Can't Boot XP and Can't Boot into Safe Mode

[Guest]

A few weeks ago, when starting up, my VAIO began to stop during Windows
startup.

It shows a "DOS type" window with hardware, port and device information.

At the bottom of the page, is says:
"Disk boot failure, Insert system disk and press enter"

If I repeatedly hit F8 during startup to get to safe mode, I get the same
error and cannot get into safe mode.

It seems as though the PC thinks it is booting from a disk or CD but there
are none in any drives. I've repeatedly opened and closed both the DVD and
CD units hoping to "trigger" something. No such luck.

In reading here on XP, I've become aware that I may be able to do a "repair
install"

When I boot up with the Sony XP recovery CD in the drive, I'm asked to
accept the Microsoft license. The next screen says:

"The hard drive is not partitioned; this utility creates DOS partitions and
restarts your computer. You must delete non DOS partitions to continue? Do
you wish to continue?

My question is, if I continue with creating DOS partitions aren't I wiping
the drive clean will not be able to recover existing applications files?

I really need to recover what's on this hard drive and will ensure there are
effective backup strategies in place in the future.

Please help. Thanks !
Any suggestions? I really hope to get this back up without having to wipe
the C drive clean.

Thanks.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

A few weeks ago, when starting up, my VAIO began to stop during Windows
startup.

It shows a "DOS type" window with hardware, port and device information.

At the bottom of the page, is says:
"Disk boot failure, Insert system disk and press enter"

If I repeatedly hit F8 during startup to get to safe mode, I get the same
error and cannot get into safe mode.

It seems as though the PC thinks it is booting from a disk or CD but there
are none in any drives. I've repeatedly opened and closed both the DVD
and
CD units hoping to "trigger" something. No such luck.

In reading here on XP, I've become aware that I may be able to do a
"repair
install"

When I boot up with the Sony XP recovery CD in the drive, I'm asked to
accept the Microsoft license. The next screen says:

"The hard drive is not partitioned; this utility creates DOS partitions
and
restarts your computer. You must delete non DOS partitions to continue?
Do
you wish to continue?

This means your drive has probably been badly corrupted.

The answer you want to give is NO.

My question is, if I continue with creating DOS partitions aren't I wiping
the drive clean will not be able to recover existing applications files?

Sure does.

I really need to recover what's on this hard drive and will ensure there
are
effective backup strategies in place in the future.

Then stop now, and remove that drive from the system. Mark it clearly and
set it aside safely.

Please help. Thanks !
Any suggestions? I really hope to get this back up without having to wipe
the C drive clean.

Thanks.

You should consider that you are in data recovery, not OS repair mode.

In this case you really need another working system to try to get any of the
data back.

First, remove the old drive and set it aside, nowhere near the system, and
install a new drive. 250 gig drives are around CDN$75. Hopefully, get a
drive large enough to contain your old drive, with lots of space left over.
Also, get an inexpensive USB2 drive case. This is how you will *later*
connect the old drive.

Install the new drive and install XP to it, update it, install your apps and
A/V scanners.

Now, start googling "data recovery software". Read carefully to see what
is most appropriate. Demo versions are usually available. WHen you're
sure you're ready to go, attach the old drive to the USB drive case (no
need to fully assemble it) and attach it to the system via USB. Use the
Recovery Software to examine the drive and identify and recover data from
it. Do NOT attempt to write any data back to the old drive - write it to
the new one.

If the recovery software fails, you will probably be looking at data
recovery services. These aren't cheap; I've seen a number of bills
ranging from $1000 to $5000 for this.

HTH
-pk

 

[AJR]

Regarding "...It seems as though the PC thinks it is booting from a disk or
CD but there are none in any drives...." - that is not the case - you are
being asked to insert a "boot" (system) disk in one of he drives.

"Disk boot failure, Insert system disk and press enter" indicates the HD is
not being "seen" at boot. Initial action is to verify BIOS settings for the
HD. Also verify cable connections.

Keep in mind that using the "Restore CD" that came with the computer usually
results in a "destructive" restore - meaning all data and applications are
lost. Check the documentation regarding the restore function - you may have
the option of only restoring the OS non-destructively.

You can attempt XP repair via the XP CD - boot from the CD - you will be
offferd an option to use the "Recovery Console" - ignore and continue.
Setup will proceed and notify you that it has found a Windows installation
and will list it - you will be asked if you want to repair the Windows
installation - select repair and setup will continue with an "upgrade"
installation and data and applications will be retained. NOTE: If setup
does bot find a Windows installation - big trouble.

Data recovery is simplfied by use of a bootable Linux CD - boots from the CD
and installtion on HD not required - which gives access to FAT or NTFS file
systems. Check "knoppix.com" for free Linux. In fact most "Data Recovery"
discs or utilities are really Linux distributons but not titled as such.

If you do have a system disk - such as a Win ME or 98 startup disk
(Work on FAT but not XP NTFS) or Norton's System CD you may be able to
access the HD

 

[HddRecovery]

You can try Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software a file and
partition recovery utility which recovers the data from inaccessible
hard drive. This tool will help you in recovering your lost partition
and data.
Download the demo version of the software from:
http://www.stellarinfo.com/partition-recovery.htm
Scan your hard drive. Scan result will show you the preview of your
recovered data. If you are able to see the preview then get the full
version to save it.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, not sure how I could load software and scan when I can't get past
booting up.

 

[John Wunderlich]

You can try Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software a file

Thanks, not sure how I could load software and scan when I can't
get past booting up.

:

You can try booting from a BartPE or "Ultimate Boot CD for Windows"
disk or a Live Linux disk like Knoppix. I've had better luck with the
Linux disk for recognizing bad NTFS volumes. Linux won't fix the disk,
but it will allow you to backup all your data so that you can reload
Windows.

"Ultimate Boot CD for Windows"
<http://www.ubcd4win.com/>
"Knoppix" (Live Linux CD)
<http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html>

HTH,
John

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Thanks, not sure how I could load software and scan when I can't get past
booting up.

That is why you need to use another system, or remove your disk, install
another hard disk and reinstall XP to that, and then finally get into data
recovery.

You can also boot from a Linux disk, and try to copy the files off to
another drive, but you'll need a running system to create one.

HTH
-pk

 

[HddRecovery]

Thanks, not sure how I could loadsoftwareand scan when I can't get past
booting up.

Well you have to attach your hard as a slave and run the Stellar
Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software on the master drive and start
scanning the hard drive. The scan result will show you the preview of
the recovered data. If you are able to see the data through the demo
version then to save them get the full version.