boot failure after SP2 installation

[Guest]

I knbw this is addressed all the time but I can't even get my floppy drive,
CD, or DVD to read anything to reboot. I have been on my old computer all day
trying to find a solution. I have a Sony RS420, a week old, and had Windows
do the automatic updates. Big mistake. Sony wasn't any help. There must be a
way to recover XP??? I have the Recovery media kit but not a bootable XP disc
since Sony doesn't send them. HELP!!

 

[Guest]

My system did the same thing. Spent several hours a day on the phone with XP
support.

After installing sp2 - system wouldn't boot - just had blinking cursor in
the upper left corner. No response from anything I tried. With the help of
SP2 support I finally was able to do a parallel install of XP (only took
about 8 hours of phone time), I was able to recover some of my files. End
result was I had to reformat drive and start over from scratch. Microsoft
does have free support for problems with installation of SP2. There are alot
of problems with it.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Karen;
How to use the Automatic Recovery feature to recover your computer if
the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Setup program is not completed
successfully:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=875355

Reboot tapping F8 each second.
Select "Last known good configuration" at the menu.
If that fails, reboot tapping F8 again this time choosing Safe Mode.
Then System Restore to Date/Time before issue started:
Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore

Otherwise perform a Repair Installation:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/repaxp.htm
Contact Sony if this appears not to be an option.

When you are ready for SP-2, follow the Service Pack Installation
Checklist:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm

 

[Guest]

Hi, thanks for replying. No I can't even get the machine to show a cursor or
anything to try to play with the boot partition. I have two hard drives so
maybe I could reinstall onto the D drive?

 

[Guest]

No, I can't even get a cursor to come up when I turn on the power to try to
play with anything. I do have two hard drives so maybe I could install to the
D drive?