Windows 8 Issue(s) (Gateway)

[MiRai]

I'd like to start off by saying that the computer I'm attempting to troubleshoot is currently in possession of my parents who live a few states away from where I am. I have attempted to troubleshoot their issue over the phone for the past few days, but everything I'm trying is not working at all.

I picked out a Gateway for them back in November (Link -- Except the older i5-2500 model) and everything has been perfectly fine until a few days ago. They live in the middle of nowhere and experience a lot of power outages when there are storms, and this time around my mother was shutting down the computer because of an incoming storm when she was prompted with some sort of error.

Here's what she can remember about the error:

• There was a message along the lines of "There is something wrong"
• There were "symbols"
• There were 2-3 lines of text
• Their Windows username (my words, not hers) was present throughout this text twice
• It's unknown whether or not there were any OK/Cancel options or not

Beyond that, I have no idea what the issue was, but she forcefully shutdown the machine by holding down the power button down (I should have never taught her this).

I get the call the next day that the computer doesn't work, and here's what I initially find out:

• The computer boots through the BIOS just fine (although it's the pre-programmed Gateway welcome screen rather than the actual BIOS)
• The message "autochk not found" is present upon booting into Windows 8 (this is a new issue as of the force shutdown)
• Windows boots to a blank desktop (nothing but a solid navy blue background -- nothing else)
• There is no mouse cursor (although we had a mouse cursor once, but right-clicking anywhere on the desktop did nothing)

Here's what else is happening (I'll do my best to recap everything I've gone over with her):

• Spamming F8 or Shift+F8 do not boot into SafeMode
• F1 & F2 (as per the Gateway site) do not bring up the BIOS settings (haven't tried other combinations yet)
• Windows+R, CTRL+ALT+DEL, and CTRL+SHIFT+ESC all do nothing when on the "blank" desktop (haven't tried other combinations yet)
• Pressing SHIFT five times will bring up the Sticky Keys prompt, but TAB'ing to either choice (YES/NO) and using the spacebar to confirm the choice does not bring up any sort of second screen/prompt
• When the Sticky Keys prompt shows up it is anchored to the upper left of the screen as opposed to the center
• There is no restore disc and I'm not entirely sure if there was a partition set aside to restore the system, but they have a few videos and pictures on there that I'm sure they'd like to keep, so wiping the system is out of the question for the time being

At this point, it would seem that my computer troubleshooting knowledge is failing miserably and Googling has only resulted in fixes that require you to use either the Task Manager or SafeMode (both of which I cannot seem to access and that's boggling my mind). The troubleshooting process is moving along slowly because they dislike technology and become quickly annoyed when I'm having them try different things which result in no change. Since they are not tech savvy one bit, I'm going off the assumption that I'm somehow getting an incorrect diagnosis on the matter, so I'm sometimes having them try the same things we tried the day before just to double and triple-check for me (and I'm sure this is adding to their annoyance).

I wish I had more information to give on this matter, but it's all I've got. I'm posting here in hopes that someone has an idea of what I might try next, but I will say that it's doubtful they're willing to swap or re-seat any hardware if it comes to that because they're just not comfortable with that level of troubleshooting.

Thanks in advance.

 

[denis280]

They could try to clear cmos.by removing the batterie for a good 30 sec. but the best would be to have a windows 8 cd to repaire

 

[mannox]

I'd like to start off by saying that the computer I'm attempting to troubleshoot is currently in possession of my parents who live a few states away from where I am. I have attempted to troubleshoot their issue over the phone for the past few days, but everything I'm trying is not working at all.

I picked out a Gateway for them back in November (Link -- Except the older i5-2500 model) and everything has been perfectly fine until a few days ago. They live in the middle of nowhere and experience a lot of power outages when there are storms, and this time around my mother was shutting down the computer because of an incoming storm when she was prompted with some sort of error.

Here's what she can remember about the error:

• There was a message along the lines of "There is something wrong"
• There were "symbols"
• There were 2-3 lines of text
• Their Windows username (my words, not hers) was present throughout this text twice
• It's unknown whether or not there were any OK/Cancel options or not

Beyond that, I have no idea what the issue was, but she forcefully shutdown the machine by holding down the power button down (I should have never taught her this).

I get the call the next day that the computer doesn't work, and here's what I initially find out:

• The computer boots through the BIOS just fine (although it's the pre-programmed Gateway welcome screen rather than the actual BIOS)
• The message "autochk not found" is present upon booting into Windows 8 (this is a new issue as of the force shutdown)
• Windows boots to a blank desktop (nothing but a solid navy blue background -- nothing else)
• There is no mouse cursor (although we had a mouse cursor once, but right-clicking anywhere on the desktop did nothing)

Here's what else is happening (I'll do my best to recap everything I've gone over with her):

