PC will not boot!

[Pilgrim]

I have spent the last 8 hours trying to boot my PC.

Before I shut it down earlier I had run my normal cleaning routine and then made a backup using Acronis TI, just as I have done countless times before. When I started it again the light on the progress bar went across the screen three times, my webcam lit up as it usually does and then the screen went black. A short while after I got a BSOD.
If I try Safe Mode the list of drivers scrolls down the screen and then the screen goes black again.

When it first started I got an error message stating that vgaoem.fon was missing or corrupted, I looked it up and followed the instructions for replacing it, nothing changed.

Since then I have tried all the advanced startup options, I tried fixboot and fixmbr, they made no difference.
I tried recovering various files and folders using TI, up to and including everything in the Windows folder.
I have tried restoring complete partition images going back several weeks and the same thing is still happening each time, although I have lost the original error message.
Before I restored the last image I even tried reformatting the partition, it made no difference except to change the error number on the BSOD as follows:

Before format
0x0000008E (0xC0000005,0x00000000,0xB9B0FC9C,0x00000000)

After format
0x0000008E (0xC0000005,0x00000000,0xABEF8C9C,0x00000000)

What they actually mean I have no idea.

All the images I make are verified when I make them and in the several years that I have used TI I have only ever had one fail verification, a long time ago, and this is the first time that restoring one has not sorted things out.

I am certain it is not a virus or malware of any kind, I am equally certain that it is not a physical problem with the drive, I had run chkdsk a few hours before this started and I have run it twice since, it is finding no errors.

One thing that did turn up was when I ran fixmbr it said something about a non-standard partition table which possibly relates to when I used the Paragon Alignment Tool but I even tried the recovery CD I have for that and it made no difference, in any event that was quite a long time ago.

I have not tried a Repair Install so far but given that everything else has failed I am not sure that would work although I have used it several times in the past with success, a fresh install is beyond me at the moment and not something that I even want to think about.

The only other thing that has happened is that my internal CD/DVD drive has stopped working but I do not think it is related to the boot problem, I am having to use an external one.

It is now the middle of the night and if I can remember where it is I am going to bed for several hours (or days), I thought I might as well post this first in case anybody could think of anything that I have missed.
The only other thing that I can think of is a BIOS problem but the last time I looked I had the latest version and it had not been updated by Asus for very long time.

[Networx]

If you have another PC, try Wondershare Live Boot 2012, create a rescue disc and use it with your PC. It has a lot of tools to fix MBR, partition etc. Helped me with such issues. Do try repair option first if you prefer that option.

[hal9000]

According to several places, STOP 8e is mostly caused by faulty memory, faulty drivers, viruses or some other hardware issue. That narrows it down a bit!

The first thing MS themselves come up with, is RAM issues, so it's worth running Memtest+ just in case.
As the ROM drive is a new hardware addition, have you tried without it connected?
I don't think it's boot sector / mbr issues as you wouldn't get as far as the XP progress screen. Crashing during the progress meter is often caused by a driver or registry issue.

If you have Hiren or another bootCD with 'Bluescreenview' on it, you could locate and study the minidump (usually in C:\Windows\minidump) files which will tell you the file causing the problem.

[Murphy]

Hi,

Maybe you should check the memory ( RAM ) modules .

Best regards !

PS. I do not think that you could have a problem like .... HaxDoor virus .
Check the RAM modules . ( If you have two modules, remove one and see if your PC starts .... )

[Raymond]

If Safe Mode fails to boot up and also restoring to an earlier backup image don't work, then it is most likely a hardware fault.
Testing the RAM should be the first step since it can be done easily using a third party software such as Memtest+ suggested by Hal. If RAM is tested fine, then try reinstalling Windows since you have backup images.

If the installation fails, then it could be the motherboard itself or CPU.
When a motherboard is faulty, it can cause a lot of random problems which makes it very hard to pin point that it's the motherboard itself.

[Pilgrim]

Morning, I think? Thank you for the replies.

Murphy & Raymond, I just caught your replies as I was about to post, see below.

Networx,

I looked that up but only got as far as the price. Thanks anyway.

hal9000,

I have a horrible suspicion that I actually know what is going on, I will get to it in a minute.

I think I have a Memtest CD knocking about somewhere along with SeaTools.

The 'ROM' drive is actually a CD/DVD RW drive and has been used with the PC before so it should not be an issue but yes I have tried with it disconnected.

I have various CD's that are bootable but none that are useful in this case, what I am going to need is a way of accessing some of my files, either from an image or the PC but I cannot remove the HDD to do it externally.
I cannot access my second internal drive for the same reason and I do not have external images of that, the backups are on a different internal partition.

Unless the CD's you mention create the minidumps that will not work, I do not even have a minidump folder.

Thinking about it I have just remembered that I made a monthly external image on the 1st as I always do, so that should solve that problem in immediate terms.
I have also remembered that the files that I need are encrypted inside Microsoft Private Folder which I do not have on the Netbook, using a program that I also do not have on the Netbook. Could be interesting.

If my thoughts on the cause are correct I actually mentioned it in my original post, the Paragon Alignment Tool (PAT).
What I think has happened is that when I restored the complete image it moved to an alignment that is not being recognised by the OS, as soon as it realises it is 'in the wrong place' it shuts down. I recognise the symptoms.

As I have restored various files and folders recently I think the images integrity can be discounted as the problem.

