Fails to Boot

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Guest

Hi all,

On Tues. I was logging out of AOL when I locked up and had to manually shut
down. Later that evening when attempting to boot I had a brief glimpse of
the Windows XP start up screen and then the message:
"lsass.exe - unable to locate component
Application failed to start, LSASRV.DLL was not found."

I followed some advice from posts in another forum where I was to use a
reinstall cd and copy the lsass.exe file from it however that did not work.
Neither did the chkdsk command at the c prompt. It did run and did find an
error and repair it but still the computer won't boot and the same message is
displayed.

I am aware this could be a virus, or just a corrupt file however does anyone
have any advice on how to fix without reinstalling the OS?

Thanks in advance,

Sue
 
Restart with XP CD and go into the Recovery console. Then type in:

expand d:\i386\lsasrv.dl_ c:\Windows\System32\lsasrv.dll

and the restart Windows.
 
Hi Jose,

When I typed that in I received the message "Unable to create file
lsasrv.dll 0 file(s) expanded.

:-(

I wondered if I should try the fix boot command....but am not certain what
it does.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again.


Sue
 
Is your CD-ROM drive installed on D:\ and your OS on C:\? If not, please,
change the letters in the command above.
 
Yes Jose, My cd is drive D:\ and OS is C:\

?



Jose Gallardo said:
Is your CD-ROM drive installed on D:\ and your OS on C:\? If not, please,
change the letters in the command above.
Click to expand...
 
Sue:
First of all, I'm uncertain if you're still experiencing the problem you
described or if you've resolved it. If the latter, ignore the remainder of
this post.

I'm somewhat hesitant to respond to your query because you've indicated that
you're looking for a "fix without reinstalling the OS". I'll assume (at
least for the moment) that you're referring to a *fresh* install of the XP
OS whereby you would lose all your programs & user-created data. Hopefully a
fresh install of the OS will be unnecessary. Hopefully. Possibly a Repair
install of the OS will be all that is needed which in nearly every case
(even if it fails to correct the problem) does not result in the loss of
data. But understand there's no absolute guarantee of this. It *is* possible
(however unlikely) that some or all data can be lost when undertaking a
Repair install.

Are you familiar with that process? It's not a difficult or inordinately
time-consuming process and it may be all that is needed for the "fix". On
the other hand it's possible that even if a Repair install would correct the
problem, that process might not be available to you because of the kind of
PC system you're working with.

I'm really not optimistic that puttering around in the Recovery Console is
going to solve the problem you're experiencing.

I think I may have some advice for you - at least try to point you in the
right direction, but before providing this advice it would be helpful if we
knew a bit more about your system.

1. What kind of a computer are we dealing with? Is it an OEM machine from
one of the large manufacturers, e.g., Dell, Sony, HP/Compaq, eMachines, etc?

2. Do you have a retail XP installation CD or a "retail OEM" (non-branded)
XP installation CD? Or just a so-called "recovery" CD that came with your
machine?

3. Do you have an up-to-date anti-virus program installed on your machine?
And has it been functional?

4. And just to confirm... The system is unbootable at this point, right? I
assume you were able to post your message to this newsgroup using another
computer.

5. And AOL is your ISP? It's not just their messenger service you're using?
Assuming AOL is your ISP have you been in touch with them to explain the
problem to determine if it was (and is) something on their end to cause the
problem you're experiencing?

6. Assuming that the system doesn't boot straightaway to a Desktop - have
you tried booting into Safe Mode? Do you know how to do this by pressing
down the F8 key during bootup (or tap, tap, tapping that key if holding it
down doesn't work)? Assuming you've been able to get into that Safe Mode
screen, have you tried the "Last Known Good Configuration Option"? And if
that didn't get you to a Desktop, have you tried the "Safe Mode" option. If
you're able to get into the system through these means it might be useful to
access your anti-virus program to determine if it's a virus that's causing
the problem and hopefully the AV program can purge the system of the virus.
Anna
 
Hi Anna,

Thanks so much for your response. Sorry to make you go to so much trouble
but I do appreciate your help. Let me see if I can answer some of your
questions.

Yes I am still experiencing the problem. (that was easy) And you are
correct when you suggest I am looking for a fix without doing a "fresh
install". I would really like very much to keep my programs and data.

I am not familiar with that process, the repair install.

1. I have a Dell, 600m notebook. Windows 98 Professional. It's about 2
years old.

2. I do not have a retail CD for reinstall but rather the one that Dell
provides with the machine.

3. Yes I have a current version of Norton Antivirus installed.

4. The system remains unbootable. You assumed correctly , I have another PC.

5. AOL is not my ISP. I happened to be on that evening after not being on
that service in ages, just to "talk" to an old friend. I have a cable
connection to the internet with Optimum On line. I did not call either of
them. I had downloaded some "wav" files but Norton did not seem to find them
objectionable.

6. I did try booting to "last known good configuration" and also tried to
boot to safe mode. