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Toshiba W-7 went dark



 
 
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  #46  
Old March 14th 18, 02:42 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

In message , HB writes:

"Java Jive" wrote in message
news

[]
No, the technical screens come from the BIOS, which is *usually* a chip on
the motherboard, not written to the HD.


I learn something every day. Seriously.

As do we all! I'm learning odd snippets from this thread, too.
[]
What you are referring to as 'Safe Mode' is part of Windows, which you
will only reach if the HD is working.


I hear it spin up and when the PC gets hot the I can hear a fan start.

So you're definitely hearing the HD spinning, not the fan. Good to know.
[]
BUT the fact that you have got into the BIOS at all does suggest that most
of the PC is functioning, and in itself that is encouraging. Next we have


I second that. And if it is, even if the HD _is_ duff, I'd say it's
probably worth the effort to resuscitate it: a laptop of the W7 era (I'm
assuming it _is_ of the W7 era [look at stickers on it] not one that's
been upgraded from Vista or before) probably _is_ worth something. (And
you'll need a 7 machine anyway, for your daughter's favourite game!)

to find out which part of the PC is broken, and, from what we know so far,
the hard disk does seem a likely culprit, but it would be premature to
*assume* that at this stage.

I agree.

OK.


More generally, when reading technical stuff that is unfamiliar to you,
it's important to resist developing the habit of going into either panic
or glaze mode. Although officially I'm now retired, I've just spent three

[]
I agree with you completely. Glaze mode sounds familiar.

I _try_ not to give too much information at once, to avoid glaze mode -
but I do like to give a lot of background information (as do the others
here), which I do recognise can lead to glaze. Part of the reason I say
"please read to end" is to avoid panic mode, where you do one of the
first things described, where one of the later ones might be easier.

And I _try_ not to sound condescending. I hope I succeed most of the
time.
[]
No, my job and family interfered. I have to stop and pick up a flash drive
as the ones I have don't have 2 GB of space left for this Ubantu. I assume I

(Ubuntu, I think.) Might be easier to just use a DVD (though it will
boot slower). [Though see previous post about burning from an ISO not
just as data.] (You other guys: if he _does_ use a memory stick, is
there anything similar to ISO-ing a DVD that has to be done when loading
the stick, to make it bootable, or doesn't that apply?)
just insert the flash and turn the Toshiba on and see what happens? What's
suppose to happen? I know nothing about that OS. Or I can use DVDs. Maybe
that's the better choice since there are plenty of them here. That should be
handled tomorrow. Too much coffee, not enough sleep.


IMPORTANT NOTE: You may have to master an understanding of the BIOS
sufficient to set the boot order so as to ensure that the PC will try to
boot from a USB stick, if one is present. If that is beyond you, burn the
Linux distro to a CD or DVD instead, and see if the PC will boot from
that.


F2 brought up InsydeH20 Setup Utility. I got the Boot tab where it can be
changed from HDD/SSD to FDD, LAN or USB.


Or, I hope, CD/DVD (or words to that effect).

As long as they're all listed, it shouldn't matter _too_ much, as that
list _usually_ just determines the _order_ in which the BIOS looks for
something bootable: if it doesn't find anything bootable on the first in
the list, it'll look in the next, and so on. Useful if you _can_ make
sure CD/DVD or USB (as appropriate) is first, though.

The battery is still charged as it's not plugged in this time either.

I think that was a red herring (though we might need to establish why it
said it wasn't charging, if we ever get back to that point): I'd leave
it plugged in while we're doing the investigating/fixing.


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Illinc fui et illud feci, habe tunicam?
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  #47  
Old March 14th 18, 05:09 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Java Jive
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Posts: 391
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

On 14/03/2018 13:42, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

In message , HB writes:

No, my job and family interfered.Â* I have to stop and pick up a flash
drive
as the ones I have don't have 2 GB of space left for this Ubantu. I
assume I

(Ubuntu, I think.) Might be easier to just use a DVD (though it will
boot slower). [Though see previous post about burning from an ISO not
just as data.] (You other guys: if he _does_ use a memory stick, is
there anything similar to ISO-ing a DVD that has to be done when loading
the stick, to make it bootable, or doesn't that apply?)


You have to write the image to the stick so as to make it bootable,
similarly to a CD/DVD - AFAIAA, you can't just copy the files across.
There is free software out there to do this. I use Rufus, but I believe
there are plenty of others.

http://rufus.akeo.ie

The OP should buy more than one USB stick, as sometimes they fail when
being written to, just as sometimes happens with CDs & DVDs. You can
buy packs of 5 x 4GB or similar fairly cheaply, and they come in useful
for other things as well.

F2 brought up InsydeH20 Setup Utility.Â* I got the Boot tab where it
can be
changed from HDD/SSD to FDD, LAN or USB.


Or, I hope, CD/DVD (or words to that effect).

As long as they're all listed, it shouldn't matter _too_ much, as that
list _usually_ just determines the _order_ in which the BIOS looks for
something bootable: if it doesn't find anything bootable on the first in
the list, it'll look in the next, and so on. Useful if you _can_ make
sure CD/DVD or USB (as appropriate) is first, though.


