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Resolved Question

My Toshiba satellite cannot load anything at all

by May 11, 2014 10:20PM PDT

My laptop is Toshiba L755-16H, windows 8.1 update
All what I get now is the first screen of "Toshiba Leading Innovation" and "H2O bios" then the logo of windows 8 (4 blue quartered window) then black screen with flashing cursor and the mouse arrow, and it keeps like that.
The details as follows:
It was working normally until certain critical update is installed from Windows update, then it refuses to load windows at all and gives error message.
1- In the beginning I tried to get into recovery options> advanced options> repair start up> but no benefit.
2- Then I tried system restore> it failed and no benefit.
3- then system refresh> but I have windows 8 dvd not 8.1 so it said not suitable cd
4- then I searched the internet to enable safe mood and entered the following command in command prompt:
"bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy" (no quotes)
I got it from this forum:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/525027/windows-81-wont-boot-cant-access-anything/
and I could get into safe mood and tried to do system restore but it failed also.
After that I couldn't boot the computer at all or even get into the system BIOS setup with F2 or F8 or F12.
Also I tried to enter the DVD of the Laptop Recovery or the DVD of windows 8 but they spin for little seconds and nothing happens although I am sure the DVD rom is the first in booting sequence, (but the DVD rom sometimes fails to read some disks)
I tried to disconnect the power supply and remove the battery then press the power button for 2 minutes > but no benefit.
I tried to press 0 (zero) with the power button on starting up and keep pressing zero to go to factory settings but no benefit.
I tried to use "Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10" on a CD and "Hiren's BootCD 15.2" on a cd and DVD > no benefit (it spins for some time then as usual, the windows logo appears then the black screen.
Please Help me. The computer is completely useless and I can't get into any options at all. What can I do?????
Any help will be highly appreciated.

Discussion is locked

Wail Fayez has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer
24 Posts
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Clarification Request
So F12 fails?
by r. proffitt Forum moderator May 12, 2014 12:34AM PDT
http://forums.toshiba.com/t5/System-Recovery-and-Recovery/How-To-Understanding-System-Restore-Refresh-Reset-and-Recovery/ta-p/342690

That link is just for reference.

-> This model appears to be deployed with SECURE BOOT which is also known as (AKA) UEFI. There are tomes about that but it's much more complicated to boot the CDs you listed with UEFI. It can take no less than 2 or 3 changes to the BIOS settings with a reboot with each change (I don't consider that progress!) to enable booting a non-UEFI bootable CD/USB/DVD.

I wonder if the HDD has failed to become very corrupt. We know that some malware is doing deep damage now (such as Conduit which I strongly advise you never research without using some other non-Windows OS.)

Try this. It looks to be in warranty. Let it be Toshiba's problem.
Bob
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what can i do with the HDD if connected it as a slave to PC
by Wail Fayez May 12, 2014 11:12AM PDT

Thank you very much for your Help.
I think that my laptop doesn't have UEFI as I entered the BIOS setup before and didn't notice the Secure boot option.
Also because before this problem I could boot from the recovery DVDs and from Windows 8 DVD without any tweaks in the BIOS..
And I think that I noticed before the Fast boot is Disabled in the BIOS.

Now I purchased a Hard disk enclosure to remove the HDD from that Laptop and connect it as a slave to another Laptop.
So what can I do on the slave HDD , to solve the problem, other than scanning it by an antivirus?
The PC is still in the warranty but I am trying to solve the problem to the last try before going to the warranty.

Best Answer

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Try this.
by May 12, 2014 5:57AM PDT

Its probably a video driver from the update. Go into safe mode and uninstall the Video driver though device manager. and don't let it update on its own.

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I can NOT get into safe mode
by Wail Fayez May 12, 2014 11:06AM PDT

I can NOT get into safe mode nor the BIOS nor any booting options

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You MUST get the BIOS to reset
by James Denison May 12, 2014 2:48PM PDT

until that happens and it goes to default settings and allows you then to enter it, everything else is useless work.

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RESOLVED
by Wail Fayez May 13, 2014 1:19AM PDT

Thanks God, and Thanks sincerely for every one tried to help me.
Nearly the problem has been RESOLVED
I think it was a matter of corrupted Master File Table (MFT) and volume bitmap and also Malware detected.

