BSOD on Boot - Vista Pro

[PermaChanged]

Hey guys,

My parents computer has died. Apparently it just crashed during opening a folder and hasn't started up since.

When booting I get the selection to choose Safe Mode, Last Known Good Config and Normal start-up but none of them work, mid boot I just get a flash of BSOD and can't see what it is.

Could this possibly be hardware related or is it more likely to be software? Is there any point running a bootable version of MemTest, or just save all the files on their HDD onto my computer and format and reinstall?

Thanks
Jonny

 

[swinnie]

Narrow things down by running memtest, and if that doesn't throw up anything just copy their files and then re-format, re-install.

 

[superplay]

Have you installed any new drivers / hardware?

You could try to go back a saved restore point.

As you cannot get into windows, you can boot from your Vista installation DVD and then select "repair your computer" then you will be able to reform a rollback.

 

[PermaChanged]

Okay MemTest is done with 0 errors so I'm going to format and reinstall as they need a fresh install anyway.

Should I format the HDD in my computer or do it during the windows setup?