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Windows start-up issues are very tough to solve. Luckily, Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) contains all the tools needed to get Vista back up and running.
Starting WinRE

WinRE will start automatically on Packard Bell system which have Windows Vista pre-installed and which have startup issues.

If you upgraded to Windows Vista, or installed Windows Vista yourself, you can start WinRE as follows:
1. Insert your Microsoft Windows Vista DVD and restart your system.
2. Allow your system to start from this DVD.
3. You?ll get the Windows Vista installation wizard.
4. On the first page, you?ll be prompted for the language and regional settings you prefer. Select your preferred settings and click Next.
5. On the next page of the wizard, click Repair my PC.
6. After a while you will get the WinRE menu.

Using WinRE
To start with the following menu will be presented:
Please note that the menu can look slightly different, depending your configuration.
Startup Repair

This is the most important entry for troubleshooting purposes. This option will automatically scan your system for the most occurring causes for startup problems.

When Startup Repair finds a potential problem it will automatically attempt to fix it. If this is not possible, Startup Repair will suggest the most logical tool to try next, and will offer you to submit data to Microsoft so they can further improve Windows Vista.

Typical problems that can be addressed by Startup Repair are:
- Corrupted or missing Master Boot Record.
- Corrupted or missing boot manager and boot manager configuration.
- Corrupted or missing files (key files of Windows Vista itself).
- Corrupted or damaged registry information.
- Bad drivers or services.

The repairs done by Startup Repair have a relatively low risk for loss of personal data. Therefore, Startup Repair is typically the first thing to try if Windows Vista does not start.
System Restore

The second option is System Restore. This is identical to the System Restore tool you can use from within Windows Vista itself. It allows you to restore your system to a previous point in time where your PC was still in good working order.
Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool

The Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool is a utility that tests your RAM memory for hardware errors. In order to start this test, you will need to restart your system. The test will take quite some time to complete.

Command Prompt
The Command Prompt offers you a so-called command line interface. From this command line, you can start a great number of tools. A lot of these tools are fairly advanced and not typically needed (since Startup Repair automates the same things for the vast majority of problems). However, for advanced troubleshooting and emergency access to your system, the Command Prompt can be an invaluable option.

When using the commandline, drive letters will be much the same as under Vista (so usually, you Windows installation is on the C:drive, USB disks take up the first free letters and so on). The Vista DVD will normally be X: (as in the screenshot above).

Notes:
- When starting, WinRE will scan for available Windows installations on your hard disks. If there are more than one, it will ask you which one needs to be fixed.
- All tools available in WinRE, including all command line tools, have full access to the installed Vista installation on your hard disk.
- There is full read/write access to NTFS disks, and also to USB flash drives, external hard disks and so on. Network availability depends on configuration of the network.