vista will not start

[alandaubney1]

i have installed the new service pack update. Vista will no longer start - the start up repair does not work nor does the system restore. it says it cant find file (0x80070002) - can any1 help

 

[Lorien]

Hi alandaubney1,

Welcome to Vista Forums!

Try using Last Known Good Configuration: Using Last Known Good Configuration and see if that returns things to normal.

I hope this helps. If not, post back and we'll delve deeper into the problem.

Good luck!

 

[alandaubney1]

hi

thanks for the reply - i have tried all the start up repair - system restore - restore to last working settings etc and nothing works.

 

[Lorien]

Hi alandaubney1,

Sorry, you didn't mention you'd tried Last Known Configuration in your first post so I thought it might help. I assume this also means that you can't boot into Safe Mode either - or have you tried? I'll assume it also doesn't work for purposes of proposing options which would require that unless you post back otherwise (and please do so ASAP so I can add the further tests and procedures that may help). It's a shame, because System Restore would be my first choice in this situation - can you please explain how or why it doesn't work (are there no restore points, do you get the same error, does it simply not start at all, it restores but the problem remains,...)? If you haven't done so (though I suspect you have), please try again using the disk (as described further below) - it may work better that way.

If you don't have a genuine Vista Installation 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). 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.

Let's check some of your system files. Go to the Command Prompt on 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 a flash drive and move it to a working computer before it will permit you to attach it - or copy the report itself to the flash drive) here so we can see if they can be repaired with good copies from the installation disk or from other system files on your system (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.

Let's see if we can test your memory and your hard drive. You will again need to make bootable disks (since I'm assuming that's the only way to access your system at the moment).

To test your hard drive, check the manufacturer and try HD Diagnostic (http://www.carrona.org/hddiag.html) or this test: Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp (http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287). If it fails the tests, replace it. If it passes the tests, then there's probably nothing wrong with it.

You can also test your RAM at http://www.memtest.org/. Here are additional instructions that may help: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html. If it fails, test each chip individually to find those that are bad and replace them. If it passes, RAM is probably OK.

I hope this helps - or at least helps us identify the problem.

Good luck!

 

[Lorien]

Please refresh the screen as I've edited my prior post considerably and want you to see the current version.

Thanks!