Re: Multiple XP Start-Up Problems - Looking for Help with Prioriti

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Hi Dave,

This may sound like a pretty ridiculous question, but, I would like to make
sure of the answer before making a decision about buying a new notebook
computer.

Being that my current notebook computer will not read from the CD during
boot-up (at least not most of the time), I would believe that this would be a
hardware problem as you have suggested (motherboard, cabling, or the CD
drive).

Is there anything that may have been caused by a virus or malware that would
interfere with the boot-up process?

If this is a hardware problem, I should probably just bite the bullet and
buy a new notebook. I just want to make sure I look at everything before
placing an order.

Thanks for your help.

Jeff

"Daave" wrote:

Addendum:

I just realized you didn't fully respond to this bit:

Which CDs have you tried to boot from? It sounds like a problem with
the CD itself or the CD drive.

If you have tried booting off only one CD, there's a chance there's just
something wrong with the CD. I would try booting off a Knoppix or Ubuntu
Live CD if you haven't done so already.


Daave wrote:
If the CD drive itself is still good, my guess is that it's the
cabling or the motherboard. And that just addresses the difficulty
you have booting off a CD. Then again, you could try another CD
drive...
Although you paid several thousand dollars for this laptop seven years
ago, it is worth only a couple hundred dollars now. I wouldn't waste
any money paying somebody to try to repair it.

YW and good luck.


Jeff wrote:
Hi Daave,

I have tried removing and reseating the CD drive from the chassis
several times, with no success. The connection between the receiver
plug for the CD device and the motherboard is internal to the
notebook, I'm not sure of the cabling.

For the last few years the computer seems to run hotter than I
remember... the fan runs quite often.

I paid almost $4,000 in 2002, so it's a little hard for me to just
trash it; but, that may be the best option. With Gateway out of
business for this model (as well as a high end workstation I have),
getting parts and service is kind of hit or miss.

Thanks again for your replies.

Jeff

"Daave" wrote:

If you configured your PC to boot off the CD and if only two boots
out of fifteen are successful, you have hardware problems. Could be
the CD drive is almost gone. Maybe the cable connection isn't good.
Maybe there's something wrong with the cable. Or the motherboard.

Spending money to get this laptop repaired isn't wise, I agree. If
the fix isn't easy (new CD drive or cable), it's time to get a new
PC, I'm afraid.


Jeff wrote:
Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your input.

My reference to a modular CD drive is one which can be plugged into
the Gateway notebook computer chassis. It can be removed and
replaced with a different peripheral.

Unless I am missing something, there is no real logical pattern to
what I am seeing.

Concerning events in the Event Viewer and Device Manager, when
booting into Safe Mode, nothing will display.

Regarding the timing of when I press F12, I generally press it a
half dozen times as I see text on the screen indicating that the
system is starting. During the boot process, I hear the CD drive
spin; but, it doesn't appear that the CD is taking priority over
the HDD.

This evening, for example, I have rebooted the system approximately
15 times. Twice during that time I was able to boot from the CD.
Unless I did something wrong (which I'm pretty certain that I
didn't), when I was prompted for the disk ID when entering the
repair console, nothing happened. I ended up back at the drive
prompt. I attempted to reboot from the CD approximately 8 more
times; but, I was not able to get the start-up CD to start again.

Regarding the splash screen status bar... the status bar keeps
revolving in spite of the fact that no hard drive activity is going
on. I have left it running for approximately 45 minutes just to
make nothing is happening.

There are a few things going on that really seem random, or at
least not interrelated. The CD drive works great from within
Windows, I just can't boot from it. Not being able to boot into
Windows normally is troubling... espcially in light of the fact I
was able to do it several times yesterday, and yet today I can't
.... with no other changes having been made.

Any other thoughts would be appreciated. I am about ready to trash
the hardware as I have spent too much time trying to diagnose the
problems. I really hate to do that; but, I don't have many options
other than paying to have it repaired. I have backups of all the
data, so that isn't an issue. My only heartburn is with having to
reload all of the programs again.

Thanks again for your help.

Jeff

"Daave" wrote:

What is "a modular CD player/recorder"?

Which CDs have you tried to boot from? It sounds like a problem
with the CD itself or the CD drive.

If you haven't done so already, save all your data! This includes
e-mails and browser favorites. I recommend copying the data to an
external hard drive. If necessary, boot off a live Linux distro
like Knoppix or Ubuntu (hopefully you will be able to do this!).

When you press F12 "at startup," exactly how early do you do this?

Is your PC free of malware? What anti-malware programs do you use
and are they up-to-date?

You mention the progress bar. Does it ever freeze? Or does it just
scroll in an unending cycle?

If you suspect a hard drive problem, in addition to Spinrite, I
would use the utility provided by the manufacturer.


Jeff wrote:
Hi,

I had posted a message several days ago about problems I was
having with XP on a desktop system after the installation of
Acronis TrueImage. (I will update that thread to reflect the
events that followed after my last post.)

This is a new problem related to XP not starting on a Gateway
Solo 9550 laptop. The laptop is old; but, it was a solid machine
in its day, so I am not ready to kick it to the curb just yet. I
would really like to work my way through the issues I am having
if possible. I know the problems that I will list may not be
related; but, hopefully they will point to the real problem.
I'll try to be brief and then answer any questions you may have
in more detail. 1. Presently, when I try to start Windows XP SP3
normally, the
boot process takes me to the Windows XP splash screen where the
scroll bar continues to scroll, even after the drive access light
goes dark. The only way I can get out of this condition is to do
a hard reset.

2. The computer has a modular CD player/recorder. With the CD
drive installed, when I start up the computer, with a bootable CD
in the drive, I am not given the option normally to boot from the
CD drive. The CD drive is the first device in the BIOS boot
options. I have tried pressing F12 at start-up as well. About one
time in every 20 restarts I see the message telling me I can hit
any key to boot from the CD drive. The CD drive does read and
write without problem when Windows is running.

3. Windows XP will start and run in Safe Mode.

4. I have disabled all non-Microsoft services from within
Msconfig, as well as all startup items. I even selected
General/Diagnostic Start-Up. None of these modes would allow me
to boot into Windows normally.

I ran Spinrite on the hard drive two days ago to correct some bad
black errors that were indicated in the event viewer. After
Spinrite ran and corrected the problems, I was able to start XP
normally without problems. However, that only lasted for a day.
(No new programs or other system changes have been made since
that time.)

I am stumped. I guess I don't really understand why Windows will
start in Safe Mode; but, not normally when all services (other
than those by MS) and start-up items have been taken out of the
equation.

The thing that really puzzles me the most is the CD drive and the
fact that it won't recognize any type of start-up disk (at least
a majority of the time.)

Any thoughts on how I can troubleshoot this problem, or any other
sites that might be able to help troubleshoot these problems will
be appreciated.

Thanks

Jeff



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