Windows Vista Hang/ Loop Start-up Screen Issue

Blogging late due to Windows Vista Hang @ Startup

I've had my laptop for 1 year and a half now and today, after realizing that the computer screen was frozen, I did what I usually do- a long press on the power button to reboot it.

And to add more to my disappointment, the damn thing didn't start up at all. But here I am now, grumbling and talking about it in my blog. So here were the steps I did that may or may not have helped in fixing it (It probably did help since I'm typing this now.)

So firstly, I left it for an hour to just to that annoying loopy screen as seen above.

ATTEMPT 1:

DRAT, no luck. I shut it down again and decided to try again by PRESSING F8 TO LOAD THE WINDOWS BOOT MANAGER


PRESSED TAB TO SELECT WINDOWS MEMORY DIAGNOSTIC tool and ENTER. The screen below appeared and I waited for it to be done. After the laptop restarted, the loopy screen appeared again. I left it for 30 minutes this time again for any sign of life form before I shut down the lappy to try SAFE MODE this time (which I should've tried first)

WHY CONSIDER DOING THE RAM TEST?

Because although there was a great possibility that this was only an operating issue. Some symptoms such as a computer hanging or not being able to load into the OS for a very long time could be because of an about-to-be defective RAM.

It actually occured to me in one of the laptops I tried to fix that the computer was not properly copying files when I transferred them for back-up and sometimes would need to be repetitively booted before the desktop screen would finally appear.

I thought it was an OS system issue as I could still find the Hard Drive and the RAM detected in the BIOS and that reformatting and reinstalling the OS would fix it until I got stuck midway during the installation even after several attempts. Just to eventually realize that the issue wasn't the hard drive nor the OS, it was a defective RAM. We usually expect when it's a hardware problem, the PC don't usually boot or would sound a series of beeps or present a blue screen of death, so discovering that it had been a RAM issue was not what I expected.


ATTEMPT 2:

After seeing the Asus Screen Start-up, I PRESSED F8 again which brought me back to the WINDOWS BOOT MANAGER. PRESSING F8 once again brought me to the ADVANCED WINDOWS MENU (bottom screen)


I SELECTED SAFE MODE and bore with the bottom screen for an hour before I finally decided to press the power button again. No luck. It was taking forever.

My phone camera sucks to death.

ATTEMPT 3:

I decided to use the REPAIR DISK OPTION found in my VISTA installer but I had doubts as my DVD-ROM no longer read disks. Luckily for me, last month I had bought a SAMSUNG EXTERNAL USB SLIM DVD WRITER.

Not all computer or laptops are set to consider USB drives (or REMOVABLE DRIVES) in their boot options so I had to PRESS ESC TO ENTER SETUP (some laptop would require the F2/F10 button or the DEL button to be pressed but mine was escape to enter SETUP)

All hail the great 2MP ... No, 1.2MP phone camera...WITH FLASH!!!

In the BIOS screen, I tabbed my way to BOOT and under BOOT DEVICE PRIORITY selected REMOVABLE DRIVE as my primary boot, made sure I saved the changes and exited the BIOS SETUP.


I PRESSED THE SHUT DOWN BUTTON AGAIN, made sure my EXTERNAL DVD WRITER was SECURELY AFFIXED ON MY USB PORT and waited for this screen.


As commanded, I PRESSED A KEY and WAITED FOR VISTA'S INSTALL SCREEN TO APPEAR (WHICH TOOK ABOUT 15 MINUTES OR SO BUT APPEARED NONETHELESS)

I CLICKED ON NEXT

SELECTED REPAIR YOUR COMPUTER

WENT TO STARTUP REPAIR

WAITED FOR IT TO FINISH HOPING IT'D WORK THIS TIME AND....

CLICKED ON FINISH. After restarting, the loopy screen appeared again but only for 5 minutes or so. I was relieved that I was able to see my desktop again. The first restart made the explorer.exe hang again but the second one is fine as I am currently finishing up this blog.

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The Beloved Scoundrel by Iris Johansen Book Review

From the title of it, this book sounded intriguing already. My sisters loved reading books by Iris Johansen and I have never expected to be a fan of hers. The torn blue book I found a week ago had been sitting in an old box for ages.

