Computer Troubleshooting

[Lorrie]

I've spent over a month and a half trying to fix my non-booting Satellite A215-S5818 running Vista.  Sometime mid-March (ah, the Ides of March!) I think I downloaded an automatic update and I remember the next time it booted my desktop was black; icons but no background picture.  Then I noticed on the bottom right it was saying my copy of Vista was not genuine.  I know that it is, because it is pre-installed.  So I ran check disk from the Properties page of C: in Windows Explorer. After it ran, I got BSOD.  At first I just booted into SafeMode and tried to disable whatever hardware/uninstall whatever software was causing the problem.  I think I got it to boot in SafeMode once or twice, then no more.  For a while I kept getting IRQL-NOT-LESS-OR-EQUAL, but I somehow stopped that through the command prompt(forum advice?).  Startup Repair could not fix it,  System Restore would not work on ANY restore points, even before March. The new BSOD error was:

"STOP: c000021a {Fatal System Error}-
The initial session process or system process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0x00000000 (0xc0000221 0x00100594)"

From then on I could only get a command prompt through the Repair Console.  So I xcopy-ed my Users directory to an external hard drive and grudgingly booted from the Toshiba CD, knowing it would obliterate everything, but I was desperate.  I got the 03-EEEE-0000 error.  Now I have a plethora of useless(?) CDs and DVDs I have burned ISO images on of any Freeware I thought could fix it, downloaded from the Internet using my husband's Windows 7 desktop computer.  I followed these instructions to the letter and it worked (I guess; it started immediately, no DOS objection), but when it rebooted I got a window (!) saying something about the type of hardware.  I haven't added or changed any hardware, but I have updated the BIOS recently.  So I clicked OK (no other choice), and now every boot up I get a window saying "Windows could not complete the installation.  To install Windows on this computer, restart the installation".  Startup Repair does not find any problems.  Could it be the BIOS?  I have re-flashed it twice, no difference.

[miker643]

Whenever you post a problem here you should always post your full model name/number, look on the Toshiba label on the bottom of your notebook. Also, we need to know what version of Windows you're using, like Vista 32bit. Give us all this info if you need to post back here.

See this article:

How to troubleshoot a "STOP 0xC000021A" error

Mike

[Jerry_Lippey]

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I xcopy-ed my Users directory to an external hard drive

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So you're satisfied that you have all your important files, Lorrie? If not, let's attend to that.

Then it's probably best to restore the hard disk to its original out-of-the-box contents using Toshiba recovery media. If you didn't burn the discs, you can obtain them from Toshiba.

   Order Toshiba Recovery Media

Next time you have difficulties of this sort, you'll want to access Vista's recovery environment. You can do that with a Vista installation disc of the same bitness or..

   How to launch the Windows Recovery Environment

   Repair CD Downloads

Then there are lots of possibilities.

   What are the system recovery options in Windows Vista?

   How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to troubleshoot and repair start...

[Lorrie]

I have a Satellite A215-S5818 running Vista 32-bit, and I think it is SP2, though after looking at the article you referred me to, I wonder if the SP2 didn't install correctly, so it may still be SP1.

The article also suggested the problem might have been a third-party software.  I have Quickbooks 2007 installed on it, but I have QB 2010 at work and on my husband's Win7 computer.  The last software-related task I remember doing was attempting to download a payroll update, then realizing halfway through that I was using the old QB version, for which Intuit no longer supports payroll.  When it finished the window said nothing new was downloaded.  I don't know if all that matters, but I thought it might be worth mentioning here.

Another odd thing I noticed, when I flashed the BIOS (btw, it did allow me to "downgrade" to the previous BIOS; I thought I'd give that a shot), the time was exactly 2 hours ahead.  How weird is that??

Anyway, I don't get the "STOP 0xc000021a" error anymore after I followed cee_64's instructions on this forum dated 9-8-09 about running tosimagex from D:\Bin on the Recovery CD (the ones I put the link to in my original post).  But now it just tells me the installation cannot continue, and keeps re-booting.

[Lorrie]

I already have the Recovery Media.  It gives me the 03-EEEE-0000 error when I try to use it. 

