My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There was
a storm and when I returned I found my computer was off.

Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I can't
get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and tried
booting about 30 times but never successfully.

Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want to
do this unless I have to because I would lose my Outlook
Express and IE settings.

Thanks,
Rob

A repair won't lose your settings. What errors are you getting when you try
to boot?

--
Posted 'as is'. If there are any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, they
were a direct result of my fingers and brain not being synchronized or my
lack of caffeine.

Mike Brearley

"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:1af701c4440b$23d83f00$(E-Mail Removed)...
> My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There was
> a storm and when I returned I found my computer was off.
>
> Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
> normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I can't
> get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and tried
> booting about 30 times but never successfully.
>
> Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want to
> do this unless I have to because I would lose my Outlook
> Express and IE settings.
>
> Thanks,
> Rob

At what step does it fail? Can you hear the hard drive(s) spinning? What
is the last text on the screen before it appears to fail?

Do you run a power surge supressor unit between the PC and the power socket?
--
Cari
MS-MVP Windows Technologies - Printing/Imaging/Hardware
www.coribright.com
"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:1af701c4440b$23d83f00$(E-Mail Removed)...
> My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There was
> a storm and when I returned I found my computer was off.
>
> Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
> normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I can't
> get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and tried
> booting about 30 times but never successfully.
>
> Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want to
> do this unless I have to because I would lose my Outlook
> Express and IE settings.
>
> Thanks,
> Rob

Hi, Rob.

Lightning can do strange things! My uncle's nearly-new computer was hit a
couple of years ago; the motherboard and CPU were fried and the only good
solution was a new computer. He was able to salvage the entire hard drive
and transfer all its data files to the new computer (which came with WinXP,
replacing WinME on the old one, so no reinstallation was required).

Assuming that your computer passes a complete hardware evaluation, an
"in-place upgrade" should completely reinstall WinXP itself while leaving
your installed applications and data - and most of your tweaks, including
your Internet and email settings. Unfortunately, this will take as long as
a fresh install of WinXP and you will need to visit Windows Update after you
get your firewall and antivirus installed to be sure you have the latest
Service Pack and other critical updates. Better set aside half a day for
the whole project.

See this KB article for instructions:
How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;q315341

Let us know if you find a shortcut.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(E-Mail Removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:1af701c4440b$23d83f00$(E-Mail Removed)...
> My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There was
> a storm and when I returned I found my computer was off.
>
> Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
> normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I can't
> get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and tried
> booting about 30 times but never successfully.
>
> Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want to
> do this unless I have to because I would lose my Outlook
> Express and IE settings.
>
> Thanks,
> Rob

----- Rob wrote: ----

My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There was
a storm and when I returned I found my computer was off

Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I can't
get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and tried
booting about 30 times but never successfully

Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want to
do this unless I have to because I would lose my Outlook
Express and IE settings

Thanks
Ro

I feel your pain! I lost my boot files as well last week (due to a power failure) all attemps to do a repair have failed,I haven't tried a clean install yet because I haven't given up hope for a recovery,But this has given me an excuse to get a new system :-) Will also get a UPS for this system. Just incase this is not what you have tried check this ou

When it boots you to the BIOS, switch your boot sequence
to boot from the CD-Rom. Then place your CD-Rom in and reboot

If this still doesn't get you anywhere, create a boot disk from a Win9x
system or download one from bootdisk.com and start that way

Your ultimate goal is a repair install (because of the outage)

Repair the Windows XP Installation - Note: You will forfeit all MS Updates

Configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive. For more information
about how to do this, please refer to your computer's documentation or
contact your computer manufacturer

Insert your Windows XP compact disc (CD) into your CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM
drive, and then restart your computer

(You can also boot with a Windows 98/Me Startup disk with CD support and run
WINNT.EXE in the I386 folder on the CD

When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on your
screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD

When you see the following message displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen,
press ENTER: To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER

At this point an option to press R to enter the Recovery Console is
displayed. Do not select this option

On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the
license agreement. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is
selected in the box, and then press the R key to repair Windows XP. Follow
the instructions on the screen to complete Setup

Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;Q31534

I wish you luck!

No matter what menu pick I choose (Boot Normally, Last
Known Good, Safe Mode) it appears to be trying to boot
(BIOS screens) then a quick flash of a blue screen with
some message I can't read because it is so fast then back
to the menu of boot options. Same thing every time.

Yes, I use a surge suppressor.

