E-Machine EL1358G won,t boot up

Hi Noelle

Probably a bit late now.... but for others
Determine if Hardware Problem or Software.
Remove all peripheral plugs. Just in case of bad shorted device.
Restart & hold Cmd Shift Option Delete keys down. 4 Keys
Resets Parrameter Ram. Eg Clock & mouse settings.
But might help.
Reboot with Shift key Held down. (Safe Boot)
Does it boot up?
Boot with Option key down & choose "Recovery" startup just to prove hardware (CPU) is working.
Internal Hard Drive may be damaged!
Plug another Bootable drive into USB or FireWire Port and reboot with option key held down.
If you can get your Mac to boot.... Install a clean OS X onto a USB memory Stick (16 or 32gb)
Keep this for Booting Problems & Emergency Booting & access to repair software e.g. Apple Disk Utility
or My Favorite Utilities
Bootable Backup Software
http://bombich.com/download
Directory Repair & File Testing & Fixing
DiskWarrior 5 The Disk Utility for Mac Disk Repair Mac Directory Repair...

Cheers
How about an Tick of approval for the effort?

Eortiz, did you try to read the files with a windows PC? Because when you connect the external drive to a PC you should be able to view the files and even be able to change the attributes like read only and hidden.

Before you use the Recovery CD you need to backup your data because to restoring your laptop will wipe your data off the hard disk.
To backup your data when you cannot boot up your laptop, remove the hard drive and connect it to an USB hard drive adapter. Connect this hard drive/USB adapter into the USB port of a working computer. The computer will see it as an external storage device, you can then open the folders and backup your data.
You can then fit the hard drive back into the Dell laptop and boot up with the Dell recovery CD to reinstall Windows etc.

To remove the partition, you can use a tool called GParted. GParted can be downloaded and booted to and you can remove the partition using that tool. I will warn you that this is an advanced tool and could potentially corrupt data. Backup important files before proceeding.

Also if you have an OEM Windows 7 disk, you can boot to that and install Windows from scratch. When it boots, it will give you option to change the partition table on the drive which means you can remove it. This process will completely wipe your system and the partition, leaving you with a clean windows install. Always backup important files before proceeding.

Also know that the recovery partition is put there for a reason! Manufacturers create recovery partitions to include factory restore files. If you wipe out the recovery partition and do not have backup factory recovery disks, you will have no way to restore your PC to factory specs. You can still restore it from an OEM windows disk, it just won't be loaded with the factory bloatware...which isn't necessarily a bad thing!

What was the problem in the first place? Why are you trying to restore the computer?

Or reading wrong; do you mean the computer will not start? Boot?

Primer:
Disk Boot. -> The bootstrap files on the harddrive.
Bootstrap <- Make it easier to understand?

The basic Windows files.

Can't access restoration on the harddrive with F11? Quite common.
I mean, how crazy is that? Let's put the restoration files, (Basic Windows files), on the harddrive? So if the harddrive goes bad?????

Suggest you use the Restoration Disk.

{Pre-built computer manufacturers were packing the Restoration Disk/s with the computer. As time went by the manufacturers saw the users were not using the disk/s, or loosing them.

Didn't want to use, because of fearing computer damage if they error, or didn't even want to try.

Okay. Put the restoration files on the harddrive, then.
Have the new owner make a BACKUP, when the owner turns the computer on for the first time.
Save a few cents without providing the disk for each computer.
(Take a few cents times 50,000 computers, or more)

Hardly anyone makes a backup disk, when the computer is turned on for the first time. If the harddrive goes bad you cannot access the restoration files.

Computer manufacturers have gone back to packing the restoration disk, with the computer }

What?
Don't have the Restoration Disk? (I won't say anything about not making a backup disk. Could be failure time with it, also)

Go to the back of the computer tower, or up on the side. Write down the Serial Number. It's in the white Service Tag. S/N = Serial Number
(NO, do not post it on the internet. Only to an authorized HP representative)

Call HP Support.
In the USA call 1-800-474-6836
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Restoration Disk is free. The shipping and handling is not.
$17 for a 5 to 7 day ship. $24 for a 2 to 3 day ship.

