Need PC Help

[Vince, Pt. II]

So I've been having some issues lately, but they really took a dive recently. I've been goofing around with an online beta-test, but the program is pretty buggy. After it locked up for the fifth time today, I performed a hard restart on my machine by holding the power button down - now it won't load windows at all. Putting my Vista disk in the drive (SP1, 64-bit), I get to a "Select the language to install Windows in:" screen as if the computer doesn't have an OS installed.

Will "reinstalling" hurt my computer in any way? I'm not sure what brought this on, but I can't get the machine to boot except to this install screen. I'm not out much if I have to do a full reinstall (other than time), but there are a few documents I wouldn't be able to recover that I'd rather save if possible.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

So I've been having some issues lately, but they really took a dive recently. I've been goofing around with an online beta-test, but the program is pretty buggy. After it locked up for the fifth time today, I performed a hard restart on my machine by holding the power button down - now it won't load windows at all. Putting my Vista disk in the drive (SP1, 64-bit), I get to a "Select the language to install Windows in:" screen as if the computer doesn't have an OS installed.

Will "reinstalling" hurt my computer in any way? I'm not sure what brought this on, but I can't get the machine to boot except to this install screen. I'm not out much if I have to do a full reinstall (other than time), but there are a few documents I wouldn't be able to recover that I'd rather save if possible.

Your windows install is corrupted. You're going to have to do a reformat. If you have Vista or Windows 7 pretty much everything gets saved to a windows.old folder that you can access by going to your C drive. So no loss of files or documents.

Outside of that, reformating every 6 months or so is good for your system and keeps things running smoother so that you don't run into situations like the one you experienced.

Btw, hard restarts are usually what leads to corrupted windows installs. They're necessary sometimes, but if you find yourself doing them repeatedly because a program keeps locking up you're going to end up doing a reformat sooner or later.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Your windows install is corrupted. You're going to have to do a reformat. If you have Vista or Windows 7 pretty much everything gets saved to a windows.old folder that you can access by going to your C drive. So no loss of files or documents.

Outside of that, reformating every 6 months or so is good for your system and keeps things running smoother so that you don't run into situations like the one you experienced.

Btw, hard restarts are usually what leads to corrupted windows installs. They're necessary sometimes, but if you find yourself doing them repeatedly because a program keeps locking up you're going to end up doing a reformat sooner or later.

windows.old - really? that's pretty awesome.

my next laptop will be a windows 7 machine when i get it for my self xmas present

[weegeebored]

You might want to try a repair instead of a reinstall just to save time. Here's a link: How to automatically repair Windows Vista using Startup Repair

You probably do need a complete reinstall but the repair could work for you.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Awesome, thanks for the input. Should I just follow the prompt and install from here? Or should I reboot and reformat from a safe mode/dos-prompt?

Also, do I need to do anything to save to this windows.old folder? Or will it automatically be there after I reformat?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Awesome, thanks for the input. Should I just follow the prompt and install from here? Or should I reboot and reformat from a safe mode/dos-prompt?

Also, do I need to do anything to save to this windows.old folder? Or will it automatically be there after I reformat?

Just have the disk in when you boot and follow the prompt.

The windows.old folder will be made automatically. Reformatting with Vista/Windows 7 is actually rather painless.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Thanks a ton Atocep.

[Vince, Pt. II]

So this is odd - after formatting, I'm currently reinstalling Windows from a legit Windows Vista CD. I'm getting the following error message:

"Windows cannot install required files. The file may be corrupted or missing. Make sure all files required for installation are available, and restart the installation. Error code: 0x80070570"

Should I contact Microsoft Support? Or can you bail me out again Atocep?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

So this is odd - after formatting, I'm currently reinstalling Windows from a legit Windows Vista CD. I'm getting the following error message:

"Windows cannot install required files. The file may be corrupted or missing. Make sure all files required for installation are available, and restart the installation. Error code: 0x80070570"

Should I contact Microsoft Support? Or can you bail me out again Atocep?

Are you able to burn a new copy of the windows installation disk? It's a strange error to get on a legit copy, but the first thing I'd do is try burning it to another disk and then using that one to install windows.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I'll have to go somewhere else, but I'll give it a shot.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Tried it one more time, got a different error now:

"Windows cannot access the installation sources. Verify that the installation sources are accessible, and restart the installation."

I should be able to burn a copy of my Windows disk tomorrow, so I'll try that next.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Update/Rant:

After three weeks of being insanely busy, multiple failed attempts at Microsoft Customer Service and half my monthly cell phone bill's worth of minutes spent on hold, I've determined the problem and my three possible outcomes.

Problem: Windows DVD-Rom is hosed and defective. This is a known and semi-common problem.

Solution: Pay Microsoft $30 to ship me a replacement DVD.
Solution: Pay Microsoft Tech Support $59.99 to resolve the issue over the phone. Benefit being that they won't charge me until the ticket is closed.

Am I right to be horribly frustrated with Microsoft for this? I have defective material, through no fault of my own, and it's going to cost ME money to replace it. Bah.

For full disclosure, I bought it originally from NewEgg.com and they only have a 30-day return policy.

[gstelmack]

Solution: Borrow DVD from a friend, burn a copy. Your key is the important part, not the actual physical media.

[Vince, Pt. II]

You are a smart man. Irritation is clouding my judgement. I'll have to find a friend who runs Vista 64-bit.