• Spamming F8 or Shift+F8 do not boot into SafeMode
• F1 & F2 (as per the Gateway site) do not bring up the BIOS settings (haven't tried other combinations yet)
• Windows+R, CTRL+ALT+DEL, and CTRL+SHIFT+ESC all do nothing when on the "blank" desktop (haven't tried other combinations yet)
• Pressing SHIFT five times will bring up the Sticky Keys prompt, but TAB'ing to either choice (YES/NO) and using the spacebar to confirm the choice does not bring up any sort of second screen/prompt
• When the Sticky Keys prompt shows up it is anchored to the upper left of the screen as opposed to the center
• There is no restore disc and I'm not entirely sure if there was a partition set aside to restore the system, but they have a few videos and pictures on there that I'm sure they'd like to keep, so wiping the system is out of the question for the time being

At this point, it would seem that my computer troubleshooting knowledge is failing miserably and Googling has only resulted in fixes that require you to use either the Task Manager or SafeMode (both of which I cannot seem to access and that's boggling my mind). The troubleshooting process is moving along slowly because they dislike technology and become quickly annoyed when I'm having them try different things which result in no change. Since they are not tech savvy one bit, I'm going off the assumption that I'm somehow getting an incorrect diagnosis on the matter, so I'm sometimes having them try the same things we tried the day before just to double and triple-check for me (and I'm sure this is adding to their annoyance).

I wish I had more information to give on this matter, but it's all I've got. I'm posting here in hopes that someone has an idea of what I might try next, but I will say that it's doubtful they're willing to swap or re-seat any hardware if it comes to that because they're just not comfortable with that level of troubleshooting.

Thanks in advance.

i had nothing but problems with win8. went back to the previous version, problems solved

 

[lightningbaron]

You'll likely have to do a repair. Not sure if a "house call" is feasible. It's always "fun" of playing technical support for family.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/restore-refresh-reset-pc

You probably want to do a refresh without affecting the files?

Good luck!

 

[Bubbaleone]

...........I wish I had more information to give on this matter, but it's all I've got. I'm posting here in hopes that someone has an idea of what I might try next, but I will say that it's doubtful they're willing to swap or re-seat any hardware if it comes to that because they're just not comfortable with that level of troubleshooting.

Thanks in advance.

Trying to find documentation for this PC, that isn't just useless generic drivel, appears to be the convoluted result of Acer owning Gateway. This link guides you through Using Recovery Management outside of Windows.

This video shows the procedure on a laptop so it's anyone's guess whether or not this feature is available for the DX4870, as they only state that "it's available for the majority of our laptops and desktops". If the "Acer eRecovery Management" console is available for the DX4870 it offers two options; "restore operating system to factory defaults", and "restore operating system and retain user data". It's accessed by pressing the Alt + F10 keys at restart, and your folks should be able to handle that.

EDIT: Get on the phone with your Dad and walk him through removing the case cover, then explain how to remove the CMOS battery, and tell him to wait at least 3 minutes before reinstalling the battery and then replacing the case cover. This will clear the CMOS and needs to be done prior to attempting the above procedure. Explain that this will give him the best chance for the procedure to be successful.

.

 

[MiRai]

Thanks for all the replies and apologies for getting back to this a little late.

They could try to clear cmos.by removing the batterie for a good 30 sec. but the best would be to have a windows 8 cd to repaire

I think I'd have a better chance of them flying me out to visit them and then fix it in person rather than getting them to open the case and pull the battery. They're just not people who like technology all that much and they don't even know how to set the clock on their VCR (Yes, their VCR).

You'll likely have to do a repair. Not sure if a "house call" is feasible. It's always "fun" of playing technical support for family.

I was worried that family tech support from afar was going to be challenging, but this seems like it would be an easy fix if I could just get into SafeMode (and it really bothers me that I can't).

The way I explained it to them is that right now their car won't start and we need to get under the hood to look at the motor, but I can't find the hood release because it's not where it should be (e.g. F8 isn't getting us into SafeMode and useful shortcuts in Windows are refusing to work).

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/restore-refresh-reset-pc

You probably want to do a refresh without affecting the files?

Good luck!

This would be great if anything (besides Sticky Keys) was functioning once the OS loaded up.

Trying to find documentation for this PC, that isn't just useless generic drivel, appears to be the convoluted result of Acer owning Gateway. This link guides you through Using Recovery Management outside of Windows.

This video shows the procedure on a laptop so it's anyone's guess whether or not this feature is available for the DX4870, as they only state that "it's available for the majority of our laptops and desktops". If the "Acer eRecovery Management" console is available for the DX4870 it offers two options; "restore operating system to factory defaults", and "restore operating system and retain user data". It's accessed by pressing the Alt + F10 keys at restart, and your folks should be able to handle that.

EDIT: Get on the phone with your Dad and walk him through removing the case cover, then explain how to remove the CMOS battery, and tell him to wait at least 3 minutes before reinstalling the battery and then replacing the case cover. This will clear the CMOS and needs to be done prior to attempting the above procedure. Explain that this will give him the best chance for the procedure to be successful.

I feel the exact same way when attempting to navigate these manufacturers' websites looking for useful information, but this would be fantastic if this works and I'll have to call them as soon as I wake up tomorrow before they call the Geek Squad (they're still under a 1 year warranty with them).