My Computer Doesn't Boot Up Properly.

My computer has been having some trouble in the past few weeks. It runs like a dream once it's actually on and running, however getting it fully started up is the issue I'm having. first off here my computer specs:

AMD 6x core processor
2 - 8gb Ripjaws ram
GTX 460 Graphics card
1 terrabyte Internal Hard drive, samsung i think (also have 1 Terabyte external)
I also have a dual monitor setup although i dont feel it's relevant.

Okay Now The 2 problems I have.
First, My computer has problems booting up. while its booting up BEFORE it reaches the login screen it will freeze at some point. Then upon restarting it I am given a choice to "Run Startup Repair (Reccomended) or "Start windows normally". Now I had this issue about 2 weeks ago and I ended up getting to a screen that just said an error and took me to this page http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z324/kafungalung/pcpic.jpg Now I ended up Having to factory restore my pc basically because I reinstalled my OS and all my data was lost. Now it's about 2 weeks later I have re downloaded and updated to get some of the stuff I lost back and It has been acting the SAME way again.

I really want to figure out whatever is wrong with my pc but before that I need to safely back up my computer. I have heard about "partitioning" which I don't know how to do and/or Using my external Hard drive to back up my pc that way.

Now the main question is once i back up my pc how do I fix it? the best I can come up with is that the Hard drive may be going bad, because from what I'm told a Virus wouldn't have stayed on the pc through a new OS install. So please Give me any and all advice you can as I really dont want to loose all my stuff again just to reinstall it and loose it yet again.

 

Try Safe Mode (Tapping F8 repeatedly on boot) and choose "Last Known Good Configuration"
Also run a full scan with Malwarebytes free version also in safe mode and see what it finds.
If some program or Virus is stopping your system from booting properly, it can't in safe mode.
Then post back and we will advise further.
http://www.malwareby...lwarebytes_free

 

Like I said I want to try to Back up my system before I turn of the comp and try fixing the problem. and i need info on how to back it up.

Aslo I know from doin it before that tapping f8 brings up some weird screel that gives me 3 choices to choose form and they are all weird segments of numbers and letters. after I back up the system I will take a picture of my f8 screen and show you what i mean.

 

I think you are mixing apples and oranges. If you want to simply retrieve data you may need to remove the hard drive and get a USB adapter or "caddy" attach it to another computer and try to retrieve the information that you are looking for and save it. If the hard drive has failed totally that may be another problem for you.

As for backing up your system, right now it is failing and the window you shows a hardware error that could mean that your hard drive has failed or that it is trying to boot from the optical (CD) drive. How did you perform the factory reset. Was it from a manufacturers disc supplied with your computer or did you go to the advanced boot options window by tapping F8 when you booted the machine?

 

no no no. Right now my pc is working i got past the boot up menu. thats how im typing to you. however im affraid if I do reboot the computer again it will show that picture i linked because thats exactly what it did about 2 weeks ago and i had to Reinstall my OS and I lost all my data. So before trying to fix this problem I want to Save all my programs and personal info ect. to my external hard drive, and i need to know how to go about doing that. Then I can try to solve the issue I'm having with the start up safely knowing that if i do have to reinstall my OS again I will have all my data saved on the external hard drive.

So to be clear my pc is acting up just like it was 2 weeks ago. and at some point when it WAS acting up I got this screen http://i1184.photobu...alung/pcpic.jpg and couldnt do anything except reinstall my OS and loosing all my data. So since it's doing the same thing I want to save all my data so I don't loose it all agian. I am Confident it's not a virus as theres no viruses I know of that can survive a new OS install. It's probably My HDD going bad sadly. but before I figure out whats wrong I want to save my data.

My pc Is currently running and fine. Its getting it to start up that is wrong with it. and right now its past the start up so im good till i shutdown and start it up again. the picture may have confused you guys as its not what i'm currently seeing it's what I am affraid i will see again this time around if i restart the pc.

Also thank you guys for responding to this so quickly, i need to get this solved even if it means buying a new HDD because I am constatly using my pc.

 

You can't save your programs to your external unless you have software installed to do so.
However it's simple to back up your personal data to your external.
First click Start > My Computer and see if your external is recognized.
If Windows recognizes your external then open your documents > highlight all > Right click on a highlighted folder
> select Copy > then go back to "my computer" > open external and click paste and wait.

 

I dont have any documents i lost all those on the first OS reinstall, I was wanting to not have to redownload things like Skype,skyrim,Starcraft2, Itunes, steam, Tera(pc game) minecraft, Cockatrice (magic playing game), music, my game streaming programs ect i think you get the idea.

anyway if your saying i cant save them well that sucks but its not to bad to have to redownload them i just dont want to redownload them and this happen again and again every week or less. so i guess now we should get into how to fix my problem or if i need a new HDD since i cant save my programs anywhere.

 

Hi,

Do the following to check the HDD integrity:

Start > type in .....cmd .......Do not hit enter.
Right click on cmd.exe that shows top left of screen > click on Run as Administrator

At the prompt type .......chkdsk /f /r........(there is a space after chkdsk and a space after /f)
This will attempt to fix any errors and recover any bad sectors.

