Help & FAQs    Search BCF    Members    Groups    Events Calendar
Resend my activation email : Register : Log in 
BCF: Bike Chat Forums


Oh dear..what's happened here then?

 Reply to topic
Bike Chat Forums Index -> The Geek Zone
View previous topic : View next topic  
Author Message

Imonster
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:15 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Oh dear..what's happened here then? Reply with quote
The lady friends laptop has seemingly packed up horribly after transferring a film onto a USB stick. Following the transfer it froze, she couldn't get into task manager and so did a hard shut down (with the USB still in it) after a couple of minutes as it was being entirely unresponsive.

On restart, it seems to be stuck on a DOS (? perhaps, bear with me I'm a computer numpty) screen stating "no disk found or error on disk. Please replace or repair and press any key to continue" (paraphrased)

She can't get past this, nor will it boot in safe mode.

WTF just happened please BCF?
____________________
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

jeddy11
Traffic Copper



Joined: 06 Jul 2012
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:21 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hopefully she has left a disk in the A drive (not likely unless the computer is old) or a disc in the disc drive (cd) and boot up sequence is wrong...

Or it sounds like the hard drive has gone corrupt / kapoot
____________________
Fuelly My Z1000SX
cbt 06/08/11 mod1 (second go) 01/08/12 mod2 21/09/12
Varadero Viking YBR125>Varadero125>ER6F>Z1000SX !!!
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Burnside
Spanner Monkey



Joined: 29 Sep 2007
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:23 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
Is the USB stick still plugged in? Sounds like the laptop is trying to boot from it. Unplug USB stick and reboot Thumbs Up
____________________
I started out with nothing and I still got most of it left.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Imonster
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:29 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
"Non system disk or disk error. Replace and strike any key when ready" is the exact message with a prior message along the lines of "can't find media cable."

Luckily we're both pretty anal about periodically backing up our info onto an external disk so lost data isn't an issue, but it would be nice to not have to bin it. Would replacing the hard drive sort it?
____________________
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Imonster
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:30 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
Burnside wrote:
Is the USB stick still plugged in? Sounds like the laptop is trying to boot from it. Unplug USB stick and reboot Thumbs Up


Tried that. Removed it, and it wouldn't boot. Stuck it back in and it wouldn't boot. Thanks though Thumbs Up
____________________
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

LockyUK
Brolly Dolly



Joined: 22 Dec 2011
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:34 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
before you buy anything might i suggest trying a FULL format, never know software could just have corrupted, good luck
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

LockyUK
Brolly Dolly



Joined: 22 Dec 2011
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:35 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
Burnside wrote:
Is the USB stick still plugged in? Sounds like the laptop is trying to boot from it. Unplug USB stick and reboot Thumbs Up


you can also go into the bios and set boot priority to not boot off any external media
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Casper
World Chat Champion



Joined: 12 Jul 2010
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:41 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
PeteLockwood wrote:
Burnside wrote:
Is the USB stick still plugged in? Sounds like the laptop is trying to boot from it. Unplug USB stick and reboot Thumbs Up


you can also go into the bios and set boot priority to not boot off any external media


That or check the CDROM is empty as it could be set to boot from CD.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Imonster
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:45 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
CD-ROM empty, and nothing in the USB ports. I can't see how I could get into the BIOS if it won't go into safe mode - anyone fancy giving me an idiots guide please?

It has transpired that it's been freezing quite regularly recently which suggests to me that something was on the way out anyway; the question is what?
____________________
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Redoko
World Chat Champion



Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:47 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
Don't suppose it was a VAIO?
____________________
"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

Imonster
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:49 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
No, HP something or other.
____________________
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

mistergixer
World Chat Champion



Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:58 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
Imonster wrote:
CD-ROM empty, and nothing in the USB ports. I can't see how I could get into the BIOS if it won't go into safe mode - anyone fancy giving me an idiots guide please?



You should still be able to get into the bios.

When it first boots, look for a prompt saying 'press F2 for setup' or similar. The actual key might be different (e.g. on my desktop it's 'delete' on my laptop it's 'F2'), but it should tell you.

Keep tapping the key until you see 'Entering Bios' (or similar) displayed.

When you're in, check that the hard disk is detected and displayed - if it isn't try removing and reseating it.

After that, check the boot priority, it should be set to the correct hard disk.

If all looks ok, my next step would be to try to boot from a Windows disk and try to do a repair.
I always keep a W7 installation disk handy on a USB key, just in case.

Thumbs Up
____________________
Space Monkey #7
Don Eladio is dead. His capos are dead. You have no one left to fight for. Fill your pockets and leave in peace. Or fight me and die!
Mistergixer's videos on YouTube
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

Casper
World Chat Champion



Joined: 12 Jul 2010
Karma :
PostPosted: 22:30 - 12 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yeah F2 on my dell. F11 For boot order.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Imonster
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Karma :
PostPosted: 19:55 - 16 Mar 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well, had a look in the BIOS and there was no hard drive to be found. Before trying a format, we whipped the back off it and the drive had somehow become completely unattached Confused

Weird, but it's working again. Hoorah. Thanks for the suggestions Thumbs Up
____________________
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 12 years, 359 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
  Display posts from previous:   
This page may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Bike Chat Forums Index -> The Geek Zone All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

 
 You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum

Read the Terms of Use! - Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group
 
Debug Mode: ON - Server: birks (www) - Page Generation Time: 0.10 Sec - Server Load: 0.65 - MySQL Queries: 13 - Page Size: 82.36 Kb