Yes, because if the HD is failing in an awkward way, it may prevent the
BIOS from moving on to try the next type of media. One of the first
things I change on any PC is the boot order to be as follows ...

Laptops: USB CD/DVD HD
Desktops: FD USB CD/DVD HD

I wouldn't imagine that many home users ever use booting via LAN, it's
more the sort of thing that corporate PCs might be set up to do.
  #48  
Old March 15th 18, 07:31 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
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Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , HB writes:
[]
I can hear it spin up an when the cooling fan starts. Both when not
plugged
in so I know the battery is still good and taking a charge.

So the HD is spinning. That's a start. (Unfortunately, a lot of the ways
they can go wrong don't involve the motor.)
[]
I don't know how to safely connect it to the desktop machine. The HDs are


If you mean physically, that's not a problem: desktop machines tend to use
3.5" drives, laptops 2.5" ones (the figure refers to the diameter of the
actual platters inside the drive); making smaller hardware is more
difficult, so the manufacturers continue to make both sizes - obviously
space is limited in a laptop, so they have the smaller ones. Much larger
_capacities_ (currently, say, 3T and above) tend to only be available in
the 3.5" (desktop) size. Functionally, both are the same, and a computer
doesn't know whether it's using a 2.5" or a 3.5" drive.

See lower down for how to connect to the desktop.

very different sizes. And now with the W-10 forced updates, loss of OE6
because of them and my daughter complaining her favorite game is messed up
on the new HP laptop since the update, this W-7 is all that much more
valuable to me.

Ah, daughter's favourite game: that's important!
[]
There are two connecters to the HD in the Toshiba. I have no idea what I'm


I presume that's - looking at the drive when removed - one with about 7
fingers (that's the data one), and one with about 15 (power), each with an
L-shaped plastic guide around them.

doing when it comes to the hardware.

Inside the desktop machine, does its own hard drive also have two small
connectors, or a wide ribbon cable with about 40 wires? Or, does its
CD/DVD drive? If both of those are connected with wide ribbon cables, read
no further, as we'll have to use the USB route (which isn't difficult).


I don't know because I never opened it. The last HP DT had the wide ribbon
cable. Then let's use the USB route because I really don't want to start
messing around iside the DT box. I tried using a Rescue disc my son made a
few years ago. Nothing happened. I downloaded something from the net, a MS
repair disc and that didn't work either.

Ubantu was an 8 GB download I don't have unlimited download data with
Verizon. It didn't look like anything that would boot a PC in the LT's
condition. There would be no way to execute it.


If the desktop machine's own hard drive or CD/DVD drive has the same two
connectors, we're getting somewhere. Follow the cables to see where they
come from. The larger one will come from the power supply (big box at one
end of the case, where the power lead goes in); the smaller one will go to
the motherboard (main large board in the computer). [You probably know
those, but I'm describing in case not, and for anyone else reading this
thread who might not.]

To connect the drive, taken from the laptop, to the desktop:


EITHER:
Power (the larger one): look around in the case: hopefully, there'll be a
spare power connector (coming from the power supply, obviously, though may
be piggy-backed on other devices) that will fit the power connector on the
laptop drive. If there isn't, but there's one of the old Molex
four-large-sockets-in-nylon type, you'll need an adaptor.

Data (the smaller one): look at where the data cable from the existing
hard drive and/or CD/DVD drive goes into the motherboard; there should be
similar connectors nearby. Most SATA-capable motherboards have lots of
them - at least six seems to be common. They often come in pairs, in the
same plastic moulding. You need to connect the drive to one of those -
you'd probably need a SATA cable, unless the assemblers have been _very_
generous and left you a spare.

OR:
If the CD/DVD drive is SATA (two small connectors rather than a wide
ribbon one), just disconnect those from the CD/DVD drive, and connect them
to the laptop drive. (Do so with the computer turned off!)



I'll stop there for now. The next question _would_ be **Q4** when the
desktop machine has booted (or does it boot?), does it see an extra
drive,
and **Q5** can you look at what's on it. But I'll leave that until we
have
the answer to Q3, as if you don't have a SATA connection to test it on
(assuming it _is_ a SATA drive), we'll have to go the USB route.


I have zero computer parts on hand. I wouldn't know what I would need to
connect it to the DT or even where to try to connect it. It's a HP
Pavilion
P7-1003W.

[]
Well, as you'll see from above, you'd need a SATA cable and possibly a
power adapter cable, both of which should be cheap enough - or, if the
CD/DVD drive is SATA, which they mostly are these days, you won't need
_anything_.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

computers don't solve problems; they help humans solve problems - Colin
Barker,
Computing 1999-2-18, p. 21



  #49  
Old March 15th 18, 08:22 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , HB writes:


Brevity snip

[]
You're assuming F8 works and I can get to that menu when I cannot or I
would
not be here. I could have done the System Restore and that would have been
the end of it. F8 doesn't bring up Advanced Boot Options anymore and
there
are no discs that came with the Toshiba. How do I get that menu to come
up
when F8 doesn't do it and there are no discs?


