Lappy frozen on re-start!

[621andy]

My missus has just re-started her lappy after updating Spyware Doctor and now she can only get as far as the Micrososft Corp page with the bar gauge(sorry for description but don't know what else to call it!) and it won't go any further...HELP PLEASE!

Thanks in advance!

[FullOppositeRudder]

Hmmmm...

I've haven't gone any further in my modern MS computer adventures than Win XP but ....

1) Be patient. Occasionally an XP 'puter will hover for quite a long time at this point after a soft or hardware change, sometimes with or without the HDD led doing anything. If the HDD led is flashing, then it's busy - a good sign that it will come back when it's finished. If it's still stuck after (say) 2 or 3 minutes, and especially if the HDD led is 'silent' then it could be more serious.

2) Try a start in "safe mode" - Pressing F8 at windows entry point should give you a menu with this option. If it is happy to come up with a full safe mode start, then all is not lost and other options can be explored. If you do get a working machine at this point, it might be a good time to back up valuable files like the "My Documents" folder and anything else you'd rather not loose.

If you have a Windoze 7 machine then other options may be available earlier in the process. My friend's near new Toshiba gave him similar angst a few days ago. Getting into the Toshiba start menu offered a "repair your computer" offer on the main menu. We accepted this kind offer; it did a chkdsk operation, repaired a couple of corrupted sectors and returned to it's former self. We were very relieved.

Others may have more helpful options at this early point - there is expertise on this list far greater than mine - but this is where I would start.

3) If all options in this area have been exhausted then a Windows "repair install" operation using the original install disk may be one solution. However seek out further advice before looking at this one. If you go that way, everything I've read suggests that one should avoid the "recovery console" presented earlier in the Windows installation dialogue. Go right through to the option to install Windows, it should discover the current installation and offer the option to 'repair' it. This option re-installs all/most essential Windows files but is supposed to retain all existing settings, My Documents, and other crucial stuff. I've used this several times in recent times for situations similar to this one. It's hard on the nerves tho.....

Lets hope you can get it back on its feet before it goes this far.

Good luck.
regards
Terry
(FOR)

[621andy]

I had a look at it, and we did a 'start from last safe startpoint' or somesuch similar statement, and it started without problem! The missus is very much relieved!

It's XP BTW

Many thanks for your comprehensive reply!