How to repair Windows XP/2000 if you are unable to boot into Windows

Mikky G said:
I need to get the data off the HDD before formatting it, the only problem is I don't seem able to connect it to another pc as a slave drive as it is a laptop and doesn't appear to have the correct connectors.
You could buy a 2.5" - 3.5" hdd adapter which would allow installing it as a slave.
 
XP Pro was contantly booting, now really messed up.

Help me folks!!
I have a Gateway 710XL with 2 (250MB SATA) drives and Win XP Pro initially installed. The computer was working fine, until last week. Then when I booted up, it went into a boot loop, constantly rebooting. I could not go into any of 'SAFE' modes. I attempted repair with the OEM Win XP Pro SP1 disk, but it didn't give repair option. I use the "R" option and attempted to fix the registry as per one of MS papers without success. I checks RAM memory, and HDD (chkdsk, etc.) and all working well. I unplugged all external devices, e.g., USBs attached. Nothing has worked. I tried unplugging the SATA drives and running from another IDE-ATA drive that had Win XP already installed and that didn't work. I didn't want to reformat because (you guessed it) I need to get data out of my drives first. Yesterday, out of despiration I ran the "fixmbr" command in the "r" c:\ (I think this was BIG mistake). I then ran a repair on the Win XP Pro using Win XP HOME disk (even BIGGER mistake). Now I have Win XP installed where XP Pro was, it doesn't reconized part of my partition in one of my drives, and doesn't read data in another partition (telling me drive needs to be formatted, thought the drive is formatted NTSF and the data is still there when I check via the "r" by doing a "dir f:\" command. I have the dreaded yellow question-mark on my DVD-RW and CD-RW drives, and it doesn't let me access the internet.

Sorry for long discussion. Can anyone help me get to the information on my drive to backup and then I can reformat both drives and start over with Win XP Pro?? Please help, I'm exhausted.

PS: I should have read this thread before. Never try to repair XP Pro with XP Home or viceversa.
 
Unable to restore XP - System file missing

Great service to the novice...

Live in S. Florida - continual power problems appear to have corrupted the system file for XP Home - I attempted to reload XP on the same existing partition and am unable to - errors out. Tried loading into a separate directory, again with no luck.

Had a hack here trying to fix the problem - the system file is gone - no system file in teh windows directory or in the repair directory.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Motherboard problems

Hi, I am new to this webiste so bare with me.
I previously bought a new motherboard and processor for my computer that I am using now. I am running my computer on a Intel Legend-V Pentium 2 processor with Windows XP Professional on it. I got the computer from a college so I don't have the Windows CD for it, if I were to need it to repair anything. Does anybody know where I can get the information to do this?
I went out and bought a ASUS MEB-VM Motherboard with Celeron processor.
However, I am having trouble getting the new motherboard to work. I install it and it doesn't work, the OS doesn't boot up. I then take it out and put the old motherboard back in it and it works fine.

When I turn on the computer boot up with the new motherboard and processor in it everything starts fine, but it never gets to the windows loading screen it stops right after you hear the post sound that it makes. The screen just goes blank with a little white blinking cursor in the upper left hand corner.

I had read some articles about this. They had said that I should make a Windows XP boot up disk. I am confused on how to do this though.

lLike I said previously, I am using Windows XP Professional, I am not sure if it is the way that Microsoft designed the program to make you re-install the OS everytime you install new hardware or something is the reason why it won't work.

I would really love to get this new motherboard and processor to work. :rolleyes:

Thanks for your help,
Bradley
Forward Message
 
Windows problems

Ummm .......i think you want to go to search and and type windows prolems then post a message .. iam kind green and perplexed why windows OS is so complicated and has problems
 
Moved wininet.dll files to recycle and can't reboot system; no recovery disk... HELP!

My system was infested with a virus (trojan-spy.smtl....then it said w32.blaster.worm virus, then bloodhound.w32.ep...i am not that computer literate yet...). I was trying to download norton internet security, and the scan would keep saying files missing. then i moved the wininet.dll files that were supposed to house these viruses to the recycle bin(careful not to delete them yet), but now i see that i can't get past the ctl-alt-del security login for my laptop. i inherited this compaq laptop from a third party, and was using a wireless card to access the internet. through my online research to fix this problem, i keep coming to your great threads of helpful info and now it's the time for me to join. can any of you help me? i am stymied.

forgot to say that my system is windows 2000 nt professional with no recovery disks...all info was probably installed at corp. level.
 
:wave: I am having with the same problem. I got fatal error from the system, which unable to login into windows. After reviewing all the discussions, I would like to know whether there are steps I can do to fix this problem for my Window 2000.

thanks for your help...
 
How can I reboot if I don't have the original disks...

Can I download somewhere...files that the system will read upon start up? How do I do that so the files are readable?
Any suggestions?
 
XP disk a no boot

Ok did all that your post said to do, Now I am getting after I try to reinstall this messege

Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your compter.

The problem is that I can boot off the hard drive however my problem is after it boot I can not run any programs. Such as I can double click a desk top icon for macAfee to run a virus check but it never runs
 
What if using this method repair installation method doesn't work?