For other countries use HP Worldwide Support,

http://welcome.hp.com/country/w1/en/support.html

Do I think the Restoration Disk will repair the problem?
Dunno. Don't know what the original problem was. You haven't stated it yet.

Post back in a Comment.
Regards,
joecoolvette

Sometimes we look for the difficult when the solution is right in front of you.

I got the error message after flashing my AMD64 BIOS. Tried rebooting, then a repair, and the problem wouldn't go away. But, if I set the boot sequence up for CDROM first, then HDD, and let the bootup go WITHOUT hitting any key to boot from the CD, Windows would start.

Tried the randall's solution. No luck. Tried copying Hal.dll to system32 still no luck.

Then by accident, I hit F8 during the initial boot. I selected my master 1 and got through.

Went into setup and found that my HDD boot sequence had my slave as the first boot device. End of probelm.

So, here is what was going on. I had upgraded to a larger hard drive, and kept the original as a slave. (Just to have access to files that I might have forgotten about. While I had erased the files on D, I didn't remove the system files. So, when I tried to boot, it was the system on D drive that would try to boot but all the necessary files needed to boot that disk had been removed.



But, randall's solution link is a good one to know. It helped me solve a similiar probelm on another computer where I had two operation systems to choose from, but only one installed.

Windows is corrupt...
Sol = Reload Windows XP

you will need an original WinXP disk....insert the disk in the CD drive and restart...let it boot from the CD (to make changes to boot sequence make changes in BIOS)
once it boots from CD then repair you OS or install a fresh copy of the OS

What is the product and brand?

Remove any CD-ROM disk from the CD-ROM drive.
Disconnect all USB devices.
If your computer has a 3.5" diskette-drive, remove any media from the drive.

Restart.

Your computer is trying to read from your disk-drive,
but it has not been successful, i.e., an "Input/Output Error" (I/O error) has occurred when trying to "read" from your disk-drive.

Find a qualified technician, to see if _any_ of your files can be recovered from your disk-drive.

The first thing to do is try to change back whatever hardware or software change you just made (this could be as simple as leaving a floppy disk in the drive or you need to reseat the IDE cables). If the contents of the drive are especially important and you have no backups, I would recommend removing the hard drive, placing in an enclosure, and backing up the data first, in fact, backup all of your computers. (What if I made new changes that I want to keep?).
Make a NTLDR boot disk to get back into Windows.

The quick test to make sure your OS installation is still good is to create an MBR and NTLDR on a floppy disk and check if you can just boot back up into your system, this disk will check many of the partitions for a working windows installation. Here are the instructions to do this:

1. Get a blank floppy/cd-r/usb (whatever is on it will be erased), and put it into a working computer.

2. If you have a working Windows machine download my fix: Floppy fixntldr.exe | CD-R fixntldriso.zip | USB ntldrusb.zip onto a working computer (Backup copies of these files available at http://ntldrismissing.com )
(What if I don't want to download a file from a website I don't trust?). (64 bit WinXP Floppy 64ntflop.exe | CD-R 64ntiso.zip | Files 64ntfile.zip)
Do you remember if the broken computers had the Windows installation in "Windows"? If you can't remember just keep going (What if it was not named Windows but WINNT like in NT4 or 2000?) .
(If your backup system is NT4 or Windows 2000: What if my backup system is Mac / Linux or another alt OS?).