As you've discovered the hard way, System Restore is no protection against
hard disc failure, and little protection against important file
corruption - because the computer needs to be able to boot up to the point
where you can invoke Safe Mode at least, in order to _do_ a System
Restore. While System Restore _is_ more use than some here think, you
really need to be creating an image (on an external disc, or DVDs [lots!]
or memory stick) of your important partitions, using something like
Macrium or Acronis (both are free, as are others) - and also making the CD
that those can make, so you can boot from that CD in order to restore the
image. But we'll get to that much later - we've got to get you back to a
working system first!


This is another concern of mine. I not only didn't get CDs with the last 2
PCs, but no nag screens either. How do I make a bootable disc for them or
one of these "images"? One is a Tablet w/W-10 and the other a Notebook
w/W-10. I have nothing in case one goes dark on me. The one before these
is a HP laptop and I followed the directons and the info was copied onto a
Thumbdrive. But can that $900 dollar PC boot from it? I have no idea. There
was no info as to what to do with the thumbdrive if the computer crashed.

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Illinc fui et illud feci, habe tunicam?



  #50  
Old March 15th 18, 08:27 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Paul[_32_]
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Posts: 11,873
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

HB wrote:


Ubantu was an 8 GB download I don't have unlimited download data with
Verizon. It didn't look like anything that would boot a PC in the LT's
condition. There would be no way to execute it.


ubuntu-17.10-desktop-amd64.iso 1,501,102,080 bytes

You need a USB stick larger than that to hold it.

The distro called "UbuntuStudio" is larger than that,
because it contains all sorts of Audio Workstation applications.
I have a studio version here that is "2,752,020,480 bytes"
but you don't use that for working on busted laptops.

The above 1.5GB number is a rough idea of what
a typical Ubuntu download will cost you.

It's *not* an 8GB download.

Distros generally try to stay below the limits of a single layer DVD.

*******

The absolutely largest distro I've got here as an
ISO, is 4,641,318,912 bytes. It was made in the year
2007, and was an attempt by the FOSS community to impress
people with "how much free software there is". It's
like one of those 10,000 font "font collections" :-)
I would think it's getting close to the limits of
a single layer DVD and that's why they made it
that particular size.

The Gentoo folks made a 3GB one, whose main claim to fame
was the number of drivers on it. It had so many drivers,
it would take between 3 to 4 minutes to boot (it tries
all the drivers one at a time, turfing the ones not needed).
An exercise in futility.

So some of the latests "whales" were a kind of bloated
advertising. The "reasonable" choices can be between
CD size and 1.5GB.

If you don't own a DVD burner, use this.

https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=fatdog

Fatdog64-721.iso 2018-Jan-11 09:13:13 387MB application/octet-stream

That's like Puppy, but for more modern (64bit capable) machines.

But don't blame me if that doesn't have a nice
package manager and tool set. At least it fits on
a CD and would be suitable for a very quick "boot test".

Paul
  #51  
Old March 15th 18, 08:50 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
Read all the way through - try not to glaze (-:

In message , HB writes:
[]
They all have CD drives except the Tablet. Do I just download this Linux,
burn it to a CD or DVD and then try to boot the Toshiba with it? Just put


Yes. The burning to a CD stage involves the "burn from ISO image" option
of your burning software, not just writing the file to a DVD; tell us what
burning software you're using - in some, selecting that option is obvious,
in some less so.


I had to pass since Linux was a 8 GB download and I don't have unlimited ISP
service. The website didn't say what to do with it once downloaded. The
extenstion was unknown to me. The MS rescue software I downloaded did
nothing to boot the Toshiba nor did the Avira boot disk.

If you're not sure about this, ask (telling us
what burning software you use) and we'll help; if necessary, we'll
recommend suitable free burning software. (The most popular seems to be
ImgBurn, version 2.5.8.0 or 2.5.7.0 [later versions have junk bundled with
them], which can be got from repositories like oldversion.com -
http://www.oldversion.com/windows/imgburn-2-5-7-0 .)


I have Ashampoo installed. I would have to go through the thumb-drives to
see what else I have saved and not installed. I personally haven't burned a
CD or DVD in years.


it in the tray and.....? At what point does the CD go into the tray? That


Ideally, before you turn on the computer. Since you'll need it on to eject
the tray (unless you use the paperclip method), turn it on, press the
eject button, turn it off.

wont mess up the windows files already on the HD?


Just booting the Linux shouldn't. Things you do while _in_ the Linux may,
but only deliberate actions - and after all, assuming the HD doesn't have
a hardware fault, we're going to have to tweak files on it anyway.


Wouldn't it be easier for me to just take the HD to a shop and let them
check it? How would Linux get the Toshiba to boot since it doesn't react to
the rescue discs? Isn't there anything smaller to give the same
information?


Note that booting the Linux from CD will be slow, as with booting any OS
from CD, compared to what you're used to booting Windows from HD. [I
haven't played with a Linux for a very long time, but I can't imagine this
will have changed!]
[]
I really think examining the HD using another (Windows) machine will be
easier for you, than learning how to use Linux if you haven't before -
but, this is probably the _cheapest_ option, as it would only cost a blank
DVD, rather than a couple of cheap cables. (Though there is a cost-free
method, if the desktop machine's CD/DVD is SATA; see my previous post.)