Despite being a novice to customisation I recently overhauled my 3yr old el-cheapo P4 Dell with:

  • Motherboard (ASUS A8N-E replacing horrid Dell Micro ATX)
  • Memory (Geil 2x512mb DDR replacing horrid Dell 256mb RDRam)
  • CPU (Athlon 64) replacing pentium 4
  • Radeon x800 PCIe graphics card (replacing a rubbish NVidia X400 AGP one)

I know: it's about as different an architecture as I could have without going to Mac - so hardly surprising it's been a bit troublesome.

I tried a method for motherboard-switching-without-XP-noticing-at-all (I'm an optimist, okay!) that I found elsewhere, but it didn't work - so I tried to Repair Install the installation exactly as suggested above. Though it copied over the files, on the first re-boot, BSOD about 20 seconds, and I haven't been able to get any further than that.

As a work-around I have performed a clean install on my D Drive - hence my ability to post at all - which suggests there's nothing too wrong with my build or hardware (I have one boot anomaly which I'll post on another thread, but it's a slight inconvenience rather than a big issue).

It would obviously be "nice" to get back my old installation, but I think I'll cope if I can't. Can anyone see what else I could do?

Ray
 
i've hit a snag in the repair system.


It got up to 3% of the repair setup where things are to be copied...

and it says that the wow32.dll file could not be copied....

i tried it again and it still wouldn't copy...so now the computer has paused on the "retry to copy file" "continue without copying file" & 'exit setup".

I'm not sure whether to continue without copying that file as i've read that it may cause my comp to continously crash.

I'm just really wanting to burn everything in "my documents" onto cd and then leave my computer to rot (it got hit with the 'oneclickersearch' trojan....the one with popuper.exe, msole32.exe, intmonp.exe etc).

Anyone know whether i should continue..or is there another way?
 
Marzie: Try cleaning the CD off, it could be dirty and causing you problems. You can also check to make sure the IDE cable is still hooked up properly, as they could become loose over time.

BTW
:wave:Welcome to TechSpot:wave:
 
Help with Sony Vaio laptop

Help!!!

I am using a Sony Vaio laptop running XP Pro with a centrino 1.6 and 60gb hard drive. Over the last few days I have been having problems restoring when I try to start up from standby mode. I get "Operating System Not Found" message. After several attempts I can sometimes get the F8 key to work or get the machine to fire up. Not sure if it is related (shouldn't be but could) but problems started after I loaded the new MSN search. Now need to try to back up everything while I still have it running before I start further trouble shooting but would appreciate some advice.

1 Coul the problem be with the hard drive? It seems to be running a lot and the machinbe seems to have slowed down a bit (but I usually have a lot of windows open)
2 If I use the Sony OEM system restore disks will it wipe my hard disk or just reinstall the oeprating system?
3 Any suggestions what sequence I should follow for trouble shooting after I get my back-up completed?

Apologies if this sounds kinda basic. I am usually fairly competent at sorting PC problems but this is my business machine with all my data on it and I am pretty nervous!!!
 
My girlfriend has a 3-4 year old Dell laptop (which is more boat anchor then computer). She cant boot into her Windows 2000 as it hangs up and contnues to try and reboot after the blue screen of death. The message it gives is STOP : C0000218 (Regitry File Failure) the registry cannot load the hive (file) \SystemRoot\System32\Config\Software or its log or its alternate. It is corrupt, absent or not writeable. Her brother the "computer guy" gave it to her without and disks backups or partitions. Any ideas of how to boot into safe mode or anything to try and recover her data for her. Im at a loss to help her.

Okay I tried Winternals ERD 5 and it allows me to access the files. Unfortunately since there are only external drives I cant take the ERD cd out and attach the floppy drive to copy files to. Does anyone know if it is possible to reload Windows 2000 without losing her data? I would assume that if i was to try reinstalling the OS that it will wipe out the prexisitng data. Anyone who knows of something I can try to restore the software hive would be appreciated. Just understand that I am not a programmer and wouldn't be able to write my own registry etc. and this is not the way i want to try and learn more about computers.
 
After system restore WinXP Pro wont start

I work for a kid's shelter where the kids have had access to the computer as an administrator. I used system restore and went back maybe 4 or 5 months. Now the computer won't start. We have another computer that was donated that is essentially the same as the other and therefore I tried creating a boot floppy from the functioning computer (both have PROFESSIONAL INSTALLED). This didn't work and I did set the boot sequence.
I know one can repair using the Installion CD. We were never given this.

I have gotten to the recovery console and have tried all w/last known config going into a loop of restarting and the others (safe mode w/or w/o command prompt and the others) and it just hangs when loading.

The only other options I have is to
1. Install win 98 se (this is our only copy of an OS) or possibly
2. I could install my version of XP Home and try tp repair PRO from there?

Please help

Vince
 
Problem with XP PRO setup

Im installing XP PRO on a 50GB Seagate Barracuda. Im able to do the initial setup. then im prompted to restart. after it restarts it goes back into the initial setup, it doesnt finish the installation.

