptop again. Tried turning it on again, was given the option of Startup Repair. Chose this option, but still ended up at the Microsoft Corporation page with a futile loading bar as if nothing had happened. Any ideas what's wrong? Have tried selecting Vista as operating system from Setup Menu, but still nada.

Please please please help if you can, I'm in second term of final year in college and freaking out at the thought of losing most of my notes from the first term, as well as photos etc!
 

My Computer

Hmmm.....

You been noticing a lot of freezing up/slowing down lately, and increased boot/shut-down times?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built
    CPU
    AMD PHENOM X4 9600 BE 2.3GHZ @ 2.46GHZ
    Motherboard
    TA790GX 128M AM2+
    Memory
    8GB OCZ PC6400 800MHZ DDR2 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GTS 250 1GB VRAM
    Sound Card
    SB5120 24-BIT 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AOC 2330V 23" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    250GB SEAGATE HDD
    PSU
    650W
    Case
    GENERIC
    Cooling
    3 120MM FANS
    Keyboard
    MS WIRELESS DESKTOP 3000
    Mouse
    MS WIRELESS DESKTOP 3000
    Internet Speed
    6MB/s
    Other Info
    Main Machine. Just upgraded my RAM to 8GB. Next task will be to get a new processor for this machine ( 9650 was for my secondary machine )
If you can get into Safe Mode, do a Anti Virus Scan. Then, if does not solve the problem try to

As you boot up continually hit the key that will get you into BIOS, in bios set it up to boot from CD/DVD. Then turn off computer

Put Vista DVD into drive and boot from DVD, choose repair. The DVD should repair any small problems that are causing the problem. If does not work

Try

As you boot up repeatedly hit f8. This will get you into safe mode. If there is not problem in safe mode. Set up a clean boot.
How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

The clean boot will allow you to see what is causing the problem, so that it can be repaired.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Well, I helped at least one person :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Thanks for your replies folks and sorry I haven't been back to you sooner!Managed to get Startup Repair to run but it said it couldn't fix the problem, managed to get the laptop to run Vista in safe mode and backed up all my files, then restarted the laptop with the Vista installation disk in the drive but by that stage Vista was running fine on its own for some unknown reason! Thanks again for all your help!
 

My Computer

Hello rachos89,
Glad its running OK, try these two free apps to keep it free of errors.

Malwarebytes.org

CCleaner - Download

Always Backup Your Registry When Prompted.

Run Malwarebytes, then run CCleaner, do this once a week and it will help to keep your system running as it should.
Hope this helps, good luck and post your results.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
Your welcome. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
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