HELP!! Technical Difficulties!

[rabid1st]

Came home...turned my computer on...it wasn't responding. Then it said I had a "serious error that Microsoft could not recover from."

I send a note to Microsoft as requested and they told me...to check the installed programs. Nothing new there. Then they said turn it off and on again. I did. Also, did system restore. It tells me that the computer may be destroyed by this error.

This is all I did. I left my computer on last night (not unusual behavior for me)...I have downloaded some video in the last day or two...not exactly suspect but I don't know the person I got it from that well. And I have surfed a few suspect sites. The only software I tried to DL was an Apple/Quicktime update...two days ago...it failed to install (or so it said). But that could be the source of my problem.

Anyway...techie people...do you have any suggestions for saving my computer. I have a way to back up my files...I have an external drive...but I only have the original restoration discs...I have a fear of making restoration discs as I go along.

Rae

Comments

[abbylee]

(keswindhover sent me to see if I had any suggestions. This kind of problem isn't my strong point, in that I'm happier doing a resote, but I'm assuming you don't mind me trying to see if I can help anyway. Hi! Haven't talked with you in ages.)

Rae - what's it doing right now? Or what's it not doing? And what version of Windows are you using? Microsoft sends dozens of warnings that sound fairly similar.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

It is working fine just now. Since the system restore reboot it has flashed the message once more and asked me to send an error report. I did. It told me that my computer had been corrupted but that was all it offered in advice. I am working on a back up of my data to my external hard drive.

No updates show installed since 11/28/07 which were the automatic microsoft downloads. I don't want to reboot until I have everything backed up. It simply sort of hung there as I turned it on...no icons on the desktop...but my wallpaper there. As I said, I have rebooted once...this morning it refused to contact the net...so I rebooted it and kicked the DSL modem, too.

I try not to download torrants or anything that leaves the system OBVIOUSLY open...but it could be that some of my peripheral programs...virus protection or media players....check for updates on their own. Since I am only marginally computer saavy...I know only enough to get myself into hot water...not out of it.

Rae
thanking you for your assistance

[larissa-j.livejournal.com]

Prior to loading windows, when it's between post and actually loading the OS, can you press F8 and restore to the last known good configuration?

You should have about 30 seconds to select this option.

Your other option is to log into safe mode by pressing F8 and selecting safe mode and seeing if the system will boot. If it will, try to see if you can log in.

Sometimes, forcing the system into safe mode and then booting normally will fix this.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Thank you, sweetheart!! I will try to find my safe mode. Just now my PC Doctor is taking a look at things. But I have no confidence in it. As it corrupted my boot drive when installed. I have worried about this computer ever since that happened. But that was 8 months or so ago. Still, it could be relative, I suppose if Microsoft is trying to fix something on the boot drive.

Rae

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Thanks again for your help with my computer problems. Unfortunately, I believe that a program called System Mechanic is responsible for the whole affair. It has corrupted my boot drive and will not let me use F8 to access anything. When I tried to do so...it simply took over and informed me that it would repair the damage.

I have tried to contact the software provider Iolo industries but they were very, VERY uncooperative and have my money for an upgrade I never received from before...too bad, they say. Meanwhile, there program cannot be deleted from the system as it is fully integrated itself. Their version 6 was an excellent program but if you ask me their version 7 is little more than a very destructive virus that charges you 49.95 a year.

I am seeking professional help to remove it.

Rae

[crimedoc1.livejournal.com]

Rae, I seem to recall that you are in Florida. I'm not much of a computer fixing expert but if you're anywhere near me (Coral Springs in Broward County), I can recommend a company that comes round and helps me whenever my computer acts up. They've saved my sanity a few times when my computer was playing up and freaking me out.

[jei-e.livejournal.com]

I have to admit. I've given up on trouble shooting. My pc help desk is located somewhere in India, and there is only so many times you can unplug and restart your computer. :( I started taking mine to BestBuy.

hope it get's better!

[(Anonymous)]

It sounds a lot like what happened to me. I called Geek Squad and they sent someone out to fix it. They also suggested I upgrade to a better Internet provider because mine used some outdated stuff. I hope you get the problem fixed because I know how frustrating computer problems can be.

[ladyofgallifrey.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry I didn't check your page sooner - I might have been able to help. I'm sure you had the standard stuff as far as protections right? Antivirus, firewall - ?

You had all your stuff backed up? (I should talk - *I* need to do that myself!)

Next time let me know - I'd be happy to chat and help diagnose (my background is comp sci, programming/software, and generally fixing things...)

[nostariel]

I know you're sending it out to the shop, so I'm just gonna give a few tips for the next time Something Bad happens to the computer, if that's okay? I have destroyed my computer more times than I can count (and I've only had it for less than a year-and-a-half!), so I'm talking from unfortunate personal experience. (;_;)

1. When asking Teh Intarwebz for halp, the first thing we want to do is tell everybody what operating system we're using. The differences between Windows Vista and Windows XP are significant, and not everyone uses Windows to begin with. The OS version is also useful to know. XP Home or XP Pro? Which flavor of Vista - Basic, Ultimate, something in between? What Service Packs are installed, if any?

2. When you get an error message, immediately grab the nearest piece of paper and write down exactly what it says. This is extremely important for troubleshooting. If you're getting multiple error messages, write them all down.

3. Try to remember what you were doing on the computer right before the trouble started. Write that down, too. Looking through the My Documents folder? Listening to music? Browsing the web? Downloading videos? All four at the same time? Even little things might be useful to know.

4. There's probably a whole bunch of other stuff, but that's all I can think of and seem to be the most common things asked when I have a problem....

Good luck!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Yep...I had all of that info. But frankly asking the internets at large was my friend Kes' idea and I was only hoping I could get someone with a computer background to respond. I wasn't going to go for a "try this" method.

Thanks for your tips though...they are certainly good ones.

Rae

[wickedgillie.livejournal.com]

Personally, I would just check for spyware using something like adaware and then run the defragmentation program overnight. Yes, it sounds like a bad error, but it doesn't necessarily mean the scary stuff you're fearing, either. I've gotten that error multiple times over the years and my computer is still alive and kicking.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Surprisingly...mine was still alive and kicking, too. I did run a spyware program and found a very nasty bit of spyware...one of the high risk ones. Which was immediately squashed. I have also asked the shop to clean the registry which has been corrupted and add a better virus and spyware program to the system.

It is a Media Center Pro OS by the way. HP hardware. My real problem is always on upgrades that tend to either 1) add lots of piggybacking software or 2) crash my existing software because all of it needs upgrading. I simply have more problems with auto-upgrades than anything else. I have set them now to manual but that's not as big a help as you might think if I don't really recognize the program names.

Rae