Weird error

[Morororo]

I'm new here sorry if i post this in the wrong section. I have this problem with my laptop where i can't go into windows. My laptop will either have log in problem, managed to get in but can't use internet or open some software, or just bluescreen. 

I've been thinking of reinstalling the windows. But, when i try to boot the usb this weird screen pixel happen and when i run dell diagnostic it says i have harddisk problem. But my linux can run just fine with internet and all that stuff. 

Can anyone help me figure out whats wrong?

 

First pic: dell diagnostic

Second pic: the weird pixel screen when i tried to usb boot windows

[The Torrent]

sorry this is slightly off topic i have no clue for the error but is this temps by any chance?

cuz if am i reading right at ~80c idle?

[Morororo]

2 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

sorry this is slightly off topic i have no clue for the error but is this temps by any chance?

cuz if am i reading right at ~80c idle?

I think the one behind is either cpu temp or system temp. I know very little about this too.

[jjbeebe]

This could mean two things, hard drive issues ( old and so on) or a issue with windows. I would bet on the hard drive having issues. Check the connections the hard drive and the system for the hell of it also. If it  can run on linux but not on windows check if it is fat32/ntfs or ext also. It may also be a corrupt partition that linux can read but windows can't. I have had messed up usb drives etc.. that can be read somewhat on linux but not windows with partition issues. The fix was a zero fill erase and reformat (with linux system ) as fat32. Hard disk failure is the most common regarding this issue on the other hand. Gparted bootable usb may provide a few options to fix the drive, erase or other functions that are described in the link below. 

 

Link: 

https://gparted.org/livecd.php

 

 

[Morororo]

5 hours ago, jjbeebe said:

This could mean two things, hard drive issues ( old and so on) or a issue with windows. I would bet on the hard drive having issues. Check the connections the hard drive and the system for the hell of it also. If it  can run on linux but not on windows check if it is fat32/ntfs or ext also. It may also be a corrupt partition that linux can read but windows can't. I have had messed up usb drives etc.. that can be read somewhat on linux but not windows with partition issues. The fix was a zero fill erase and reformat (with linux system ) as fat32. Hard disk failure is the most common regarding this issue on the other hand. Gparted bootable usb may provide a few options to fix the drive, erase or other functions that are described in the link below. 

 

Link: 

https://gparted.org/livecd.php

 

 

is it possible to have hard drive issues and still be able to copy file? cause i can copy my file from linux. 

also is zero fill erase the same as normal linux format?

[jjbeebe]

Yes it is possible to copy files over if you  have hard drive issues, however it is not considered safe (messed up os) or possibly incomplete/corrupt data. A zero fill is an option in linux using a disk utility or partition tool and it overwrites  the data with all zeros. This can improve performance of a messed up ssd, along with a 4k aliment (Is a common standard off the shelf like a evo ssd). A format does not delete the data, just address table, so a OS can't see it without using software like recuva. A secure erase makes so the old data is completely unrecoverable. If your hard drive is a HDD, you re-installed window and still had issues (benchmark tool crystal disk as a measuring tool) i would say the drive is dead. The military has a 3 to 4 year rule for tech refreshing all their laptops etc... based on hdd failure after prolonged use and so on. 

 

steps i would take:

 

1. backup all data from the drive using one of the option below based on your need, one usb drive to boot off of and another drive or cloud service to store recovered data. 

• copy files with a portable version on windows (on usb) or linux (https://www.hirensbootcd.org/ is a good choice for windows)
• mirror the drive,partition or create a iso (gparted,  acronis etc...)
• optional task that may help before recovering data and may also fix the issue for a short time, use the command prompt as administrator and run  (on windows boot usb) "chkdsk  (letter of drive here): /r" without quotes or parentheses.

2. secure erase the drive so data from the old drive cannot be recovered and fix potential issues (ssd, and won't hurt on a HDD)

 

3. reinstall windows and benchmark the drive with crystal disk (https://osdn.net/projects/crystaldiskmark/)

• you can gauge the drive performance by looking at the expected speed online form the manufacturer using the S/N or other information. 

 

p.s. you can use the ISO or other forms of a drive image to place your old OS and files on a new drive. 

