Vista 64 Black Screen of Death? HDD Failure?? *cry*

Hello,

Im having major problems with my laptop and have recieved great help from this site in the past. Please read my story and forgive my lack of computer knowledge. Im not so tech savvy.

So I return from vacation the other day, fire-up my laptop and start checking my mail, etc..Then the computer freezes and I do a manual shutdown.

I "run windows normally" then after the Windows Vista "is loading" progress bar shows for a bit it hangs on a black screen with a moveable mouse cursor. No Ctl+Alt+Del. Nothing.

I "run windows in safe mode" and it works. I do a system restore a full week back and restart again. That was the last time I saw my desktop. It just hangs after the "Windows Vista is loading" screen. Black screen with mouse cursor.

Computer: Sager 9262, 2 SATA HDD`s, NVIDIA 8800GTX, VISTA 64

Ive tried the F8 trick, but none of the options work for me. Ive tried pressing shift 5 times (the stickey key trick") but there is no middle option to open another window, just "turn stickey keys on/off, yes or no.

Ive noticed my laptop seems hotter than usual too.

Im living in a small town in Japan so I took it to the electronics store and after one day they tell me that they dont know what the problem is. They "think" that my HDD is busted. I dont even think they looked at it because my OS is in English.

So yesterday I pop in the VISTA 64 disk to try and reinstall windows. The computer couldnt read the disk drive. So nothing happened.

Then I go into the BIOS (I think - i pressed F2 at the opening SAGER screen) and disable my main HDD. Then my computer can read my VISTA 64 disk.

So i install VISTA 64 (no repair option, just full install) and after that completes i notice that my drive numbers have switched. C drive originally had my OS and D drive was for my media storage. It installed VISTA 64 on my D drive. I guess because I disabled C?? The strange part is that I could still access both C and D drive and explore the folders (i thought that because I "disabled" my main HDD I wouldnt be able to browse around in it - oh well.)

I start downloading stuff, implamenting the VISTA Tweak guide from this site as I did when I first bought my SAGER. Then comes time to restart my computer so the changes can take effect.

But when my computer restarts, right before the "Windows is loading" progress bar would NORMALLY appear, I get a bunch of DOS messages ticking by saying that "Searching...NO OS COULD BE FOUND".

is going on? Is it a VISTA problem? Black screen of death? A VIRUS? Is my main HDD busted? What can I do??

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I will be following this thread closely and hopefully you can help me find the problem!

 

Somebody? Anybody??

Oh I should also mention a couple more things that have happened recently.

If my computer is on for a while (10 mins or more) while im trying to figure out/solve this problem, sometimes it will just go blank. Even when i am in the BIOS screen, sometimes the screen will go all screwey and freeze-up. This, I assume has nothing to do with VISTA because it occurs before any Microsoft logos ever appear.

Also, ocassionally instead of a black screen with a mouse pointer after "Windows is loading", I will get a completely grey screen with no pointer.

Gah, this is getting frustrating.

 

Your hard drive might have reached it's end of life.

 

Thats what the guy said at the electronics store (I think). My HDD is only 2 years old. How long do these things usually last?

 

It does sound like a hard drive issue.

I would take it back to the tech store (unless you have a spare hard drive), and ask them to switch out the hard drive with another one, and see if it works.

Hard drives last only a few years with my experience with them. Some hard drives lasted only a year or so, and then I have a few hard drives that lasted quite a few years.

 

boot off a cd and run some hdd surface tests

 

No OS found errors are usually because the wrong partition is set as the bootable one, or something was corrupted on install. I'm not sure how you "disabled" your drive, but it was probably re-enabled somehow and now it's confusing the boot sequence.

It is possible your drive is hosed, but I can't be sure. What I am sure about is you somehow have your partitions funky, and that's whats' likely causing this issue. Can you tell Windows to just format everything when you reinstall? And change the boot order of your BIOS to put the CD drive before the hard drive?

 

Well the thing is, my main (C) hard drive wont read the recovery disk. When i go into the bios and disable C, the disk will read off my d drive. I installed the OS on my D drive and restarted my computer.