Thanks,
Rob

>-----Original Message-----
>At what step does it fail? Can you hear the hard drive
(s) spinning? What
>is the last text on the screen before it appears to fail?
>
>Do you run a power surge supressor unit between the PC
and the power socket?
>--
>Cari
>MS-MVP Windows Technologies - Printing/Imaging/Hardware
>www.coribright.com
>"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:1af701c4440b$23d83f00$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There
was
>> a storm and when I returned I found my computer was off.
>>
>> Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
>> normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I
can't
>> get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and tried
>> booting about 30 times but never successfully.
>>
>> Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want
to
>> do this unless I have to because I would lose my Outlook
>> Express and IE settings.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Rob
>
>
>.
>

If it isn't hardware failure which can happen during a storm power surge,
try a Repair Install, which will NOT lose your data files, programs, or
settings.

For a step by step walk through of a
Windows XP Repair Install, including screenshots, go to:

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

When the page opens, scroll down and click on: How To Run A Repair
Install.

What you will lose though, are any Windows Updates which you might have
installed. They will have to be installed again. But if it gets you up and
running, without losing your data files and software, that would only
be a minor annoyance.
--

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
Remove [NoSpam] to reply



"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:1af701c4440b$23d83f00$(E-Mail Removed)...
> My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There was
> a storm and when I returned I found my computer was off.
>
> Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
> normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I can't
> get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and tried
> booting about 30 times but never successfully.
>
> Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want to
> do this unless I have to because I would lose my Outlook
> Express and IE settings.
>
> Thanks,
> Rob


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.691 / Virus Database: 452 - Release Date: 5/26/2004

Sorry, probably time for a Repair Installation.
--
Cari
MS-MVP Windows Technologies - Printing/Imaging/Hardware
www.coribright.com

"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:13b2501c44413$b6a7bc90$(E-Mail Removed)...
> No matter what menu pick I choose (Boot Normally, Last
> Known Good, Safe Mode) it appears to be trying to boot
> (BIOS screens) then a quick flash of a blue screen with
> some message I can't read because it is so fast then back
> to the menu of boot options. Same thing every time.
>
> Yes, I use a surge suppressor.
>
> Thanks,
> Rob
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>At what step does it fail? Can you hear the hard drive
> (s) spinning? What
>>is the last text on the screen before it appears to fail?
>>
>>Do you run a power surge supressor unit between the PC
> and the power socket?
>>--
>>Cari
>>MS-MVP Windows Technologies - Printing/Imaging/Hardware
>>www.coribright.com
>>"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>news:1af701c4440b$23d83f00$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There
> was
>>> a storm and when I returned I found my computer was off.
>>>
>>> Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
>>> normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I
> can't
>>> get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and tried
>>> booting about 30 times but never successfully.
>>>
>>> Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want
> to
>>> do this unless I have to because I would lose my Outlook
>>> Express and IE settings.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Rob
>>
>>
>>.
>>

Thank you to everyone with all of your fast responses!

>-----Original Message-----
>Sorry, probably time for a Repair Installation.
>--
>Cari
>MS-MVP Windows Technologies - Printing/Imaging/Hardware
>www.coribright.com
>
>"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:13b2501c44413$b6a7bc90$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> No matter what menu pick I choose (Boot Normally, Last
>> Known Good, Safe Mode) it appears to be trying to boot
>> (BIOS screens) then a quick flash of a blue screen with
>> some message I can't read because it is so fast then
back
>> to the menu of boot options. Same thing every time.
>>
>> Yes, I use a surge suppressor.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Rob
>>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>At what step does it fail? Can you hear the hard drive
>> (s) spinning? What
>>>is the last text on the screen before it appears to
fail?
>>>
>>>Do you run a power surge supressor unit between the PC
>> and the power socket?
>>>--
>>>Cari
>>>MS-MVP Windows Technologies - Printing/Imaging/Hardware
>>>www.coribright.com
>>>"Rob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>>news:1af701c4440b$23d83f00$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>> My computer was on when I left home yesterday. There
>> was
>>>> a storm and when I returned I found my computer was
off.
>>>>
>>>> Now the computer won't boot. I get the option to boot
>>>> normally, to safe mode, etc. No matter what I try I
>> can't
>>>> get XP to boot. I have turned off my computer and
tried
>>>> booting about 30 times but never successfully.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas other than doing an XP Repair. I don't want
>> to
>>>> do this unless I have to because I would lose my
Outlook
>>>> Express and IE settings.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Rob
>>>
>>>
>>>.
>>>
>
>
>.
>

Rob wrote:
>
> Yes, I use a surge suppressor.

Including a phone line circuit for your dial up modem if you have one?


--
http://www.bootdisk.com/