[Morororo]

4 hours ago, jjbeebe said:

Yes it is possible to copy files over if you  have hard drive issues, however it is not considered safe (messed up os) or possibly incomplete/corrupt data. A zero fill is an option in linux using a disk utility or partition tool and it overwrites  the data with all zeros. This can improve performance of a messed up ssd, along with a 4k aliment (Is a common standard off the shelf like a evo ssd). A format does not delete the data, just address table, so a OS can't see it without using software like recuva. A secure erase makes so the old data is completely unrecoverable. If your hard drive is a HDD, you re-installed window and still had issues (benchmark tool crystal disk as a measuring tool) i would say the drive is dead. The military has a 3 to 4 year rule for tech refreshing all their laptops etc... based on hdd failure after prolonged use and so on. 

 

steps i would take:

 

1. backup all data from the drive using one of the option below based on your need, one usb drive to boot off of and another drive or cloud service to store recovered data. 

• copy files with a portable version on windows (on usb) or linux (https://www.hirensbootcd.org/ is a good choice for windows)
• mirror the drive,partition or create a iso (gparted,  acronis etc...)
• optional task that may help before recovering data and may also fix the issue for a short time, use the command prompt as administrator and run  (on windows boot usb) "chkdsk  (letter of drive here): /r" without quotes or parentheses.

2. secure erase the drive so data from the old drive cannot be recovered and fix potential issues (ssd, and won't hurt on a HDD)

 

3. reinstall windows and benchmark the drive with crystal disk (https://osdn.net/projects/crystaldiskmark/)

• you can gauge the drive performance by looking at the expected speed online form the manufacturer using the S/N or other information. 

 

p.s. you can use the ISO or other forms of a drive image to place your old OS and files on a new drive. 

i have backed up my data(only the important bit in c and all drive d) by copying it from linux

i haven't tried to secure ease my drive but i did format the windows c drive in hope that i can reinstall the windows (maybe a bad idea. i don't really know a lot)

i tried to install windows again with bootable usb but all it gave me is this weird pixely image.

and i kinda can't get into windows at all so i cant use the command prompt

[jjbeebe]

please give me you computer spec. 

[Morororo]

4 hours ago, jjbeebe said:

please give me you computer spec. 

its dell inspiron n4050

cpu : intel core i5-2430M CPU @ 2.40GHz x 2

memory : 3.8 Gib (if this is ram 4 gb)

hard drive : 486.8 GB ( 500gb)

graphics Card : intel corporation 2nd generation core processor family integrated graphics controller (i think this one is intel HD graphics 3000 according to internet)

graphics card : Advanced Micro Devices, Inx. [AMD/ATI] Seymour [Radeon HD 6400M/7400M series] (this one might be AMD Radeon HD 7450M according to internet)

i found these specs from my linux system info

[jjbeebe]

This laptop based on the information i can find is relatively old in the tech world. If you have not replaced the drive ( got the computer more or less then 5 years ago) or upgradegrad the ram to at least 8gb of ram the computer is not optimal in my opinion.  To get to the nitty gritty, if you are running windows 10 on a laptop that was made for windows 7 and have not upgraded or replaced certain things this can cuases issues. Also if you have not upgraded the bios that can cause issues also; however dell sometimes makes this rather easy with tools or software. I have upgraded older computers in the past for people and they had same issue just with a super old desktop. I would replace the drive and try to upgrade the ram a little and try to shoot for 8gb, which i think is the max for your computer. Depending on distro, linux has a easy time running on older systems. the bottom line you may have multiple issues, old drive, old bios, and a computer that might not be able to handle the latest operating system of windows 10. You have 4 GB of ram but you did not say what type DDR4, DDR3 and so on. I would look into upgrades for a SSD/RAM and look at the the link below. The replacement parts in the link can be relatively inexpensive if you are looking for something that just works for daily tasks. there are tons of other things you can test like the memory with memtest (https://www.memtest86.com/). 

 

just one of the website i found. 

https://www.gizbot.com/computer/dell-inspiron-n4050-feature-filled-laptop.html

 

Crucial upgrades for computer  Inspiron 14R (N4050) (i think this is your computer) 

 

https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/dell/inspiron-14r-(n4050)

 

P.S. benchmark your hardware (GPU, CPU, hard drive) with linux applications,there is a ton to choose from and all free. This can also help decide what you need to buy if somthing is failing or just windows not working on you computer. 

