I get the following message (I have seen this question previously, but my circumstances are different).

We apoligize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start
successfully. A recent hardware or software change might
have caused this.

There is more verbage then I get the following start choices:

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Last Known good Start
Start Windows Normally

No Matter what i select my PC just reboots and gets to the same point etc etc.
I just received a new (different/used) computer sans hard drive. I removed my hard drive from the old computer and installed it in the new computer. However, I get the above message. Thinking I may have installed it improperly, I reconnected the hard drive to the old computer and the computer booted up fine. I reinstalled the hard drive into the new computer and I still have the same problem. I thought I would reformat the hard drive (the data is backed up) using the Windows XP Pro install disk, but the computer does not read the disk from the CD ROM drive. I have checked the BIOs to determine boot order etc., and everything looks okay. I have checked cable connections (even removing it once (and I got a unable to read error at the time the cable was not connected to the CD ROM Drive)) and everything is okay. Has anyone ever had this problem? Help...!

Do a windows repair. Put in the windows cd, follow it through, then when it gives you the option to do a repair opposed to a format, select REPAIR.

There should be a sticky on the Windows OS forum on how to do so.

Its plainly because the windows on that hard drive is using the motherboard drivers for the old pc, which is totaly different for the new one.

N3051M - Thank you.

Thank you for the suggestion. I will do that, IF I can access the CD. Presently I am unable to access the CD. On boot-up, the computer totally bypasses the CD. It acts as though there is no CD drive. However, if I disconnect the cable, the computer recognizes that a CD is not attached, and displays a message informing me that it can not find a CD (or DVD drive). Do you have additional suggestions that might help? Thank you in advance.

there is a button you press during booting which is called "Boot Menu" or similar. look for it. it could be F2, F9, or F11 depending on what bios it is, you'll have to check..

otherwise, go into bios (again you'll need the button to go to that - look for "enter setup" or similar) and go to boot order and change it respectively to CD/DVD>HDD etc..

I'm having the same problem....I've changed my boot order but the message continues to appear...it's like the cd isn't being recognized...I dont know what else to do, any further suggestions

Kos, try different cd, different cd drive, confirm that all is plugged in well inside the pc, and if needed strip down to the bare components [hdd, vid, sound, mobo/cpu, power, 1 cd drive and a floppy if you need drivers].

I managed to keep my computer from restarting when the problem arises....the blue screen reads: "STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): /SystemRoot/System32/Config/SOFTWARE or its log or alternate. It is corrupt, absent, or not writable. Beginning dump of physical memory. Physical memory dump complete. Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance.

DONT KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS SO ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED....

Bump.....anyone??? I'm somewhat of a novice so help would be outstanding.

what are your system spec's? is your Cd set as master on the secondary IDe channel? if you have another Cdrom you could try installing that. I have seen Cd roms that ran normally in windows but wouldnt work to boot from.

just a thought, the cd that you are trying to boot from may be a dvd boot disk, if it is, will your cdrom recognize or play a dvd?

It means just that.. the registry is stuffed.. so you need to repair windows, which means you need the cd lol..

can you read the winxp cd while in windows?

get (buy) yourself a copy of norton systemworks 2003 registry and disk repair. Great tool for errors like this.

Thanks a lot for the help guys/girls....few more questions....what exactly does my registry being stuffed mean....and where can i get a copy of norton systemworks????

you don't actually have to boot from cd, per se. you can just run this program: winnt32.exe or winnt.exe. (win & dos). it will start install process.

how do I run the program without being in windows.....my pc won't load into windows

you can purchase it online or through ebay.

if you are at the command prompt, (this when you see black screen with d: (if d: is your cd drive)
navigate to a folder called I386
you can type
cd I386
once there,
type
winnt.exe
it should start install process