Here you are the details:
I removed the HDD from the defected laptop, and connected it to a SATA enclosure and connected it via USB cable to another working laptop.
I have performed a scan with antivirus (360 Internet security) but I didn't leave it to finish. It has detected a Trojan in the following path " \Program files (x86)\Toshiba\Bluetooth Toshiba Stack\LANG\PTB\BTAssist.chm" detected as Advanced Level Trojan Program.
I believed it may a problem of corrupted Registry or File system, so I have performed Error checking for the Windows partition (from Properties of the desired partition the Tools tab then "Check" under Error checking section, it found some errors and fixed them . then I stopped the antivirus scanning, connected the HDD and tried booting but no improvement.
I believe that that way of error checking is not very effective and the better method is via the command prompt so I opened cmd , then entered ( chkdsk driveletter: / r ) then it found many errors in the MFT and volume Bitmap (I am attaching a file containing the result). It corrected the errors.
I removed the HDD and connected it, and WOW the option to enter BIOS via F2 and boot sequence via F12 returned as a bottom line, and I could enter BIOS setup.
As I mentioned before my laptop doesn't have UEFI as I entered the BIOS setup and didn't find the Secure boot option.
I make the boot sequence DVD > then USB > then HDD.
I loaded Kaspersky Rescue Disk from a USB and did basic scan on just the start up items and memory it didn't find anything.
Still windows refuse to load normally.
But I could boot successfully from live CDs like Hiren's boot and checked the memory, it was ok.
- I burnt a new DVD of windows 8 as the one I have may be slightly scratched so the lap couldn't from it.
- And finally I could boot from the windows 8 DVD, and tried to fix the start up> it failed.
- I tried to do system restore > failed
- I tried Refresh system > failed
- I tried Reset system > failed
So I decided to install a fresh copy of the windows.
And yes I could boot and went through installing a fresh copy of Windows 8 after FORMATTING C drive. And it went very well.
Now the windows is working very well. And I am performing another ( CHKDSK c: /r ) to make sure of the HDD.
It has finished with no errors detected and 0 KB in Bad sectors, Thanks God.
And till now everything seems very well..
Thanks again very much for every one tried to help me.

Result of first CHKDSK detecting problems
C:\ >chkdsk g: /r
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is Windows.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 5)...
7 percent complete. (200167 of 285952 file records processed)
Deleting corrupt attribute record (128, "")
from file record segment 205816.
285952 file records processed.
File verification completed.
1465 large file records processed.
0 bad file records processed.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 5)...
11 percent complete. (312047 of 345422 index entries processed)
Deleting index entry EventViewer.ni.dll in index $I30 of file 205817.
Deleting index entry EventViewer.ni.dll.aux in index $I30 of file 205817.
Deleting index entry EVENTV~1.AUX in index $I30 of file 205817.
Deleting index entry EVENTV~1.DLL in index $I30 of file 205817.
345422 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.
CHKDSK is scanning unindexed files for reconnect to their original directory.
Recovering orphaned file ETWRTD~1.ETL (205816) into directory file 135295.
Recovering orphaned file EtwRTDiagLog.etl (205816) into directory file 135295.
Recovering orphaned file DC4701~1 (205817) into directory file 129209.
Recovering orphaned file dc4701b2db7cf17a8b91db454a97c991 (205817) into director
y file 129209.
Recovering orphaned file ETWRTE~1.ETL (20581Cool into directory file 135295.
Recovering orphaned file EtwRTEventLog-System.etl (20581Cool into directory file 1
35295.
4 unindexed files scanned.
Recovering orphaned file LWTNET~1.ETL (205819) into directory file 135294.
Recovering orphaned file LwtNetLog.etl (205819) into directory file 135294.
0 unindexed files recovered.

CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5)...
Replacing invalid security id with default security id for file 205819.
Security descriptor verification completed.
Inserting data attribute into file 205816.
29737 data files processed.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
Usn Journal verification completed.

CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
285936 files processed.
File data verification completed.

CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
64731566 free clusters processed.
Free space verification is complete.
Correcting errors in the master file table's (MFT) BITMAP attribute.
Correcting errors in the Volume Bitmap.

Windows has made corrections to the file system.
No further action is required.

312319999 KB total disk space.
52947900 KB in 130149 files.
80748 KB in 29737 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
365087 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
258926264 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
78079999 total allocation units on disk.
64731566 allocation units available on disk.

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Nice find.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator May 13, 2014 1:25AM PDT

But imagine Joe/Jane average here. Has the industry failed? I mean, why are they selling you such a fragile system?
Bob

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this one must have the BIOS program
by James Denison May 13, 2014 5:21AM PDT

on the hard drive instead of embedded into the CMOS chip. Just another reason I've never bought OEM products.

