Crashed computer... need help...

Eyssa · 10-22-2008, 07:04 PM

SO. My computer crashed just about ten minutes ago. A bright blue screen came up and said something about a memory dump and I had to shut it down. Now every time I turn it on it goes in a continual loop... First it acts like it's going to boot up, and then it says that it read an error and to press "ctrl, alt, delete", and then it starts all over again.

It also said something about finding no boot-up devices.

I have so many pictures, files, and even two books that I started writing, and now I fear that they're all gone. I should've known to back everything up, but I didn't, and now probably everything is gone. And to top it off, I've got to use the family computer now.

Is there anything I can do to get my files back? My books and pictures?

Filnyyena · 10-22-2008, 07:45 PM

One of two things:

Hard drive is toast.

Or

Operating system is toast.

To fix:

Reinstall windows

Or

Get a new hard drive and reinstall windows.

You will be losing everything anyway.

You may have a bad sector on the hard drive that prevents it from booting up. You may need to get a new hard drive (recommended).

Eyssa · 10-22-2008, 08:09 PM

Oooh great. Either way it sounds like it's going to be a pain in the behind.

I did hear about a program called Knoppix or something? It's an operating system on a disk, supposedly, and you can open up your computer with it and save everything...

Man, I really don't want to loose my pictures or my stories. And I have pics of Leo, my now deceased cat... the only pictures that I have of him. This is depressing.

Filnyyena · 10-22-2008, 08:22 PM

Yeah..I know this is pretty sucky, but it is a good lesson to learn from..always back your important files up..

Hopefully you get them back..

What you can do is get another drive, load the operating system, and transfer the stuff you need (minus programs) through that. You need to save the "my documents" folder. The my documents, pictures, music, everything. If you saved to default.

Eyssa · 10-22-2008, 09:20 PM

A good lesson, but a painful one at that.

Alrighty, well I'll try that. So long as I get it working, although I can't guarantee it'll stay in one piece. Most likely I'll get so upset I'll through it through the window like I've threatened many a time before.

But thanks for your help.

Filnyyena · 10-22-2008, 09:31 PM

Lol don't thank me, thank my computer geek friend who happened to be on ventrillo when I saw your thread..

And I feel throwing computers off a cliff is more satisfying (and less expensive) than throwing it out the window..

I hope everything works out alright

Eyssa · 10-22-2008, 10:07 PM

Then I will thank you both.

Haha, that's true... then we wouldn't have to pay for the broken window too, haha.

Thanks again, Filnyyena. :-)

Canadian Dog · 10-23-2008, 02:28 AM

I've had this happen with different laptops. I've always been able to get them going again by starting them over and over as I figured I had nothing to lose. Eventually, windows will load and if you're ready, you'll be able to retrieve the important files.

I don't know anything about your computer, but sometimes things get pretty dusty and the computer starts overheating. If you haven't vacuumed the inside of your tower recently then I would start there. It can make a huge difference in performance/stability.

Eyssa · 10-23-2008, 01:42 PM

You know what, a friend told me about the exact same thing... She said to leave the computer for a bit and then turn it on. Alright then, I'm just going to try to turn it on over and over again to see what happens.

...And I haven't dusted my computer in ages, so you could be right about that. Thanks so much for letting me know! I'll go try that...