Computer stuck at loading screen after battery died

[System_Error]

I was on my laptop and used it until the battery died and it shut off. So when I got home, the thing won't get passed the windows xp loading screen. I've tried safe mode and still hangs. Any ideas why?

[Lord Orwell]

how long have you let it sit there? I can think of two possibilities that could be easy to check.
One: it's checking for a non-existent network, and this takes forever (a few minutes) or your laptop was in the middle of writing something to the filesystem when it died and it corrupted the directory structure. You should try running a cd-based drive scanning tool that is compatible with ntfs or fat 32, whichever you use.

[vbcode1980]

I was going to suggest the write error, but the weird thing is that Window XP shuts down long before the battery is completely dead. Unless it died suddenly, but that would mean there's something wrong with it.

It could also be a memory problem.

[Lord Orwell]

if it hangs in safe mode, what's the file it was loading when it hung up? safe mode shows the files as they load.

[vbcode1980]

You could also select the boot option to write everything to a log file.
Though you'll need to access that file, somehow. (With a DOS-disk or a Windows 98 boot cd, or a Linux live cd)

[System_Error]

Thanks guys. It hangs on agpCPQ.sys while trying to boot into safe mode. I've given it 30+ min to go forth, but no luck. I also tried opening the recovery console with the original OS cd, but then it says "Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. Make sure any hard drive disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. Set up cannot continue. To quit setup, press F3."

So is my hard drive bad now?

[vbcode1980]

Do you have a SATA-disk which requires special drivers for Windows?
In that case, the Windows setup can't automatically detect the disk, and you need to point it to the drivers.

I believe when you start the Windows Setup there is the option to press F2 (or F6, I'm not sure) to install drivers for these kinds of things.

[vbcode1980]

According to many posts on the internet, this MS article solved the problem.
There are tons of people out there with the same problem, apparently.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;324764

(it speaks of Agp440.sys, but according to what I've read on the internet, it also works for agpCPQ.sys)

[System_Error]

Thanks. I can't get into the recovery console because of the HDD problem. Now, when i turn my laptop on it comes up with a "Main Fan Error". errrr I can't even get to where i was now! I'm not sure about my hard disk. I've never had to do anything special before, and I don't think it came with any special cd's. It's a Gateway CX210 I think.

[Lord Orwell]

expose the hard drive (it should have a simple panel on the bottom covering it) and double check it hasn't come loose. I had a thinkpad do this once.