No wad updates, for real now.

[Zopawa]

It happened. My laptop finally broke down after about 6 years of usage, and i don't think it'll work.

My dad said it's broken for good, and he said he'll try to get the files off the hard drive.

 

So, until i get a new laptop, don't expect new wad updates.

 

Sorry.

[Murdoch]

You don't need to apologize for computer failure but why are you not backing up your data?

[Zopawa]

28 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

You don't need to apologize for computer failure but why are you not backing up your data?

I upload my work to Google Drive often, but last time I uploaded my Doom Mods folder was a couple days before it happened, so most of my data is intact. But some was lost.

 

[Murdoch]

28 minutes ago, Zopawa said:

I upload my work to Google Drive often, but last time I uploaded my Doom Mods folder was a couple days before it happened, so most of my data is intact. But some was lost.

 

 

Ok so not too bad then.

[smeghammer]

@Zopawa - it might be worth describing the problem. It's possible that someone here can help - unless it was run over by a truck or something :-)

 

Some suggestions:

• If it's a HDD problem, there are many tools (free and paid-for) that can extract data from an unreadable disk - sometimes a disk will be potentially readable, but won't mount. Even if the data is partially corrupted it might be possible to get at that data.
  • I had this issue ages ago, and got hold of this (UFS Explorer, not free unfortunately) which has saved my stuff more than once.
  • This (Easus,  a usable free version) is also potentially useful
• you could try booting from USB and use Windows (I assume?) disk tools to check partitions etc.
  • the old favourite, chkdsk.
• If it ISN'T the disk, definitely take it out and keep it as a second disk. There are plenty of USB housings or USB to SATA cables available. The data on it should be accessible too (unless your LT was encrypted)
  • Just plug the disk into another machine's USB port, and that LT should mount it as a removable disk.

[Misty]

This reminds me to do back up of my stuff just in case... 

[mrthejoshmon]

Damn dude, that sucks pretty bad.

 

However, as a silver lining, I can tell you that the old Doombuilder 2 works on just about anything, believe it or not most of my mapping career was spent on hardware with less than 500mb of RAM, Windows XP and integrated graphics, so if by miracle you can muster up a propper clunker dirt cheap then you can probably hold on with that till you get something tangible.

 

I suggest this as a last resort, don't get a craptop if you have the choice.

Edited April 30, 2023 by mrthejoshmon

[Zopawa]

7 hours ago, smeghammer said:

@Zopawa - it might be worth describing the problem. It's possible that someone here can help - unless it was run over by a truck or something :-)

 

Some suggestions:

• If it's a HDD problem, there are many tools (free and paid-for) that can extract data from an unreadable disk - sometimes a disk will be potentially readable, but won't mount. Even if the data is partially corrupted it might be possible to get at that data.
  • I had this issue ages ago, and got hold of this (UFS Explorer, not free unfortunately) which has saved my stuff more than once.
  • This (Easus,  a usable free version) is also potentially useful
• you could try booting from USB and use Windows (I assume?) disk tools to check partitions etc.
  • the old favourite, chkdsk.
• If it ISN'T the disk, definitely take it out and keep it as a second disk. There are plenty of USB housings or USB to SATA cables available. The data on it should be accessible too (unless your LT was encrypted)
  • Just plug the disk into another machine's USB port, and that LT should mount it as a removable disk.

Alright, so my Laptop is an Aristo 350 with Windows XP installed that I got from my dad when I was in Poland, with about 2gb of ram, and when you boot it up, the Aristo logo appears, with a loading bar, and then when the loading bar's done, the screen goes black, then _ flashes on the screen on the top left, like a dos window.

 

After that, the computer shows the XP loading screen, and when it starts up, the screen's black, but the cursor appears.

Then the errors hit.

Stuff about entry points not found for programs like "services.exe"

 

Then...

"The Logon User Interface DLL msgina.dll failed to load."

And there's a restart button on the bottom that just repeats the process over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

 

I do not have access to another computer by the way.

[smeghammer]

Ah OK, thanks for the extra info.