I don't know know if it's SATA. Opening up the case and pulling out parts
is not something I'm anxious to do. How would I know if the HDs good or not
if it's hooked to the CD cables? What would that tell me?

It will cost me because I don't have unlimited service and will either go
over the 20 GBs or my family will have around 2 GB for the rest of the month
which is unrealistic around here. Verizon charges $10 a GB and it adds up
fast. There has to be something smaller than that out there.I know nothing
about Linux. It would be useless to me.

Another alternative would be to make a Windows 7 DVD (see one of Paul's
posts), and boot from that, to get at the recovery console.


How do I do that when you can't move W software that comes with one PC to
another? I assume I would copy the files on the D: drive, not the C: drive.
And THAT will boot a computer from another mfg?

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Illinc fui et illud feci, habe tunicam?



  #52  
Old March 15th 18, 11:06 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

HB wrote:


I had to pass since Linux was a 8 GB download and I don't have unlimited ISP service.


Wrong Wrong Wrong.

Tell me what you want to experiment with, and I'll
tell you the size.

For example, if you picked Puppy, it *definitely* isn't 8GB.

The website didn't say what to do with it once downloaded. The
extenstion was unknown to me.


Quite true.

Again, if we know what you downloaded, we can help you.

*******

Meanwhile, this is for ISO files. It makes bootable DVDs from them.

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/do...mgburn-2-5-0-0

2.5.0.0_SetupImgBurn_2.5.0.0.exe 2,169,915 bytes Jul 26, 2009
CRC32: 39CD6FC6
MD5: F3791CFACDAC03B9E676E44AA2630243
SHA-1: E07BCC23B495D0A966BAE359EA9E0E3A11888454

The download button for that is green in color and says:

+-----------------------------------------------+
| Download Now | |
| | |
| V |
| |
| Tested: Free from spyware, adware and viruses |
+-----------------------------------------------+

This version is free from Adware. Turn off the "auto update"
in the preferences. Do not accept any efforts it might make
to update (until you know some version is free of adware).
The size of the package increased after this release, which
is a rough guide to detecting the presence of extra materials.

I like Imgburn. I don't like Adware.

Paul
  #53  
Old March 15th 18, 03:43 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

As usual, there may appear to be a lot here, but the three big chunks
are _alternatives_.


In message , HB writes:

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...

[]
Inside the desktop machine, does its own hard drive also have two small
connectors, or a wide ribbon cable with about 40 wires? Or, does its
CD/DVD drive? If both of those are connected with wide ribbon cables, read
no further, as we'll have to use the USB route (which isn't difficult).


I don't know because I never opened it. The last HP DT had the wide ribbon
cable. Then let's use the USB route because I really don't want to start
messing around iside the DT box.


OK. Notes on USB method follow lower.

I tried using a Rescue disc my son made a
few years ago. Nothing happened. I downloaded something from the net, a MS
repair disc and that didn't work either.


I suspect two possibilities he either you (or your son) didn't burn
the CDs in the correct way that makes them bootable, or you didn't set
the boot order in the laptop so that it booted from them.

Ubantu was an 8 GB download I don't have unlimited download data with


See Paul's posts; UbUntu apparently isn't that big, nor any other Linux
available at the moment; they're all under a single-layer DVD's worth (4
point something G), some under a CD's worth.

Verizon. It didn't look like anything that would boot a PC in the LT's
condition. There would be no way to execute it.

If the CD/DVD is burned properly, and the BIOS in the LT set to boot
from the CD/DVD drive, then it should boot and load; it loads into RAM,
and runs from there.
[]
To access the LT HD from another computer via USB, you'll need a USB (or
eSATA, but only if all your computers have an eSATA socket) interface.

This is something you should get anyway, for future backup purposes.
(Along with, obviously, a drive big enough to hold several backup images
from your various computers. As you've discovered, System Restore is no
good if the drive dies, or if its files get corrupted sufficient that it
won't boot even as far as safe mode.) So getting it - whichever of the
three options you choose - isn't wasted money, even if we do find the LT
drive is faulty.

I know nothing of eSATA, so what follows is just USB. And prices are
probably wrong (I'm in the UK, so don't know my way round ebay USA [I
assume you're in USA]), so I'm really just providing these as links so
you can look at the pictures.

There are roughly three sorts of USB interface, though presumably they
mostly have similar electronics in them. For future-proofing you'd go
for ones that have USB3, but USB2 would be fine, just slower; it's
likely that at least some if not all of your other computers won't have
USB3 anyway. (If you do pay the extra for USB3, it should _work_ with
USB2 computers, just at USB2 speed. Though 3 is tending to come as
standard now anyway so _may_ not cost more.) With all three types, when
you put the drive into them, apply power to them, and connect them to
the PC you are going to use, the drive in the interface should appear on
that PC just as another drive letter in Windows Explorer (or letters if
it has more than one partition, other than hidden partitions). [It
_won't_ appear as C: - that computer's own drive will be C.] Just like
plugging in a memory stick or card. It should also appear under the
utility - either Windows' own or any other, such as EaseUS - that sorts
out partitions (where you _should_ be able to see any hidden ones).

