There was a power outage/surge the other day and now my computer will only start up to the black screen with the blue bar running across and then won't go any further.
 
I can get into safe mode, and when I try and do a system restore, it goes through the process, but when I try and turn it on again, it SAYS it wasn't able to do the system restore.
 
My computer has been a BIT more loud lately and occasionally when I started it, Windows had to check the HARD drives but always found nothing wrong with it.
 
My computer is about 3 years old, and was made by my friends and I.


ANYONE know what is wrong and what I should do?  Thanks so muchDo you have a real XP CD to do a repair install?

You can also try the process of elimination.

The first thing to go is usually the modem
on a power surge.

Physically remove it from your computer and
 see what happens.It's a computer that a friend built.  I'm sure he has the CD laying around somewhere, but I am at college, not home, so I can't pick it up anytime soon.

Would any Windows XP cd allow me to boot up?  I know there are serial number contraints usually, but since I am just using it to get some damaged files(hopefully) do you think that it would work?

Also, you might be right about the modem thing, since I can start in safe mode, but not safe mode w/networking.


On another note, since it gets stuck on the splash screen EVERYTIME, I tried the /SOS switch and all that I get is a blue screen instead of the splash screen when I try to start normally.  It just says something along the lines of stats of my computer and that I have service pack 2 and 1024 mb mem.

Thanks in advance for your help, I appreciate it.If the machine is louder noticeably now i suspect that the PSU took a hit with that power surge...you should open the case with all power dis-connected and inspect all fans to ensure they are running properly.
You can borrow a known working PSU of the same wattage as your and swap it out to see if this is the case. Quote

There was a power outage/surge the other day and now my computer will only start up to the black screen with the blue bar running across and then won't go any further.
 
I can get into safe mode, and when I try and do a system restore, it goes through the process, but when I try and turn it on again, it says it wasn't able to do the system restore.
 
[highlight]My computer has been a bit more loud lately and occasionally when I started it, Windows had to check the hard drives but always found nothing wrong with it. [/highlight]
My computer is about 3 years old, and was made by my friends and I.


Anyone know what is wrong and what I should do?  Thanks so much

I have checked in the BIOS screen and one of the fans says it isnt working, but it is spinning.  I've got three and the temp of the CPU isn't even over 140.

As for disconnecting pieces, it would be really easy for me since it is custom built and I have easy access, but I have no clue which piece is what and am not comfortabl messing with that stuff.

As for running diagnostics, I cannot access the internet from the computer, so I am unable to download them.  The fact that I can't access safemode with networking makes me think there is a networking problem.

I just got a friend's copy of XP, but I can't figure out how to boot from the disc, or if that will even allow me to since it isn't my copy of XP.  Anyone care to shed some light on if this will work and how to boot from my CD-Rom drive?