Hello everyone. This probably wouldn't be the best place to come for tech support, but whatever. I'll take a shot at it. It's been about 3-4 months since I've been able to get on my gaming computer and play on steam (the gametime you see on my profile is from my crappy laptop, which doesn't count).

Being technically challenged, I decided to ask you guys to help me with my problem. To promote support, I've decided to add an incentive (since this a steam gifting website) to post a private giveaway link on this thread (I wont say which because it'll be a surprise :) ) once my problem has been resolved.

So here's my problem:
I was playing Civilizations V when I wanted to load a savegame. While loading the savegame, Civilizations stopped responding, so I waited a little for the window to respond and come back to its normal state. After waiting for an unusually long time (about 2 or 3 minutes), I decided to whip up the task manager, but I couldn't do that either. After I realized my computer was completely frozen, I pressed the restart button on my computer.

Things went by as usual-the bootup screen and all that good stuff. After the loading screen (with the windows logo and the circling dots) went by normally, the screen blacked out as usual (to transition into the lock screen), but then it stayed like that. I thought there was some trivial, technical error, so I restarted again, but same thing, it was stuck after the loading screen. This is where my problem began.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that I've done Automatic Repair many times, and have done the chkdsk /f command in the command prompt, but I get a message saying that my disk is write-protected.

Thanks guys for your help!

11 years ago*

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Sounds like your motherboard may have died, or is in the process of dying, considering it can't boot properly.

11 years ago
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Well, it's just that I can't get past the loading screen. Sometimes during the loading screen, it says, "Please Wait", which eventually takes me to the Startup Repair Menu.

11 years ago
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Yeah, I had a PC that was acting the same way yours is. It was originally thought to be the hard drive that was faulty, but considering that I've installed it into my new one and its working fine, it wasn't the case. In the end, it turned out that it was in fact the motherboard. I'd get a new PC if I where you, if its an old PC, getting a replacement motherboard can cost just as much as getting a new PC.

11 years ago
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I was thinking that my video card may have been the faulty component, because this happened about a week or two after I newly installed a Radeon 6870 into my computer. But I really don't know any of this technical sort of stuff. I'll put this thought on standby while I get more ideas, because the last thing I want to do is mess with the interior of my computer (as I said I'm not too good with computers xD). Thanks!

11 years ago
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It wouldn't be your video card, cuz if it was at fault, then you most likely wouldn't get even the start-up repair. I'd say the most likely issue is the motherboard, or something related to it, like the RAM sticks. I wish I could tell you of something to be able to figure out the whats wrong, but your best bet would be to take it into a pc repair shop.

11 years ago
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unplug the drive and connect it to a working pc. Problem might have been hdd been write protected for some reason when it hanged. Try to remove the read-only status

11 years ago
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How, exactly, can I remove the "read-only" status?

11 years ago
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right click on the drive click on the security tab (make sure all of the users have acccess)
Screen
2.) Download YUMI

3.) Download memtest (extract the .iso and add it on the yumi multiboot) ISO Follow the instructions on their website memtest86+ ~
4.) You can add win7/win8 iso also so you can do a clean install (if you don't want to try the windows repair)

11 years ago
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Also RAM memory could be the issue, games make extensive use of it and a damaged or near-total-failure module can cause this kind of problems. It can also cause boot up problems, because RAM is vital for the system. Only way to know for sure is to do some RAM testings, but don't know any software to do that, usually I just swap modules and discard the damaged one...

11 years ago
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How would you know which one is damaged? I wouldn't want to throw out the wrong one.

11 years ago
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Try taking out one at a time

11 years ago
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You can swap it with the crappy laptop. Just open the back and swap the rams. Different sizes don't really matter, just as long as it's both DDR2/3.

11 years ago
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Can't use desktop memory with notebook.

11 years ago
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oh, I thought it was broken laptop and crappy laptop.

11 years ago
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You know what? You might be right. I don't think he specified, and I'm not reading that thing again. Ha Ha

11 years ago
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No, it's a gaming computer that isn't working and a crappy (meaning I can't play games that well) laptop.

11 years ago
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Take one out, do MemTest, if it's clean take it out and use other one, MemTest, if its bad then there is your problem, if its good then it's not your memory.

11 years ago
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Isn't MemTest the button on the motherboard?

11 years ago
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Run an OS from an USB or CDROM/DVD with minimal functions such as internet browsing, use it awhile and if it works correctly then it's a Windows or hard disk issue.

11 years ago
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Yeah, idk how to do that :S

11 years ago
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Download a copy of Ubuntu.

11 years ago
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  • Clic on "Gran an Ubuntu installer" for a Live CD version of the OS, pick a 32 bit or 64 bit version.
  • Then, follow the instructions. In case of problems, let me know.
11 years ago
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I'd say Puppy linux is easier for a beginner. Smaller and with most things built in.

11 years ago
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This is not advice I'd give to someone that has expressed a lack of certain pc knowledge. You're leading yourself and him down a long frustrating path of regret.

11 years ago
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I agree +1

11 years ago
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It's very easy for everyone and foolproof.