Right, the three alternatives:

The best (IMO) for general work is a dock; this is a thing that sits on
your desk, comes with its own power supply, and connects to a PC via a
USB lead; it has one or more slots on top, into which you insert the
drive(s) you want to access. This is the model I have:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202052568442 - it does both IDE and SATA drives
(and has a card reader in it too, though I've never used it), and comes
- as you can see - with a power supply and USB lead. (And the little CD,
but I've never had to use that; it just worked as soon as I connected it
up.) It seems to be a common model. I paid something like
twentysomething pounds at a computer fair, and have seen them for 15 or
16 pounds online. You should be able to find a US seller: I just picked
that one as it has a nice clear picture. Although one of the pictures
shows 3.5" drives in it, it takes 2.5" ones just as well. Look at all
the pictures.

The next option is a "USB to SATA cable"; despite just being called a
cable, these do have electronics in them, though built into the plug, so
it's not obvious. Personally, I'd go for one like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/172256326228 which can do IDE _and_ SATA and
comes with a power supply and all necessary cables (you want the SATA
[red] one and the power adapter one, as well as the USB "cable" itself)
- look at all the pictures; however, if you must save every dollar (I've
seen kits like the above for 5 or 6 pounds), just put "USB to SATA" into
ebay and you'll find hundreds of cables that just use USB power. If you
go for one of those, make sure it's one that has _two_ USB plugs (as the
power available from a single one may not be sufficient for the drive,
especially initial spinup).

The third option is an external housing - this sort of thing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/112652273779 - last time I was involved in
buying one it was about 2 pounds, yes even including the little
screwdriver and the pouch! (I think ours had black rather than
transparent ends.) Again, make sure the USB cable has two plugs at the
computer end.

If you already have an external drive, you may be able to temporarily
take out the drive that's in it and fit your suspect one in its place.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I'm the oldest woman on primetime not baking cakes.
- Anne Robinson, RT 2015/8/15-21
  #54  
Old March 15th 18, 04:31 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

In message , HB writes:

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , HB writes:


Brevity snip

(-:
[]
This is another concern of mine. I not only didn't get CDs with the last 2
PCs, but no nag screens either. How do I make a bootable disc for them or
one of these "images"?


Assuming they _have_ the ability to make one, the way to do so will vary
from make to make and probably model to model. Get the manual (if you
didn't get one with, and you may well not have, it should be
downloadable as a .pdf [usually] from the manufacturer's website), and -
if it isn't obvious from the contents list - search it for the word
recovery or emergency.

Just doing that for this Toshiba Portégé: the manual suggests there's
something called Recovery Media Creator, which should be visible from
the Start menu. I can't see it! However, I have found Start Programs
Maintenance Create a System Repair Disc. Have you anything similar?
(The route to it may be different, especially on 10 [I'm on 7 with
Classic Shell]; perhaps typing Repair Disc [or disk!] into the search
box on your 10 may find it.)

I've just tried running it: it looks like it might be a Microsoft thing
rather than Toshiba. It asks me to select the drive (there's only the
one optical drive in this machine) and put a blank disk in, and tells me
"A system repair disc can be used to boot your computer. It also
contains Windows system recovery tools that can help you recover Windows
from a serious error or restore your computer from a system image." I
haven't proceeded further.

On the whole, I think a third-party imaging tool, Like Macrium or
Acronis (both free), with the boot CD they allow you to make, along with
just copying (or using something like SyncToy), is better. (I image C:
and any hidden partitions, and just copy/sync. my D: [data] partition.)
The reason being that these restore everything exactly how you had it -
including all the software you've installed, including all the tweaks to
both the OS and the software you've done over the years; whereas using
recovery tools _can_ alter things, in the extreme returning to as-new,
losing all your software (and possibly data). You put the image - and
data copy - on an external disc.

One is a Tablet w/W-10 and the other a Notebook
w/W-10. I have nothing in case one goes dark on me. The one before these


I know little about tablets; if you even can make recovery software for
those, I don't know how you'd use it, as they don't have an optical
drive. The notebook I assume _does_ have such a drive.

is a HP laptop and I followed the directons and the info was copied onto a
Thumbdrive. But can that $900 dollar PC boot from it? I have no idea. There
was no info as to what to do with the thumbdrive if the computer crashed.


I imagine you turn it on with the thumbdrive plugged in. You might have
to amend the boot order in the BIOS so that it boots from USB first.
$900 sounds a lot for a laptop - or even a desktop for that matter!
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I can prove anything with statistics - except the truth.
  #55  
Old March 15th 18, 05:12 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

In message , HB writes:
[]
I had to pass since Linux was a 8 GB download and I don't have unlimited ISP
service. The website didn't say what to do with it once downloaded. The
extenstion was unknown to me. The MS rescue software I downloaded did
nothing to boot the Toshiba nor did the Avira boot disk.


Was the extension .iso?

If you're not sure about this, ask (telling us
what burning software you use) and we'll help; if necessary, we'll
recommend suitable free burning software. (The most popular seems to be
ImgBurn, version 2.5.8.0 or 2.5.7.0 [later versions have junk bundled with
them], which can be got from repositories like oldversion.com -
http://www.oldversion.com/windows/imgburn-2-5-7-0 .)


