The Icon Bar: The Playpen: I hate Windows safe mode
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I hate Windows safe mode |
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VincceH (08:55 2/10/2008)
filecore (08:58 2/10/2008)
T.O.M.S. (12:17 2/10/2008)
filecore (12:40 2/10/2008)
VincceH (13:22 2/10/2008)
arawnsley (13:31 2/10/2008)
VincceH (13:52 2/10/2008)
VincceH (14:07 2/10/2008)
rich (16:36 2/10/2008)
VincceH (17:32 2/10/2008)
VincceH (15:55 3/10/2008)
VincceH (11:07 4/10/2008)
rich (14:56 4/10/2008)
VincceH (11:42 12/10/2008)
Loris (11:37 16/10/2008)
filecore (18:21 2/10/2008)
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VinceH |
Message #108451, posted by VincceH at 08:55, 2/10/2008 |
 Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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...which is what I'm using right now. My laptop is refusing to boot normally, just stalling at the XP splash screen, and I've tried everything I can think of to fix it - apart from one thing - and nothing has solved it.
The one thing left to do - find the install CD and do either a repair from that (if the option is there) or a complete reformat/reinstall.
But I haven't got time to even think about searching the TARDIS-like cupboard today, so I'm stuck with safe mode.
BAH-FUCKING-HUMBUG!  |
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Jason Togneri |
Message #108452, posted by filecore at 08:58, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108451 |
Posts: 3868
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Er, the point of safe mode is that you can see what modules are loading, and if safe mode loads correctly, you can a) disable other, non-essential modules and then try starting normally, and/or b) view your system event logs to see what caused the non-loading last time. If safe mode is booting fine, then it's most likely that there's no major catastrophe, and no over-the-top dramatic reinstalling. |
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T.O.M.S. |
Message #108454, posted by T.O.M.S. at 12:17, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108452 |
Member
Posts: 11
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Presumably the problem started recently?
Suggest the following:
- Start up in Safe mode.
- Invoke System Restore.
- Select a Restore Point immediately before your problems started.
- Try starting up normally.
That should clear the problem. If not, repeat, selecting increasingly earlier Restore Point(s) until it comes good.
Once it does, bring your anti-virus etc signature files back up to date.
Like Google, System Restore is your friend.  |
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Jason Togneri |
Message #108455, posted by filecore at 12:40, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108454 |
Posts: 3868
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Like Google, System Restore is your friend. Well, I've never found it to be more useful than annoying, but hey, whatever rocks your boat. |
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VinceH |
Message #108456, posted by VincceH at 13:22, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108454 |
Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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Start up in Safe mode.
- Invoke System Restore. Yes, that would be one of the things I've already tried and already found not to solve the problem.
And to make matters worse, although when I made that post this morning it was booting into safe-mode, when I got to the office it wouldn't even do that.
At the moment, the word "fucked" doesn't feel expressive enough. "Double bugger fucked with a dildo the size of Jupiter" is perhaps closer to the mark.
Like Google, System Restore is your friend. Except when it doesn't help. Then it's one of those people in the office where you're sure they do something useful, but you can't quite work out what. |
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Andrew Rawnsley |
Message #108457, posted by arawnsley at 13:31, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108456 |
R-Comp chap
Posts: 600
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Had a similar problem with a customer rig this week. You can try booting an XP CD (assuming you're running XP) and statring with Recovery console, then doing chkdsk /r to repair any filing system errors. Fixboot/Fixmbr are also helpful (but not in this case, I suspect)
Next, boot off the XP CD and go further, and it'll offer a Repair install of the OS which will keep the registry in tact, but reinstall other files.
If that doesn't solve it, try Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows. This provides an XP-PE enviroment including registry role-back tools, and various other system recov tools.
I ended up having to do a copy of Documents and Settings, then sector level erase on original, and then fresh-install Windows over the top. (NASTY). However, by restoring files out of the copied Docs/Settings, no data was lost, and most settings preserved. A few apps needed a reinstall, but basically customer went away with a working machine. |
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VinceH |
Message #108458, posted by VincceH at 13:52, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108457 |
Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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Had a similar problem with a customer rig this week. You can try booting an XP CD (assuming you're running XP) I am - and as I said in my original post, that's the stage I'm at: I need to hunt out the relevant disc, which is in my cupboard, probably buried under a million other things.
What has seriously pissed me off in this is the bloody timing. Worst possible timing.
Firstly, I needed to submit two VAT returns online today - and the figures were, obviously, on the laptop. In the end I fudged the figures - I actually know what the bottom lines were already, having looked at the figures a few days ago, so I quickly looked through the sales records for the quarter to work out the outputs figures, and made up an inputs figures to make the bottom lines work. I'll process 6 months last time and deduct the figures I submitted today, which will balance things out next time.