  • Download and burn an ISO image to a disc. Easy.
  • Boot from this CD, (most likely) just insert the disc before to turn on the computer. Easy.
  • Wait some seconds and then click the icon on the desktop to run the browser web. Easy.
11 years ago
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11 years ago
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I've done and made sure of both over this 3-4 month period.

11 years ago
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Try getting in safe mode. "F8"

If you can logon in safe mode do a system restore.

11 years ago
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Was this tried?

11 years ago
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When I press F8, I get the BBS Popup thing, not safe mode. Also, System restore can be found in the Startup Repair menu which I can access, but I'd rather not do that.

11 years ago
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Why would you rather not do that?

I'm not saying a re-installation of Windows. Just system restore to a few days before the problem occurred.

11 years ago
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Oh, I was thinking about system reset. Don't I need a disk to do system restore?

11 years ago
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Is your pc a retail box or custom?

Edit: no. You can do it comfortably within Windows. Successfully booting into SAFE MODE will answer a few questions. If it's an older pc, sometimes you have to wait a moment before tapping F8. Allow Bios to finish its splash, then immediately tap F8. Try F5 key if f8 definitely doesn't work.

Edit 2: I have to split for a while. I suggest reading these. (also, I'm aware they aren't hyperlinks. I supply URLs only)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-computer-safe-mode#start-computer-safe-mode=windows-7

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/system-restore

You want to start off simple at first. There's no reason to open the pc and dig shit in and out of it or try other operating sytems, or perform a fresh install until you've sorted the easier tasks.

I'll check back later. Good luck!

11 years ago
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This gaming computer was custom built by my brothers, who are not available right now or any time soon.

11 years ago
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I had this problem and it turned out that i had physical bad sectors on the hard-disk..had to change it back then. Perhaps it is the same in your case. You should probably install windows again and then test the hard-disk for bad sectors with a testing software.

11 years ago
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Well, it can be a few things;

RAM, HDD, Motherboard.

I wouldn't think it's your video card, however if you have a video card on your motherboard I'd go ahead and take it out and see if the pc boots (I've had cases where the motherboard PCIe slot went and it prevented the computer from booting up.)

Your case also sounds like a dead ram stick so take one out (if you have multiple) see if it fixes the issue, if it's still there take out the other ram stick put the other back in, same issue reverse the ram sticks slots (it could be a ram slot, or a ram stick that's faulty)

Otherwise you'll need to replace the motherboard or HDD, if there is a physical clicking in the HDD that's your problem right there.

If you didn't build your computer then you'll want to build a new computer to get the most bang for your buck. If the computer is relatively new then just get a replacement for the motherboard (but it doesn't seem to be the case here).

I repair computers as a supplement to my income, however there's so much that I don't know so it's hard to troubleshoot.

11 years ago
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Noticing you lack a lot of PC knowledge, you're not going to get your issue fixed here, take it to a local computer repair person, ask them if it's worth fixing or if you should get a new pc or have someone build you a pc.

11 years ago
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I'm guessing you have a graphics card... remove the graphics card and try to boot the system.

11 years ago
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No, it's not the graphics card. Some times my PCI graphics card (AMD 5450, the integrated one in my PC sucks) slips out becuase it's slighly big and I can't screw it in. So sometimes it tends to slip out and it goes to the company logo then the screen goes black and stays black.

11 years ago
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Well in your case it may not be, and this may not be a hardware issue at all. However, hardware is by far the easiest to rule out and fix. In this case I would start by removing the GPU, and trying to boot the system. If the system still does not boot, unplug the power and data cable from the DVD ROM. If the system still does not load correctly... Remove the second stick of RAM, and if it still does not load the OS correctly move the stick of RAM to the Second DIMM. Then if it still does not load place the stick of RAM that was removed in the first DIMM and remove the other stick. No load move stick to second DIMM. Now at this point hardware wise you have 3 options left. 1) a bad motherboard 2) a bad hard drive or 3) a bad PSU. If you know the manufacturer of the HDD you can get an ISO testing disk that will work as a boot disk. if the hard drive checks out then you are left with MOBO and PSU. If you have a functioning computer in the house you can use the PSU out of it for testing. After that you can say it might be the motherboard... and I say might be. There is still a possibility that it is a OS issue. If you can run a disk check then you should be able to run a sfc /SCANNOW on it as well (I think thats the correct command) it will check all of the system files. sometimes it will catch a corrupt system file and you can fix the problem right there.

Sorry for the wall of text!

11 years ago
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Listen to this man +1

11 years ago
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Sounds good. But first, I'll try to do a "Dirty Install", recommended to me by a friend who added me after looking at this thread. Good guy.

11 years ago
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Have not seen that term since XP... does it still work in the newer operating systems?

11 years ago
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11 years ago
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Hmm I see we are thinking of two slightly different things but that should work as well

11 years ago
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Seems the most likely flaw here is the GPU, for the moment, try removing it, and see if it boots, if it doesn't, we can move on from there.

11 years ago
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Any updates on your progress?

11 years ago
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Yes, I think so. A nice person decided to add and help me. We got the idea to dirty install, but the hdd doesn't show up on the disk list, so I think I may have to unlock my main hdd. Talking to him about it right now. But guys, keep flowing your suggestions in. Any help is appreciated.

11 years ago
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any updates?

11 years ago
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Closed 11 years ago by Muurder.