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(OT) Laptop lockup...help please...

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Mofongo

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Actually this is photography related cause I was gonna download photos to my laptop (using a PC adapter) when the laptop froze...done it many times before with no problems...

I know there is a lot of really computer smart people on the forum...I'm not one of them...

Sony Viao...Windows millenium...

All I get is a blackscreen..small writing that says:

"While initializing device CONFIGMG

Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer.

System failed."

OK, here's the problem, I can't restart the computer cause it won't shut down!...

Tried Esc...tried Ctrl + alt + delete...tried the power button..nothing...

I unplugged it an am just letting the battery die and than I'll try and plug it in and start it up again...

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any help...

Bob

--
http://www.pbase.com/mofongo
Never judge a man untill you've walked a mile in his shoes...
That way he'll be a mile away and you'll have his shoes
 
I had a very similar problem with one of my Compaq presario (paperweight) laptops. I hate to tell you that after pulling the battery out a few times to shut it down and restart it the whole system crashed and I had to have it rebuilt. I sent mine to the service center and they fixed it... sort of. After a few months it crashed out again. They ended up replacing the hard drive which was apparently corrupt. The computer works ok now but I only use it for making presentations. It scares me too much to trust my pics to it.

Good luck,
Peter
Bob S said:
Actually this is photography related cause I was gonna download
photos to my laptop (using a PC adapter) when the laptop
froze...done it many times before with no problems...

I know there is a lot of really computer smart people on the
forum...I'm not one of them...

Sony Viao...Windows millenium...

All I get is a blackscreen..small writing that says:

"While initializing device CONFIGMG

Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer.

System failed."

OK, here's the problem, I can't restart the computer cause it won't
shut down!...

Tried Esc...tried Ctrl + alt + delete...tried the power
button..nothing...

I unplugged it an am just letting the battery die and than I'll try
and plug it in and start it up again...

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any help...

Bob

--
http://www.pbase.com/mofongo
Never judge a man untill you've walked a mile in his shoes...
That way he'll be a mile away and you'll have his shoes
Click to expand...
--
http://www.pbase.com/optionguru

pbase supporter

'Wherever you go, there you are.' Buckaroo Banzai
 
Bob,

To shut it off you should be able to hold the power button down for several seconds. It should eventually shut down, usually with in 5-10 seconds. If that doesn't work, pull the battery ;-)

I am not familiar with the Sony platform, nor the ME OS. I support Dell's on 2000. But I will try to help in any way that I can.

Eric
 
Peter...thanks,

I got it to shut down by holding the power button for a few seconds...

Started it up again and it said I shoud select start in safe mode...

I did and it started but know the screen looks weird, it gave me something to read about Safe mode so I'm gonna read it...

I'll report back...

Bob
 
90 GT-G60 said:
To shut it off you should be able to hold the power button down for
several seconds. It should eventually shut down, usually with in
5-10 seconds. If that doesn't work, pull the battery ;-)
Click to expand...
Good answer. If that doesn't work, some laptops have a tiny hole where you insert a paper clip to reset them. Also, try removing the battery.

In some cases, I've had to get some laptops into the on and locked up state, as opposed to the off and locked up state, then remove the batteries to get them to reset.
--
 
Bob S said:
Peter...thanks,

I got it to shut down by holding the power button for a few seconds...

Started it up again and it said I shoud select start in safe mode...

I did and it started but know the screen looks weird, it gave me
something to read about Safe mode so I'm gonna read it...
Click to expand...
It does that when it didn't restart properly. Try restarting without safe mode, sometimes the restart problem is only a one time thing.
--
 
Thanks so much Peter, Eric and GT 90...

While in safe mode I just did a simple restart and it came up fine...

I'm on it now and it's working great...

I do have a question...I use the laptop laptop style, being in the EZ chair with the laptop on my lap...I'm lazy...

Is it harmfull to move the laptop while it's on, like to set it down while I get up to get a bowl of ice cream?...(lazy and fat)...

What if no programs are running...just online...is it best tp close Photoshop if I'm gonna be moving the laptop? Don't want to damage the harddrive...

