blinking cursor

[Greenthumb]

I am getting a blinking cursor as Win2000 tries to install, at boot.

Background: Dell Dimension pc, running Win 2000 SP4 fine no problem.
Powered down, shut off the pc, went to work...

....Upon returning home, the system would not boot but would hang at a
blinking cursor.

At wit's end, I attempted to reinstall using the Dell Win2000
reinstall CD.

Same thing happened. The reformat, then reinstall went fine until the
action that produces the RED BAR warning to remove any diskette
as the system will reboot in 10 seconds.

And that is the point where the system boots back to the blinking
cursor.

If I leave the CD in the CD bay, the reinstall begins anew.
If i remove the CD, the boot goes to the blinking cursor.

I have valuable data on this machine's 2nd and 3rd drives, and
am getting desperate. It has a full backup on drive 2 as well but
I can't get to it.

I tried the repair routines, even with a month old ERD, to no avail.

Any help or advice you could provide would be appreciated.

Yours,

Allan J. Ballard
aballard AT ix.netcom.com

 

[Greenthumb]

I ran Repair from the console in order to run chkdsk /p, which
verified the disk Ok.

Also did the "makeboot" from my Thinkpad using W2K, but
after the install begins, and gets to the point where it needs
disks removed to reboot, it always boots back to the blinking
cursor.

Ran the repair ERD again, but at a bout 96% install, the install
rounine began to miss files, and eventually failed.

 

[Dave Patrick]

You might try a boot floppy. To start the operating system try creating a
boot floppy. For the floppy to successfully boot Windows 2000 the disk must
contain the "NT" boot sector. Format a diskette (on a Windows 2000 machine,
not a OS/Win9x, so the NT boot sector gets written to the floppy), then copy
ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini to it;

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 0,1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 0,2"
multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 1,1"
multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 1,2"

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
|I am getting a blinking cursor as Win2000 tries to install, at boot.
|
| Background: Dell Dimension pc, running Win 2000 SP4 fine no problem.
| Powered down, shut off the pc, went to work...
|
| ...Upon returning home, the system would not boot but would hang at a
| blinking cursor.
|
| At wit's end, I attempted to reinstall using the Dell Win2000
| reinstall CD.
|
| Same thing happened. The reformat, then reinstall went fine until the
| action that produces the RED BAR warning to remove any diskette
| as the system will reboot in 10 seconds.
|
| And that is the point where the system boots back to the blinking
| cursor.
|
| If I leave the CD in the CD bay, the reinstall begins anew.
| If i remove the CD, the boot goes to the blinking cursor.
|
| I have valuable data on this machine's 2nd and 3rd drives, and
| am getting desperate. It has a full backup on drive 2 as well but
| I can't get to it.
|
| I tried the repair routines, even with a month old ERD, to no avail.
|
| Any help or advice you could provide would be appreciated.
|
| Yours,
|
| Allan J. Ballard
| aballard AT ix.netcom.com

 

[Greenthumb]

Thank you.

I started to try a boot floppy this a.m. but realized I don't know how
to make an ini file.

Is an ini file simply a text file with an ini extension?

 

[Dave Patrick]

Yes, start notepad.exe and paste the lines below and save as boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 0,1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 0,2"
multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 1,1"
multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 1,2"

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Thank you.
|
| I started to try a boot floppy this a.m. but realized I don't know how
| to make an ini file.
|
| Is an ini file simply a text file with an ini extension?

 

[Greenthumb]

Well, I tried the boot disk, but the screen says the krnl is corrupt
or missing. The one on my Thinkpad is too big to put on a floppy.
Maybe I could some how zip it, and figure a way to unzip
it on the machine that is down.

The commands on the repair console are somewhat limited to
an old DOS hand, but maybe I can find a zip app to
do it. Sounds like a long shot to me.

This is very frustrating and I am thankful for your help.

Prolly the Dell needs a visit to a shop, where they will tell
me the drive is bad. I don't think so, check disk /p
doesn't think so, but if that works I'll do it. The data
of importance are on the other two drives.

 

[Dave Patrick]

Accuracy is the key to your solution. If you got the message;

Windows NT could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\System32\Ntoskrnl.exe

then you need to try all four of the boot options. I don't have any idea
what drive and or partition your OS is installed on hence the generic
boot.ini

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Well, I tried the boot disk, but the screen says the krnl is corrupt
| or missing. The one on my Thinkpad is too big to put on a floppy.
| Maybe I could some how zip it, and figure a way to unzip
| it on the machine that is down.
|
| The commands on the repair console are somewhat limited to
| an old DOS hand, but maybe I can find a zip app to
| do it. Sounds like a long shot to me.
|
| This is very frustrating and I am thankful for your help.
|
| Prolly the Dell needs a visit to a shop, where they will tell
| me the drive is bad. I don't think so, check disk /p
| doesn't think so, but if that works I'll do it. The data
| of importance are on the other two drives.

 

[Greenthumb]

Win 2000 is installed on C drive, the first partition on the first
drive of three. It is the only OS on the computer.

I've not edited an ini since Windows for Workgroups, and then
only for minor things. My thinkpad does not have a boot.ini
so your example is all I have to go by.

Looking at your generic ini:

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 0,1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 0,2"
multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 1,1"
multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 1

That's greek to me.

I looked around the internet a bit and tried this one:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows="Windows" /fastdetect

Still the message:
.....the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows 2000 Root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
Please re-install a copy of the above file.

I am making hash of this.

