Goodbye for now.

[Nimbi]

Well, once again my Gateway computer decided to have one if it's infamous moments and made me do yet another factory reset. Sadly, this means that once again, I have lost everything. I have tried countless alternate methods to fix it during these moments but every time a factory reset is the only thing that works. So, sadly, since this is proving to be a constant problem for me, I have decided not to apply any custom themes anymore since I always lose them anyways. Sorry everyone, but I'm afraid I must say goodbye. I can't afford a new computer and this one is too much of a hassle to continue applying custom themes to. I'm afraid I can't fix the problems this one has since I don't have the money and/or the resources to do so. It was great being able to use themes from here, they are all amazing. But my computer is just too big a pain to be able to continue doing so. Goodbye fellow VCers. Hopefully, I may someday get the money for a computer that isn't always being such a pain in the rump. Maybe then I might be able to return. :crying:

Sincerely,
Darkwater409

[ONE MAN ARMY]

Well, once again my Gateway computer decided to have one if it's infamous moments and made me do yet another factory reset. Sadly, this means that once again, I have lost everything. I have tried countless alternate methods to fix it during these moments but every time a factory reset is the only thing that works. So, sadly, since this is proving to be a constant problem for me, I have decided not to apply any custom themes anymore since I always lose them anyways. Sorry everyone, but I'm afraid I must say goodbye. I can't afford a new computer and this one is too much of a hassle to continue applying custom themes to. I'm afraid I can't fix the problems this one has since I don't have the money and/or the resources to do so. It was great being able to use themes from here, they are all amazing. But my computer is just too big a pain to be able to continue doing so. Goodbye fellow VCers. Hopefully, I may someday get the money for a computer that isn't always being such a pain in the rump. Maybe then I might be able to return. :crying:

Sincerely,
Darkwater409


Not sure how the Themes are messing with your comp. I dont have a great comp or anything. I have a cheap little laptop Never had any issue's. Only time I have ever had problems was When I did it myself By either editing .Dll files. Or Tampering with it. Themes are simple. Sorry your having troubles. Hope you solve your issue's.

[Nimbi]

it's not the themes, it's the comp itself. it's always had this problem. I don't really know why it has it. but every so often it loses all ability to even load the login area. I've tried fixing that issue in every way but only a factory reset from root boot menu works. It gets to the point where it wont load anything past the Gateway logo that shows up when you turn the computer on. I have no idea what causes that or why but factory reset from root boot is the only thing that has ever worked. Sadly that causes me to lose everything. And to makes things worse, the updates needed to get Windows 8.1 back tend to fail over and over again. I only get those to work out of sheer luck and most of the time they won't work. I have no idea why it constantly has this issue over and over again. Now it won't even let me install the Aero Glass mod due to UEFI Secure Boot or whatever it's called blocking it as well. So I feel it will be less of a hassle if I don't have so much to regain every time. If ever I find out what causes it and manage to get a permanent fix then I might be able to try theming again. But for now it's too big a hassle to have to redo over and over again just due to this computer giving me crap.

Sincerely,
Darkwater409

[Harvey Sewdin]

It's a messed up situation for sure. You can still use icons and wallpapers from here, that won't crash the pc I guess.

[Nimbi]

Thanks, I'll probs stick with the wallpapers. Customising icons requires a lot of time and work, which is something that I prefer to save for if/when i manage to get a properly working comp so as to prevent from having to constantly redo them.

[MOST_WASTED]

Thanks, I'll probs stick with the wallpapers. Customising icons requires a lot of time and work, which is something that I prefer to save for if/when i manage to get a properly working comp so as to prevent from having to constantly redo them.

learn to make your own 7tspacks. its still the easiest way to change system files without causing errors like a logon blackscreen or a BSOD. i know im saying its easy now because i know how but before when i was a noob you wont believe how many times i broke windows from customizing lol. all im saying is you dont have to give up we are here to help you if we could coz chances are we've experienced the same problem in the past.

[2635599]

Darkwater409 (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280551-Darkwater409) you need to get a good external drive(you should NEVER keep files you don't want to lose on your os drive, that includes your documents), a fresh copy of your os and software, completely wipe the drive(not just the main partition, but the entire drive), and then install your os and everything else. sounds like you have a hardware issue or you keep installing a piece of software windows doesn't like. first thing turn that worthless secure boot off.