Then, I tried allowing C drive but I just got the black screen with cursor.

Then I disabled C and vista wouldnt load off D. I put the CD in and it asked me if i wanted to install VISTA (yes, again) onto D, but I didnt have enough space to install it twice lol

the whole think is messed-up. I currently have it at a local repair shop. I dont know what they can do with it since my OS is in English and im living in a small japanese village, but my fingers are crossed.

 

On install you should be able to set it to "Use Entire Drive" or something along those lines. That will erase everything on the drive and use the whole thing for Windows install. That's pretty much foolproof.

 

Now the guy at the repair shop is telling me to send my computer all the way to california (im in Japan) to Sager. He says that the mainboard is broken. Does that sound like it could be the source behind my problem? I thought if the mothorboard was toast the computer wouldnt even start??

 

I wish I would have seen this earlier.

It is likely not a hardware issue. I've run into this a couple of times now and read about it extensively. There are supposedly different causes but both times I have seen it the cause was somewhat simple--a corrupt event log.

What seemed to be occuring in my cases was that as windows was finishing loading it needs to write numerous events to the various event logs--being unable to write, it just kept trying over and over. The harddrive would flash for a moment, wait a few seconds, flash again, wait a few seconds. flash again...etc.

The first time, I pulled the harddrive, mounted it in another machine, and deleted the system.evt and application.evt files. Computer game right up after reinserting the drive.

The second time, I used an ubuntu disk, mounted the harddrive, and deleted the file (easier).

The event logs are located at:

C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs

Give it a try....you might consider moving ALL the files from this folder to another folder (windows will recreate the logs) just in case this is not the cause. You might be able to glean the real cause from the evt files if the above does not work.

 

so just to be clear, you are suggesting I delete the

system.evt
and the
application.evt files which are located in the
C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs folder?

Just double checking. Ill take it back to the repair guy (who will be just THRILLED his favorite foreigner is back

He seemed pretty certain it was a broken motherboard, but ill try to convince him to try again.

Question number 2 - is there some way I can so this myself? What tools/cables would I need? I have an external usb harddrive sitting around, if that helps.

Thanks for the help and new hope! +1 for you!

 

Yes, but you can rename them system.bak and application.bak

You can do this with an unbuntu linux disk (run linux from the cd without installing)--load, mount, navigate to the folder.

 

so I ask the guy to delete the system.evt and application.evt files?

Or just rename them?

Sorry, im not too tech savvy and I just want to be clear as I am also dealing with a language barrier over here as well

 

I would rename them. And YOU can do it with a linux boot disk.

Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu

burn the ubuntu iso and boot your computer with it...linux will load. You do not need to be a linux expert. You will just use the linux OS to navigate to that folder, rename those files, reboot.

windows will recreate the file(s)

 

Thank you my friend! I will try it tonight!

I was also wondering , if after reading about my laptop problems, does it sound like the motherboard could be pooched? What are the symptoms of a broken motherboard/mainboard?

 

Ok so I ran ubuntu and changed the files you mentioned but my comp seems to just freeze if I leave it on for a while (about 5 - 10 mins max).

I remember the Japanese guy saying something about how the computer will go unresponsive if left on for a while. He then says my mainboard must be replaced.

I would really like to exhaust all my options here, before I'm forced to send my computer across the world to Sager, costing me thousands of dollars in the process.

Does this sound like a mainboard issue, as the local tech guy claims? He was able to backup my data and said my hard disks are fine. $4000 for a gaming/editing notebook and it's pooped-out after only 2 years.

Like the title says ... /cry

$$$Install Windows$$$

The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error. Windows instalation cannot proceed. To install windows, click Ok ...and windows will r
estart.


That's the message I get after letting my comp rest a bit and restarting. Perhaps this is left over from the tech guy trying to reinstall windows and the comp crashing on him midway? I don't know.

With the vista recovery disk in the tray I click ok to restart and it just goes right back to the same windows screen again. If left on that screen the screen will just go blue and the computer will go unresponsive.

