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Have a Dell Inspiron desktop, running Vista HP, that for awhile now has been locking up once in a while when it's been on (on the internet or playing games,etc.). It would require that the pc be powered off and then back on... until the next time.
Today things got worse to the point that now anytime I turn the pc on, it recommends I run the Windows startup repair. I've run it many times but it doesn't find/repair anything. Earlier today before I got into this startup repair loop thing, I had an opening and I tried to do a restore back to an earlier version of the OS, but after processing for about a minute or two, it locked up and that was the end of the restore attempt.... it never completed.
Wondering which way to go with this. Any suggestions? Thanks.......
Been a long afternoon and evening with the Dell, but finally got some resolution. After the pc finished running one of the uneventful Windows startup repair attempts, I clicked on an advanced options link and one of the options was to restore back to factory settings (back to day 1). I started it and it took off restoring from the factory partition on the hdd. A couple of times it seemed like it stalled, but I finally got it to finish and it's working normal again. Funny, I tried that a couple of times this afternoon without any luck. Anyway, I had to reinstall Service packs 1 & 2 but they went through without a problem. Right now there are about 150 updates that Windows is downloading so it will be catching up throughout the night. Probably be another bunch after those are configured/installed.
I think something corrupted some startup files somewhere along the line.
Been a long afternoon and evening with the Dell, but finally got some resolution. After the pc finished running one of the uneventful Windows startup repair attempts, I clicked on an advanced options link and one of the options was to restore back to factory settings (back to day 1). I started it and it took off restoring from the factory partition on the hdd. A couple of times it seemed like it stalled, but I finally got it to finish and it's working normal again. Funny, I tried that a couple of times this afternoon without any luck. Anyway, I had to reinstall Service packs 1 & 2 but they went through without a problem. Right now there are about 150 updates that Windows is downloading so it will be catching up throughout the night. Probably be another bunch after those are configured/installed.
I think something corrupted some startup files somewhere along the line.
Could've been some malware that had gotten installed as well. You might want to consider upgrading to Windows 7 - it seems to run a lot smoother than Vista. Our agency had purchased Windows Vista laptops a few years ago and they always seemed to run as if they had an anchor tied to them. We wiped them and replaced Vista with 7 and the laptops ran much better.
Do you use anti-virus software and something like Malwarebytes? If not you should.
Glad to hear the problem has been resolved.
I do, MSE anti-virus and Malware.
The pc is still sick, After a couple of days of running fine, it now reboots itself right out of the blue. In the last two hours it rebooted itself 4 times.
To recap:
1. I reinstalled Vista from the hdd partition (w disk format).
2. Brought it up to date with SP 1 and SP2.
3. Checked to make sure the fans inside are running... they are.
I don't know what caused this problem (probably an interrupted update or recovery) but it seems the fix, from what I gathered online, is to boot from a Vista CD (or USB) and restore.
Is the fan on the CPU running? Is it covered with dust? A trick we used with desktops that did this was to take the side cover off and aim a fan at it. That helps cool it down. If it stops rebooting the culprit is likely heat. It's not a sure thing, but sometimes it works.
I don't know what caused this problem (probably an interrupted update or recovery) but it seems the fix, from what I gathered online, is to boot from a Vista CD (or USB) and restore.
I re-installed Vista from the Vista CD this a.m. Been running ok this afternoon and this evening. Will let you know it things change. Thanks!
Is the fan on the CPU running? Is it covered with dust? A trick we used with desktops that did this was to take the side cover off and aim a fan at it. That helps cool it down. If it stops rebooting the culprit is likely heat. It's not a sure thing, but sometimes it works.
The CPU fan was running when I opened the side cover yesterday. While it was open, I vacummed things out. Aiming the fan is a great idea. Will keep that in mind if it happens again. Thanks!
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