(Mention of backups is unhelpful because, as I said, I was able to use it in safe-mode this morning. Yes, I know the purpose of safe-mode, but I didn't have time to go hunting the XP CD, having already spent time trying to fix it using other means. I didn't expect to get to the office and find safe-mode not working - my backups aren't there, they're here. And there's also a lack of another computer there to put the backups on if the backups were even there. So there.)
Secondly, I'm on holiday next week so I have a lot of rushing around to do before that to make sure other people know what they're doing on my behalf. So I don't want to be fart-arsing around with problems like this.
If that doesn't solve it, try Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows. This provides an XP-PE enviroment including registry role-back tools, and various other system recov tools. Regardless of whether I need it for my laptop, that sounds like a useful tool to have in general so I might get myself a copy anyway. |
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VinceH |
Message #108459, posted by VincceH at 14:07, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108458 |
Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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As a matter of interest, the last successful boot was when I was trying to install a wireless router at a client's office.
Normally, I just plug the router into the network port, go to the default IP address of the router and use the web based config - but the router wasn't playing ball; it's IP address wasn't showing up as the gateway, and the IP address it was giving the computer was nonsense based on what the router's default should be.
Resetting the router (several times!) made no difference and in the end, fully expecting this NOT to work, I resorted with the disc that came with the router. Yes, it didn't work (surprise surprise) because the software was also looking for the router at the expected IP address.
I'm now wondering if there was something dodgy about the software on that CD that auto-ran, because the trouble started on the next boot.
(Lynksys WRT54G btw - which is the same model I use here at home, although I use different firmware on mine.) |
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Richard Goodwin |
Message #108460, posted by rich at 16:36, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108459 |
 Dictator for life
Posts: 6828
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My laptop just went titsup this week. Which is somewhat my fault, in that it doesn't drink coffee, but I do.
It worked fine when I wiped the coffee off, apart from the return key, so I started copying my files over the network when it screamed and died. Well, screamed and locked up. It definitely screamed though. Which could have been funny if it hadn't been pant-shittingly terrifying.
I immediately pulled the hard drive, attached it to my desktop machine via cunning magicks (USB-}3.5" IDE enclosure, 3.5"-}2.5" converter), and copied the relevant files. Now, while my laptop dries out, I have the files on my desktop machine - although the reason I prefer working on my laptop is that there's too many distractions on the desktop, so I'm not exactly getting a lot of work done. Ooh! New stuff on Steam!
________
 Cheers,
Rich.
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VinceH |
Message #108461, posted by VincceH at 17:32, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108460 |
Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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My laptop just went titsup this week. Which is somewhat my fault, in that it doesn't drink coffee, but I do. I wouldn't mind quite so much if the machine's sudden collapse was because I'd poisoned it like that, or something. At least then I'd have a definitive answer to what the fuck happened! 
Things have started looking up...
Deciding that I don't have time to piss around, I've resurrected my previous laptop, which is what I'm now logged in and typing this on. That's a good start.
...but then they started looking down again...
I'm getting pissed off having to keep going back and inserting 'd's because the 'd' key doesn't work properly - and by going back and insert 'd's, I am reminded that the left and right cursors take quite a bit of pressure to work.
...and then things went from bad to nightmarish...
I was going to restore my backups onto this machine - but my backup routine has let me down: My backups are a few months out of date.
I do know why, and it's my fault. The (broken) laptop was set to back up to my NAS, but because I would sometimes be out with the laptop at the regular time, it's all set up to fail silently if it can't access the NAS.
Which means that for the past few months, the fact that the NAS wasn't connected up (after I'd moved everything around) wasn't being brought to my attention in any way.
My last backup was on July 19th.
That's a lot of work not backed up.
So, it's either back to plan-A, which is to seek out the XP CD, or a newly invented plan-B, which is to rip the hard drive out of the broken laptop and get the data off of it by connecting it to this one using something like this.
Hmm... except my local stores only appear to have one in stock... and that's not the nearest one... so perhaps using something like this. (There appear to be a few more of those in stock)
Given how long it would take me to dig out the CD in order to try fixing the laptop, buying one of those is probably more efficient. I'll then just leave the laptop until I have more spare time available to find the CD and try it.
(Of course, all of which assumes the hard drive itself isn't in some way buggered) |
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Jason Togneri |
Message #108462, posted by filecore at 18:21, 2/10/2008, in reply to message #108457 |
Posts: 3868
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I ended up having to do a copy of Documents and Settings [...] However, by restoring files out of the copied Docs/Settings, no data was lost, and most settings preserved. A few apps needed a reinstall, but basically customer went away with a working machine. Actually this is a regular technique I use. Especially if you're reinstalling on same machine, same hardware: you basically cut and paste "Program Files" and "Documents and Settings" folders, from the comfort of a BartPE environment. The reason this works, against all odds, is the most of the data for program settings is kept in a hidden folder called Application Data, within Documents and Settings/username. Between that and settings saved in programs' own folders in Program Files, you've got most of it. If you limited the original fault to bad hardware or a dodgy program, you can go further and cut/paste the WINDOWS folder, which will preserve your registry and drivers intact. Remember to also copy all of the hidden files in the root of C:. In this way, you can literally just offline cut/paste a working copy of Windows to a new HDD, and then modify stuff to you're heart's content. Once the first backup is done, you just need to remember to keep the settings in Application Data up-to-date. It's the poor man's backup solution  |
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VinceH |
Message #108470, posted by VincceH at 15:55, 3/10/2008, in reply to message #108461 |
Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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so perhaps using something like this. (There appear to be a few more of those in stock) In fact, when I went into the store, I spotted something cheaper and bought that instead.