 

So the machine itself is not a complete brick if it is getting past the XP loading screen. It sounds like the disk is damaged, and some files required for full boot are damaged or missing (probably because the disk is physically damaged in some way). The safest option would definitely be to mount the disk on another machine and try and rescue the files because this is non-destructive, but as you say, you don't have another machine...

 

A quick search for the errors (did you do that already?) should give you what you need:

 

Your comment about "entry points not found" gave me this (for example):

• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-xp-error-entry-point-not-found/8d08d859-d0ef-46c9-950a-d5d2ca970ede - look at the answers.

The second error gave me these:

• https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/243105/user-interface-failure/ - which looks very much like you describe; and
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/the-logon-user-interface-dll-msginadll-failed-to/fae6ee48-5046-4719-8b9a-fd1212acf39b - though I think this is less relevant (assumes the GUI loads.)

The  two answers.microsoft.com URLs should be a good starting point. If you don't have original install media, I think the key first thing to try is booting to safe mode/CLI only (https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-boot-to-safe-mode-with-command-prompt-2624541) and you should be able to run the suggested CLI tools from here. 

 

So the next steps should be:

1: If you do have your install media, try to do a repair (https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-perform-a-windows-xp-repair-install-2624915)

2: If you don't have the install media, you can find  XP ISOs online, BUT you will likely need a valid licence key. And another machine to burn the CD of course...

3: Try to boot into safe mode with command prompt. If that works, it *might* be worth trying to continue to boot into safe mode GUI; as a test...

    3.1: If you CAN boot into safe mode GUI, you may be able to plug in a USB drive to offload the WADs. (disclaimer: I haven't used XP in years, so my memory of it is a bit fuzzy)

4: Run a chkdsk from the command prompt. write down any errors this shows. I am expecting that messages about msgina.dll and others being corrupt may come back at this point.

5: Try and perform the checks and tests suggested in the links I provided. It may be that not all will run from safe mode CLI. Please let us know what does/doesn't work

 

Without some investigations to obtain more info, it's a bit difficult to be more specific. If you can gather further info based on the above references, we can try to help further. Ther good news is, I think, your files are probably not irretrievably lost, it is just likely a bit of work to get at them. If you are unsure about performing anything described, please ask, but try to be very specific as that will make it easier for us to answer you meaningfully. 

 

Good luck...

Edited April 30, 2023 by smeghammer

[Zopawa]

1 hour ago, smeghammer said:

Ah OK, thanks for the extra info.

 

So the machine itself is not a complete brick if it is getting past the XP loading screen. It sounds like the disk is damaged, and some files required for full boot are damaged or missing (probably because the disk is physically damaged in some way). The safest option would definitely be to mount the disk on another machine and try and rescue the files because this is non-destructive, but as you say, you don't have another machine...

 

A quick search for the errors (did you do that already?) should give you what you need:

 

Your comment about "entry points not found" gave me this (for example):

• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-xp-error-entry-point-not-found/8d08d859-d0ef-46c9-950a-d5d2ca970ede - look at the answers.

The second error gave me these:

• https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/243105/user-interface-failure/ - which looks very much like you describe; and
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/the-logon-user-interface-dll-msginadll-failed-to/fae6ee48-5046-4719-8b9a-fd1212acf39b - though I think this is less relevant (assumes the GUI loads.)

The  two answers.microsoft.com URLs should be a good starting point. If you don't have original install media, I think the key first thing to try is booting to safe mode/CLI only (https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-boot-to-safe-mode-with-command-prompt-2624541) and you should be able to run the suggested CLI tools from here. 

 

So the next steps should be:

1: If you do have your install media, try to do a repair (https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-perform-a-windows-xp-repair-install-2624915)

2: If you don't have the install media, you can find  XP ISOs online, BUT you will likely need a valid licence key. And another machine to burn the CD of course...

3: Try to boot into safe mode with command prompt. If that works, it *might* be worth trying to continue to boot into safe mode GUI; as a test...

    3.1: If you CAN boot into safe mode GUI, you may be able to plug in a USB drive to offload the WADs. (disclaimer: I haven't used XP in years, so my memory of it is a bit fuzzy)

4: Run a chkdsk from the command prompt. write down any errors this shows. I am expecting that messages about msgina.dll and others being corrupt may come back at this point.

