Win7 won't start

pastywhitegurl · March 01, 2014, 08:45:00 PM

What a pain! Trying to overcome unknown issues.

Have been having chronic problems, probably with Norton AV. Stalls then freezes computer.

Last night it froze again. Restarted, but it would not reboot. Instead it offers choice of start windows regularly or run the repair app. Ran that. It took about 5 minutes to get to the utility. I ran it overnight. When I awoke, the activity crawl was still crawling. Initial message was that problem could have been caused by a recent update or a hardware issue. Had Win7 updates, Norton update, and l think a Java 51 update this week. Only other anomoly has been a chronic dialog box from java 51 about notifications for changes. Played with options to no avail, could not prevent the dialog in IE11.

Now in midst of memory check.

BTW, this is pasty white guy. My PW is locked on frozen computer.

Help! TIA.

PastyWhiteGuy · March 01, 2014, 09:57:12 PM

Coming to you from my own sign in.

Machine is Dell Inspiron laptop running Win7, latest updates and service pack. Let me know if you need more info.

Corrine · March 01, 2014, 11:11:15 PM

Can you boot to Safe Mode? From there you can select a System Restore point prior to the date where the system started freezing or either Norton and see if that solves the problem. Actually, if you are able to do that, I'd suggest also uninstalling Java. I looked at the installed programs from your log here and it doesn't appear as though you have programs installed that require Java. Even if you do, you can always reinstall it later.

Restart your computer in SafeMode by doing the following:

Restart your computer
After hearing your computer beep once during startup, but before the Windows icon appears, press F8.
Instead of Windows loading as normal, a menu should appear
If you want to uninstall Norton (and Java) select the first option, to run Windows in Safe Mode.
To run System Restore from a Command Prompt, select Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

Note: To run System Restore from a Command Prompt, at the command prompt, type rstrui.exe, and then press Enter. (If you use System Restore when the computer is in safe mode, you cannot undo the restore operation. However, you can run System Restore again and choose a different restore point, if one exists.)

PastyWhiteGuy · March 01, 2014, 11:25:39 PM

NG. All safe mode options reboot and bring me back to the same two other choices. Repair or start normally.

Corrine · March 02, 2014, 12:01:54 AM

If it won't start normally, you'll need to run Repair. In fact, as I understand it, System Repair often needs to run three times in order to complete the repair.

-- The first time you run it, it attempts to repair any system level corruption via SFC /SCANNOW (this is also why sfc /scannow cannot be run directly and has to be run offline if a startup repair is still pending).

-- The second time it runs, it checks the hard disk for bad sectors and a corrupted file system. This is usually the longer of the three runs.

-- The third time it runs, it tries to use a system restore point to replace a possibly damaged registry. Generally it is at least the second or third run that it also runs the bootrec.exe tools.

PastyWhiteGuy · March 02, 2014, 12:19:14 AM

The repair function cycles and just runs and runs. It doesn't seem to come to an end. I've run it literally for hours and not gotten past the scrolling activity bar. :(

DonnaB · March 02, 2014, 12:48:19 AM

Hi PastyWhiteGuy,

It appears that Dell computers ship with a utility partition on the hard drive that contains the Dell Diagnostic Utility. It is much easier to provide the link to the instructions than it would be to paraphrase them for you. Please see link below:

How to Run the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics Utility

Follow the instructions in the link to access the Dell Diagnostic Utility. We need to eliminate the possibility of any hardware problems. I think it might be best to run the Extended Test in your situation.

If you have any questions or concerns, please ask. Let us know the results of the test, good or bad.

Thank you,
Donna

PastyWhiteGuy · March 02, 2014, 12:59:40 AM

:(
ran the diagnostic. Error code 2000-0146. Says drive 0 Has previously detected errors. Doesn't say what the errors are.

DonnaB · March 02, 2014, 01:23:57 AM

Hm. Ok. Don't fret just yet... :wink:

I pasted the error code that your received into the Dell Interactive Support Agent found here. It appears that merely resetting the BIOS to the defaults may correct the problem. You may paste those numbers into the search field as well to see the results.

Go back to my previous post above and click on that Dell link again. Scroll way down to the bottom of the page and click on the link titled How to restore BIOS(System Setup) to Default Settings on a Dell Computer?

DonnaB · March 02, 2014, 01:52:23 AM

Hi PastyWhiteGuy,

I keep getting errors when I click on the 1st Dell link. Do you? I wanted to verify that the instructions for resetting the BIOS was in the first link, though I have a feeling it will only be found on the Dell Interactive Support Agent support page found in this link and you will have to paste the two sets of four digits into the search field which will then display the results and guide you to the link further down that page.

I do apologize for the oversight.

PastyWhiteGuy · March 02, 2014, 02:12:29 AM

NG. First, this is a laptop, so this set of instructions doesn't fit anything l see.

I have a "load defaults" button. Nothing about BIOS. Went and found extra keyboard, but scroll lock doesn't light up. So instructions for altF then altB shortcuts don't work.

Do I load defaults??

Corrine · March 02, 2014, 02:19:31 AM

I have no experience with Dell's but hopefully Donna can answer your question. However, I did search Error code 2000-0146 and it appears that it means hard drive failure. :(

Error Code 2000-0146 - Desktop General Hardware Forum - Desktop - Dell Community
Dell error code 2000-0146 - Fixya

DonnaB · March 02, 2014, 02:51:39 AM

What model number is this Inspiron? Depending on the BIOS, you may have to press a key listed at the bottom of the screen to load default settings. On the Inspiron N5110 you press the F9 key.

Does your Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock keys on your laptop keyboard light up when you press them on? I don't see how it would make a difference if this is a laptop or desktop as long as those keys light up, turn on.

I have a feeling that Corrine is correct in her findings. I assumed the same, but wasn't sure. My Dells are a bit older and not set up so I can't access them to experiment with at this moment.

On that Dell Diagnostic Utility, which test did you choose? I wonder if the Custom Test will tell us anything more since you should be able to test just the Hard Drive itself and not all the devices that are installed.

Is that load defaults button on the BIOS window? If so, I want to say that it is to reset the BIOS to default settings though I will look around a bit to make sure. I don't see how anything could be harmed at this point if you choose to click it. If it is the Hard Drive gone bad, resetting the BIOS should make no difference.

PastyWhiteGuy · March 02, 2014, 03:22:25 AM

Inspiron 1545.

Again, there IS no scroll lock button or scroll light. Because it's a laptop, there IS no num lock key. The laptop has NO lights at all. Cheapo laptop, no frills. F9 did not help, it circled me back to the original choices.

DonnaB · March 02, 2014, 04:07:35 AM

Ok. Did you try the custom test discussed in the Diagnostics Utility?

I searched all over for info on how to reset the BIOS on an Inspiron 1545 and found nothing, so I'm not sure it can be accomplished. Personally, I would either contact Dell Technical Support or follow the instructions here to create a bootable disk that will check the health of your drive.