Need urgent help, Vista SP1 destroyed a machine!

[zopzop]

My friend's Acer 5630 laptop was recently updated (better wording would be ATTEMPTED to update) to Vista SP1. Everything was going fine, Step 1 went smoothly, Step 2 went smoothly, Step 3 killed the pc.

It boots up to a black screen where it appears it's updating/copying files but freezes on : !!0xc0000034!! 1034/98002 (kd1394.dll).

If you attempt to get into safe mode, it freezes on "crcdisk.sys".

If you attempt -

1) Startup Repair using the Vista Repair Disk, it fails

2) Restore to a previous state, it fails. Apparently SP1 erased ALL previous restore points and the one SP1 made prior to install isn't working. If you attempt to restore using that restore point, the computer chugs along then hangs, doing nothing (I even waited 2 hours to make sure but nothing).

3) Using command prompt to run CHKDSK /r or /f it finds no errors or bad sectors on the hard drive. I attempted to run sfc /scannow but I get an error message "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation."

I've tried EVERYTHING I've seen on various google searches on the matter and nothing works.

At this point, I'm left with two options : format/reinstall or repair install Vista. My questions are :

Will a repair install work? I have a legit version of Windows Vista Express Upgrade (from Gateway) it's not SP1 will it work? I don't know if the Acer laptop is considered SP1 now or not since Step 3 of the upgrade never completed!

Format/Reinstall may be a problem because I don't think he has a Vista CD, there's a partition on his Acer system called "PQService" which I believe is the partition with the backup info. Problem is, if it comes down to a reinstall, how do I access this information seeing as how I can't log in to Windows Vista normally or Safe Mode?

This stupid SP is worse than any virus I've come across :thumbd: :ouch:

[allizomeniz]

It sounds like you can use the command prompt from what you say in #3, is that correct? If the system has a backup partition you might be able to run a system recovery from the command prompt. Check the Acer's documentation or online.

Are you able to get into safe mode at all? Can you at least get to the options where you might be able run a system recovery from there?

You might check the contents of your Vista upgrade disk and see if it has any system recovery options. I doubt it does, but it's worth a look. You might just try running it on the Acer and see what happens.

[zopzop]

Well I fixed the problem. I can't believe it worked because I was about to give up and reformat.

Apparently if you have a Vista Home Premium DVD (or whatever version of Vista crashed because of this known problem) with the appropriate Service Pack (in my case, SP1), you CAN restore to a previous state!

Incredibly the Vista Home Premium DVD without SP1 couldn't restore using the System Restore point created by the SP1 when it began it's install and couldn't use Startup Repair to fix anything.

Just wanted to post how I fixed the issue in case anyone else had a similar problem.

[J_L]

So, are you going to install SP2? Make sure to create a disk image first next time.

[allizomeniz]

That's cool you got it fixed. It's always a relief when it turns out good. :)

You might consider SP2. SP1 isn't gonna be supported much longer.

[zopzop]

It wasn't my pc, it was a friend's. But no way am I gonna tell him to upgrade to SP1 or SP2, we got lucky and I'm not going to go through that again :D

[JRViejo]

-{ Quote: "You might consider SP2. SP1 isn't gonna be supported much longer." }-
FYI. Microsoft to end Vista SP1 support July 12 (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216757/Microsoft_to_end_Vista_SP1_support_July_12) by Agam Shah.