5: Try and perform the checks and tests suggested in the links I provided. It may be that not all will run from safe mode CLI. Please let us know what does/doesn't work

 

Without some investigations to obtain more info, it's a bit difficult to be more specific. If you can gather further info based on the above references, we can try to help further. Ther good news is, I think, your files are probably not irretrievably lost, it is just likely a bit of work to get at them. If you are unsure about performing anything described, please ask, but try to be very specific as that will make it easier for us to answer you meaningfully. 

 

Good luck...

Safe mode doesnt work, it gets to mup.sys and the screen goes black with _ flashing infinitely.

[Zopawa]

1 hour ago, smeghammer said:

I am expecting that messages about msgina.dll

Yes, there is.

I think it is missing, along with some other critical files, before this happened, there was an outage at my house, and the computer was shutting down, so the power cut off during the shutdown, i'm guessing some files got corrupted or something, i'm not THAT good with computers.

Also the battery was taken out, since it leaked.

[smeghammer]

Yeah, a power cut during shutdown and no battery isn't a good combo.

 

My next step would probably be to try and boot with a CD or a FDD (if it has a fdd drive). If you still have the XP disk, that's probably your best bet. Then try to access the files on the HDD from this. Otherwise making some sort of rescue boot disk is in order - this doesn't have to be XP, just as long as it can read the info on the HDD. This option will of course require that you have access to another machine to make the tools. E.g.: https://www.system-rescue.org/

 

If you do get access to another machine eventually, it is definitely worth getting a USB disk caddy or SATA to USB cable, putting the HDD of your laptop into that, and plugging it in to the other machine. It **should** then be able to read the hdd from your LT.

[Zopawa]

35 minutes ago, smeghammer said:

Yeah, a power cut during shutdown and no battery isn't a good combo.

 

My next step would probably be to try and boot with a CD or a FDD (if it has a fdd drive). If you still have the XP disk, that's probably your best bet. Then try to access the files on the HDD from this. Otherwise making some sort of rescue boot disk is in order - this doesn't have to be XP, just as long as it can read the info on the HDD. This option will of course require that you have access to another machine to make the tools. E.g.: https://www.system-rescue.org/

 

If you do get access to another machine eventually, it is definitely worth getting a USB disk caddy or SATA to USB cable, putting the HDD of your laptop into that, and plugging it in to the other machine. It **should** then be able to read the hdd from your LT.

I'll try to find my XP install disk, if I can't i'll probably try to burn one to my USB.

[smeghammer]

AFAIK XP doesn't natively boot from USB. Check this out:

 

https://www.how2shout.com/how-to/create-windows-xp-bootable-usb-drive.html

[yum13241]

Based on the errors, it sounds like your Windows XP is corrupted, not your WADs. Specifically, you can't log in. The machine isn't an expensive paperweight yet.

 

If and when you have to repartition/reinstall, make a separate D: partition for all your stuff. That way, if you ever need to reinstall Windows, it'll be easy. If the disk is dead, you can try something like Recuva, DiskGenius, or DiskDigger.

 

Thankfully you have a recent backup so reinstalling Windows shouldn't be an issue.

 

You'll need to boot off of a rescue disk, but from my experience, trying to recover files from a rescue disk is asking for a BSOD.

 

If you have your Windows XP disk, use it. The repair function pretty much acts like a reinstall of Windows without losing anything. Why? Because repair was good back then. If you can't, see if you can burn a CD. I know you don't have an extra PC on hand, but see if you can borrow your friend's for example. If you end up getting it sent to a tech, ask him/her to try to salvage any data.

[Zopawa]

On 5/2/2023 at 9:51 AM, yum13241 said:

Based on the errors, it sounds like your Windows XP is corrupted, not your WADs. Specifically, you can't log in. The machine isn't an expensive paperweight yet.

 

If and when you have to repartition/reinstall, make a separate D: partition for all your stuff. That way, if you ever need to reinstall Windows, it'll be easy. If the disk is dead, you can try something like Recuva, DiskGenius, or DiskDigger.

