Member Avatar for prisky

Iam not able to start Vista either in Safe Mode or Safe mode with networking or Safe mode wiht command prompt, or using any other methods.
Not able to use the Windows Vista bootable disk to reload the OS, not able to use any other Windows CD
But able to use the CD drive, but the disks are not working.
When I try to login, just the screen with Windows Vista loading comes up and did not allow me to login.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by birellar

Dani AI

Generated

Summary and prioritized checklist based on the thread: reports Vista stopping at the "Starting Windows" screen and Safe Mode/bootable discs are not taking the system to a repair environment. ’s BIOS suggestion and ’s boot-vs-media clarification point to two paths: (A) hardware/boot-device detection problems, or (B) a corrupted boot/Windows installation. The next steps are aimed at isolating which side is at fault and preserving data before any reinstall.

Recommended actions (isolation first)

  • Enter BIOS/UEFI (common keys: Del/F2/F10) and confirm the HDD and optical/USB devices are listed and boot order is correct. If drives are not shown, reseat SATA/IDE/power cables or try a different port/cable.
  • If drives are listed but the Vista DVD/repair disc does not boot, try a known-good bootable USB or a different disc (bad burns or media are common). If a different boot media works, proceed with the Recovery Environment below.
  • If no external media will boot, remove nonessential peripherals and test RAM with a bootable memtest tool and test the HDD with a manufacturer diagnostic or a Linux live USB to read SMART values.

If a recovery boot can be reached

  • From the Windows Recovery Environment run these commands at an elevated command prompt to repair common boot errors:
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd
chkdsk C: /r
  • Use System Restore from WinRE if available. For an offline SFC scan (Vista), use the appropriate /OFFBOOTDIR and /OFFWINDIR options if needed.

Data-first precautions and next steps

  • If critical data exists and the drive looks failing or utilities report bad SMART sectors, image the disk to another drive before further writes (connect the drive to another PC or use a rescue USB). If imaging is not possible, consider professional recovery.
  • A repair install or full reinstall will remove installed programs and possibly user files; proceed only after data is secured. Addressing and : password resets do not help when the OS does not reach the login stage, while disk corruption is a valid possibility—confirm with SMART/chkdsk and memory tests before replacing hardware or reinstalling.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

hi, you don't tell us why you cant boot to a windows cd ,did you set cdrom as first boot in the bios setup, oh and you also didn't tell us the make and model of you computer and a little about its hardware ,motherboard /ram/ hdd ect ect

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for Member #777908

But able to use the CD drive, but the disks are not working.

when you said that....,did you mean that the disks are not working at all or the disks are just not booting up???

Edited by Member #777908 because: n/a
Member Avatar for steve charles

Try to reset your windows vista pass?

Member Avatar for birellar

It might looking your hard disk has been corrupted, so you need to recover it so that your can prevent your lost data.

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