[Morororo]

25 minutes ago, jjbeebe said:

This laptop based on the information i can find is relatively old in the tech world. If you have not replaced the drive ( got the computer more or less then 5 years ago) or upgradegrad the ram to at least 8gb of ram the computer is not optimal in my opinion.  To get to the nitty gritty, if you are running windows 10 on a laptop that was made for windows 7 and have not upgraded or replaced certain things this can cuases issues. Also if you have not upgraded the bios that can cause issues also; however dell sometimes makes this rather easy with tools or software. I have upgraded older computers in the past for people and they had same issue just with a super old desktop. I would replace the drive and try to upgrade the ram a little and try to shoot for DDR4. Depending on distro, linux has a easy time running on older systems. the bottom line you may have multiple issues, old drive, old bios, and a computer that might not be able to handle the latest operating system. You have 4 GB of ram but you did not say what type DDR4, DDR3 and so on. I would look into upgrade for an SSD/RAM and look at the the link below. The replacement parts in the link can be relatively inexpensive if you are looking for something that just works for daily tasks. 

 

just one of the website i found. 

https://www.gizbot.com/computer/dell-inspiron-n4050-feature-filled-laptop.html

 

Crucial upgrades for computer  Inspiron 14R (N4050) (i think this is your computer) 

 

https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/dell/inspiron-14r-(n4050)

(i dont think i can buy new ram or new ssd since its quarantine time and i might get a new laptop soon)

this might simplify it a bit but what i gotta do is that i have to replace my hdd and then reinstall windows but it's better to install windows 7?

and since i install dual boot at january 2020 do you think my bios still good to use or should i try to upgrade the bios?

thanks in advance for all your help

 

[jjbeebe]

I would replace the HDD with a new drive ( for best results SSD) then i would upgrade the ram to 8gb at a minimum and install windows 10. windows 7 no longer really supported or patched by microsoft, in short windows 7 is almost like windows XP (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet) . I would say based on what you are telling me, use linux till you get the new computer. I would then invest in maybe upgrade for whatever new laptop you may be getting if you don't want to keep you old system alive, that choice is up to you. You can alway just use linux on the old computer :-).

 

sidebar: If you system is a duel boot, meaning windows and a linux distro installed on the same drive and was not manually partitioned and used a tool like easybcd to get it to boot, it can cause issues. 

[Morororo]

12 hours ago, jjbeebe said:

I would replace the HDD with a new drive ( for best results SSD) then i would upgrade the ram to 8gb at a minimum and install windows 10. windows 7 no longer really supported or patched by microsoft, in short windows 7 is almost like windows XP (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet) . I would say based on what you are telling me, use linux till you get the new computer. I would then invest in maybe upgrade for whatever new laptop you may be getting if you don't want to keep you old system alive, that choice is up to you. You can alway just use linux on the old computer :-).

 

sidebar: If you system is a duel boot, meaning windows and a linux distro installed on the same drive and was not manually partitioned and used a tool like easybcd to get it to boot, it can cause issues. 

okay i have managed to install windows 7 because last time windows 10 doesn't wanna get installed.

so far so good i just need to download the required driver and i hope the laptop is good to go.

thanks a lot for all the help that you gave me

[jjbeebe]

I would not use windows 7, it is at end of life and will no longer receive updates or patches, like windows XP. With that in mind, it may be good for a temporary system while you wait for a little to get a new computer. In general, i would either upgrade the system to an SSD ( at least 500gb for heavy use/games, 256 for browsing the internet and light office work) and 8gb of ram for windows ten or wait for you new system if it will be within a short time frame due to the risks involved in windows seven at this point. You could also use Linux as a backup for the backup or for protected information such as taxes etc... If this is a work computer or something that holds valuable information such as PII (personally identifiable information, I.E., full name, address, social security number etc..) store and access this information on a different computer or OS  with some form of encryption (lvm etc..).  Do not use windows 7 to handle information that you would not be ok with posting online, this includes buying things online or saving passwords. 

[Morororo]

On 5/6/2020 at 5:02 AM, jjbeebe said:

I would not use windows 7, it is at end of life and will no longer receive updates or patches, like windows XP. With that in mind, it may be good for a temporary system while you wait for a little to get a new computer. In general, i would either upgrade the system to an SSD ( at least 500gb for heavy use/games, 256 for browsing the internet and light office work) and 8gb of ram for windows ten or wait for you new system if it will be within a short time frame due to the risks involved in windows seven at this point. You could also use Linux as a backup for the backup or for protected information such as taxes etc... If this is a work computer or something that holds valuable information such as PII (personally identifiable information, I.E., full name, address, social security number etc..) store and access this information on a different computer or OS  with some form of encryption (lvm etc..).  Do not use windows 7 to handle information that you would not be ok with posting online, this includes buying things online or saving passwords. 

ok after all the trial and error i have managed to install windows 10 in the laptop and evevrything works relatively normal. so i guess i'll just keep it like this for now. thanks for all the help @jjbeebe you are very helpful :D. i might already given up if you didnt comment. thanks a lot again for the help