It's about a girl early in her teens found by a young duke during the invasion of her hometown. He offered her her young brother shelter and protection if she came with him. In her dire situation, she felt she had no choice but to give in to the strangely alluring duke's proposition.




She had him intrigued and at the same time, he needed something from her. He decided to take care of her and acquire what he needed from her when the time was right. Marianna ( the main female character) and Jordan's (the duke) love and hate relationship in this story unfolds their true desire for each other and their denial for one another's feelings.

I read the book chapter after chapter. I had actually known they'd end up happily together but the culmination of the story- how the series of events connected- was something I wanted to learn in detail.

Iris Johansen has a writer's magical pen. The words flowed like liquid chocolate, each sip from the cup a satisfying treat. Her descriptions of the stained glasses, the majestic castles, the rich environments and the colorful characters were clear and beatific.

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Sam Siciliano's Blood Feud Book

I love it when my desire for reading is invigorated. I just finished reading Sam Siciliano's Blood Feud. I bought this book at a book sale when I was in my early teenage years but did not have the aptitude to read it as I did now.



The story is about two ancient vampires who have grown to hate each other through the years that one will not rest until the other is dead.

Spoiler Alert

( I hope I was able to summarize it in a way that most details in the story are still kept a mystery.)

It starts when a boy named Alex is convinced by his lover, a vampire's assistant named Tracy, to kill a male vampire named Ruthven. And the story continues after the sister of Alex, Mary, saw Tracy again in her hometown after a long time since her brother had disappeared.



Mary discovers the truth about her brother's ex-lover with the help of Ruthven's hired private investigator. Later, a band composed of a priest, her brother's best friend, Mary and the PI set out to kill the vampiress, a Madame Rambouillet, who they believed was the source of all evil. As they reached her lair, their fate changes after realizing they had killed her decoy.



They set out once again, this time without the PI to kill Ruthven with a deal that they will be left unharmed. Eventually, after a long day of darkness and torture, the two vampires square off leaving Mary and her crew badly battered but alive.



There are some excerpts that make this book unforgettable. This is one of the two I liked.

"It's rather ironic. I was raised on stories about the devil and demons. As a child, they were very real to me, and when I was in the seminary, the devil was still treated as a theological doctrine. When he went out of fashion in the sixties, it was a relief. Human evil was powerful and inexplicable enough, and it was manifest all around us.The devil seemed a scapegoat, and obvious rationalization to justify our sinful natures. I was glad to be rid of the old horned fellow, but now..."

The reason I was drawn to the book in the first place was because of the poem written in French situated in the first pages entitled "Les Metamorphoses du Vampire" (aka "Metamorphosis of the Vampire") and Deullum (aka The Duel) in the book's Part 2 both written by Charles Baudelaire.



Blood Feud isn't as well written as books of the world-renowned Stephen King, Charlaine Harris or J.K. Rowling. There were instances I would be confused on line ownership and some lines were very long without a description of what actions transgressed during the conversation. Other sentences lacked pauses.



However, even with these pointed out, I won't deny Siciliano's description of the story's atmosphere, in it's vividness and darkness, was well thought of. I almost wanted to skip some parts to learn the ending. Each event boring down with a curiosity demanding to be satiated. His story,although lacking that writer's crafty play of words, was overall interesting and original.



If I were asked, if I would read more from this author, the answer is a definite yes.

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E-Cigarette: Detailed Information & Assessment

Previously, I've written about my mom's smoking habit and that I bought her an e-cigarette. A little awhile ago, I just went into her room to check if brought her e-cigarette with her, and she did (which is a good sign since I'd rather have her use it than the regular cigarette (or as now called analog cigarettes).

Instead of making this article the regular paragraphs I compose, I decided to make it somewhat of an FAQ.



Who invented e-cigarettes?

The inventor of e-cigarettes is Hon Lik of Beijing last 2003. He quit smoking after his father died of lung cancer and develoved e-cigar to deliver nicotine with a smoke free vapor.






How does the e-cigarette work?

A battery in the device heats a solution of nicotine in propylene glycol, producing a thick, odor-less vapor that can be inhaled to deliver nicotine directly to the lungs.