This is my first time Installing Windows XP PRO on a SCSI hard drive.

any help?

thanks
 
caprickorn17 said:
My girlfriend has a 3-4 year old Dell laptop (which is more boat anchor then computer). She cant boot into her Windows 2000 as it hangs up and contnues to try and reboot after the blue screen of death. The message it gives is STOP : C0000218 (Regitry File Failure) the registry cannot load the hive (file) \SystemRoot\System32\Config\Software or its log or its alternate. It is corrupt, absent or not writeable. Her brother the "computer guy" gave it to her without and disks backups or partitions. Any ideas of how to boot into safe mode or anything to try and recover her data for her.
How to Troubleshoot a Stop 0xC0000218 Error Message
 
chicksrules69 said:
Im installing XP PRO on a 50GB Seagate Barracuda. Im able to do the initial setup. then im prompted to restart. after it restarts it goes back into the initial setup, it doesnt finish the installation.
That sounds like it can't boot from the SCSI drive - have you checked BIOS settings for the startup disk?
 
My computer is Gone Nutz!!!

Alright, I have several questions..... but first i'll explain the problem breifly.
I am experiencing the hal.dll error which you explain in the first post. After deleting some software it came back with this message.

Ok.. I have tried to do what was explained in your original post, but i'm afraid it wont work for me. I get the partition message instead of repair, at which point I stop. I would like to also state that my computer uses Windows XP Media Center Edition, which did'nt come with a cd. I was able to get a set but it doesnt do what was stated in the first post so as I stated, I just stop.

I am able to get to my c:\ prompt with my Nortorn Systemworks Cd. I would like to know if there is a way you can show me how to make a cd with the files needed on it so that i can copy them into my directories. I have MagicISO and am able to burn bootable cds, but im not sure what to do. When I take the Nortorn disk out and switch directories, it says General Failure reading drive A. I dont have a floppy so that is out the question.

The other thing is, can I use Knoppix to boot into my computer then copy the files into their proper places from there??? And I see another user used Winternals ERD 5, can this help me???

I cant loose my data!! The funny thing is most of it is backed up, and I was in the process of cleaning my computer up and backing things up when all of this happend. SORRY MY POST IS SO LONG.... :wave:
 
Problem with Windows XP

I recently tried to upgrade from Windows XP Home to Windows XP Pro. I started the setup before leaving work. When I came in the next day, I found that it was constantly restarting. It would show the windows xp logo with the little blue line underneath and then it would go to the blue setup screen and it said setup is being restarted............. Then it would go to a blank screen where all I can see is a mouse pointer. Then it restarts and starts all over again. I tried using going into safemode and all that and none of that works. When I boot with a boot disk or a bootable cd it doesnt show drive C. I tried this one program I found called active undelete and it showed the drive and all the files on it. I tried also using a boot disk and also a bootable cd and the C drive still doesnt show up. Anyone have any ideas? Please email me at Dave@wowcoolstuff.com or at DoctorXX@wi.rr.com. People who use yahoo IM can IM me, DoctorXX_98 or DoctorXX2000 with Aol Im.
 
Dell Laptop in deadly embrace

Have read all the posts and tried all the suggestions that seemed appropriate to no avail. My Dell C600 laptop (XP Professional, 256 Mb RAM, 20Gb Hitachi HDD) stopped booting for no apparent reason. It circles through booting as far as the XP splash screen and then restarts. None of the Safe Mode options works either although booting with command lines shows that it gets as far as WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\IOMDISK.SYS before restarting.

Have tried booting from the XP Pro disk. Can't do a fresh install as it says the partition has insufficient space (think there's about 4Gb free) or is too damaged to do so and suggests a reformat (trying to salvage some recent data files so don't want to do that if it's avoidable). Picking the Repair option gets me nowhere and the recovery console doesn't give me anything that makes a difference (FIXBOOT completed okay but made no difference.)

So.....HELP!!!! please. I really only want to recover some recent data files and am then happy to rebuild from scratch - but I can't access the file system to copy them. Any suggestions?
 
dawsy said:
Have read all the posts and tried all the suggestions that seemed appropriate to no avail. My Dell C600 laptop (XP Professional, 256 Mb RAM, 20Gb Hitachi HDD) stopped booting for no apparent reason. It circles through booting as far as the XP splash screen and then restarts. None of the Safe Mode options works either although booting with command lines shows that it gets as far as WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\IOMDISK.SYS before restarting.

Have tried booting from the XP Pro disk. Can't do a fresh install as it says the partition has insufficient space (think there's about 4Gb free) or is too damaged to do so and suggests a reformat (trying to salvage some recent data files so don't want to do that if it's avoidable). Picking the Repair option gets me nowhere and the recovery console doesn't give me anything that makes a difference (FIXBOOT completed okay but made no difference.)

So.....HELP!!!! please. I really only want to recover some recent data files and am then happy to rebuild from scratch - but I can't access the file system to copy them. Any suggestions?


If that is an original dell install there are 2 partitions. One is a tiny fat partition that is for management and repair tools. The other one is the main system partition. Make sure you are trying to install on the correct partition.

There are kits you can get that can make your laptop drive an external usb drive. If you have another computer that could also be an option.
 
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