"Setup is starting Windows" - freezing up

[SJohnson4611]

I have a HP laptop (HP530) that when I try to reload windows it freezes when it gets to "Setup is starting Windows"

 

[vacunita]

Seriously with that amount of information you expect us to be able to help you out?

Is this a new computer?

If its not a new computer, and you are just trying to re-install windows why are you trying to re-install it?
Was there something wrong that prompted you to re-install?

Have you checked the hard drive for any errors that may be causing this?

Did you add any hardware recently?

Is anything connected to any USB slots other than keyboard or mouse?

Help us out here, a bit of history on the PC, as well as why you are running setup may help us diagnose the problem.



----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[kjv1611]

vacunita,

If you look at the OP's history here on tek-tips, you'll see that he/she doesn't really seem to give much info, doesn't reply much to their own threads, and has apparently never let it be known that any info was helpful. This with being a member since 2003.

All that to say that now I'm not shocked that the info is so sparse.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[SJohnson4611]

Sorry about that...did not mean to offend anyone. Now that its lunch time, let me take a little more time to give more info. The laptop that I was having problems with is a HP 530 that was turned in from one of my users. I had done a format of the hard drive and was reinstalling XP pro with plans of distributing it back out to a new user. The problem happened when I tried my XP Pro reinstall. No USB or any other hardware connected to this laptop. I do not know the history of this laptop so I dont if the old user had experienced any problems. Again, I am sorry for my lack of information in my post...I just get busy.

Scott

 

[kjv1611]

I'd start with running some diagnostics no the machine, particularly the hard drive. Laptops are especially vulnerable to their hard drives being damaged from too much bumping/knocking around. If you don't have any handy, you could start with UBCD or UBCD4Win. UBCD includes many/all of the HDD manufacturers' diagnostic utilities.

Or if you have another hard drive around, a quick easy test would be to swap it out, and if it proceeds, then you know it's the hard drive.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[vacunita]

You didn't offend anyone, but expecting help while providing no information is really not the way to go.


Anyway, the first thing would be to check the drive, it may have some issues as kjv suggests, run the drive's manufacturer's diagnostic utilities on it. A bootable Cd is always a good tool to have.

You could also try a LiveCD, either Linux or Winowos PE.
To take the HD out of the equation.

If they boot correctly you know its not general hardware related, and likely the HD is the problem.

If the Live Cd's won't boot wither, then it points to a hardware issue. Some piece of hardware is having problems and is causing the freezing, and its probably not the HD.







----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[SJohnson4611]

I did boot with a Knoppix disk and it ran stable so I feel good about the hardware. I am now thinking hard drive. I like the suggestion of UBCD.

Scott

 

[kjv1611]

It may be a good idea also to pop open the hard drive cover to take a look and be sure who the HDD manufacturer is, so you can select the appropriate one from the list on the UBCD, if you don't already know. If it's a Dell laptop, not high-end, then there's a fair chance it's a hitachi drive, I think... or really any of the big mfgs, it seems. Next might be seagate or western digital. But regardless, I'd look at the drive to be sure... or you may can tell from the BIOS.

If it's a SATA drive, a replacement drive can be had cheap, if that's in your school budget. You can get good drives now for under $50:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE

My current favorites are the 2.5 SATA drives by WD, but to each his own, of course.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[kjv1611]

It may be a good idea also to pop open the hard drive cover to take a look and be sure who the HDD manufacturer is, so you can select the appropriate one from the list on the UBCD, if you don't already know. If it's a Dell laptop, not high-end, then there's a fair chance it's a hitachi drive, I think... or really any of the big mfgs, it seems. Next might be seagate or western digital. But regardless, I'd look at the drive to be sure... or you may can tell from the BIOS.

If it's a SATA drive, a replacement drive can be had cheap, if that's in your school budget. You can get good drives now for under $50:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE

My current favorites are the 2.5 SATA drives by WD, but to each his own, of course.

(of course this info is b/c I'm really thinking your hdd is toast or dying... but I could be wrong).

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[kjv1611]

One other possibility, though I doubt it, is that the CD/DVD you're using could be damaged and now unreadable - or partially unreadable. It doesn't sound like it from your symptoms, but that is a possibility. I think more about this now, after using someone else's restore disks (brand new from the mfg) for restoring their laptop), and had to reburn the disks myself, b/c they weren't "finalized" - which seemed really odd to me.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[SJohnson4611]

Thank you kjv1611 - I just had the HD fail a drive test. Looks like it is the HD.

Scott

 

[vacunita]

Looks like you'll have to change the HD.



----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[goombawaho]

Amen about more information when posting a question (posters). Try to kill us with too much information rather than saying "my computer be broke".

The other lesson from this post is to always suspect a hardware problem until it's proven that the hardware is okay (after it passes some tests).