 

Thankfully you have a recent backup so reinstalling Windows shouldn't be an issue.

 

You'll need to boot off of a rescue disk, but from my experience, trying to recover files from a rescue disk is asking for a BSOD.

 

If you have your Windows XP disk, use it. The repair function pretty much acts like a reinstall of Windows without losing anything. Why? Because repair was good back then. If you can't, see if you can burn a CD. I know you don't have an extra PC on hand, but see if you can borrow your friend's for example. If you end up getting it sent to a tech, ask him/her to try to salvage any data.

Is there a way to load a System Restore point without using the actual system?

Because, that could fix it. I'm not sure though.

[yum13241]

Is there a way to load a System Restore point without using the actual system? 

 

In Safe Mode, or using an XP rescue disk, yes.

[Zopawa]

so i installed Windows Xp on my F: partition, copked the system32 folder from that onto the actual installation, and it booted up. but.

"A problem is preventing Windows from accurately checking the license for this computer"

It only runs in Safe Mode.

[Ludi]

Shoutouts to smeg for going the extra mile for this guy.

[Zopawa]

12 minutes ago, Ludi said:

Shoutouts to smeg for going the extra mile for this guy.

i appreciate you shouting someone out, but please only post solutions here, i've been struggling for a week now and I can't work.

[Murdoch]

48 minutes ago, Zopawa said:

so i installed Windows Xp on my F: partition, copked the system32 folder from that onto the actual installation, and it booted up. but.

"A problem is preventing Windows from accurately checking the license for this computer"

It only runs in Safe Mode.

 

What is your F: partition exactly? Did you create that at some point or was it a pre-existing partition made by the OS installation process?

 

Reinstalling an OS on an old drive (presumably it's older than 6 years given it's running XP) is a waste of time. Even if it works, it's not going to be long before more problems develop as more parts of the drive degrade and eventually fail. You could spend hours rebuilding the installation only to lose it all again soon after in a more serious failure. Same goes for system restore. Even if it does work it's only going to be a matter of time before failure happens again. Unfortunately by installing on another partition you may have closed off this possibility anyway.

 

If you are serious about keeping this laptop going, you really should be installing on a fresh drive, preferably an SSD. If it's a SATA drive, a modern SSD should work fine it and they are dirt cheap these days. If it's an IDE, you're not going to find a new IDE drive anywhere but you could get an IDE to Compact Flash adapter.

 

Next step, have you confirmed you can still download drivers for the model somewhere? If not, look on your phone or another computer and confirm. If you can't find drivers, you're basically screwed unless you can somehow locate the driver for the networking independently and use something like Driver Booster to download the other drivers. Pretty sure it still supports XP. Another possibility is looking for images of the computer's original recovery media. These are often uploaded to places like the Internet archive. You would need access to a computer than can burn discs to do this though.

 

Assuming you confirm drivers or acquire recovery media, install the new drive and install XP. Activation is the tricky thing. Google how to activate XP via phone. Online activation isn't going to work even with network drivers, so you need to do it via phone. I did this myself using the American activation number not that long ago. I believe it is the only one still active. If you can't figure it out there's plenty of instructions online a quick search will locate. Assuming the activation works, then you can install the drivers if need be.

 

Whether this is successful or not, you need to accept that you're well and truly on borrowed time with this laptop. Nothing lasts forever, least of all a laptop that's probably pushing 20 years old. If you want to keep going, you need to replace it sooner or later with something more up to date. If new is not an option for financial reasons, I would research businesses in your country that supply reconditioned laptops, preferably with some kind of guarantee. You might be able to net yourself a good deal.

 

[Zopawa]

15 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

 

What is your F: partition exactly? Did you create that at some point or was it a pre-existing partition made by the OS installation process?

 

Reinstalling an OS on an old drive (presumably it's older than 6 years given it's running XP) is a waste of time. Even if it works, it's not going to be long before more problems develop as more parts of the drive degrade and eventually fail. You could spend hours rebuilding the installation only to lose it all again soon after in a more serious failure. Same goes for system restore. Even if it does work it's only going to be a matter of time before failure happens again. Unfortunately by installing on another partition you may have closed off this possibility anyway.

