Laptop crashed suddenly and won't boot

[cocoharley]

I should've posted this much earlier because now I don't have the laptop anymore and can't remember all the details.

Anyhow, about a month or two ago, I was using my boyfriend's Gateway laptop (3-4 years old, don't have any other info on it at the moment) when it suddenly crashed. I was simply doing the regular things like checking my email. All of the sudden, the screen went blue and there was a screeching sound, and then this message came up:

PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable

PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE-ROM

Operating System not found

I've been actively using computers of all sorts since 1998 (I've even built a couple) and this had never happened to me before. I freaked out and thought my boyfriend was going to kill me. He was pretty nice about it though. He doesn't know much about computers, by the way. He said his computer was old and said that it'd probably died of "natural causes." The laptop was a mess (full of viruses and adwares) before I met him and I helped him "restore" it without having to reformat or reintall anything. I still felt really bad about crashing the computer.

A few hours later, I tried to turn on the computer but nothing happened. I kept trying with no success.

I kept trying day after day and sometimes the computer would manage to boot, but a short while later, it'd die again. Other times, I'd get an error message right away. There were three error message that kept showing up, one of which was the one I'd mentioned above. The other two were:

KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR

0x0000007A (0xC03E5398, 0xC000000E, 0xF94E6CA8, 0x0781D860)

and

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

<windows root>\system32\hal.dll

Please reinstall a copy of the above file.

I tried to do a repair using the Windows XP (Professional) CD but it didn't work for some reason (can't remember what now) and I ended up reinstalling Windows. The laptop worked fine for a few days before the same problems came up again.

I became preoccupied with other things (school, work, etc.) and left the computer alone for a few weeks.

A few days ago, my boyfriend's brother came over and took the laptop, saying that he'd try to fix it. I know for a fact that he doesn't know much about computers either and I was wondering what he was going to do about it. He called my boyfriend not too long ago and said something that really upset me. He told my boyfriend that the reason his laptop wasn't working was because somebody did a "s**tty" job reinstalling Windows!!! He probably saw that third error message the first time he tried to boot the computer and started to jump to conclusions.

HELP!

Edited September 9, 2006 by cocoharley

[LLXX]

All of the sudden, the screen went blue and there was a screeching sound, and then this message came up:

Bad hard drive.

[ringfinger]

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

<windows root>\system32\hal.dll

Please reinstall a copy of the above file.

I've seen this error on multiple machines in our network and have tried tons of solutions. The end result for me is has been 1 of 2 things. 1) bad HD 2) OS has to be reinstalled, or in my case... re-imaged

[twig123]

All of the sudden, the screen went blue and there was a screeching sound, and then this message came up:

Bad hard drive.

^^ Exactly

To test for sure go to another computer search online for DFT (Drive Fitness Test, By Hitachi), Burn it to a CD, Run the advanced test and it will tell you if the drive is bad or not.

Edited September 9, 2006 by discountpc

[trickytwista]

yep the screeching noise and the "operating system not found" gives it away, definately a faulty hard drive. run tests on it and if broken simply replace it.

[Andromeda43]

Duh,

Since you don't have the 'puter any more, isn't this a bit redundant?

What has "boyfriend" done with the unit?

Or are you no longer speaking?

A hard drive crash would have to be my own thoughts too.

As a Computer tech, I've seen more of those than I even want to think about.

Screeching, squeeling, or clicking from a HD is the "Kiss of Death".

Just replace it and reload the OS and go on.

Hopefully, all data and critical info is backed up somewhere.

After setting up a laptop for one of my customers, I always try to make them

A Ghost Backup on DVD of the hard drive,

all set up, ready to go online and tweaked

and customized as they want it. That precludes ever

having to start from scratch again if (actually WHEN) the HD crashes.

Cheers!

Andromeda43 B)

PS: Remember, hard drive crashes are never a matter of "IF",

but just a matter of "When".

Be ready for it, with appropriate Backups and it may ruin your day,

but not your whole life.

I back up my whole C: drive several times a week with Norton's Ghost 2003.

It's cheap, simple to use and very effective.

[cocoharley]

Thanks for all the responses. I thought it had something to do with the hard drive too!

Duh,

Since you don't have the 'puter any more, isn't this a bit redundant?

I just wanted to prove my boyfriend's brother wrong. And so that in the future if something like this happens again I'll know what to do.

What has "boyfriend" done with the unit?

Or are you no longer speaking?

He hasn't done anything to the computer. And we're still speaking.

Just replace it and reload the OS and go on.

Hopefully, all data and critical info is backed up somewhere.

Nothing was backed up, but thank goodness there was nothing much on the hard drive that couldn't be replaced.

My boyfriend's brother got him a new hard drive. We don't have a Windows CD at the moment though. My boyfriend said the last person that re-installed the system for him never gave him back the CD!!! I've been bugging him for a very long time to get it back, but I guess he's a better procrastinator than I am a nagger!

Edited September 12, 2006 by cocoharley