The alignment has not been changed for some time but this is the first complete image restoration I have done since and although in theory the image should go back exactly as it was I know from past experience that does not always happen, what is happening is almost identical to past experiences when I tested various versions of PAT, not all of which were generally released.
Out of 24 partitions across 2 computers and 2 external drives the only one I had a problem aligning was C: on the PC, in other words the same one that I cannot boot now.

I have written to Paragon to see if I can get another copy of the version of PAT I finished up using as I cannot access the file and it is no longer installed so it would not be in an image, what I need is an ISO, I have also explained the situation to them and asked if they have any other ideas.

In the meantime I will try anything that comes to mind and try to access the files. I am not worried about losing anything but I am worried about what might be involved in getting the PC up and running again which could take a few months.


While I have been writing this I just got a reply from Paragon, their first suggestion is a virus but from what he suggests that seems extremely unlikely as formatting would have dealt with anything already there and while the problem is new some of the images I have tried are not.

---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:04 PM ----------

Memtest was Paragon's next idea.

The SeaTools CD has both HD and RAM tests, both came up error free.

---------- Post added at 04:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 PM ----------

Paragon are now suggesting it is TI's fault, in spite of the fact that in the several years since I bought it I have made around a dozen full image restorations and many more file or folder restorations without a single problem.

[Raymond]

I've just re-read the whole thread again and found a valuable information.

I have tried restoring complete partition images going back several weeks and the same thing is still happening each time, although I have lost the original error message.

Since memory and disk test came up fine, my next guess would be the motherboard itself.
If you have a spare hard drive that is empty, I would connect it as the primary hard drive and disconnect the rest.
Then try reinstalling Windows using the installation disc.

[hal9000]

Which memory test was on the Seatools CD, there wasn't one on the CD I got from the Seagate site?
I would only recommend Memtest86+, it's pretty much THE standard for testing.

Paragon are only really giving you the standard response for troubleshooting the 8e error as I mentioned above. I really don't think the alignment tool is the issue because you're getting some way into the boot process before it fails.

If you are restoring images that you KNOW for a fact are good, and they are failing, I can only see a hardware issue like Raymond.

[Pilgrim]

Since memory and disk test came up fine, my next guess would be the motherboard itself.
If you have a spare hard drive that is empty, I would connect it as the primary hard drive and disconnect the rest.
Then try reinstalling Windows using the installation disc.

There are two problems with that: 1. I do not have a spare HD. 2. I do not have the physical ability to take things apart any more, I had to make up a co-axial cable recently, each end took me nearly 20 minutes.

If 2 was not a problem there are many things that I could do, I still have the MB (complete with CPU (3.06GHz P4)) that was originally in my PC, and the manufacturers installation disk. I would need to look up the wiring diagram again as I had to modify it for the new MB but it all still works. It would still be difficult as it is in a micro ATX case and over the years I have added several things to it, the only empty 3.5" bay I have is full of cable, mainly from the PSU, because there is nowhere else for it to go.

There are many other things that I could do before I got to that point like taking out the master HD and promoting the slave, as I was talking about in another thread that I started recently.

As well as removing the main drive and connecting it to my Netbook.

(In case it provides any further thoughts about things my present MB is an ASUS P5P800-VM with a D945 CPU.)

Which memory test was on the Seatools CD, there wasn't one on the CD I got from the Seagate site?
I would only recommend Memtest86+, it's pretty much THE standard for testing.

Paragon are only really giving you the standard response for troubleshooting the 8e error as I mentioned above. I really don't think the alignment tool is the issue because you're getting some way into the boot process before it fails.

If you are restoring images that you KNOW for a fact are good, and they are failing, I can only see a hardware issue like Raymond.

If I run SeaTools, when I highlight a drive that I want to test on the menu that comes up is a memory test.

I might be wrong about a connection to PAT but there are definite reminders of past experience.

One thing I should put in before I forget it again. A Repair Install is not an option thanks to MS, you cannot do a Repair Install of XP with anything above IE6 installed, it will not work. I have IE7 and the last couple of times I had to uninstall it before I started, as I cannot access the drive I cannot do that this time.

At the moment I have worked out a list of things that need doing that I am able to do:

The first thing is to copy all the data from both partitions on the problem drive then I can do what I like with it without worrying about losing anything.
I have an empty partition (100GB) on my main external drive and my idea is to create two new folders on it and copy one partition into each, as it is external this will give me access to the files with the Netbook.
I have a Knoppix 5.1 CD which should enable me to do this but several of my partitions will not mount, including the problem C: drive. I have tried altering the permissions but without success. Any advice on how to solve that would be appreciated.

---------- Post added 02-10-2012 at 11:46 AM ---------- Previous post was 02-09-2012 at 12:27 PM ----------

Following a suggestion from Paragon I tried deleting the partition, creating a new one and restoring an image, it never solved the problem but I ran SeaTools again afterwards and it threw up a File Structure error which was not there before. Also, I have the Recovery Console installed on the HD, when I tried it before I just got a flashing white bar in the top left corner of the screen, now I am getting a Disk Read error.

At the moment I am running chkdsk /r from the XP CD but I am going to order a new HD in any event.

I have been thinking for some time of getting an HD enclosure, as I need an HD as well I will get both. I have been advised to get them as separate items as I gather not all external drives can be dismantled.

I have thought about using my slave drive as the master but the only place I have to move the data which is already on there is a 2.5" 5400rpm external drive I use with the Netbook, it would take for ever, I would need to alter the partition table, and I would still need to buy another drive eventually.

[curlysue]

interesting thread here...had experienced some STOP8E before but it turned out to be RAM problem which I confirmed through Memtest86+. i hope you can sort it out as it's a tedious thing when you do not have a spare drive..googdluck dear