I've actually cried all over a computer. That I think I broke.

[CarpeVinum]

Or maybe windows 8 hates me.

I need a fecking drink.

I'm 46 years old, allegedly not technologically incompetant (I used to repartition and reinstall and everything when I had windows XP, just haven't needed to do it for years) and I've cried all over this virtually new computer and I think I am about to cry again. Like actually plopping tears and everything.

If I can't fix it my son gets two crap Christmasses in a row. ( Mil was dying in hospital last year, so not so grave, but his most wanted xams pressies are totally redundant without his 'puter.

Due to a FURBAR during a.... "go back to factory settings you laggy git faced computer" session ....things went horribly wrong. Mainly cos the computer was speaking in Italian and I was tired. Probably.

So I had amazon UK rush a proper full copy of windows 8.1 in Bloody ENGLISH to Italy. DHL finally found me after a tense 48 hours of increasingly heated phone calls with me yelling "how can I always be "customer out" if you have kept me trapped in the house for TWO DAYS!"

I got into BIOS (whatever that is) I changed the boot thingie to CD-rom drive as first choice (gingerly, never been in BIOS before) All went swimmingly, but then it hung for hours and It couldn't finish the last bit of a clean install.

So a youtubber siad delete partitions.

So I did. Well some of them. 2. ACER and USER

And then I clicked next and the fecking computer complained something was missing so it couldn't run the cd-rom drive. Or something like that.

I have spent 113 euros. And all I have managed to do is kill the computer more.

And christmas is ruined cos the computer shop is not taking any repairs in till he comes back in the New Year.

Dos anybody have any ideas what has gone so horribly wrong and how to put it right ?

And if you don't. Can you please start sticking pins in an effigy of the Windows 8 wholly annoyingly displeasuring start screen of pissingoffness.

Or pass a hanky.

Is this peri menopause making me an emotional wreck due to poxy software ?

Wine. I wish I had wine.

I point blank refuse tomuse my warranty. It would cost me more in thearpy after hitting the Italian customer care/warrenty wall than just buying a new hard drive. They will take away the puter for a month before doing anything, and DS has to be back at school on the 7th. Chrsit he hasn't been able to do any of his homework cos the lesson library isn't downloadable on the iPad. We'll have all that to catch up as it is as soon as I get this fixed.

Which hard drive should I buy on Monday ? If I need one.

I can get to euronics.

I need an anti ststic band too if ai am going to go insdie the puter and install a new bit of hard ware, is that correct ?

Oh god.

I can do this, I am not afried of a machine. Terminator is just a film. They are not all out to get me.

My teenage son is still glued to his pit.

Will try more yelling.

He gets all stood on his dignity when ai go in his room when he is in bed these days. I am expecting him to be replaced by "Kevin and Perry" any second now.

Have you been able to do what lazydogadvised?

What makes you think you do need a hard drive, as opposed to may need a hard drive? You need to run diagnostics before I can tell you to go out and buy a new component for your PC. Hard drive is a likely culprit, but by no means the only possibility. I'm sorry to nag, but is there anything plugged into your usb ports ?? :-D

I have X:\Sources>

Do I press enter before doing thr commands or do they get typed on the end of the sting above ?

I am ridiculously scared.

But being brave.

IF it comes down to replacing the hard drive, no, you don't need an anti static strap. Just don't wear static-y clothing, keep the PC plugged into the mains BUT VERY, VERY important - turn the rocker switch off on the back of the PC (on the PSU) and then ensure you're touching metal on the casing (thereby earthed) while you swap out the hard drive...........................................IF it even needs replacing

noathing in usb ports, expect the doofas for the wireless keyboard.

Just do the chkdsk one I posted - the others are redundant if you've erased "Acer" partition... Type it there, after that sources>

should it look like

X:\Sources>BOOTREC /FIXMBR

or

X:\Sources>
BOOTREC /FIXMBR

ok

chkdsk c: /R

On the same line. Even if you hit return, you'd get the same leading prompt of x:\sources>

first two completelymsucessfully

scanned for thenthird

Total identified windows installations 0
operstion completed sucesffuly

I did these three

Type BOOTREC /FIXMBR, and then press ENTER.

Type BOOTREC /FIXBOOT, and then press ENTER.

Type BOOTREC /REBUILDBCD, and then press ENTER.

doing the last one now

the type of the file is NTFS

no bad file records processed

still looking for bad free clusters

? What does that all mean ?

I have no idea what anything in this thread means, but I'm rooting for you!

You'll eventually see an output result that tells you loads of stuff like how much total disk space, how many KB occupied by how many files, other stuff you can ignore, but the important bit is how many KB in bad sectors If zero, not likely to be your hard drive causing the problem. Still not impossible, but less probable.

It's at 2% of checking for bad free clusters.

Can I leave it alone or will it want me to do things ?

DS still in bed and denouncing me for crimes against "teenagers in pjamams"

Yeah well you are lucky I did make you get up for mass so I could smooze with computer owners you little ungraftful wot not.

He has no idea what he is getting for xmas. If he knew he'd be a it more bleeding supoortive.

Total identified windows installations 0 - Not surprising - you deleted the OS partition way back...

mushroom

If it helps. I don't understand either. I am mainly reading off a screen.

It's like trying to fix an engine for the very first time and you are rootling in the gubbins thinking, "should I just cut this bit off ?"

but I didn't delete the recovery!... well I don't remember doing that one.

Leave it be - it can take hours... Just tell him NOT to close down the results, when it completes. Sorry, I hate to abandon you but it's 1:30am. I advise posting in geeky stuff but not a new thread (or you'll get confusing duplication of advice) but link to this one, to send the geek-hoards over here for a change or ask MN to move the entire thread to that board, perhaps?

how many KB in bad sectors

Ok, I'll it run and let you know when it finsihes.

Now at 9%

I am somewhat in awe of people who know this kind of stuff. You all have nerves of steel.

No, not the recovery. The recovery isn't a "Windows installation" - it's a compressed collection of files that can be used to build a windows installation. And I still don't feel certain that the alt F10 wont work... But it said no identified windows installations because you did delete "Acer" which is where you would find c:\windows and c:\users and the like...

Nah, it's actually easy money because most people are terrified to even try to solve the simplest of problems :)