Member Avatar for chuteboxe39

Ok so just recently started having this problem. Don't know what started it, except i previously unplugged the power unintentionally while my laptop was in hibernate. Turned it on today, it gets to the login screen, and when i enter my password all i get is a black screen. I have googled some solutions, but the thing is, I CANT DO ANYTHING. I boot up in safe mode, black screen. safe mode with command, black screen, no command prompt. I hit shift 5 times to bring up the dialog, as found here http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/itprovistaannouncements/thread/f9f1f00e-eea9-4bda-b9c3-e97e817f27c7/#page:2 but when i click on the link, nothing happens and the dialog disappears. There appears to be nothing I can do. I would try to reinstall vista, but my laptop came with vista and I either lost the cd, or the damn laptop didn't come with any install cd (don't remember there being one.). WTF can i do here or am i just screwed. any help appreciated

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Suspishio

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Good catch by and sensible follow-up from . Disabling the Windows Event Log service can get you back to a usable desktop, but it is a workaround — the underlying problem is usually corrupted log files or a disk issue. The safest next steps are to repair the logs from outside the running Windows instance, then re-enable the service and verify system integrity.

Boot to a recovery environment (Vista install/repair media, manufacturer recovery, WinPE or a Linux live USB) and do not delete files — move or rename the Logs folder so Windows can recreate clean files. From a command prompt in that environment:

cd /d C:\Windows\System32\winevt
ren Logs Logs.bad
mkdir Logs

Then run disk and system-file checks (still in recovery) so you fix underlying corruption before re-enabling the service:

chkdsk C: /f /r
sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows

After rebooting into normal Windows, set the Windows Event Log service back to automatic and start it. If logs still contain bad entries, clear specific channels (Application, System, Setup) using the event utility once running:

sc config eventlog start= auto
sc start eventlog

wevtutil cl Application
wevtutil cl System
wevtutil cl Setup

Do not keep the service disabled — many components and third-party apps rely on it. If corruption recurs, test the hard drive (manufacturer diagnostics, SMART) and back up data immediately. If recovery media is not available, contact the laptop vendor for recovery discs or create a bootable rescue USB on another PC before making changes.

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Member Avatar for chuteboxe39

ok wish i would have kept trying before i posted. I kept trying the solutions above, pressing shift 5 times to get to the dialog, and it wouldn't work. kept trying and trying, pressing shift 5 times and finally clicking the link in the dialog worked, and i could get to the address bar and start up msconfig. disabled windows event log in the services and it works good as new. So I guess im still wondering, this seems like a temporary fix. Do I need windows event log, will it be ok to leave it disabled ?

Member Avatar for Suspishio

I pull the plug after hibernating all the time - so it isn't that. If you didn't mean hibernate but you meant Standby, then pulling power should ordinarily have no adverse effect until CMOS battery runs out.

My first step would now be re-enable the Windows Event system. You want events to be managed. You can delete the logs (they are likely to be corrupt), they'll re-create. Chances are that corrupt log files send poor code in Windows Event Manager screw that application. You'd figured that out anyway.

Since you have a way back to quasi- normality if this approach fails, you've little to fear.

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