You will probably get prompted that the volume is in use and it will be done on a restart.

I am afraid you will need to restart the system

 

ok I did what you said and it took awhile but its done now what?

 

This is getting a bit confusing, at one point you say you have no data to save and in another you want to save your data. If you have data in a folder such as saved pictures or perhaps saved games (game data not the game itself) you can do that in the same manner that DSTM described above when making reference to documents.

Now as to your existing problem. Exactly what is it. Does it boot properly or not? If you are afraid that there is a system error that may pop up because it has before, making an image of your existing hard drive will simply allow you to install a duplicate of what you have now including whatever is causing you to have an issue.

Windows 7 has what is supposed to be a backup utility that is much better than previous versions; here is the official site: http://windows.micro...kup-and-restore

I use Acronis which is a paid utility and is considered the best by most people but you should give the Windows 7 version a try. It will allow you to back up files and also create an image of the entire drive. I suggest you do both. Keep in mind that the image will install your hard drive exactly as it is when the image is created. It will fix nothing.

Now after all that, do you actually have a current problem or are you just hedging your bets against future problems?

 

Ok first I lost all my documents i.e. text documents, music, Scripts for videos, Video clips ect... I redownloaded all the programs and games I had and those were what I was wondering if I could backup In reguardless thats not an issue anymore as I dont mind re downloading them all again if I can figure out and fix whats wrong. to answer your last question for the 3rd or 4th time now

My pc will freeze while its booting up, upon this happening I will turn it off and then back on. after it does some booting it prompts me to either "Run Windows Startup Repair (Recommended)" or "Start Windows normally".

Now This is exactly what it did about 4 weeks ago everytime I turned it on until about 2 weeks ago when instead of the start normal or repair screen I was shown this: [background=rgb(252, 252, 252)] [/background] http://i1184.photobu...alung/pcpic.jpg. Then I ended up reinstalling my OS and that is why i don't have any documents to loose.

Now It should be kept in mind that I did what this guy said:

Now I would like to know what the next step is.

 

I still think you are missing my point. I know what you did. I understand that you reset the machine to its factory settings and that is now water under the bridge. We could have helped you save your data but it is gone now.

What I am still not clear on is what is happening right now when you boot. Whatever happened to cause you to lose your data, etc. is over. Is it still freezing up when you boot? From what I gather it still freezes up but you are not prompted by the black screen anymore. Please, without repeating the background just tell us exactly what happens now.

 

When I start My computer it will freeze while booting. I will turn it off and restart it and it will prompt me with the [background=rgb(252, 252, 252)] "Run Windows Startup Repair (Recommended)" or "Start Windows normally" screen. All this has been said now 4 times. [/background]
However when I restarted my computer to do what the guy I quoted told me to do I had no problems with the computer starting so i dont know if what he told me to do fixed the problem or not.

This is exactly what my computer WAS doing before and IS doing now. I'm trying to avoid what happened last time.

 

Just for the record this/that/the "guy" has a name and has taken the time to help you. As for me understanding you, I am really sorry if you feel your creative writing style needs no explanation.

You can see if chkdsk has fixed any of your files by looking in the appropriate event logs. If everything is working then it probably did fix something.

If you don't know where to look just ask and maybe the guy will come back and tell you. I personally think your attitude stinks. Maybe the guy likes you better.

 

I also think you have a bad attitude and you should be more appreciative of the free expert advice you have been getting.

 

Well In one of my posts I expressed my gratitude for you guys taking the time to help me out and replying so quickly, However when someone asks you the same question 4 times you tend to get annoyed especially when it pertains to a serious problem you have. Now I thank you once again for taking time out of your day to help me out especially KenB since he seems to have fixed my problem. I Have my own website in which I am a administrator of and I take care to not Disrespect anyone on the website. Apparently Your knowledge alone allows you to be mods and administrators on this site which is reasonable, However KenB was the only one to completely read my post understand my problem and address the solution directly without asking me to repeat myself or disrespecting me and he's not even a mod.

So thank you for trying to help sincerely, however spending 2 posts to comment on what you perceive as unappreciation is just absurd for the type of site you are running. People come to you with problems they deeply need solved quickly and I've been waiting for about 2 and a half hours on another reply as to what to do next and I get 2 posts telling me I'm an asshole basically for wanting someone to help with my problem instead of asking me the same question 4 times, which is in text so they could just take another 30 seconds and read the post again.

But again thank you for your time and I hope this all worked. Sorry if at some point you thought I was being rude as it was not intended, I was simply a little annoyed considering my situation.

 

I am aware that this topic has been locked and that you cannot reply.

Pleased that it seemed to work for you.

I know that you are in your 20's. The team here are a generation apart. You should have been aware of that by the nature and the language used in our replies.
The style of language that is acceptable on your gaming website for instance does not fit too well here.
I found your replies a bit aggressive.

I appreciate your last sentence.