[MOST_WASTED]

It's a messed up situation for sure. You can still use icons and wallpapers from here, that won't crash the pc I guess.

justin bieber wallpaper would. place one of those as your wallpaper and your computer would be askin for a crash. nyeheheheh. ok movin on

[Harvey Sewdin]

justin bieber wallpaper would. place one of those as your wallpaper and your computer would be askin for a crash. nyeheheheh. ok movin on

No I heard it does permanent damage to the computer, not just a simple crash. If you're lucky the cpu survives lmao

[idle]

BREAKING NEWS:

Microsoft have just announced Windows 9 to come with Justin Bieber Wallpaper Pack.

[Nimbi]

justin bieber wallpaper would. place one of those as your wallpaper and your computer would be askin for a crash. nyeheheheh. ok movin on

rofl.. too true... :laughing:

[Nimbi]

Darkwater409 (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280551-Darkwater409) you need to get a good external drive(you should NEVER keep files you don't want to lose on your os drive, that includes your documents), a fresh copy of your os and software, completely wipe the drive(not just the main partition, but the entire drive), and then install your os and everything else. sounds like you have a hardware issue or you keep installing a piece of software windows doesn't like. first thing turn that worthless secure boot off.

I can't afford an external drive atm, nor can I afford an OS disc. (mine didnt come with an actual OS disc, just came with Windows 8 pre installed. I do have a 8GB flash drive though. I usually back up whatever I can on it. Can't back up much since I need a minimum of 16GB on it to make an actual system backup with it. It's how I kept getting my Aero Glass mod back with every time my comp pulled this crud on me. Sadly I recently noticed my Aero Glass mod was a crack so I won't be getting that one back anyway. The guy who provided it simply said it was a completely free version that simply didn't have the watermark, so I didn't look any further into why it didn't have the watermark. But upon looking into the details of the file that was still on my flash drive I spotted the crack and decided to scrap it. Definitely won't be using that one again :laughing:. As for an external drive, it may be a while before I can afford one of those as well sadly. Arizona is in a severe debt atm. Around 6 Billion dollars in the hole due to constant borrowing. Not many people in Arizona have very much money thanks to that problem. I'll have to see if I can eventually manage to save up for one. I'm currently hoping to et the money to pay for the ModernMix thing since I only have 10 days left on my free trial. If I can get my comp to stop having that issue I'll have to pay for StartIsBack+ as well since the free trial for it expires soon as well. All in all, I finally got Windows 8.1.1 back and am thinking on trying out another theme. Just not sure if I want to risk losing all of it again should my comp decide to pull its crud again. I might have to wait until I can get a large enough flash drive to make a proper system backup. As for the secure boot, the only method I've found for disabling it requires me to go into system bios and I don't like that idea since I'm not very skilled with doing anything via system bios. I'll have to see what I can do on that one. All in all, thanks for all the tips. I'll have to save up to be able to get the things needed. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be a hardware issue. Last I heard Gateways use things from every company other than their own. So it wouldn't surprise me if they used some things that don't quite work properly together. I'm hoping to eventually switch to a Dell. At least it would be better than this cruddy Gateway SX series comp.

Sincerely,
Darkwater409

[2635599]

i'd suggest downloading a copy of 8.1.1 and burning your own dvd of it. regardless of microsours claims you are entitled to a copy since one came installed on your comp. now as for activation i recommend you get a copy of microsoft toolkit 2.5.2.

[MOST_WASTED]