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I have a S855 here.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator May 13, 2014 5:28AM PDT

But a look at the L755 shows the BIOS is on the mainboard in flash memory. All these posts appear to be a poor soul wishing, pining for a miracle.

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then his problems aren't over yet
by James Denison May 13, 2014 6:38AM PDT

he'll discover that later.

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Congratulations
by wpgwpg May 13, 2014 5:46AM PDT

You've done a great job of finding and resolving the problem. I have to comment that this should illustrate why you need to make full system backups. If you do, you can just boot from a disc, copy the system image to your computer, and be back up and running in 30 minutes or so.
The March 2012 issue of PC World was very high on the FREE program from Easeus and so is CNET. In my experience with a variety of configurations I have to say I'm very impressed. Like Ghost (which unfortunately is no longer on the market) it will back up to a networked drive, and it will create a boot CD for when your PC won't boot. See CNET's review of it at
http://download.cnet.com/Easeus-Todo-Backup-Free/3000-2242_4-10964460.html?tag=mncol;1#editorsreview .
-
CNET has a lot of backup program reviews at
http://download.cnet.com/windows/backup-software/?tag=contentBody;sideBar .

Some of these are free (last time I checked there were over 300), some have free trials (over 1000), and some are purchase only (over 200).
-
External hard drives are best for backup. You can get a 500 GB one for around $50 and a 1 TB one for around $60. You can also buy a 32 GB flash drive for under $20. It's the best insurance you can ever buy!

-
I hope this helps. Good luck

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Answer
What likely happened
by May 11, 2014 11:16PM PDT

What likely happened is you had some malware on your system that you weren't aware of, which inserted itself deep into the OS and then when that patch installed, it broke and took your system down with it. And yes, even if you had some AV program running and were doing regular scans, it's possible for this to happen.

That command you ran likely took a bad situation and just made it worse. So what you're likely looking at now is a complete reinstall of the OS. I forget what it is with Toshiba, and sometimes it varies by model, but figure out what the command is to get the one-time boot menu. You can also try holding down the 0 (zero) key when booting the system which, at least a couple of years ago when I did hardware repairs for Toshiba units, would automatically boot the built-in recovery system. Since you can at least get in via Safe Mode, I'd back up anything you don't want to lose first. Using the factory restore option will likely wipe out all programs and files.

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what can I do???
by Wail Fayez May 12, 2014 12:29AM PDT

Thank you very much for your appreciated response, but I'd like to mention some points:
1- I have a recent backup of my data so no problem at all to wipe all the HDD and reinstall a fresh copy of the OS, but I can't load anything from any CD or DVD, as when I insert them and restart, the disk spins some time without any benefit, then windows logo appears as usual and then the black screen. That happens Although I am nearly sure that the DVD ROM is the first in the boot sequence.
2- I cannot even get into BIOS setup by F2 or F12, and strangely the first screen of "Toshiba Leading Innovation" and "H2O bios" DOES NOT show anymore the bottom line of "Press F2 for Setup and F12 for advanced Booting options"
So that I cannot even change the booting sequence to boot from a USB flash
3- I know the command to revert the one I entered to disable Safe mode
"bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard" (no quotes)
But I cannot get a command prompt to do it
4- And I cannot get into the registry by any way.
5- I already tried to press 0 (zero) with the power button on starting up and keep pressing zero to go to factory settings but no benefit. ( I think that's because the recovery partition is no longer works as I Formatted the C drive before and installed windows 8 instead of the originally loaded windows 7)
6- I have recovery DVDs but as I mentioned above, none of them can load anything.
SO HOW CAN I GET INTO ANY OPTIONS???

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pull the battery
by James Denison May 12, 2014 12:36AM PDT

and hold in the power button till all power is drained for sure. Maybe the CMOS chip will reset on the motherboard.

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I did so, but no benefit.
by Wail Fayez May 12, 2014 2:45AM PDT

I did so, but no benefit.
also i removed the CMOS battery and get it back. but no improvement and also i cannot get into BIOS.

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BIOS
by James Denison May 12, 2014 2:56AM PDT
"....and also i cannot get into BIOS."

That's not encouraging. Did you flash the BIOS?

You may need to consult the manual to see how to short circuit the BIOS chip then. If that won't reset it to default values, then you need to see a repair shop.
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Just to be sure
by Jimmy Greystone May 12, 2014 10:00AM PDT

Just to be sure, you're tapping F2 or F12 about once per second until you see the Windows logo to indicate that the OS has started booting, correct? You don't want to hold the key or only press it once unless you know that one key press was registered and the corresponding command is being carried out.