I'm not trying to bump or anything, just trying to provide new infoationnas it becomes available.

Thanks

 

...the most important information....did removing those allow you to get back into windows ---even if it is only briefly?

We started this thread with a black screen of death and now you seem to be up and running, but only for a short time.

Now, it seems like you are reinstalling windows?

Since you have your data backed up, there is no harm in reinstalling.

When you get to the screen where it asks youwhich drive to install to, choose advanced, delete the existing partition, and start fresh.

Your problem seems less like a hardware issue and more like a heat issue.

In the first sentence above, you seem to be describing a blue screen of death error...what is the STOP error number?

 

Ok, so I deleted both partitions (from my 2 Hard drives) and went for a clean install.

Actually, I accadently installed windows on the same HD twice! Doh.

Gerryf19, you may have saved me thousands of dollarsand months of waiting . Maybe. The post office here told me they wont ship laptops overseas by plane. Only by ship, which would take 2 - 3 months! Things were not looking good yesterday.

Then after wiping my HDs and doing a clean install (twice!) I was able to run Windows again!

But there is still something wrong with my computer.

Last night I decided to watch a movie online and after about 30 minutes, the screen went all grey and the comp went unresponsive.

The heat didnt seem as bad, but it was still hot. I dont know, maybe its always been that hot. I wish I could be more specific, but the reality is that I just dont know. Is there some software to detect if my computer is running too hot? I have a Zalmann laptop cooler under the laptop, BTW.

I was extatic to have my computer back, even if only for 30 mins lol. Its my lifeline to the rest of the world here in my little Japanese village.

So tonight after work ill delete my HD again and only install windows ONCE.

Do you have any idea what may be causing the freeze? What sort of information can I find for you?

Oh, and my secondary hard drive isnt showing up after I wiped both disks. It shows up when I press F2 before windows loads (i think thats the BIOS?), but not in MY COMPUTER after VISTA64 loads up. How can I get windows to detect the secondary HD?

Thanks a million, you have been a great help so far! I really hope I dont have to send this gaming beast back to Sager!

 

freezing is typically heat, so I can understand why you are leaning that way.

speedfan has some heat sensors

Did you install all the drivers, especially the chipset?

Did you check eventviewer?

Does the computer seize in safe mode?

 

I didnt install any of the drivers from the factory disk. Ill try that after I get the second Vista off my HDD. Do you think that will allow VISTA to recognise my 2nd hard drive?

Ill check out speedfan!

By chipset do you mean my Nvidia drivers?

I dont know what eventviewer is. How do I check that?

I havent tried loading it up in safemode. Ill try it when I get home later today.

Thanks for sticking with this thread!

 

Install these drivers (from website)

Software Upgrade

Get the chipset driver form here:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Default.aspx

EventViewer, start, right click COMPUTER, choose MANAGE, open EVENTVIEWER, look for errors at time of seize in APPLICATION and SYSTEM logs

 

Thanks for the links!

The software upgrades are on a disk that came with the laptop.

As for downloading the chipset, which one should I select? I chose...

Chipsets---->Laptop chipsets----->(active products) *from here im not sure which one to get*

Or do I just do an automatic scan/update from the site?

Just curious, but what will I be doing while in safemode? Is it just a test to see if my computer freezes up if left on for a while? Or am I doing something while in safemode?

 

Hmm now it's crashing with a green screen, sometimes blue, usually black.

I also noticed that when I drag windows around on my desktop, they leave minor "tracers" like it's lagging a bit.

I went into safemode to try and install drivers and both for video and audio drivers it froze up either during install or after clicking OK when asked to restart to impliment changes.

Eventlog brings up a bunch of errors and a ton of warnings. Can't really make sense of what they are though, as it isn't very specific (no "videocard/HD conflicts" for example).

I haven't been able to install speedfan yet.

I'm starting to think it's not a heat issue since the crash occurs when my comp feels cool to the touch.