Allan Ballard

 

[Dave Patrick]

Try the one I posted. The one you posted points to the \windows directory
which would not exist on a default install of Windows 2000

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Win 2000 is installed on C drive, the first partition on the first
| drive of three. It is the only OS on the computer.
|
| I've not edited an ini since Windows for Workgroups, and then
| only for minor things. My thinkpad does not have a boot.ini
| so your example is all I have to go by.
|
| Looking at your generic ini:
|
| [boot loader]
| timeout=10
| default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
| [operating systems]
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 0,1"
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 0,2"
| multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 1,1"
| multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 1
|
| That's greek to me.
|
| I looked around the internet a bit and tried this one:
|
| [boot loader]
| timeout=30
| default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
| [operating systems]
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows="Windows" /fastdetect
|
| Still the message:
| ....the following file is missing or corrupt:
| <Windows 2000 Root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
| Please re-install a copy of the above file.
|
| I am making hash of this.
|
| Allan Ballard

 

[Kevin McNiel [MSFT]]

The issue is documented in Knowledge Base articles 228734 Windows NT Does
Not Boot with Highly Fragmented MFT
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=228734) and 320397 You receive an "NTLDR
is missing" error message when you start your
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=320397). The first article is a Windows NT
4.0 article and describes the blinking cursor behavior. The second is for
Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, but does not specifically mention the
blinking cursor. It also states that the problem was corrected in Service
Pack 4 for Windows 2000, but systems that have Service Pack 4 installed can
still encounter the issue in some circumstances depending. You will need to
call Microsoft support for the Bcupdate2 tool.

Kevin McNiel, MCSE/MCSA
Platform Server Setup Group

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Please reply to the Group only, This address cannot receive incoming
messages.

 

[Guest]

This was where I was going with trying to get the OP to boot from a floppy as
a test.

The issue is documented in Knowledge Base articles 228734 Windows NT Does
Not Boot with Highly Fragmented MFT
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=228734) and 320397 You receive an "NTLDR
is missing" error message when you start your
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=320397). The first article is a Windows NT
4.0 article and describes the blinking cursor behavior. The second is for
Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, but does not specifically mention the
blinking cursor. It also states that the problem was corrected in Service
Pack 4 for Windows 2000, but systems that have Service Pack 4 installed can
still encounter the issue in some circumstances depending. You will need to
call Microsoft support for the Bcupdate2 tool.

Kevin McNiel, MCSE/MCSA
Platform Server Setup Group

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Please reply to the Group only, This address cannot receive incoming
messages.

Try the one I posted. The one you posted points to the \windows directory
which would not exist on a default install of Windows 2000

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Win 2000 is installed on C drive, the first partition on the first
| drive of three. It is the only OS on the computer.
|
| I've not edited an ini since Windows for Workgroups, and then
| only for minor things. My thinkpad does not have a boot.ini
| so your example is all I have to go by.
|
| Looking at your generic ini:
|
| [boot loader]
| timeout=10
| default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
| [operating systems]
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 0,1"
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 0,2"
| multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 1,1"
| multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 1
|
| That's greek to me.
|
| I looked around the internet a bit and tried this one:
|
| [boot loader]
| timeout=30
| default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
| [operating systems]
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows="Windows" /fastdetect
|
| Still the message:
| ....the following file is missing or corrupt:
| <Windows 2000 Root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
| Please re-install a copy of the above file.
|
| I am making hash of this.
|
| Allan Ballard

 

[Greenthumb]

Thanks to all who responded.

I tok the unit to the local shop, and voila, all went fine.

All it really wanted was to be perverse.

But I will read this thread again carefully, and print a hardcopy,
for future reference.

There is a 'fix' on the Microsoft update page that mentions
a hang on boot at a blinking cursor.

I guess that is the same problem?

If so, I will install it on my Dell and also on my Thinkpad.

Thank you very much.


Allan J. Ballard

This was where I was going with trying to get the OP to boot from a floppy as
a test.

The issue is documented in Knowledge Base articles 228734 Windows NT Does
Not Boot with Highly Fragmented MFT
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=228734) and 320397 You receive an "NTLDR
is missing" error message when you start your
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=320397). The first article is a Windows NT
4.0 article and describes the blinking cursor behavior. The second is for
Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, but does not specifically mention the
blinking cursor. It also states that the problem was corrected in Service
Pack 4 for Windows 2000, but systems that have Service Pack 4 installed can
still encounter the issue in some circumstances depending. You will need to
call Microsoft support for the Bcupdate2 tool.

Kevin McNiel, MCSE/MCSA
Platform Server Setup Group

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Please reply to the Group only, This address cannot receive incoming
messages.

Try the one I posted. The one you posted points to the \windows directory
which would not exist on a default install of Windows 2000

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Win 2000 is installed on C drive, the first partition on the first
| drive of three. It is the only OS on the computer.
|
| I've not edited an ini since Windows for Workgroups, and then
| only for minor things. My thinkpad does not have a boot.ini
| so your example is all I have to go by.
|
| Looking at your generic ini:
|
| [boot loader]
| timeout=10
| default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
| [operating systems]
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 0,1"
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 0,2"
| multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows 1,1"
| multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt="Windows 1
|
| That's greek to me.
|
| I looked around the internet a bit and tried this one:
|
| [boot loader]
| timeout=30
| default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
| [operating systems]
| multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows="Windows" /fastdetect
|
| Still the message:
| ....the following file is missing or corrupt:
| <Windows 2000 Root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
| Please re-install a copy of the above file.
|
| I am making hash of this.
|
| Allan Ballard