I can't afford an external drive atm, nor can I afford an OS disc. (mine didnt come with an actual OS disc, just came with Windows 8 pre installed. I do have a 8GB flash drive though. I usually back up whatever I can on it. Can't back up much since I need a minimum of 16GB on it to make an actual system backup with it. It's how I kept getting my Aero Glass mod back with every time my comp pulled this crud on me. Sadly I recently noticed my Aero Glass mod was a crack so I won't be getting that one back anyway. The guy who provided it simply said it was a completely free version that simply didn't have the watermark, so I didn't look any further into why it didn't have the watermark. But upon looking into the details of the file that was still on my flash drive I spotted the crack and decided to scrap it. Definitely won't be using that one again :laughing:. As for an external drive, it may be a while before I can afford one of those as well sadly. Arizona is in a severe debt atm. Around 6 Billion dollars in the hole due to constant borrowing. Not many people in Arizona have very much money thanks to that problem. I'll have to see if I can eventually manage to save up for one. I'm currently hoping to et the money to pay for the ModernMix thing since I only have 10 days left on my free trial. If I can get my comp to stop having that issue I'll have to pay for StartIsBack+ as well since the free trial for it expires soon as well. All in all, I finally got Windows 8.1.1 back and am thinking on trying out another theme. Just not sure if I want to risk losing all of it again should my comp decide to pull its crud again. I might have to wait until I can get a large enough flash drive to make a proper system backup. As for the secure boot, the only method I've found for disabling it requires me to go into system bios and I don't like that idea since I'm not very skilled with doing anything via system bios. I'll have to see what I can do on that one. All in all, thanks for all the tips. I'll have to save up to be able to get the things needed. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be a hardware issue. Last I heard Gateways use things from every company other than their own. So it wouldn't surprise me if they used some things that don't quite work properly together. I'm hoping to eventually switch to a Dell. At least it would be better than this cruddy Gateway SX series comp.

Sincerely,
Darkwater409

i bet it wont let u install windows 8 even if you had a seperate install disc. most computers with preinstalled have their own repair & installation files in a hidden partition in the HDD, and they wont let you install from a seperate disc so you will use theirs and call them for supprt. i bet even if you format the drive the partition wil stay there. a friend of mine had one of these computers that he had windows problems with because of a virus, and we tried to fix it by reisntalling the OS using everything possible, disk, usb, another drive but it wont let us even after we've wiped it clean. in the end we found out there was a hidden partition. used special software tools to delete that partition (theres a bunch of them around) and reformat the whole disk again making sure there wasnt a single byte left. after that we installed windows no problem. now i dont know if yours is the same but if you are considering to install the OS again i would suggest you use one of those drive partition tools to wipe it clean first. that way you wont need support from the dealers of your computer, it will be totally yours. if you dont have a windows 8 disk you can always go to microsoft.com and try windows 8 to see if your computer would let you install it from a seperate source. if it will then you are good to go. keep your windows 8 serial from your current OS by the way, use that for the one you get from microsoft :) good luck bud

* sorry im not sure if they give out trials for win8, i think they did that for 7 or was it xp, i forget. you could try though

[Harvey Sewdin]

Wait, Windows 8 OEM installations have the serial key built into the BIOS right. If you download the same version of Windows 8 and install it, it should activate it automatically.

[MOST_WASTED]

BREAKING NEWS:

Microsoft have just announced Windows 9 to come with Justin Bieber Wallpaper Pack.

what, no beiber dreamscenes? whyyyyyyy?! :crying: lol

[2635599]

MOST_WASTED (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/216192-MOST_WASTED) that is why you wipe the entire drive. i've redone more laptops and prebuilt towers than i care to think about. no the partition will not stay there. once you boot into what ever too you plan on using to wipe the drive you are outside any install environment the manufacture has installed. i personally suggest partition wizard.

[Nimbi]

ah, I see. I think I'd probably be better off just waiting for the Windows 9 consumer preview then tbh. I know mine has a factory restore feature via a Gateway Restore program that always brings it back to it's factory defaults. So it should be able to go back to factory defaults via that if something were to go wrong while attempting to install a new OS disc. But I'd rather not risk it atm. Plus Windows 9 looks fairly cool imo so I'll just wait for the Windows 9 consumer preview. All in all though, it appears to be working fine for now. I think the 'cracked' version of the Aero Glass mod may have been the problem. I do remember that the problems started around the time I first got that one. Now that I know it's cracked though, I definitely won't be using it again anyway. As for the watermark from the free version, I'm actually not bothered by it anymore. I just don't like the message that shows up upon logging into my comp when I use the actual free version. I'll probably try applying another theme in a couple days if I can go without problems that long. Hopefully that cracked version of Aero Glass was the only problem because I would be severely annoyed if something else was the cause.