3. Make the new boot disk:
*Floppy: Run the fixntldr.exe file by double clicking it. Click OK to overwrite the blank floppy disc in the working computer, you should see some screens about writing a new floppy disk. (If you don't like running an exe from me, you can run fixntldr_RawRite.zip and just replace the RawRite.exe file inside with one you trust) (now go to step 4)
*CD-R: This is not a normal file you burn to a CD, it is an "ISO" file, you must first extract the fixntldriso.zip file by right clicking it and choosing "Extract All" then Next>Next>Finish then download a program called "ISO Recorder" from here http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm (Windows 2000 users use Active ISO Burner IsoBurner-Setup.exe) and install it. Once it's installed, right click the fixntldr.iso file and choose to "Copy image to CD" or "Burn ISO file" and let it burn the cd (now go to step 4)
*USB: Right click the ntldrusb.zip file and choose "Extract All" Next>Next>Finish
Then Insert your USB Stick into the working computer (remove any other USB sticks, and be sure there isn't anything on the USB stick that you want since we are about to erase it);
Double-click HPUSBFW.EXE in the ntldrusb folder;
Check "Create a DOS startup disk" and "using DOS system files located at" then press the grey button with the "...";
A box will come up asking you which folder to select, point it to the "dos system files" folder;
Press OK; Press Start; Press Yes; Let it run for just a few minutes till a new box comes up; Press OK; Press Close;
Open the "putonusb" folder, copy all the files, paste them onto the usb stick (just in the root of the drive, like E:\);
Eject the USB Stick; Remove it from your computer;
Place it into the computer with the "NTLDR is missing" issue, reboot it.
You will see the Windows 98 screen pop up for a second, then you will see a black screen with white letters prompting you to "replace boot sector of the drive C: (y/n)", press the y key;
It will go to a C:\ prompt, reboot the computer by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del; (now go to step 4)

4. Put the new floppy/cd-r/usb you have just created into the computer that gets the NTLDR is missing error message, turn the broken computer off.
Using the boot disk in the computer with the "NTLDR is missing" error.

Start back up the broken computer with the floppy/cd-r/usb inside it/plugged into it. Once your computer gets past the BIOS screen your computer should try to access the boot disk and you should see a black screen with white letters (What if I don't see this screen?). that says:


Try it first, if it was the wrong selection, you will likely get one of these four errors:

1. Windows could not start because file "<Windows Root>\system32\hal.dll was missing or corrupt

2. Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware. Please check the Windows documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional information.

3. I/O Error accessing boot sector file multi(0)disk(0)fdisk(0)\BOOTSECT.DOS

4. Immediate reboot

If you get the immediate reboot or some other weird error, try pressing F8 at the "1st Try This" selection screen, it will give you a prompt where you can select Safe Mode, and then try the "1st Try This" option again. Safe Mode is a special "minimal" version of Windows that doesn't load certain parts of the operating system that might have caused the problem.

One of the choices should eventually boot you back into Windows. (What if none of the options worked?) .
Use windows to fix the boot files on the hard drive.

If you got back into Windows, stop whatever you are doing and backup your most important information from this computer.

Now that you are done backing up the most important info, try to change back whatever you were last doing and boot normally, it that doesn't work, put the floppy back into the broken computer and double click the fixntldr.bat file on the floppy drive, if it asks you to overwrite a file, just type in y for yes (the file copies boot.ini, ntldr, ntdetect.com from the floppy to the C:\ drive and removes the read only attributes). That process take a few minutes, then remove the floppy and reboot.

If you are using the cd or usb solution, copy the boot.ini, ntldr, and ntdetect.com files to My Computer > Local Disk C:\ > and overwite whatever files might be there, then right click each file, choose properties, uncheck the Read Only attribute, and click OK.

If you get back into Windows again, you can change that "1st Try This" menu by going into Start > Control Panel > PerformanceAndMaintenance/System > Advanced tab > Startup and Recovery section, Settings button > System Startup; then change the "Default Operating System:" to the selection that worked for you, and change the box that says "Time to display list of operating systems" to however many seconds you want (usually 1 second). Click OK twice.

If you copy the file over and boot up and get a "NTLDR is compressed" error message, be sure to uncheck "compress contents to save space" on the hard drive.