Member Avatar for JFINGERS

Daughter managed to get blue screen yesterday whilst playing game. Shut down then restarted today but after selecting XP Home edition it starts to run but quickly shows a blue screen and states "Checking file system on C: The type of the file system is FAT 32.
One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency. You may cancel the disk check, but it is recommended to continue, to skip press any key within 5 seconds".
Nothing then happens.
Tried SAFE mode but it just lists a few files and stops. If I try restore to previous configuration (think thats ight) it does gives same blue screeen.

Can I fix with XP disk? I do not have one as XP came with PC.

Please help!!

Thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Suspishio

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Brief summary for : the message about "Checking file system on C: The type of the file system is FAT32" means Windows has scheduled a disk-consistency check. Because Safe Mode and System Restore stop early, treat the hard drive as suspect and protect data first. is right to flag the recovery disk as a last-resort factory restore; ’s System Restore idea won't help if Safe Mode doesn't actually boot.

Immediate non-destructive checks and observations:

  1. Verify the early boot prompt is actually accepting keyboard input: toggle Caps Lock/Num Lock and watch the LED. USB keyboards sometimes aren’t active that early; try a different keyboard (PS/2 if available) or enable USB legacy support from the BIOS if possible.
  2. Watch/listen for disk activity. Full filesystem scans on larger drives can take many minutes or hours. Continuous clicking or repetitive head noise suggests physical failure — power down immediately if that happens.
  3. Enter BIOS setup to confirm the drive is detected and that the boot order will allow using the recovery/OS disk when available.

If files matter, recover them before repairing or restoring:

  • Remove the drive and attach it to another PC with a USB-SATA adapter or put it in an external enclosure, or boot the machine from a live environment and copy important files to external media. Do this before using any OEM recovery media, because factory restore images typically overwrite the whole drive (as warned).

When ready to repair:

  • An OEM recovery disc usually restores a factory image and erases data; a retail Windows disc can attempt non-destructive repairs. If diagnostics or SMART checks show physical failure, replace the drive and consider professional recovery if the data is critical.

Next practical step given the timeline: confirm keyboard/Bios and try to let the check run if there is clear disk activity; otherwise remove the drive for data rescue and wait to use the recovery media only after a successful backup.

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Member Avatar for Suspishio

Your PC ought to have had a restore disk with it or an OEM Windows disk (with the correct drivers).

You can try a repair with an XP disk - anything can happen - but if the PC can be online at the same time, then it can try and find the right drivers if necessary from the web.

But you have to get to the root of the problem. Something has destroyed a sector or block; either hard failure or corruption by a program.

With the XP disk you can at least boot to the command console (yes?). If you can't then you have a physical problem on the disk, I'd say. If you can, you'd want to run CHKSK. First without /F paramater so that you can assess what might be destroyed by /F. /F is supposed to mark bad blocks and repoint the disk block chain. But if the block is in the boot sector, you're going to have to FDISK the drive using the /MBR option to rewrite the boot sector; then format the drive and set Windows up again and hope that your internet access in the boot process can get the right drivers down.

Do search for a restore disk please. Some manufacturers put the recovery stuff onto a D: partition - quite useless if the HDD goes down.


Keep us posted.

Member Avatar for JFINGERS

Great thanks, I have a recovery disk and an operating system disk wich came with the machine. Do you think trying the XP disk first is best option? cannot get until tmrw.

Also cannot get as far as accessing the internet.

Member Avatar for Suspishio

The recovery disk that came with the machine is the best bet. If it is a recovery disk and not an XP disk, you should stream your data off because the image on CD will be expanded to overwrite the hard disk. Then you'll have to re-establish your software apps.

Member Avatar for mannem

start with safe mode
Start menu - all programs - accessories - system tools - system restore
then run system restore u get a screen with restore points date wise.
try above u may get result

regards
RAMESH

Member Avatar for Suspishio

start with safe mode
Start menu - all programs - accessories - system tools - system restore
then run system restore u get a screen with restore points date wise.
try above u may get result

regards
RAMESH

JFINGERS said in his first post:
Tried SAFE mode but it just lists a few files and stops. If I try restore to previous configuration (think thats ight) it does gives same blue screeen.

So how will your suggestion work?

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