Sincerely,
Darkwater409

[Nimbi]

Well, my comp crashed again. Luckily this time I was able to restore it to a previous restore point. Sadly, I lost my copy of VMware Workstation and everything I had on it. I'll just wait for Windows 10 to come out since my comp will just crash again anyway. However, I discovered that the Aero Glass mod of which I though was a crack actually wasn't. It turns out a company (or something anyways) bought off a full version of the Aero Glass mod with permission to distribute it for free. So I have that one back now (especially since removing it just after the last crash apparently didn't fix the problem). Either way, I'm going to wait for the official Windows 10 Upgrade before trying it out again. My comp crashes too much to keep reinstalling VMware Workstation every time.

[MOST_WASTED]

Well, my comp crashed again. Luckily this time I was able to restore it to a previous restore point. Sadly, I lost my copy of VMware Workstation and everything I had on it. I'll just wait for Windows 10 to come out since my comp will just crash again anyway. However, I discovered that the Aero Glass mod of which I though was a crack actually wasn't. It turns out a company (or something anyways) bought off a full version of the Aero Glass mod with permission to distribute it for free. So I have that one back now (especially since removing it just after the last crash apparently didn't fix the problem). Either way, I'm going to wait for the official Windows 10 Upgrade before trying it out again. My comp crashes too much to keep reinstalling VMware Workstation every time.

man that is a real bummer. so sorry. you should really try reinstalling your own windows from the microsoft website or a separate disk using the same serial key you have now. reinstalling windows fixes everything so if that doesnt work and you still experience crashes and errors then you would at least know that its a hardware problem. if you have no way of acquiring a windows 8 cd give me the version you need and i'll send you one but only through regular mail so i dont have to pay anything (im your nevada neighbor). post office is next to my pad so its really no trouble. just let me know if ever

[Nimbi]

man that is a real bummer. so sorry. you should really try reinstalling your own windows from the microsoft website or a separate disk using the same serial key you have now. reinstalling windows fixes everything so if that doesnt work and you still experience crashes and errors then you would at least know that its a hardware problem. if you have no way of acquiring a windows 8 cd give me the version you need and i'll send you one but only through regular mail so i dont have to pay anything (im your nevada neighbor). post office is next to my pad so its really no trouble. just let me know if ever

Well, I could try that out. Ofc I can't get one on my own since we're in debt out here. If you're really okay with it then my current OS is Win 8.1. Came with Win8 but free upgrade from Windows Store Metro App got me the Win 8.1

Hopefully it's not a hardware problem. I'm not so big a fan of Gateways anymore due to this thing having so many issues.

[idle]

Sorry to hear. Have you tried troubleshooting the issue? Narrowing down the reason for crashing?

I say this because the many many times I have done this, ie. reinstall windows as some last resort effort, it has sometimes in fact been a complete waste of time as the client thinks everything is good again and starts installing all their software/programs and before you know it, I'm getting a call saying the problems have returned. This can be a REAL mind scramble, leading one to think its a hardware fault, when in actual fact it is simply a software conflict causing the issues.

If you wouldn't mind, have you checked msconfig and ticked hide all microsoft blah blah and see whats left over in the list? Sometimes it can be an OLD installed program (Windows Update is notorious for this) which is causing the conflicts and resulting crashes. Chances are it could well be hardware related, or even Windows itself. But as a starting point, saving you the time (Windows install) and money (new hardware) its a pretty simple process which may work for you.

Because these crashes are so random I would untick everything in the list. If it means going without certain programs for an extended period so be it. If no crashes happen in that time frame, one by one turn your most used/favorite program back on and use your system as normal. No crash? Select the next most used/favorite program, repeat and rinse ...

The reason I say the above is usually when Windows is fubar, its well and truly fubar, and your crashes should be happening more frequently. If its hardware related, again too you can usually get a clue of sorts and pick up what you were doing at the time it crashed, ie. gaming, running a program or going online.

But if its completely random, my bet is its probably a software conflict within your system. Have you played around with your registry much? This can cause the most bizarre crashes I've seen - really random stuff and very hard to narrow down. Anyway, maybe all of the above is not for you, but I'm happy to help if you like.

[MOST_WASTED]

just message me your address. and if you need a windows 64 bit
, and the specific windows version (eg. win8 pro x64 etc. ... )
cause i know there is a windows 8, 8.1 and an 8.1.1. i just wanna make sure its the exact same kind for activation reasons since you will use the same key that you have now. lesser chance of it not working if its the same version.
speccy could give the exact details of your OS . https://www.piriform.com/speccy/builds
and also that your bios will let you boot with a dvd. and that your dvd drive reads burned discs.