I have Ashampoo installed. I would have to go through the thumb-drives to
see what else I have saved and not installed. I personally haven't burned a
CD or DVD in years.

If it looks like the screenshots on
https://www.ashampoo.com/uk/gbp/psr/...ng-studio-free
, then on the "Main" screen, I _suspect_ you want "Disc Image" rather
than "Burn Data"; without having it installed myself, however, I'm not
sure if Disc Image is for *making* (.iso) images *of* _existing_
CD/DVDs, or for burning them *from* an .iso file. Try clicking on it: it
should be obvious which. (It may do both - in fact if it can take images
of existing discs, it's unlikely it can't also burn from such images.)

Alternatively, get ImgBurn - Paul has shown where. It's obvious when
running that. But I suspect your Ashampoo can do it.

it in the tray and.....? At what point does the CD go into the tray? That


Ideally, before you turn on the computer. Since you'll need it on to eject
the tray (unless you use the paperclip method), turn it on, press the
eject button, turn it off.

wont mess up the windows files already on the HD?


Just booting the Linux shouldn't. Things you do while _in_ the Linux may,
but only deliberate actions - and after all, assuming the HD doesn't have
a hardware fault, we're going to have to tweak files on it anyway.


Wouldn't it be easier for me to just take the HD to a shop and let them
check it? How would Linux get the Toshiba to boot since it doesn't react to
the rescue discs? Isn't there anything smaller to give the same
information?

SHOP: Depends what relationship you have with the shop. If they're going
to charge you their standard service charge just for looking at it, then
I imagine that'd be more than the cost of the external dock (at least if
bought online) anyway. If you do get them to look at it, then there's
incentive for them to say it's duff to get you to buy a new one - I
doubt, unless it's a very good shop, that they'd recover it for you even
if they say it isn't duff: the best they're likely to do is offer to
reinstall Windows from scratch.
LINUX: the laptop should boot from a CD/DVD, provided (a) the CD has
been burned correctly (not just the .iso file written to it as data),
and (b) the laptop's BIOS boot sequence is set to try CD/DVD first.
SMALLER: Linuxes _are_ smaller than 8G; we're not sure what it is you
have downloaded.
[]
I don't know know if it's SATA. Opening up the case and pulling out parts
is not something I'm anxious to do. How would I know if the HDs good or not
if it's hooked to the CD cables? What would that tell me?


If you did that, then turned on that PC and went into Windows Explorer
(Windows key and E), if you can see a drive or drives other than the
existing hard disc and any card reader slots that normally come up, then
you are getting some response from it. If it shows how full that disc
is, things are looking even better. If you can then see what files are
on it, things are looking very good. You would also be able to run
assorted tests on it - read its SMART data, do an HDTune read run, and
so on.

It will cost me because I don't have unlimited service and will either go
over the 20 GBs or my family will have around 2 GB for the rest of the month
which is unrealistic around here. Verizon charges $10 a GB and it adds up
fast. There has to be something smaller than that out there.I know nothing
about Linux. It would be useless to me.


Paul has given you a link to one that's under 400 MB. Personally I
wouldn't go that route as I know virtually nothing of Linux either, but
then I already have an external disc dock, and even if I didn't, I would
not be averse to putting the disc inside a desktop computer that had the
right cables. Your situation may be different.

Another alternative would be to make a Windows 7 DVD (see one of Paul's
posts), and boot from that, to get at the recovery console.


How do I do that when you can't move W software that comes with one PC to


You'd follow Paul's instructions on how to make the Windows DVD. While
it might not be exactly the right one for your laptop, you should be
able to boot from it (running entirely from the DVD and in RAM, same as
the Linux options) and get at the recovery console, where we might be
able to repair corrupted files, partition tables, and so on. This would
only be worth doing if the drive itself is fine, but has just had its
contents corrupted somehow; I think the first thing is to establish
that. You can do that by *EITHER* booting a Windows or Linux disc on the
laptop (running entirely from the DVD/CD and in RAM) and using that to
_look at_ the HD in its normal place in the laptop, *OR* taking the HD
out of the laptop and examining it using another computer, EITHER by
connecting it internally OR accessing it via USB (dock, "cable", or
housing). I prefer the latter method as (a) I have a dock (b) I don't
know my way around Linux, or the Windows recovery console. YMMV.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I can prove anything with statistics - except the truth.
  #56  
Old March 15th 18, 06:14 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Brian Gregory[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 166
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

On 15/03/2018 07:22, HB wrote:
This is another concern of mine. I not only didn't get CDs with the last 2
PCs, but no nag screens either. How do I make a bootable disc for them or
one of these "images"? One is a Tablet w/W-10 and the other a Notebook
w/W-10. I have nothing in case one goes dark on me. The one before these
is a HP laptop and I followed the directons and the info was copied onto a
Thumbdrive. But can that $900 dollar PC boot from it? I have no idea. There
was no info as to what to do with the thumbdrive if the computer crashed.


https://support.toshiba.com/repair

Scroll down to Get Recovery Media.