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yes i am doing so correctly but no benefit.
by Wail Fayez May 12, 2014 11:17AM PDT

yes i am doing so correctly but no benefit.

"...and strangely the first screen of "Toshiba Leading Innovation" and "H2O bios" DOES NOT show anymore the bottom line of "Press F2 for Setup and F12 for advanced Booting options" although it was showing that before"

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look at all the bundled software that came with it.
by James Denison May 12, 2014 12:34AM PDT
http://www.toshiba.co.il/en/discontinued-products/satellite-l755-16h/

Amazon
Bing Toolbar and Bing Search
Chicony Camera Assistant Software
ConfigFree™
Connectivity Doctor
McAfee® Internet Security (includes free Internet updates for 30 days)
Nero BackItUp & Burn Autobackup Essentials
Nero Multimedia Suite 10 Essential
Skype
Supervisor Password Utility
This PC includes limited functionality versions of Microsoft ® Word and Excel with advertising. Purchase Microsoft ® Office 2010 to activate a full-featured suite preloaded on this PC.
Toshiba Assist
Toshiba Bluetooth™ Stack
Toshiba Disc Creator
Toshiba Face Recognition
Toshiba Photo Service
Toshiba Recovery Media Creator
Toshiba User's Manual
Toshiba Value Added Package (Toshiba Power Saver, Toshiba Zooming Utility, Toshiba PC Diagnostic Tool, Toshiba Flash Cards, Toshiba Components Common Driver, Toshiba Accessibility, Toshiba Button Support)
Toshiba utilities and drivers
WildTangent Games Console
WinDVD® BD for Toshiba
Windows Live Essentials
eBay


Blu-ray Disc™ drive
Dolby® Advanced Audio
HDMI-out

Easy Connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.1 with EDR
Built-in Web Camera & Microphone
Multi-Card Reader
Toshiba ConfigFree™
Toshiba Face Recognition
USB 3.0

Easy Usability
Display with LED backlighting
McAfee® Internet Security (includes free Internet updates for 30 days)
Nero Software
PC Health Monitor
Power-saving Eco Utility
Smart Display Support
Toshiba Media Controller & Toshiba Media Controller Plug-in
Toshiba TEMPRO Performance Tuning Service
Touch Pad with Multi-Touch Control
USB Sleep-and-Charge
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Answer
a DVD problem
by May 12, 2014 12:32AM PDT
"3- then system refresh> but I have windows 8 dvd not 8.1 so it said not suitable cd"

Since this sold as a W7 computer, it's possible you bought a pirated version of Windows 8 and the 8.1 update is patched against it. Did you buy the W8 off EBay?
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I have Genuine Windows 8 from Microsoft
by Wail Fayez May 12, 2014 2:50AM PDT

I bought Genuine Windows 8 Pro from Microsoft.
and after installing it from the scratch, I upgraded to 8.1 update through the store, and it worked very well for long time (a month or more ) until this problem occurred. Although this model is not compatible with Windows 8.1 but compatible with Windows 8

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Answer
If any malware
by May 12, 2014 1:19AM PDT

When it comes to some fixes sometimes you need to remove the HD to test elsewhere. Even though you tried to boot a bootable, check it with a bootable "live version" of Linux. I use Ubuntu but any decent working bootable Linux disc will do. If it doesn't work then, you can say the bios or firmware is hosed. This is becoming a problem it seems wit UEFI issues. If your PC does boot, then the HD is hosed. Then, I test on another PC using diags at it and try to find the cause. if malware, try to fix it or repair if some other OS issue. As you stated you can return the setup because of back-up, then do so. BUT, be aware you want to return the back-up if you format the HD you wipeout the whole HD(good/bad) but also any hidden partitions like recovery, etc.. As was stated to you in an earlier post, if you have warranty, allow them to fix. What was the "update"? If this was the 8.1 version upgrade, then you maybe left holding the bag. Sometimes, the only fix is to replace the mtrbd. as it arrives at default and working, I can't say what you problem is for now, but the mention UEFI, always leaves me worried or similar. If you have access to one, use an ext. CD/DVD USB drive and see if that improves the situation because a bad drive can also be a cause if it can't read it, etc..

tada -----Willy Happy

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What if i connected the HDD as a slave to other pc
by Wail Fayez May 12, 2014 11:19AM PDT

Now I purchased a Hard disk enclosure to remove the HDD from that Laptop and connect it as a slave to another Laptop.
So what can I do on the slave HDD , to solve the problem, other than scanning it by an antivirus?

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(NT) I see you other post...good show
by Willy May 13, 2014 1:27AM PDT
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