New
#1
OS will now not fully load unless in 'Safe Mode'
Hi to everyone from a Noob!
I've been working on a friend's laptop, who wanted 'Gadgets' installing, which I did (same Gadgets that run OK on my almost identical laptop, from WinAero I believe) but since then the laptop will not run in normal mode. After signing in, the desktop background and icons appear as usual, and then the taskbar icons will appear or sometimes they won't, but either way nothing will run and I am eventually greeted with a small message window stating "The following program is not responding: Microsoft Windows. You can wait for it to respond etc..." but it never does and nothing works: no Task Manager, no Start Up menu - nothing. The hard drive also eventually goes idle. Ctrl-Alt-Delete just brings up a permanent black screen around which I can move the mouse icon. I have to hard reset the laptop by pressing and holding the power button.
I have tried uninstalling the gadgets, but I'm greeted with the usual 'some components could not be removed.' In Safe Mode the laptop appears to work as it should (under safe mode conditions), I even re-installed the gadgets and uninstalled them using CCleaner, but was greeted by the same message. I've tried windows recovery back to the last update from October, and under safe mode I am told it didn't work and didn't change anything, but on reboot in 'normal' mode I am told the recovery was successful, but Windows still does not work.
At the moment I am running an AVG scan under safe mode, but any help or suggestions as to what to try next would be appreciated. I am at the end of my (little) technical knowledge of what to do next, and I'm really upset that my installing the gadgets on my friend's laptop appears to have rendered it unusable. The laptop is here and internet connected, and I am typing this on my own laptop.
Please help...