Thanks again!

Bob
 
Bob,

Don't think you've got much to worry about moving the laptop while it's on... even if it's accessing the drive. I'm pretty sure that the normal movement is included in the std. tolerances. Now, if you're looking to run this thing inside of a tank on a battlefield, you'll want a "ruggedized notebook". Essentially a regular notebook that has been built to be subjected to the rigors of extreme conditions.

Ron
Bob S said:
Thanks so much Peter, Eric and GT 90...

While in safe mode I just did a simple restart and it came up fine...

I'm on it now and it's working great...

I do have a question...I use the laptop laptop style, being in the
EZ chair with the laptop on my lap...I'm lazy...

Is it harmfull to move the laptop while it's on, like to set it
down while I get up to get a bowl of ice cream?...(lazy and fat)...

What if no programs are running...just online...is it best tp close
Photoshop if I'm gonna be moving the laptop? Don't want to damage
the harddrive...

Thanks again!

Bob
Click to expand...
--
http://www.pbase.com/rflowers/
 
If you are running Millenium, can you get back to a system restore point of a few days before when the computer was functioning properly? I had to do that a few times on my desktop computer.
 
Bob,

Laptops are designed to be more durable than a desktop.
You can pretty much do anything with it while it is on.

I am currantly utilizing wireless broadband access. It has been out on the roof of my car when I was diagnosing a problem with the help of a VW forum. It has been carried to everyroom in the house while I was downloading.

It has been jammed beneath my recliner one or two times. And I have knocked it off the end table as well.

I am not saying you can play catch with it, but regular movement should not cause any trouble at all.

Oh one thing it won't like is a glass of 7-UP spilled on it. I did get that to work for about a month. But man were the keys sticky :-) The MB eventually went. (I think) But I just swapped the hardrive into my currant laptop.

It does help if you are the guy in charge of remote user support and eguipment. I always have the latest toys.

Eric
 
Bob S said:
Actually this is photography related cause I was gonna download
photos to my laptop (using a PC adapter) when the laptop
froze...done it many times before with no problems...

I know there is a lot of really computer smart people on the
forum...I'm not one of them...

Sony Viao...Windows millenium...

All I get is a blackscreen..small writing that says:

"While initializing device CONFIGMG

Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer.

System failed."

OK, here's the problem, I can't restart the computer cause it won't
shut down!...

Tried Esc...tried Ctrl + alt + delete...tried the power
button..nothing...

I unplugged it an am just letting the battery die and than I'll try
and plug it in and start it up again...

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any help...

Bob

--
http://www.pbase.com/mofongo
Never judge a man untill you've walked a mile in his shoes...
That way he'll be a mile away and you'll have his shoes
Click to expand...
--
http://www.pbase.com/mofongo
Never judge a man untill you've walked a mile in his shoes...
That way he'll be a mile away and you'll have his shoes
 
No problem to move it while it's on. Just don't drop it while it's on (or ever for that matter). The primary moving part is the hard drive. You don't turn off an iPod when you want to move it, and if you're using an E-10 or E-100RS with a microdrive in it, you don't turn it off every time you move it do you?
--
 
Hi Bob,

Hard disk drive technology is pretty amazing and has constantly improved over the years, but I'm afraid I'm not in full agreement with the others regarding moving the laptop while the disk drive is spinning. At least not so cavalierly as some seem to imply. I'm not saying don't, but if you do, do so with prudence. While you may get away with it a hundred times, it only takes once to render your computer inaccessable, as evidenced by the scare you just had.

Winchester drives work by a spinning platter(s) creating air turbulence at its surfaces which raises the low-mass heads just off the surface. It accomplishes this because the head has the contour of an airfoil - an airplane wing. Therefore it is "flying" while the platter is spinning. The technology was conceived using low-mass heads that were allowed to touch the platters as they came to rest, something completely taboo with the "open air" drives that preceded.

In the days of 5 1/4" and early 3 1/2" hard disk drives, the platters spun at 3600 rpm and the gap that separated the head from the spinning surface was about one half the diameter of a cigarette smoke particle! You can see that it would take almost no mechanical shock for the head to touch or hit the spinning surface. In most cases this was no problem as the heads were of such low mass no damage was done. But sometimes it was.

