Xp doesn't run.

[JrockMod]

Hey guys one of my laptops I have isn't working properly anymore. I was wondering if you brilliant smart guys can help me out I have WinXP SP2.

ok ok so upon bootup, I get the screen that asks to
boot Windows normally, Safe boot, or Last Known Configuration. No matter
which one I choose, Windows will start to load and after a few seconds a
blue screen with some error message flashes just for the briefest instant and
then the machine reboots. The blue screen does not stay on long enough to
read.

What are my first steps to correct this problem?

[bailey]

that almost sounds like maybe the cou is getting too hot too fast,
you might check the air flow passages for dunt, lint, or any other that may cause poor air flow.

also possible some bad ram could also do that.

[F.E.A.R.]

heatsink may not be attached properly, may have come off if beeing harshly treated and i think it may possibly be a blue screen of death?

[F.E.A.R.]

lol, my friends 9600gt accidentally came out from taking his comp to another place in the car and going over rough bumps

[glc]

Fear, this is a laptop.

I'd run ram and hard drive diagnostics. If this is a Dell, you can press F12 on startup and run full system diagnostics - as long as you haven't deleted the diagnostic partition.

[F.E.A.R.]

........... i have bad mem and 4gt.

[JrockMod]

when I press f12 it tells me the brand name and all the info and than 2 lines down it says some number and letters with a - next to it and it says that the media test failure and below that said exiting exrom or something it flashes away quick onto the option screen to boot up windows (safemood,start normally etc..)

If i press f11 and do the pc recovery will I lose everything on the laptop?

[glc]

Is this a Dell? F12 only works on a Dell. If it's not a Dell, you need 3rd party diagnostics such as Memtest86+ and hard drive diags from the hard drive manufacturer. I would run diags before thinking about any kind of recovery.

[JrockMod]

its a Compaq

[glc]

You can do either a destructive or nondestructive recovery - but even with a nondestructive, you may lose access to files in My Documents.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/g...bph07145&lc=en

[JrockMod]

thnx glc I'll give the nondestructive a shot. But is this certain that its a windows problem? because it will not load up at all.

also what could of caused this in the first place?

[glc]

is this certain that its a windows problem?

NO! - I don't think you are following my posts very well.

Me:

I'd run ram and hard drive diagnostics. If this is a Dell, you can press F12 on startup and run full system diagnostics

You:

when I press f12 it tells me the brand name and all the info and than 2 lines down it says some number and letters with a - next to it and it says that the media test failure and below that said exiting exrom or something it flashes away quick onto the option screen to boot up windows (safemood,start normally etc..)

Me:

Is this a Dell? F12 only works on a Dell. If it's not a Dell, you need 3rd party diagnostics such as Memtest86+ and hard drive diags from the hard drive manufacturer. I would run diags before thinking about any kind of recovery.

You:

its a Compaq

[JrockMod]

how can i run any diags?

[glc]

If it's not a Dell, you need 3rd party diagnostics such as Memtest86+ and hard drive diags from the hard drive manufacturer.

1. www.memtest.org

2. What brand hard drive is in it? Go to that manufacturer's website. If you can't figure that one out, use Hitachi's Drive Fitness test. Their website is www.hgst.com.

You want to download the package that's in "iso" format. You will burn this iso to a CD. To burn an iso to a CD, you need CD burning software capable of doing that. You don't just copy the file to the CD, an iso is an image, and you need to treat it as an image. In Nero, for example, you choose to burn a CD from an image or saved project. This CD will be bootable, you boot with it to run the tests. If you don't have burning software capable of doing this, you can download free software from www.deepburner.com that can do it.