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Repair your computer in Windows Vista

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Looking for Windows XP version of the article? Click here then.
Looking for Windows 7 version of the article? Click here then.

When you cannot even get into Safe Mode, then most probably there are some errors or missing files on your hard disk that prevent Windows Vista from starting correctly. Repair Your Computer is a set of tools for recovering from such Windows errors.

Launching computer repair

You can run Repair Your Computer by booting from Windows Vista DVD. This ensures that no files are locked on computer's hard disk.

If your computer does not boot from DVD, check this article to change boot order.

If you can't find your Windows Vista DVD, you can borrow one from your friends - any version of Windows Vista DVD has Repair Your Computer option.

After you boot your computer using Windows Vista DVD, a black screen appears with gray text "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD". Press some key on your keyboard (Space and Enter are the most common ones ) within 5 seconds to launch Windows Vista from DVD.

Windows will load some files from the DVD, this takes time.

After this, Windows Vista boot screen appears.

Install Windows dialog appears. Don't worry, this will not overwrite your documents or settings.
Select your preferred settings from Time and currency format and Keyboard or input method boxes. I suggest you leave Language to install to "English" here to better understand this article. Click Next to continue.

Now you will see a big tempting Install now button. Do not click it! Click Repair your computer in the lower left corner instead.

Windows Vista will then look for its installation(s) on hard disks. This might take a few minutes.

In most cases, Windows Vista will find its installation. Click Next to continue.
If you see nothing listed here, your computer has a disk controller that Windows Vista is not able to detect by default. Click Load drivers instead, insert the CD, floppy disk or DVD that came with your computer or disk controller and load appropriate drivers from there. Your Windows Vista installation will then be located.

The first thing to try when Windows Vista does not start is Startup Repair. This will check your computer's hard disk(s) for errors and recover deleted system files.

Please wait while Startup Repair is working.

If Startup Repair was able to detect and fix problems, it will probably ask to restart your computer. Click Finish to reboot your machine right away. If Windows Vista starts and works correctly now, you can skip the rest of the article. If not, return to Repair Your Computer by booting from Windows Vista DVD.

If Startup Repair was not able to detect any problems, you will see the following screen. Click Finish to return to System Recovery Options. You must probably use Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool or System Restore instead.

Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool

If Startup Repair did not solve your problems, and you have not used MemTest86+ for checking whether your computer's memory modules are fine, try Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. This will ensure that Random Access Memory (RAM) modules do not cause computer problems. A faulty module is the most common reason for computer crashes and lockups.
Please note that this check will take at least 30-40 minutes to complete!

Click Restart now and check for problems (recommended) in Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool dialog.

After your computer restarts, Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool will launch automatically. The test will easily take 40 or more minutes. If your computer crashes or hangs during the test, you should replace memory modules in your computer. Consult the computer reseller and the manual that came with your computer for this.
Check the Status column from time to time. If it says "No problems have been detected yet", your computer's memory is working fine. Test report will also be displayed after you log on to Windows Vista.
After the lengthy test is complete, your computer will restart. In case the Status was "No problems..." before the restart, you should probably try System Restore by booting from Windows Vista DVD and launching Repair Your Computer.

In case Windows Memory Diagnostic detected problems in memory modules, you should replace memory modules in your computer as soon as possible - the faulty module(s) can easily recreate the problems and in the long run you will definitely experience data loss! Consult the computer reseller and the manual that came with your computer for replacement of memory modules.

Do not use your computer or try other recovery options until the memory modules have been replaced!

System Restore

The next step is to try System Restore from System Recovery Options menu.

Please note that this System Restore cannot be undone. While you will not lose any of your documents, pictures, videos, e-mails, etc, all programs installed after the selected Restore Point will be deleted. You will have to reinstall them.

Read more about using System Restore in this article.

Other options

In case nothing helped, you must restore the whole image backup of your computer. You do have a backup, don't you?

• If you are using Windows Vista built-in backup with disk image support, you can click Complete PC Restore in System Recovery Options menu and follow instructions.
• If you are using EASEUS Todo Backup Free, read this article about restoring disk image using bootable emergency disc.
• If you are using Macrium Reflect Free Edition, read this article about restoring disk image using bootable rescue CD.

In case you do not have a backup, you can use Puppy Linux to copy your documents, pictures, videos, music, etc to a flash drive or external hard disk. After copying is complete, reinstall Windows Vista, copy your rescued files back to your computer and do make backups this time!

Looking for Windows XP version of the article? Click here then.
Looking for Windows 7 version of the article? Click here then.

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