Windows XP / Setup CD won't load

[pbirdman]

Hi
I have built my own PC nearly a year ago now i had some initial hassles at first but then It went ok and since it has worked consistantly with no big problems
However the other night I pressed the wrong button when I wanted to shut the computer down so instead of waiting for it to reload etc I turned the psu switch off instead

After leaving it for about 1 minute I switched it back on and since then Windows will not load up

After going through the POST checks I get the single beep (everything ok) then this is when normally Windows XP screen should come up but it didn't
I checked the BIOS and found that the Boot Order was reset so I changed the order back to Load from Hard drive as the Primary booter but this didn't make any difference
I then decided to re install the Windows to see if that would work

I changed the load priority again to CD/DVD and started the procedures to installing windows but after the message "Press any key to boot from CD..." nothing happened
So no matter what I do the damn screen won't change from the Blank screen!!

Can anyone HELP???

The moniter is still on but I get no sound either from speakers (I have the USB speakers so normally when I turn comp on the speakers makes noises whilst going through the POST checks) either

 

[n00b]

sounds to me like you have a HDD problem on your hands if it not making it past there check in the BIOS if it even sees the your HDD if it does then you either have a dead drive or your boot files are frag'd

if it doesn't trying unplugging all the HDD cables and reseating them back down

but your best bet is to just go to the BIOS load the fail safes and try and reboot it about 70% of the time that fixes whatever happened with loading problems

 

[pbirdman]

Hi
Thanks for the reply but I've tried the failsafes and it doesn't make any difference
I haven't opened the case up yet but would the HDD make the Setup CD not Work?

I thought that would still proceed anyway?

 

[tuant]

Do you have a graphic card with dual outputs? Try switching to the second output.

 

[pbirdman]

I tried that originally and it didn't help
I have tried it again now and no joy

I can't understand it unless maybe switching the psu switch off has caused a short in the wire/connector maybe between the PSU and the HDD

 

[tuant]

Do you have a different Windows install disc you can try? Maybe something is wrong with the disc and the CD-ROM can't read from it.

 

[pbirdman]

I have ried Windows Vista setup CD last night and that seems to proceed as normal
So when I got to the install part I tried to use Repair Windows option
Of course it will only recognise Windows Vista OS so the select box was empty but I then picked Load Drivers option and all of my HDD files from XP was there so the HDD cannot be broken or dead and the computer must be able to see the HDD

I then tried the Startup Repair and after a few minutes of trying the computer brought a message up saying "Windows has not been able to automatically correct the problem"
The actual problem according to the Startup repair was "Boot Manager missing or corrupt - Error Code 0x15"

Any ideas on fixing the Boot Manager issue??
On the Vista Recovery tools menu there is a Command Prompt screen I can use if that can help?

One other question if I decide to install Vista can I install it over XP and NOT lose the non system files I have on my hard drive because I don't want to lose them?

 

[pbirdman]

I forgot to mention when trying to use the XP setup disc the message always starts as usual
"Windows is checking Hardware configuration"
After that though the screen stays blank instead of going to the Blue Screen with all the options

The disc is undamaged aswell and can see no reason why the computer cannot read the disc considering it can read the Vista one

 

[terminator911]

Here's what I'd do:
1) Create a Windows XP PE (Preinstalled Environment) CD and boot with that to save personal files to network PC or USB drive.
You'd also be able to test & see if your HDD is accessible.
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

2) Delete all partitions, format and recreate partitions. I like to use GParted Live CD even though you can do the same with a Windows installation CD.
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php

3) Re-install Windows XP.

That should get you going.

 

[pbirdman]

Would Spotmau Power Suite be a good investment in this case then - it sounds good ?

Is there no other way to access my start up files or get access to my bootmgr file any other way to try and repair it without resulting to the above method?

 

[terminator911]

You could try this to repair that file:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...ing-error-while-trying-to-boot-windows-vista/