Picture Reference:Medical Mouse

There was this question about what happens if it runs out. There are disposable e-cigarettes and rechargeable ones. The disposable ones will be good for 200-300 puffs. While the rechargeable ones need to have the cartridges replaced after 200+ puffs (equivalent to 10 to 20 regular cigarettes) . Others buy the juice and pour 1 to 2 drops of their selected juice in the cartridge to use it again, instead of buying cartridges immediately.

The juices come in different flavors and also in various amounts of nicotine ranging from none to low to medium to high. A majority of the people using e-cigarettes have preferred the menthol flavor to start with.

If the led keeps on blinking after sucking from the e-cigarette, most likely, it needs to be recharged. The entire e-cigarette package usually come with a USB charger or a wall charger.

Is it like the real thing?

This was how the e-cigarette I bought my mom looked like.

At first it would feel odd to puff from something that feels like a cylindrical toy. But according to the person I bought my mom's e-cigarette from, after 2 to 3 days of using it consistently instead of the regular cigarette, he no longer looked for the real thing.

In my honest opinion, it didn't have the kick that cigarettes my mom used to smoke have, but the hand-to-mouth ritual and the feeling of inhaling from a cigarette exists.

Is it advisable for non-smokers who want to smoke to use e-cigarettes?

No. E-cigarettes have nicotine in it which is, in the first place, the cause of smoking addiction. Some critics have even charged that the delivery of nicotine to the lungs speeds its passage to the brain, enhancing the drugs addictive properties. Some are also concerned that e-cigarettes may serve as learning aids to promote smoking the actual thing.

It is good or bad?

Of course, anything involving smoking is bad. If you don't smoke, better not start at all.

With a diagram such as this, smokers don't exactly have a choice which they're better off with, do they? (uploaded by MINDLESS ONES )

E-Cigarette Advantages ( On a Smoker's and Smoker's Companion's Perspective)

BUT in a smokers standpoint, e-cigars are far better as it does not have tar and the toxic gasses emitted by an analog cigar. It has less chemicals than the regular cigarette definitely cutting down the health risks of smoking.

My mom has been smoking for 26 years and she has the 'smoker's cough'. After starting the use of her e-cigarette, I noticed that she doesn't cough at nights anymore. Previously, I noticed her not being able to sleep as well. She tells me it's her insomnia but I seriously doubt that when she's coughing all night.

Since I don't smoke, I don't know if she also experienced the 'smoker's phlegm' but I'm pretty sure that she feels a whole lot better now since I no longer hear her raspy coughing and repetitive throat clearing every night.

I am hoping soon that her sense of taste and smell will come back since I know for a fact that smoking deadens the taste buds and the receptors in the nasal epithelium. She used to cook wonderful meals for me but now, it's either too salty, too sweet or too bland.

According to Kalin Nacheff, his use of e-cigars as a substitute for the regular cigarettes gave him increased stamina and lung capacity. He also stopped wheezing and no longer felt tight in his chest (I truly hope I got Kalin's gender right.)

No need to puff an entire stick to take away the craving.

No need to be wary of burning the entire house, it doesn't burn the sheets.

No need to worry about second hand smoke as it was virtually eliminated in this invention. Of course, don't be so rude as to smoke in front of children or peers. There is no such study yet saying that e-cigarettes are 100% safe on that issue. On the other hand, for this particular concern, e-cigarettes are 100% better of an alternative as to regular cigarettes emitting Hydrogen cyanide, Carbon monoxide, Acrolein, Acetaldehyde, Acrylonitrile, Benzalphapyrene, Benzene and Cadmium.

Why is FDA saying e-cigars are bad?

FDA did not approve of e-cigars due to the cartridges of the ones they tested had the following findings:

• All but one cartridge marked as having no nicotine actually contained the addictive substance.
• Cartridges marked as having low, medium, or high amounts of nicotine actually had varying amounts of nicotine.
• One of the cartridges contained a toxic antifreeze ingredient, diethylene glycol.
• The devices emitted "tobacco-specific nitrosamines which are human carcinogens."
• The devices emitted "tobacco-specific impurities suspected of being harmful to humans."