 

If you are serious about keeping this laptop going, you really should be installing on a fresh drive, preferably an SSD. If it's a SATA drive, a modern SSD should work fine it and they are dirt cheap these days. If it's an IDE, you're not going to find a new IDE drive anywhere but you could get an IDE to Compact Flash adapter.

 

Next step, have you confirmed you can still download drivers for the model somewhere? If not, look on your phone or another computer and confirm. If you can't find drivers, you're basically screwed unless you can somehow locate the driver for the networking independently and use something like Driver Booster to download the other drivers. Pretty sure it still supports XP. Another possibility is looking for images of the computer's original recovery media. These are often uploaded to places like the Internet archive. You would need access to a computer than can burn discs to do this though.

 

Assuming you confirm drivers or acquire recovery media, install the new drive and install XP. Activation is the tricky thing. Google how to activate XP via phone. Online activation isn't going to work even with network drivers, so you need to do it via phone. I did this myself using the American activation number not that long ago. I believe it is the only one still active. If you can't figure it out there's plenty of instructions online a quick search will locate. Assuming the activation works, then you can install the drivers if need be.

 

Whether this is successful or not, you need to accept that you're well and truly on borrowed time with this laptop. Nothing lasts forever, least of all a laptop that's probably pushing 20 years old. If you want to keep going, you need to replace it sooner or later with something more up to date. If new is not an option for financial reasons, I would research businesses in your country that supply reconditioned laptops, preferably with some kind of guarantee. You might be able to net yourself a good deal.

 

the f: partition existed wven when it was my dads laptop, but it works now. I can play doom so thats all that matters.

I'll just need to install drivers later.

[Murdoch]

2 minutes ago, Zopawa said:

the f: partition existed wven when it was my dads laptop, but it works now. I can play doom so thats all that matters.

I'll just need to install drivers later.

 

If it complains about activation look into the phone method.

[Zopawa]

1 hour ago, Murdoch said:

 

If it complains about activation look into the phone method.

is there a way to skip activation? I saw some posts about avoiding it somehow

[Murdoch]

9 minutes ago, Zopawa said:

is there a way to skip activation? I saw some posts about avoiding it somehow

 

I came across references to a registry hack but i believe there was some issue with it. Better to do the phone activation. 

[yum13241]

> use something like Driver Booster

DO NOT USE DRIVER BOOSTER. It's a PUP (basically malware). Use Snappy Driver Installer ORIGIN instead.

 

> I came across references to a registry hack but i believe there was some issue with it. Better to do the phone activation. 

There's also antiWPA.

 

> Whether this is successful or not, you need to accept that you're well and truly on borrowed time with this laptop.

Yep, you are. Not to mention the security risks of XP these days.

 

Hell, my Dad got a decent Mac mini from Amazon (refurbished) for $300 dollars. My craptop was like $400.

Let the computer kill the legions of hell by itself. I say put it to rest, before all your data goes TNT1A0.

Edited May 5, 2023 by yum13241

[Murdoch]

16 minutes ago, yum13241 said:

use something like Driver Booster

DO NOT USE DRIVER BOOSTER. It's a PUP (basically malware). Use Snappy Driver Installer ORIGIN instead.

 

I got a couple of hits on it once but not for some time. I never leave it on a computer anyway. I'll check out your suggestion though, thanks. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Murdoch

[yum13241]

> I never leave it on a computer anyway.

 

 

It'll (probably) leave gunk behind.

[Murdoch]

5 hours ago, yum13241 said:

> I never leave it on a computer anyway.

 

 

It'll (probably) leave gunk behind.

 

Given i check start up and process lists for anything untoward and the security software never finds anything that's unlikely. 

[Zopawa]

Alright new problem, this error pops up in Doom Builder 1 when attempting to go into 3d mode.

"Error -2147221501 while initializing 3D mode: Direct3D could not be started."

I installed DirectX, so I have no idea what's happening.