--

Brian Gregory (in England).
  #57  
Old March 17th 18, 02:50 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
No_Name
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , HB writes:


Brevity snip

(-:
[]
This is another concern of mine. I not only didn't get CDs with the last
2
PCs, but no nag screens either. How do I make a bootable disc for them or
one of these "images"?


Assuming they _have_ the ability to make one, the way to do so will vary
from make to make and probably model to model. Get the manual (if you
didn't get one with, and you may well not have, it should be downloadable
as a .pdf [usually] from the manufacturer's website), and - if it isn't
obvious from the contents list - search it for the word recovery or
emergency.


Looks like I found it. I'll be making some DVDs later tonight for this HP
W-10 Notebook.

Back to the Toshiba.


Just doing that for this Toshiba Portégé: the manual suggests there's
something called Recovery Media Creator, which should be visible from the
Start menu. I can't see it! However, I have found Start Programs
Maintenance Create a System Repair Disc. Have you anything similar? (The
route to it may be different, especially on 10 [I'm on 7 with Classic
Shell]; perhaps typing Repair Disc [or disk!] into the search box on your
10 may find it.)


The Toshiba is W-7, also has Classic Shell installed, is dead in the water.
All I can get is the F12 screen that is basically useless at this point.

I've just tried running it: it looks like it might be a Microsoft thing
rather than Toshiba. It asks me to select the drive (there's only the one
optical drive in this machine) and put a blank disk in, and tells me "A
system repair disc can be used to boot your computer. It also contains
Windows system recovery tools that can help you recover Windows from a
serious error or restore your computer from a system image." I haven't
proceeded further.


I wish I had one of those. I never thought to look for a way to make a
rescue or boot disk for the Toshiba.

On the whole, I think a third-party imaging tool, Like Macrium or Acronis
(both free), with the boot CD they allow you to make, along with just
copying (or using something like SyncToy), is better. (I image C: and any
hidden partitions, and just copy/sync. my D: [data] partition.) The reason
being that these restore everything exactly how you had it - including all
the software you've installed, including all the tweaks to both the OS and
the software you've done over the years; whereas using recovery tools
_can_ alter things, in the extreme returning to as-new, losing all your
software (and possibly data). You put the image - and data copy - on an
external disc.


I remember having something like that years ago. But when the black screen
with the blinker occured, it didn't work. Nothing worked. There was no way
to make the PC SEE the drive and respond. It didn't work as advertised. I
may as well have inserted a pancake in the drive. I have everything of value
on the Toshiba saved to a thumbdrive. I need some kind of emergency boot
disc for the Toshiba but was unable to find anything online to download and
burn to a DC or DVD. I'm going to check these two out later. Macrium and
Acronis.


One is a Tablet w/W-10 and the other a Notebook
w/W-10. I have nothing in case one goes dark on me. The one before
these



I know little about tablets; if you even can make recovery software for
those, I don't know how you'd use it, as they don't have an optical drive.
The notebook I assume _does_ have such a drive.


The Tablet has a USB port. The Notebook the usual optical drive.

is a HP laptop and I followed the directons and the info was copied onto
a
Thumbdrive. But can that $900 dollar PC boot from it? I have no idea.
There
was no info as to what to do with the thumbdrive if the computer crashed.



I imagine you turn it on with the thumbdrive plugged in. You might have to
amend the boot order in the BIOS so that it boots from USB first. $900
sounds a lot for a laptop - or even a desktop for that matter!


It's a HP I bought 2 or 3 years ago mainly for the kids since it has some
kind of special sofware that makes it very fast. It was recommended for
gamers. I got it at Best Buy. It has 12GBs memory and a 1TB HD. They love
it.

[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf


BTW, I 'm acessing OE6 from a thumbdrive. An ancient free version RunasXP
was going away a few years back.

Microsoft motto "if it ain't broke keep fixing it till it is."


  #58  
Old March 17th 18, 03:00 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark (this is HB)

Sorry for the confusion. This is HB. :^)

" wrote in
message news

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , HB writes:


Brevity snip

(-:
[]
This is another concern of mine. I not only didn't get CDs with the last
2
PCs, but no nag screens either. How do I make a bootable disc for them or
one of these "images"?


Assuming they _have_ the ability to make one, the way to do so will vary
from make to make and probably model to model. Get the manual (if you
didn't get one with, and you may well not have, it should be downloadable
as a .pdf [usually] from the manufacturer's website), and - if it isn't
obvious from the contents list - search it for the word recovery or
emergency.


Looks like I found it. I'll be making some DVDs later tonight for this HP
W-10 Notebook.

Back to the Toshiba.


Just doing that for this Toshiba Portégé: the manual suggests there's
something called Recovery Media Creator, which should be visible from the
Start menu. I can't see it! However, I have found Start Programs
Maintenance Create a System Repair Disc. Have you anything similar?
(The route to it may be different, especially on 10 [I'm on 7 with
Classic Shell]; perhaps typing Repair Disc [or disk!] into the search box
on your 10 may find it.)


The Toshiba is W-7, also has Classic Shell installed, is dead in the
water. All I can get is the F12 screen that is basically useless at this
point.

