Ci.dll error - startup repair not working

My computer restarted itself last night (think it was after an update)
when it restarted there was a black screen saying that windows could
not restart and a Ci.dll error.

I have tried using the dvd that came with my vista upgrade and have
run startup repair. I left it running overnight but it was still
running this morning. Thinking it had crashed, I did the process
again, but still nothing.

Now I cant access the other repair methods i.e. system restore as it
keeps going straight to the startup repair screen.

It wont start in safemode.

I have also downloaded another vista repair disc thinking that maybe
mine was corrupt, but I get the same thing.

Any ideas?? Bit worried because all my photos and documents are on
there and i havent backed them up!

If I take it to a computer shop, any idea how much they will charge to
get the data off and do a clean install?


Please, please help!

Scroll down to the middle of the page and you'll see an excellent
explanation of Ci.dll by Ed Bott.

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like you're going to be able to do Mr.
Bott's fixes. You can get your data off even though you can't boot into
Windows. The easiest way is to pull the hard drive, put it in a USB
external drive enclosure, and connect that to a working computer. Copy your
data onto the working machine's hard drive. If you have the ability to do
this, I suggest doing this now. If you don't have the extra equipment or
feel uncomfortable about doing data recovery, definitely choose a shop that
can do this for you. I don't recommend using a BigComputerStore/GeekSquad
type of place.

It sounds to me as though you're going to need a clean install (or return to
factory condition if you have an OEM machine). Someone more clever than I
might have a better idea for you as far as fixing the error. As for how
much a shop will charge, there is no way for me to answer you. It really
depends on the going rate where you live. To give you a rough idea, I
normally charge $100 for a clean install of Windows (which includes
applying any Service Packs, updates, and installing a complement of free
programs). Data retrieval costs depend on how long it takes me and I charge
$40/hr. So a clean install and retrieving ~ 20GB of data would probably run
my client $140. But I don't live in a big market like Los Angeles or New
York City and my prices are reasonable for here. I don't know what is
reasonable for your location. Get some recommendations from family and
friends and call around first.

When this is all over, buy an external hard drive (I like Western Digital
MyBooks) and Acronis True Image. You can then image your system and do
incremental backups regularly. In addition to that, if you have the normal
amount of data as a home user would, you should periodically burn your data
to DVD-R and put those disks in a safe place. If you have tons of data then
instead of burning to DVD-R look into an off-site backup service such as
Mozy.

Not sure that I follow,

When you start up the computer and press f8 straight after the boot
screen you end up at the advanced boot options screen is this what you
mean by startup repair screen?

You say that it will not start in safe mode, have you tried selecting
start windows normally or last known good configuration?

Or does the pc not boot this far

Do you still have the DVD in the drive?

I can get to the safe mode/last know config selections but none of
them work - they just come back with cannot load due to ci.dll error.

Hey Theresa--

Here's what I''d do. Put in the DVD and get to the menu where Startup
Repair is one of several options and select command prompt and then:

Try using the bootrec.exe command switches:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392/en-us

Bootrec.exe /fixboot
Bootrec.exe /fixmbr
Bootrec.exe /scanos
Bootrec.exe //RebuildBcd

I was able to get past this problem by replacing the files on my system
with those from the Vista DVD. You will find them under
X:\Windows\System32 (some may be under \drivers as well). Unfortunately,
many of these were updated at some point ...
I found that I had this same problem with 7 files myself, and that I
had best results after creating another boot entry to my OS as well.
Somehow, my system like it better. Which is nuts...

Has anyone determined the root cause of this?

[DataDragon]

I had this same problem and ran across alot of people in various forums that had similar issues. Hopefully anyone else having this issue will find the solution that worked for me here...

I simply had to run the Repair My Computer function from the windows vista disc multiple times.

The first time i ran it the description in the repair window said "Your system was unable to boot" or something along those lines. After it is complete there was a link to look at the build notes. It said it had to do a file repair which didn't take too long at all. I think this time it did a file repair. After rebooting i still got the ci.dll error exactly as before.

The second time i ran the repair program (after tying countless other things for hours) the repair description now said something differant than "your system was unable to boot" (I can't remember what it was exactly). When it did the repairs it took alot longer and in the notes it said that it actually did a system restore instead of a file repair. After rebooting this time i still got a similar error but for a differant file. This time acpi.sys i believe.

So i immediatly ran it again. This time it gave me the same "your system was unable to boot" repair box again. Took only a minute after the repair started. The notes again said it did a file repair. Rebooted and now everything works file.

I hope others have similar success with this issue. I thought i was going to have to do a full install which I wasn't looking forward too.

Cheers!

[armandoperez1]

This is a very common yet horrible pc problem, one of the worst if not most complicated Windows Vista issue i have come across. Fortunately there is a fix which doesn't involve wiping out all your data, a pretty simple and effective one too. Simple, just repeat the troubleshooting steps

"Insert the Windows Vista recovery disk, restart the computer, boot with the cd or dvd, and hit repair my computer"
You might have tried this once or several times and expierenced no succes. Regardless of how many times it's done keep doing it! it took me 17 repeats in 3 days until i finaly got my system running. It might get annoying to keep repeating this procces but its the only remedy and the one that will work. Even if a message reading "windows can't repair this problem automaticaly, contact system administrator or manufacturer. It does'nt matter keep reapting it until you'll see your machine restart.

If you have ANY nuance software, paperport, omnipage, dragon naturally
speaking, you must uninstall it first, otherwise they will not allow you to
reinstall, took me 2 hours to convince them I could not remove it from a
failed hard drive :-(...I think quick books does this as well.

Oops responded to wrong post.