[2635599]

man that is a real bummer. so sorry. you should really try reinstalling your own windows from the microsoft website or a separate disk using the same serial key you have now. reinstalling windows fixes everything so if that doesnt work and you still experience crashes and errors then you would at least know that its a hardware problem. if you have no way of acquiring a windows 8 cd give me the version you need and i'll send you one but only through regular mail so i dont have to pay anything (im your nevada neighbor). post office is next to my pad so its really no trouble. just let me know if ever

MOST_WASTED (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/216192-MOST_WASTED) it is a oem copy of windows that came withe the comp, so chances are he cannot use his current key with a downloaded iso copyburned to dvd or usb. Darkwater409 (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280551-Darkwater409) i suggest you get partition wizard boot media iso 8.1, rufus 1.4.10, microsoft toolkit, and iso of the same version of windows you currently have on the comp. then i would head over to sevenforums and get help there. i'm The Nude Dude there as well.

[2635599]

Well, I could try that out. Ofc I can't get one on my own since we're in debt out here. If you're really okay with it then my current OS is Win 8.1. Came with Win8 but free upgrade from Windows Store Metro App got me the Win 8.1

Hopefully it's not a hardware problem. I'm not so big a fan of Gateways anymore due to this thing having so many issues.

Darkwater409 (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280551-Darkwater409) avoid the app store for the update. go through windows up date.

[2635599]

just message me your address. and if you need a windows 64 bit
, and the specific windows version (eg. win8 pro x64 etc. ... )
cause i know there is a windows 8, 8.1 and an 8.1.1. i just wanna make sure its the exact same kind for activation reasons since you will use the same key that you have now. lesser chance of it not working if its the same version.
speccy could give the exact details of your OS . https://www.piriform.com/speccy/builds
and also that your bios will let you boot with a dvd. and that your dvd drive reads burned discs.

just rightclick this pc icon and go to properties.

[MOST_WASTED]

MOST_WASTED (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/216192-MOST_WASTED) it is a oem copy of windows that came withe the comp, so chances are he cannot use his current key with a downloaded iso copyburned to dvd or usb. Darkwater409 (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280551-Darkwater409) i suggest you get partition wizard boot media iso 8.1, rufus 1.4.10, microsoft toolkit, and iso of the same version of windows you currently have on the comp. then i would head over to sevenforums and get help there. i'm The Nude Dude there as well.
oh ok. thanks for letting us know nude.
question: is it possible to gain access to a hidden partition inside windows? access the files i mean.

[Nimbi]

Darkwater409 (http://virtualcustoms.net/member.php/280551-Darkwater409) avoid the app store for the update. go through windows up date.



okay. I'm guessing the App Store thing messes something up in the update?

[Nimbi]

Don't think I'm quite experienced enough for those, so if I have to completely wipe the drive to get it to allow me to install it from a disc then I'm more comfortable with just sticking to what I currently have. If it crashes again I'll try to get the update from Windows Update instead of the Windows Store App. I'm guessing it must be better that way since The Nude Dude advised me to not use the Windows Store App for it. :cheeky: Also I have Speccy already. Luckily my restore point was to a time after I had installed that, lol. It restored my comp to October 1, 2014 so I only lost a few things. Basically some required programs for custom themes, the themes themselves, VMware Workstation and everything I had on VMware Workstation. There was actually only one Virtual Drive on it so it's not a huge loss. Plus the only thing I saw different besides it having the start menu is the fact of where to find Control Panel and This PC. I already use ModernMix to open Metro Apps in windowed mode so I'm use to that. Otherwise the only few differences there were didn't seem all that different from Windows 8.1.1 atm. I am using a 64 bit version of Windows 8.1.1 but it's not the pro version. For now I'll stick with what I have since I would more than likely mess something up if I have to wipe the entire drive to install it from a disc. Also, I did find a nice theme on DevART of which I will post a screenshot of in the proper thread. It's a decent one and is easy to setup.

[2635599]

oh ok. thanks for letting us know nude.
question: is it possible to gain access to a hidden partition inside windows? access the files i mean.

yes just assign it a drive letter. if it's you 100mb system boot partition do what you want with them except for changing any of them, then when you're done remove the drive letter again.

control panel, administrative tools, computer management, on the left side you want disk management.