I've just tried running it: it looks like it might be a Microsoft thing
rather than Toshiba. It asks me to select the drive (there's only the one
optical drive in this machine) and put a blank disk in, and tells me "A
system repair disc can be used to boot your computer. It also contains
Windows system recovery tools that can help you recover Windows from a
serious error or restore your computer from a system image." I haven't
proceeded further.


I wish I had one of those. I never thought to look for a way to make a
rescue or boot disk for the Toshiba.

On the whole, I think a third-party imaging tool, Like Macrium or Acronis
(both free), with the boot CD they allow you to make, along with just
copying (or using something like SyncToy), is better. (I image C: and any
hidden partitions, and just copy/sync. my D: [data] partition.) The
reason being that these restore everything exactly how you had it -
including all the software you've installed, including all the tweaks to
both the OS and the software you've done over the years; whereas using
recovery tools _can_ alter things, in the extreme returning to as-new,
losing all your software (and possibly data). You put the image - and
data copy - on an external disc.


I remember having something like that years ago. But when the black screen
with the blinker occured, it didn't work. Nothing worked. There was no
way to make the PC SEE the drive and respond. It didn't work as
advertised. I may as well have inserted a pancake in the drive. I have
everything of value on the Toshiba saved to a thumbdrive. I need some
kind of emergency boot disc for the Toshiba but was unable to find
anything online to download and burn to a DC or DVD. I'm going to check
these two out later. Macrium and
Acronis.


One is a Tablet w/W-10 and the other a Notebook
w/W-10. I have nothing in case one goes dark on me. The one before
these



I know little about tablets; if you even can make recovery software for
those, I don't know how you'd use it, as they don't have an optical
drive. The notebook I assume _does_ have such a drive.


The Tablet has a USB port. The Notebook the usual optical drive.

is a HP laptop and I followed the directons and the info was copied onto
a
Thumbdrive. But can that $900 dollar PC boot from it? I have no idea.
There
was no info as to what to do with the thumbdrive if the computer crashed.



I imagine you turn it on with the thumbdrive plugged in. You might have
to amend the boot order in the BIOS so that it boots from USB first. $900
sounds a lot for a laptop - or even a desktop for that matter!


It's a HP I bought 2 or 3 years ago mainly for the kids since it has some
kind of special sofware that makes it very fast. It was recommended for
gamers. I got it at Best Buy. It has 12GBs memory and a 1TB HD. They love
it.

[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf


BTW, I 'm acessing OE6 from a thumbdrive. An ancient free version RunasXP
was going away a few years back.

Microsoft motto "if it ain't broke keep fixing it till it is."



  #59  
Old March 17th 18, 03:08 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"Brian Gregory" wrote in message
...
On 15/03/2018 07:22, HB wrote:
This is another concern of mine. I not only didn't get CDs with the last
2
PCs, but no nag screens either. How do I make a bootable disc for them or
one of these "images"? One is a Tablet w/W-10 and the other a Notebook
w/W-10. I have nothing in case one goes dark on me. The one before
these
is a HP laptop and I followed the directons and the info was copied onto
a
Thumbdrive. But can that $900 dollar PC boot from it? I have no idea.
There
was no info as to what to do with the thumbdrive if the computer crashed.


https://support.toshiba.com/repair


In reading the site the PC is out of warranty and isn't W-8.


Scroll down to Get Recovery Media.

--

Brian Gregory (in England).



  #60  
Old March 17th 18, 03:31 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"Paul" wrote in message
news
HB wrote:


I had to pass since Linux was a 8 GB download and I don't have unlimited
ISP service.


Wrong Wrong Wrong.

Tell me what you want to experiment with, and I'll
tell you the size.

For example, if you picked Puppy, it *definitely* isn't 8GB.

The website didn't say what to do with it once downloaded. The
extenstion was unknown to me.


Quite true.

Again, if we know what you downloaded, we can help you


So I download Lynux "puppy" and burn it to a DVD and it will boot the
Toshiba unless ther HD is toast? I don't have to worry about the strange
extension? There is no other software out there anyone knows about that
would boot the PC?

If if does nothing what does that mean?


*******

Meanwhile, this is for ISO files. It makes bootable DVDs from them.


So the Linux PUPPY files will be turned into ISO files able to boot
computers that can't load their OSs?


http://www.oldversion.com/windows/do...mgburn-2-5-0-0

2.5.0.0_SetupImgBurn_2.5.0.0.exe 2,169,915 bytes Jul 26, 2009
CRC32: 39CD6FC6
MD5: F3791CFACDAC03B9E676E44AA2630243
SHA-1: E07BCC23B495D0A966BAE359EA9E0E3A11888454

The download button for that is green in color and says:

+-----------------------------------------------+
| Download Now | |
| | |
| V |
| |
| Tested: Free from spyware, adware and viruses |
+-----------------------------------------------+

This version is free from Adware. Turn off the "auto update"
in the preferences. Do not accept any efforts it might make
to update (until you know some version is free of adware).
The size of the package increased after this release, which
is a rough guide to detecting the presence of extra materials.

I like Imgburn. I don't like Adware.

Paul



 




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