XP boot problem

[skyrat]

Running a fully updated XP system. Last night, someone attempted to install The Sims 2. It randomly rebooted during install. Now I can't boot normally or in safe mode, they both hang. I tried to do a repair install, but it would only do a fresh install.

I went ahead and installed on a separate partition so I could back up files. Any ideas on how to get the initial install back up and running?

 

[Goalie]

Well.. you can try booting into a recovery console from the XP cd, and running a sfc /checknow to restore original XP files.

I'd suggest, though, using your new install to run a scandisk on the not working partition first. It sounds like you might have a corrupt file structure.

What errors do you get when you try to boot??

 

[skyrat]

I've run Norton Disk Doctor on the drive and it was fine.

When it boots, it just hangs.

 

[Goalie]

I would try booting to the drive, running sfc /checknow and then seeing what happens. Try of course normal boot mode, safe mode, and last known good configuration. In that order.

If the drive is checking fine, either it's an undetectable corruption of a file that sfc will fix. Or it's one that will require a full reinstall to save.

 

[skyrat]

I can't get to anyplace where I can run sfc. When I try to boot in normal mode or last known good, it either runs scandisk and then stops, or just plain hangs on a black screen. When I boot safe mode it will run just over a screen of driver loading and then stop. I never get to a point when I can take control and load anything else. I can't get into Recovery Console either, it won't acknowledge the password.

 

[Goalie]

Try the password you set up when you first installed the computer. This isn't necissarily your user account, it's one that you set during startup.

Also, try a blank password.

Do you know what file system you are using? It may be possible to load sfc from a boot disk other than the default XP bootdisk.