REFERENCE: FDA: E-Cigarettes Bad, but Not Banned

A comment from one of the readers had stated,

The nitrosamines that were found were at levels so low they were almost undetectable. The levels found were below the excepted limit for a liter of water.

And for those concerned regarding Propylene glycol,

Propylene glycol makes up a good percentage of the nicotine solution and it is found in everything from toothpaste to personal lubricants to the makeup women apply to their faces. Some people have found that they do have allergies to pg, but that allergy is often present way before using the electronic cigarette.

REFERENCE: YAHOO ANSWERS

CONCLUSION

There is still a lot of speculation regarding e-cigarette usage which will fill the years to come of standardization issues, quality check monitoring, scientific researches, health assessments and tax implementations. But for those who are determined to stop smoking and those smokers who prefer to prolong their life existence, the question lies, which of the two options will make you live longer?

I hope I was able to help you in your e-cigarette questions and dilemmas.

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E-Cigarette & Mom's Smoking Habit

My mom has been a smoker ever since I was still in her tummy and nowadays, no matter how much she denies it, her smoking had taken its toll on her. She coughs during nights and isn't able to sleep well because of this. Of course, she still denies it has anything to do with her smoking, but I know better. I've been with her longer than any of my brother and sisters.

This is some serious competition here. Her and her daughter's health versus this little box.

She told me that she'd started quitting but she's always said that and quitting was never an easy task- not with her 26 years of smoking. So I decided to buy her an E-cigarette to help her quit. I even bought her the limited edition type. Unfortunately. although I've seen her successfully warding off the temptations of "Hope" for a while, she has once again succumbed to it as I can smell that smoker's scent ebbing out of her body. I am very disappointed today but I suppose I can't just discuss about it else she would feel offended and deny my allegations of her smoking again.

Sorry my picture sucks. I don't have a decent camera at the moment.

I'm an asthmatic and any smell of cigarette smoke makes me cough and breathe uneasy. Even if she were to go outside just to get a couple of puffs and I'd be in the my room, I'd still smell it. I was happy when I got her the E-cigarette because the smoke was no longer affecting me. But then yesterday, I found out she has been smoking "Hope" again. And last night, she complained to me that the E-cigarette tasted bland. I almost wanted to explode and tell her, "Of course, it would be! You've been smoking the real thing again."

Later, I'll definitely be adding an article on the pros and cons of smoking an e-cigarette. Hopefully, for those deciding to use it to quit, my article will help.

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First Degree BURN First Aid

I had just finished cooking mashed potatoes with gravy and was about to try the fruits of my labor. Since I love gravy so much, I filled my cup with hot gravy to the brim. While I was about to come back to the computer to view some videos, I accidentally spilled the gravy around the back of my hand. Ouch!

Funny shape for a burn -.-

The pain was bearable at first that I was able to put my cup on top of the table before I muttered a curse or two. After washing the area with some cool water I patted it dry and took a picture of my first-degree burn. It was after a week later that I noticed there was still scarring between my index and middle finger.

This wasn't actually the first time my hand got burned. Last time, my mom gave me a plate straight from the fire. She did not notice anything until I was screaming in pain and my eyes were watery. This time I was a little prepared.

So here's my first aid for FIRST DEGREE BURNS:


1. First of all, cool the burn in running water. If you don't have running water, dip the burn in a tub or a bowl of cool clean water. It will temporarily alleviate the pain but once you remove the burned portion from the water, it will start to hurt again. Once you're ready to put burn ointment, don't forget to pat the area with a clean clothe.

Some say dilluted vinegar is also helpful but it will sting if the burn has an open wound



2. Never put any other ointment or oil unless it's aloe-vera or burn ointment. The first time I got burned, I used A+D (the one for skin rashes) and it just made the burning sensation worse.


3. Take Tylenol or Ibuprofen for the pain. Always follow the bottle's prescription. (Alaxan FR will also suffice).

4. Monitor the area for blisters.

5. Apply antibacterial cream such as Bactroban or Neosporin ointment on it to prevent infection. If a gauze pad is present, use it to cover the area.

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