Oh and sometimes when it crashes (whatever color screen) the screen will go black and every minute or so the comp will beep ( the same beep it makes right before windows starts to load)

So now vista will only load in safe mode (with networking too). But seems toncrash randomly. One time I had it up for an hour then tried a restart (fail).

Other times it will crash after a couple mins (grey screen, black screen...screen freeze). Sometimes it even won't load.

But it seems as though I can't load vista64 up normally AT ALL now.

Also can't seem to get the chipset for my sager9262 intel core2 quad.

I'll keep trying until I fall asleep. Quite a way to spend a Friday night lol

After half a dozen times trying to "start windows normally" I heard the windows chime that usually preceeds the login screen. But my screen was black.

So I entered my password and hit enter and it made the sound as though my login was sucessful. But the black screen remained.

This is messed up

 

almost sounds like your gpu is toast

 

Can boot up in safe mode with networking 60% of the time (still crashes tho). Tried over 20 times to boot vista normally but to no avail.

Send it back to the USA?

 

where are you (country)?

 

I'm in japan. Originally from Canada. You?

So this morning It actually started normally, I tried watching a video and the sound was fine but the picture was skipping around (media player classic from codec pack).

After 2 mins the screen went aqua/teal blue. Dead.

 

U.S., but that is not important.

There are several Japanese distributors of your notebook

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...q-reseller-info-read-before-posting.html#asia

I don;t know if they have storefronts, but the fact they sell it there should mean it can be serviced there.

Remember, Sagers are really rebadged Clevos

 

Thanks for that link. I guess on monday I'll get some coworkers to check those Japanese websites to see if they can service my computer.

Just wondering, do you think my mainboard is busted, like the guy at the local repair shop said?

If I leave my laptop alone for an hour or so then start it , vista will load. But after about a minute a blue, black, purple coloured screen will appear and everything freezes.

The latest time while watching a video, everything went purple and the audio continued to play , then skip as though frozen, then resume, then skip for 3 secs etc. After 30 secs everything locked up and audio just went screwey

Keeps doing it. Will start normally then after about 1 min a grey, black, blue or purple screen hits and then it's frozen.

What's wrong with my sager 9262 ?

 

I think it is your GPU...it is replaceable, but expensive

 

How expensive?

 

Depends on what card. You wrote in your original post that you had an 8800gtx in their---that actually isn't possible. You porobably have an 8800m

I've seen them for as low as $330 on ebay, but generally higher.

That's why I would take it to a shop--they can actually put in a KGP (known good part) to confirm it)

 

Oh so the GPU is my graphics card?

Ill talk to the guy at the local repair shop today after work, hopefully he will have another look at it.

and I believe my card is a Nvidia 8800m gtx (sager 9262)

 

Yes...that is the video card

It is a video processing unit mounted on an mxm card. Your laptop can take the 8800m or the 9800m

 

I hope you are right and it's the gpu. Even though it's expensive I wouldn't have to send my laptop anywhere and I could even upgrade the video card.

This is my first high end laptop. Do cards typically crap out after 2 years??

Ok well I had my coworker call the local shop and he says he cant switch out the card. My coworkers english is soso, and my japanese is worse, but she said the reason was because the card im my computer is made in the USA and he cant order a Japanese one (???).

This is getting to be insane. I just cant believe they cant fix my freaking computer in this country.

Just a thought, but if it is a GPU issue couldnt I just disable or uninstall my Nvidia card and it will work fine?

Safe mode loads up most of the time with no probs. Im sending this message from my busted computer now (safemode +networking)

Well I disabled my nvidia card , restarted and things seemed fine! For about 5 mins (3mins longer than usual).

Then it froze up again, took me 2 or 3 times to get it to boot into safemode , then it froze with a grey screen in safemode after less than a minute.

If the postal service wasn't so obtuse over here (no laptops via plane) or we had a fedex type service in my village, my computer would be en route to California by now lol.

Does it still sound like my gpu is the problem here? I disablednit and it still froze. Also, if I didt mention it before ,
sometimes when windows doesn't boot, rather than freezing the comp will just automatically restart on it's own.