How-To Geek

Hello, my hp pavilion elite m9340f PC runs with windows vista. a couple of weeks ago, my computer would not boot and it was right after my brother downloaded a file. I used a vista recovery disk(one i found online) to attempt to fix it, it allowed me to view the files, and i deleted the said downloaded file. My computer would then boot, but from time to time, it wouldn't and i would have to use my cd to get it to boot (without doing anything special, just booting from cd).

More recently, probably 5 days ago or so. My computer had updates to install, so when i went to shut it down for the night, i chose the option to shut down and install updates, then went to bed. The next morning I woke up and it was still saying installing update 1 of 14 ( i think 14, dont know if thats important) so obviously it froze. I did a forced shut down, and went to turn it back on and it would not boot. I tried my attempts with the cd i made, it did not work. I try to do a startup repair, but it does not find any drivers to load from, and most files i search for contain no data. So startup repair does not work, system restore does not work, and cannot access the recovery manager.

I should have backed up my files when these problems started occuring weeks ago, but i just figured i had it fixed. Now I'm looking at losing these files(not too important, i'll live if i lose the stuff, just heartbreaking to do it) so i would like to try everything i can to fix it, back up files, so if it ever happens again, i can stress less.

For anyone who has read this far, and has an understanding of my problem at hand, I would reallly appreciate any help that can be given. Thank you, i will try and check this everyday for responses, and will hope for the best until then!

You can also use this method to backup your files:
http://www.howtogeek.com/forum.....ost-318915

by using the link you posted separately. i got the command prompt working, notepad up, but when i went to click on the local disk c: , it wont open, and it doesnt have the memory available below it. Not sure what to do with that part

Would help if you could post the error message your getting when trying to boot

I suspect there are problems with the graphics driver in Ubuntu. Try to download the 64-bit version, instead of the 32-bit one. But I guess it won't boot properly either. Maybe with another Linux you can boot, I will try with a PC by HP I have which can't boot to Ubuntu Live DVD either, to see if another distribution will run. I think that it may be hard to recover your files, even with Ubuntu, but if you think the files you want to recover are worth a try, I will help you (I'm actually curious about how this problem could be solved :D ).

Anyways, after you recover your files you will need to reinstall Windows Vista. Look at the sticker with the product key that should be attached to your computer. It should indicate which version of Windows Vista you are running.

You can download the official Windows Vista setup files from here (instructions included): http://www.askvg.com/direct-do.....nd-64-bit/

Only Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit and 64-bit) is available, and only in English, French and German (I would always recommend choosing English anyways, even if you speak German). To be able to install a non-Ultimate version, you will need to create a bootable USB instead of a DVD (link on how to do that in the same webpage, you will probably need a Windows PC to do this). Once the Windows Vista Install USB is created, delete the two lines near the bottom of the \Sources\Inf\SETUP.CFG file in the USB. They look like this:

[DefaultImageSelection]
Value=VFWBB-HAJJV-G996G-QWGJY-2V7X9

More info about this: http://jimcofer.com/personal/?p=6119

If you have any doubts just ask.

Hey! just wanted to let you know thanks for all the help so far. This computer is frustrating me, and knowing i have some help (moral and actual) is making this process easier lol. I did the ubuntu like you said and it worked so far. I'm on the desktop of ubuntu, working on how to find my data, havent tried yet. But progress is progress.

Being today was cyber monday, i purchased a new desktop, so if i resolve this issue, I hopefully will not see it again in the future.

Thanks for all your help Ruja, it means a lot.

Also sorry for the delayed responses, i tend to be busy at the wrong times.

It would be nice to see those error messages, try to upload the pictures to an online service like Dropbox or Photobucket, and post here the links.

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To to access your data you can try the following:

Click on the first icon of the launcher, this is the Dash Home:

Search and open Gparted Partition Editor:

Look for the partition you want to access, and note the code in the first column, in this case /dev/sda1 . If you can't find your partition, try changing the hard disk drive at the top right corner of the application (where it says /dev/sda (10.00 GiB) in this picture):

Now search for Terminal:

Type the following commands, with the corresponding sd** code for your partition, sda1 in the example:

sudo mkdir /media/sd**
sudo mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sd** /media/sd** -o force

Try to open a folder and access your partition on the list of devices:

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If you have trouble writing your commands is because you don't have a US keyboard. Look for Keyboard Layouts:

Add your keyboard layout by clicking on the "+" button (bottom left):

Then select your keyboard layout next to the clock:

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If you want to take a picture you can use the Screenshot tool. Pictures will be saved in the "Pictures" folder. You can use Firefox in Ubuntu to access these forums and upload your pictures.

It looks that you are looking for the HP partition, the FACTORY_IMAGE probably contains the media to perform a reinstall of Windows, although I'm not sure if this reinstall will work in these conditions, and I always recommend to reinstall with an official and clean Windows DVD as the one I posted before.

It would be good to run the "mount" command I wrote in my previous post with the -r option (read-only):

sudo mkdir /media/sd**
sudo mount -r -t ntfs-3g /dev/sd** /media/sd** -o force

If the above "mount" command does not work, please post here the output, and try the following command:

sudo ntfsfix /dev/sda1

Post the output here too.

If you manage to mount your HP partition, you just have to plug in an external USB HDD and copy your files over it. Or you could upload your files to an online cloud storage service such as Dropbox or Ubuntu One, to download them later.

Interesting. I admit I am running out of ideas. Please do the following:

In the Ubuntu Live CD, search for Disk Utility. Select your hard drive from the left column, and check the SMART Status on top-right:

If disk is NOT healthy, click the SMART Data button below, and check this window for problems:

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Anyways, here is another try at backing up your files, this time with the Windows install DVD. Download the following program:
http://www.roadkil.net/program.....staller=NO
(Windows 7, standalone version)

Place this EXE inside an external USB hard disk drive. Boot into Windows install DVD, access Notepad's "Open File" dialog, and look for the EXE you just downloaded. Remember to select "All Files" from the drop-down menu, and to right-click and select "Open" instead of double-clicking:

Accept the license terms. Then manually write "C:\" in the "Source" field. Select a backup location inside your external USB hard disk drive and write it manually too into the "Target" field, in the picture below this is "E:\Backup", check for the appropriate drive letter.

Then click "Copy", if it works it will try to copy all files it can find inside the drive. You will need a lot of free space for this. If you remember the location of the files you want (probably C:\Users\<yourusername>\) then MAYBE typing this into the "Source" field may work.

If you want to copy a specific file type, such as a DOCX file, try using C:\*.docx in the "Source" field.

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Good luck with this.