I'm not even sure what the problem is!

Yesterday morning I brought my laptop into work like I always do, used
it for the four hours I was here, no problem. Ran errands for a good
portion of the day with my laptop in the car, about five hours, then got
home and opened the lid and it started up with a notice telling me there
was an error on C: and I needed to do a chkdsk.

Okay fine, I back up my files to my external hard drive (by copying
them, not using the system tool), which takes two hours. Somehow or
other I told it to do TWO chkdsk scans, so that took four hours.
FINALLY get it started up again and I get errors with AIM and iTunes.
Then it froze up on me and I lamentably had to do a hard restart. I
left it up overnight and when I went to move the mouse this morning to
disable the screen saver, it froze again. Brought it down to work, and
I'm backing up files with the tool.

I would do a system restore--BUT! there is only ONE that is listed,
which is timestamped for this morning, which isn't going to fix
anything. I'm thinking I'm going to have to do "last known good
configuration" or just start over and do a reinstall.

Thoughts? Help! I am only slightly techy compared to most of you, I
can find more information if you need it, but you'll have to tell me how
and where to find it.


--
rawbery79

rawbery79 wrote:

>
> Yesterday morning I brought my laptop into work like I always do, used
> it for the four hours I was here, no problem. Ran errands for a good
> portion of the day with my laptop in the car, about five hours, then got
> home and opened the lid and it started up with a notice telling me there
> was an error on C: and I needed to do a chkdsk.
>
> Okay fine, I back up my files to my external hard drive (by copying
> them, not using the system tool), which takes two hours. Somehow or
> other I told it to do TWO chkdsk scans, so that took four hours.
> FINALLY get it started up again and I get errors with AIM and iTunes.
> Then it froze up on me and I lamentably had to do a hard restart. I
> left it up overnight and when I went to move the mouse this morning to
> disable the screen saver, it froze again. Brought it down to work, and
> I'm backing up files with the tool.
>
> I would do a system restore--BUT! there is only ONE that is listed,
> which is timestamped for this morning, which isn't going to fix
> anything. I'm thinking I'm going to have to do "last known good
> configuration" or just start over and do a reinstall.

It sounds like your hard drive (and/or other hardware components) is dying.
You can do hardware troubleshooting yourself, but since this is a laptop
you may wish to just contact the laptop mftr.'s tech support.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself, so these are
just suggestions based on many years of being a professional computer tech;
suggestions based on what you've written. You should not take my
suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing hardware failures often
involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't
do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer,
take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data
backed up before you take the machine into a shop.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

"Malke" <malke@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:OHs1eF%23SJHA.5312@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> rawbery79 wrote:
>
>>
>> Yesterday morning I brought my laptop into work like I always do, used
>> it for the four hours I was here, no problem. Ran errands for a good
>> portion of the day with my laptop in the car, about five hours, then got
>> home and opened the lid and it started up with a notice telling me there
>> was an error on C: and I needed to do a chkdsk.
>>
>> Okay fine, I back up my files to my external hard drive (by copying
>> them, not using the system tool), which takes two hours. Somehow or
>> other I told it to do TWO chkdsk scans, so that took four hours.
>> FINALLY get it started up again and I get errors with AIM and iTunes.
>> Then it froze up on me and I lamentably had to do a hard restart. I
>> left it up overnight and when I went to move the mouse this morning to
>> disable the screen saver, it froze again. Brought it down to work, and
>> I'm backing up files with the tool.
>>
>> I would do a system restore--BUT! there is only ONE that is listed,
>> which is timestamped for this morning, which isn't going to fix
>> anything. I'm thinking I'm going to have to do "last known good
>> configuration" or just start over and do a reinstall.
>
> It sounds like your hard drive (and/or other hardware components) is
> dying.
> You can do hardware troubleshooting yourself, but since this is a laptop
> you may wish to just contact the laptop mftr.'s tech support.
>
> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot
>
> Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself, so these
> are
> just suggestions based on many years of being a professional computer
> tech;
> suggestions based on what you've written. You should not take my
> suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing hardware failures often
> involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't
> do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer,
> take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
> equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data
> backed up before you take the machine into a shop.
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP
> Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
> FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ
>


For the OP..

Over time, restarting your laptop after having being left in a cold car
could cause hardware problems. When computer components get really cold, one
should let them return to normal room temperature before using them..

Apologies for replying to you, Malke, but the OP message would not allow me
to reply.. :-)


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx

Mike Hall - MVP;891848 Wrote:
> "Malke" <malke@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:OHs1eF%23SJHA.5312@xxxxxx> > >
> > > rawbery79 wrote:
> > >> > > > >
> > > >>
> > > >> Yesterday morning I brought my laptop into work like I always do,
> > > used
> > > >> it for the four hours I was here, no problem. Ran errands for a
> > > good
> > > >> portion of the day with my laptop in the car, about five hours, then
> > > got
> > > >> home and opened the lid and it started up with a notice telling me
> > > there
> > > >> was an error on C: and I needed to do a chkdsk.
> > > >>
> > > >> Okay fine, I back up my files to my external hard drive (by copying
> > > >> them, not using the system tool), which takes two hours. Somehow or
> > > >> other I told it to do TWO chkdsk scans, so that took four hours.
> > > >> FINALLY get it started up again and I get errors with AIM and
> > > iTunes.
> > > >> Then it froze up on me and I lamentably had to do a hard restart. I
> > > >> left it up overnight and when I went to move the mouse this morning
> > > to
> > > >> disable the screen saver, it froze again. Brought it down to work,
> > > and
> > > >> I'm backing up files with the tool.
> > > >>
> > > >> I would do a system restore--BUT! there is only ONE that is listed,
> > > >> which is timestamped for this morning, which isn't going to fix
> > > >> anything. I'm thinking I'm going to have to do "last known good
> > > >> configuration" or just start over and do a reinstall.> > > > >
> > > It sounds like your hard drive (and/or other hardware components)
> > is
> > > dying.
> > > You can do hardware troubleshooting yourself, but since this is a
> > laptop
> > > you may wish to just contact the laptop mftr.'s tech support.
> > >
> > > 'page2'
> > (http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot)
> > >
> > > Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself,
> > so these
> > > are
> > > just suggestions based on many years of being a professional
> > computer
> > > tech;
> > > suggestions based on what you've written. You should not take my
> > > suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing hardware failures
> > often
> > > involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good parts. If
> > you can't
> > > do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your
> > computer,
> > > take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your
> > local
> > > equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all
> > your data
> > > backed up before you take the machine into a shop.
> > >
> > > Malke
> > > --
> > > MS-MVP
> > > Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
> > > FAQ - 'index' (http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ)
> > > > >
> For the OP..
>
> Over time, restarting your laptop after having being left in a cold
> car
> could cause hardware problems. When computer components get really
> cold, one
> should let them return to normal room temperature before using them..
>
> Apologies for replying to you, Malke, but the OP message would not
> allow me
> to reply.. :-)
>
>
> --
> Mike Hall - MVP
> How to construct a good post..
> 'Help US help YOU - Making good newsgroup posts:'
> (http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm)
> How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
> 'How to Use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups'
> (http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc)
> Mike's Window - My Blog..
> 'Mike's Window' (http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx)

So...do you think if I take it from work, to home with maybe not even
ten minutes of car time today, it should be fine?

(I'm totally stressing out here.) I'm testing the hard drive with the
SeaTools link from your post, Malke, and so far, so good...


--
rawbery79