# Laptop Stuck in Startup Repair



## SuperNES (Mar 29, 2015)

Hello everyone. New to this forum, have built a number of machines in my time, hope to contribute to some other threads. In the meantime, though, I would greatly appreciate your help with a problem I'm experiencing.

My Sony Vaio SVE171C11L Windows 8.1 laptop has been having some issues for a while. Here is the sequence of events:

1. Hinges started pulling away from the body when I opened the lid. This didn't seem to impact anything, but was worrisome.

2. When I turned it on, the screen would display colors wrong. Instead of black, I see a red flickering color. The computer is still usable.

3. I read that this issue can be fixed by properly connecting the video cable; or, if this cable is frayed, replacing it. So, I opened up the laptop and made sure the video cable was connected properly. Taking it apart and putting it back together fixed the hinges, but I still had red flickering. I was able to use the computer though. 

4. The next day, I booted up the computer and got a "Startup Repair" screen. It spent a good chunk of time trying to "fix" my hard drive, then declared that it couldn't repair the problem. 

(Side note: I had the red flickering issue briefly back in December, followed by a Startup Repair cycle, but everything got back to normal and worked just fine after I let Startup Repair run that time.)

I am now stuck at a screen where I can choose "Continue" (which reboots and lands me back at the same screen), Use a device, and Troubleshoot. I went into Troubleshoot, Advanced Options, Command Prompt and did a chkdsk - my c: drive is fine. I can even navigate to the drive and see all the files. So, I don't think the hard drive is the issue.

The red flickering makes me think that maybe the video card is dying. However, when I first had the red flickering issue, I tried hooking up to an external monitor, and had no red flickering there. So I think that the video card works okay. If anything, the problem might be the cable that connects the video card to the display, or the display itself.

However, that doesn't make much sense to me as a cause of the auto repair thing--why would a dying display make it impossible for me to boot into Windows?

Please help!


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## SuperNES (Mar 29, 2015)

Ok, so the red flickering must have been a "red herring" (heh heh). I opened up the display, jiggled and firmed up the cables, put it all back together, and voila, no more red flickering--colors are back to normal.

But, still stuck in startup repair mode. chkdsk says my C: drive is doing great. 

What else could it be? Some loose connection elsewhere? If the hard drive wasn't hooked up right, I wouldn't see the files at all; if RAM wasn't seated properly I don't think the machine would boot. Where does that leave me?


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## SuperNES (Mar 29, 2015)

One last note: I just remembered that, before it went into auto repair, I turned it on and then off real quick by holding down the power button.


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## SuperNES (Mar 29, 2015)

Ok really, one more note: I looked at SrtTrail.txt. It says "Root cause found: System volume on disk is corrupt.

Repair action: File system repair (chkdsk)

Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0

Time taken = 175110 ms"

Again, chkdsk says I'm fine, and I can go into the console and see the files on the drive.


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

If the operating system has become corrupted you may have to do a repair install. However, there is something you might try before that. If you have recovery media, boot from it and run SFC /SCANNOW.

If this doesn't work, try the extra step of SFCFix linked below then run SFC again.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f217/sfc-scannow-problem-976905.html


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## SuperNES (Mar 29, 2015)

Thanks for your help. Would a repair install wipe my files?

I tried sfc /scannow, it says it found and fixed some errors, asks me to reboot, but nothing changes. Not sure how to do sfcfix since I can't get files onto this machine.


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

With Windows 8.1 you have two options. A "Refresh" will leave your data intact while reinstalling the operating system. However, any non-Windows Store apps also will be removed. The more drastic option in a Reset, which will will wipe everything and return your computer to the condition that it was new from the factory. There should be instruction on how to do both of these in your computer's documentation.

VAIO User Guide | Refreshing Your VAIO Computer


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## SuperNES (Mar 29, 2015)

Ok, I got into the Refresh menu, but I'm told that "The drive where Windows is installed is locked."

When I try "Reset," I get "Unable to reset your PC. A required drive partition is missing."

How do I fix either of these errors?


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

The recovery partition may be corrupted or missing, this may be due to a number of factors, including malware. You may need to obtain a set of restoration disks from your manufacturer and do a complete factory software reinstall. Some manufacturers will provide these disks free if your system is under warranty. 

If your system is still under warranty I'd suggest calling Sony and having a technician there help you.


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## SuperNES (Mar 29, 2015)

There was no way forward for me as the recovery partition was hosed, so I copied my files off with a flash drive and totally rebuilt the machine with a clean Windows 8.1 install. Thanks for your help, MPR.


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