Having put the laptop's hard drive in there, I've been able to copy the contents of its D: partition, which is actually where my documents are - but the boot partition (the laptop's C: drive) isn't accessible.
Annoyingly, when it comes to the various company accounts on the laptop, the accounts software stores its data in a subdirectory of its program directory - and its default backup location when there isn't a floppy available (it's not massively old, but old enough to think there might just be one, IYSWIM) is also in a subdirectory of its program directory, which is incredibly stupid, but there you go.
What I actually do is let 'transient' backups go there - because of their transient nature; in theory it didn't matter that they go to a silly location to start with, because my normal backup process knows they're there and they get backed up to the NAS (when it's actually plugged in, which hasn't been the case for a couple of months, as I said before) along with the actual current/live data.
For what I call event backups (eg when a VAT return is processed) I make a backup that I retain permanently so that I can refer back to it if need be: these go into "My Documents" - so these I have.
What this ultimately means is that my backups are good up until the last VAT return processed for each client, which is good: I can "prove" submitted figures (the fudge I did yesterday aside), and have only lost the work input since then. I would only consider it a true disaster if I the data I've lost predated those returns.
The moral of this story is, if you have a good backup process in place, don't break it by forgetting to plug your NAS in - and perhaps don't have your backup process fail silently if it isn't; that prompt, while annoying if it's because you're out, might save your bacon.
And also, I mentioned in another thread a while back that I was going to improve my backups by freeing up a USB drive and moving it to my office - that will now be done as a matter of priority. Hell, rather than free one up, I'll just go out and buy a new one when I return from my holiday. |
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VinceH |
Message #108477, posted by VincceH at 11:07, 4/10/2008, in reply to message #108470 |
Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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What this ultimately means is that my backups are good up until the last VAT return processed for each client, which is good YOU BEAUTY!
I've just plugged in my memory stick, and discovered that I took a backup of every client's accounts on the 18th of September onto that.
I can't remember doing it, or why, but there they are! I must have just randomly decided to take another backup of everything as some kind of failsafe. |
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Richard Goodwin |
Message #108481, posted by rich at 14:56, 4/10/2008, in reply to message #108477 |
Dictator for life
Posts: 6828
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Good news/bad news time with my laptop:
* Good news! My laptop powered up after a few days sitting upside down drying off.
* Bad news! The keyboard was still buggered. Not the whole keyboard, just the Enter key. Delete I could have done without, but no, Enter.
* Good news! This is my second Acer tablet PC, after my long-serving previous one got a case of deceleration trauma. So I switched keyboards.
* Bad news! it works perfectly and now I have no excuse not to do any work.
________
Cheers,
Rich.
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VinceH |
Message #108518, posted by VincceH at 11:42, 12/10/2008, in reply to message #108481 |
Lowering the tone since the dawn of time
Posts: 1600
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Now that I've been away and "relaxed" after the panic over my laptop and the running around trying to fix it (or, more correctly, buy another in the end) I've given the matter of when it went wrong some thought.
The last time it booted correctly was at one of my regular clients - but that client's office had moved from one of his buildings into what was previously little more than a corridor in another. Various works were done on that <ahem> "room" before the move, including power being run into it and wall outlets installed.
I'm therefore wondering whether I plugged my laptop into a cowboy-installed mains outlet, and that might have caused the problem.
Does anyone know if there is any way to verify the 'cleanliness' of the mains supply to any given outlet? Something I can plug in for a while which will show up any potential problems. Short of plugging in my new laptop, and then getting home to discover it will also no longer boot, which isn't something that appeals to me. |
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Tony Haines |
Message #108558, posted by Loris at 11:37, 16/10/2008, in reply to message #108518 |
 Ha ha, me mine, mwahahahaha
Posts: 1025
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Does anyone know if there is any way to verify the 'cleanliness' of the mains supply to any given outlet? Something I can plug in for a while which will show up any potential problems. ... I suggest that instead of trying to validate mains quality, you use something which will improve it.
You can buy extender cables which will smooth out spikes and the like. I have one which also has a route for networking, and also has an LED to show it's functioning okay.
This has the advantages that you'll be protected from rare spikes which 5 minutes testing won't pick up, and also that you won't have to spend time doing the testing. |
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The Icon Bar: The Playpen: I hate Windows safe mode |
