Hi Kim--
Why not try to fix Vista?
***SFC as a Remedy***:
SFC or System File Checker is a bit like the spare tire in your car or a
backup battery I suppose. In Vista of course, they have changed it somewhat
and come up with a new name--Redmond stands for name it something different
twice a year and now it's part of WRP or Windows Resource Protection. It
scans protected resources including thousands of files, libraries, critical
folders, and essential registry keys, and it replaces those that are
corrupted with intact ones. It fixes a lot of problems in Windows XP, OE,
Windows Vista, Win Mail, IE6, and on Vista or if it is installed on XP, IE7.
It protects these things from changes by any source including
administrators, by keeping a spare of most of them.
How to Run SFC:
Type "cmd" into the Search box above the Start Button>and when cmd comes up
at the top of the Start menu>right click cmd and click "run as Admin" and
when the cmd prompt comes up at the cmd prompt type "sfc /scannow" no quotes
and let it run. This may fix things quite a bit. It replaces corrupt files
with intact ones, if you're not familiar with it.
***Startup Repair from the Vista DVD***
How to Use The Vista DVD to Repair Vista (Startup Repair is misnamed by the
Win RE team and it can be used to fix many Vista components even when you
***can boot to Vista):
http://www.windowsvista.windowsreinstall.com/vistaultimate/repairstartup/index.htm
If you elect to run Startup repair from the Vista DVD (it can fix major
components in Vista--I've verified this many many times; it's good for more
than startup problems, and the Win RE team simply screwed up when they named
it not understanding its full functionality):
Startup Repair will look like this when you put in the Vista DVD:
http://www.vistaclues.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/click-repair-your-computer.png
You run the startup repair tool this way (and system restore from here is
also sometimes effective):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925810/en-us
How To Run Startup Repair In Vista Ultimate (Multiple Screenshots)
http://www.windowsvista.windowsreinstall.com/vistaultimate/repairstartup/index.htm
It will automatically take you to this on your screen:
http://www.vistaclues.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/click-repair-your-computer.png
That will allow you to go to the Vista setup that has a Repair link on
thelower left corner>click it and then you'll see a gray backgrounded list
and I want you to click Startup Repair from it and follow the directions.
The gray screen after you click the first link in the above pic will look
like this:
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winvista/images/repair/staruprepair/Image17.gif
Click Startup Repair, the link at the top and after it scans>click OK and
let it try to repair Vista. It will tell you if it does, and if it
doesn't, try System Restore from the Recovery Link on the DVD. If these
don't work booting into Safe Mode by tapping the F8 key and using System
Restore from one of the safe modes besides VGA may work. That means you
have the option to try 4 different safe modes to get to system restore, (one
from the Recovery link on the DVD) and sometimes one will work when the
others won't.
You could also try a Repair Install with Vista which is done exactly the
same way as in XP:
***Repair Install Steps*** (can be used for Vista) MVP Doug Knox
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx
***Repair Install Steps*** (can be used for Vista) MVP Doug Knox
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx
Repair Install (Method 2 in this link):
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/315341
In addition you can use the Bootsect tool to manually repair the boot sector
by accessing the command prompt from the DVD or from F8 and typing at the
prompt:
Bootsect.exe is available from the \Boot\folder of the Windows Vista DVD and
can be run from within System Recovery or Windows XP on a dual boot.
1. Use Bootsect.exe to restore the Windows Vista MBR and the boot code that
transfers control to the Windows Boot Manager program. To do this, type the
following command at a command prompt: Drive:\boot\Bootsect.exe /NT60 All
In this command, Drive is the drive where the Windows Vista installation
media is located.
Note The boot folder for this step is on the DVD drive.
2. Use Bcdedit.exe to manually create an entry in the BCD Boot.ini file for
the earlier version of the Windows operating system. To do this, type the
following commands at a command prompt.
Note In these commands, Drive is the drive where Windows Vista is
installed. • Drive:\Windows\system32\Bcdedit /create {ntldr} –d "Description
for earlier Windows version"
Note In this command, Description for earlier Windows version can be any
text that you want. For example, Description for earlier Windows version can
be "Windows XP" or "Windows Server 2003".
• Drive:\Windows\system32\Bcdedit /set {ntldr} device partition=x:
Note In this command, x: is the drive letter for the active partition.
• Drive:\Windows\system32\Bcdedit /set {ntldr} path \ntldr
• Drive:\Windows\system32\Bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} –addlast
3. Restart the computer.
____________________________
******Using the BootRec.exe Tool
Using the System Recovery Tool from the Repair link on the DVD after the
language choice in the lower left hand corner you can select command prompt
and you have the following options:
Bootrec.exe (You can use this tool to recover Vista even when you do not
receive the error message that is the title of the 2nd linked MSKB below):
How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to
troubleshoot and repair startup issues in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392/en-us
Error message when you start Windows Vista: "The Windows Boot Configuration
Data file is missing required information"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927391/en-us
Good luck,
CH