[miker643]

Satellite A215-S5818 Specifications

Satellite A215-S5818 Downloads

To see what Service Pack you're running, click on 'Start', right click on 'Computers', left click on 'Properties', look under 'Windows edition':

Vista SP2 download

You're not alone in having the 03-EEEE-0000 error.

Mike

[Lorrie]

Click "Start"?  I can't boot into Windows, so there is nothing to click.  All I can get is a command prompt, through the Recovery console by booting with my Recovery CD.

[miker643]

Oops! Sorry that was stupid on my part.

From the command prompt you could type in   systeminfo   , and hit the 'Enter' key, it will take a little while to run, when it finishes, scroll back up to the top and you'll see OS Version and Service Pack you've got loaded. But, if you're booting off the recovery disk, that's the system info you'll get.

If you can't get to the command prompt from the Advanced Boot Options menu, by trying to boot off the hard drive, and pressing F8, I'm not sure how you can find what Service Pack you have loaded.

By using the Recovery Boot Disk, have you exhausted all the recovery options that Jerry linked before?

What are the system recovery options in Windows Vista?

How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to troubleshoot and repair start...

Mike

[Lorrie]

Yes; I can get to the System Recovery Options by booting with the #1 of 2 CD's my computer came with.

• Startup Repair - Just tells me it can't detect a problem.
• System Restore - Tells me there are no restore points.  There were before I did the "tosimagex.exe..." procedure outlined in this post by cee_64.  But they must have been deleted.  Just as well, since they didn't work before anyway.
• Windows Complete PC Restore - Tells me it can't find a backup on the HD or DVD, and a separate window says there are no valid backup locations.
• Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool - It now passes all (standard) tests.  In the beginning of this whole saga,  I ran the extended mode, and OMG it took over 3 DAYS to finish!  On both tests I immediately got the "Hardware problems were detected"  message, but not anymore after I ran a bootable anti-virus software I downloaded (one of the aforementioned plethora of CD's).  It found some "trojans" and apparently cleaned them out.
• Command Prompt - Has now become my new friend, because it is the only option functioning!
• Toshiba Recovery Wizard - Yeah, right.  03-EEEE-0000 error, then no other option but click OK to shut down.

Well, so much for the System Recovery Options.  Every time the computer restarts, a window pops up and tells me the computer restarted "unexpectedly", that the installation cannot continue (referring to the "tosimagex..." procedure), and would I please restart the installation.  I'd be willing to bet a stack of .iso-burned CDs that if I could find the command-line executable file lurking somewhere in that fin' Recovery CD, it would restart the installation while violins played, birds sang and angels wept with joy.

Oh, and Bootrec.exe?  Well...

Ok, here's a little experiment I tried.  Tosimagex did not erase anything on my HDD, so I thought maybe some existing file(s) were interfering with that type of (re)installation.  So I created a new folder (C:\newcomp) and ran D:\Bin\tosimagex again, this time with C:\newcomp /ref in place of C:\ /ref.  It worked like the last time, but installed Windows to this newcomp directory, incompletely.  It keeps rebooting and asking me to restart the installation.  If only I could.  Anyway, after running bootrec.exe I now have 2 incomplete installations.  One is "Windows Vista Home Premium" (that's the "C:\" install) and the other is "Windows Vista Home Premium (recovered)" (that's the "C:\newcomp" install)

[Lorrie]

Here is an update  (To the tune of "Me and Paul" by Willie Nelson):

It's been rough and rocky guessin' but I finally found a decent workaround

After taking several readings, I'm relieved to find my hardware's really sound

I guess Vista is the roughest, but I'm sure they've said the same about them all

I'd received an education in boot-ISO creation after all.

Got disgusted with Toshiba, and their non-responsive Factory Restore

I just wanted what I'd paid for, when I brought my laptop home 4 years before.
Though I followed the directions, it refused to let me boot into Safe Mode
Forum said to use tosimagex, but still my Windows Vista wouldn't load.

In an act of desperation, typed "Free Vista Installation" in Search box

Making sure to find Home Premium, the 32-bit I'd already bought
Well I found a major company offering two WIM's and an EXE to help install

I could use my education in boot-ISO creation after all

Though I had to format C first, I was able to install in the same place
It accepted my install key, from the printed label underneath the case
Next time I got online I typed the same install key to authenticate
Again that was accepted; fixed my A215-S5818.

WOO HOO!