NVIDIA Boot Agent 249 . 0542 message while starting Windows vista

Question

Original Title: Start up problem

I used a registry cleaner. Yea, bad idea. Now, on start up, I get a Nvidia boot 249. message that just stays there with a little forward slash bar rotating in circles. I have to turn the computer on and off mutiple times to get it to finally start correctly.

Answer 1

Hi bornwright,

Along with what Burr Walnut has suggested, you can also try the steps mentioned below.

Your laptop is trying to "network boot" - Instead of reading your operating system files from the hard disk it's attempting to read them from the wired network port.

There could be a couple of reasons behind this:

1.    Somehow the order in which boot devices are checked has changed in your computer's BIOS resulting in the hard disk not being checked.

2.    The hard disk has become corrupt and can no longer be read, so the computer is falling back to trying to network boot.

I would suggest you to check the boot order by pressing F11 or F12 at the startup. If you have "Network Boot" at the top of the list, then that's your problem. You should be able to select the hard drive and hit Enter to try to boot from that device. If the hard drive is listed at the top, then unfortunately your problem is with the corrupted hard drive. I would suggest you to try the steps mentioned below.

Step 1: Perform a startup repair

Startup Repair is a Windows recovery tool that can fix certain problems, such as missing or damaged system files that might prevent Windows from starting. Startup Repair is located on the System Recovery Options menu, which is on the Windows Vista installation disc. If your computer has preinstalled recovery options, it might also be stored on your computer's hard disk. Visit the link below to know how to perform startup repair.

How do I use Startup repair?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Startup-Repair-frequently-asked-questions    

Step 2: Perform a check disk scan on your computer

You can help solve some computer problems and improve the performance of your computer by making sure that your hard disk has no errors.

To run chkdsk in a Elevated Command Prompt

a.    Click on Start; in the start search type cmd

b.    Right click on cmd.exe and run as administrator

c.    In the command prompt, type chkdskfollowed by one or a combination of switches listed in step d and e

d.    /f = The /f switch is the most common of the chkdsk switches. It tells chkdsk to try and fix any errors it finds. EX Type: chkdsk /f

NOTE: AnswerY when chkdsk asks you if you want to check the drive next time Vista boots (restarts).

e.    /r = The /r switch tells chkdsk to attempt to recover any bad sectors of the hard drive if any are found. A bad sector is a spot on the hard drive that cannot hold saved data anymore. EX Type: chkdsk /r

NOTE: Answer Y when chkdsk asks you if you want to check the drive next time Windows Vista boots.

Visit the link below to know how to check for disk errors using GUI (Graphical Interface Mode)

Check your hard disk for errors

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Check-your-hard-disk-for-errors

Hope this information is helpful and let me know if you need any further assistance.

Mouneshwar R – Microsoft Support

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Answer 2

Hi bornwright,

Glad to know that the issue is resolved. If you’ve any issues with Windows in the future, please feel free to post it here.

Regards,

Mouneshwar R – Microsoft Support

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Answer 3

Thank you. Followed your advice and found the problem. Somehow the cable to the hard drive came out just enough to not make contact. Once I pushed it all the way in the machine worked correctly. Thanks again.

Answer 4

Did that first. Went back a week and restored. I'll do it again.

Answer 5

If you ‘only’ changed the registry, restoring the system to an earlier date will correct it.