While the base technology is still the same, current drives are made better, with better materials, and the heads are extremely low mass. Today, the platters spin at 5400, 7200 and 10000 rpm, depending on the drive models.

Though I now see an occasional drive failure that I have no doubt was due to rough handling, I am amazed how laptop computer drives survive the everyday abuse that folks dish out. It's testimony to just how mature and good the technology is.

But, I still can't move an operating laptop computer around without some concious effort to do it carefully. Just a suggestion.

Rick
Bob S said:
Thanks so much Peter, Eric and GT 90...
Click to expand...
--------------- SNIP --------------->
Mofongo said:
I do have a question...I use the laptop laptop style, being in the
EZ chair with the laptop on my lap...I'm lazy...

Is it harmfull to move the laptop while it's on, like to set it
down while I get up to get a bowl of ice cream?...(lazy and fat)...

What if no programs are running...just online...is it best tp close
Photoshop if I'm gonna be moving the laptop? Don't want to damage
the harddrive...

Thanks again!

Bob
Click to expand...
 
RickS said:
Hard disk drive technology is pretty amazing and has constantly
improved over the years, but I'm afraid I'm not in full agreement
with the others regarding moving the laptop while the disk drive is
spinning. At least not so cavalierly as some seem to imply. I'm not
saying don't, but if you do, do so with prudence. While you may get
away with it a hundred times, it only takes once to render your
computer inaccessable, as evidenced by the scare you just had.

Winchester drives work by a spinning platter(s) creating air
turbulence at its surfaces which raises the low-mass heads just off
the surface. It accomplishes this because the head has the contour
of an airfoil - an airplane wing. Therefore it is "flying" while
the platter is spinning. The technology was conceived using
low-mass heads that were allowed to touch the platters as they came
to rest, something completely taboo with the "open air" drives that
preceded.

In the days of 5 1/4" and early 3 1/2" hard disk drives, the
platters spun at 3600 rpm and the gap that separated the head from
the spinning surface was about one half the diameter of a cigarette
smoke particle! You can see that it would take almost no mechanical
shock for the head to touch or hit the spinning surface. In most
cases this was no problem as the heads were of such low mass no
damage was done. But sometimes it was.

While the base technology is still the same, current drives are
made better, with better materials, and the heads are extremely low
mass. Today, the platters spin at 5400, 7200 and 10000 rpm,
depending on the drive models.

Though I now see an occasional drive failure that I have no doubt
was due to rough handling, I am amazed how laptop computer drives
survive the everyday abuse that folks dish out. It's testimony to
just how mature and good the technology is.

But, I still can't move an operating laptop computer around without
some concious effort to do it carefully. Just a suggestion.

Rick
Bob S said:
Thanks so much Peter, Eric and GT 90...
Click to expand...
--------------- SNIP --------------->
RickS said:
I do have a question...I use the laptop laptop style, being in the
EZ chair with the laptop on my lap...I'm lazy...

Is it harmfull to move the laptop while it's on, like to set it
down while I get up to get a bowl of ice cream?...(lazy and fat)...

What if no programs are running...just online...is it best tp close
Photoshop if I'm gonna be moving the laptop? Don't want to damage
the harddrive...

Thanks again!

Bob
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
http://www.pbase.com/mofongo
Never judge a man untill you've walked a mile in his shoes...
That way he'll be a mile away and you'll have his shoes
 
Actually, laptop hard drives usually run at 4,200 RPM, and a few run at 5,400 RPM, but that's besides the point.

They use regular laptop hard drives in many portable and car MP3 players, and or course things like digital wallets, so I wouldn't worry about moving around a modern laptop.

Now if you were talking about a desktop hard drive, I'd be a little more careful when moving it due to the increased mass of all the parts, and since it wasn't necessarilly designed for portable use. But then again, some car MP3 players use regular desktop hard drives, and you certainly aren't going to stop your car just to listen to PM3's.
--
 
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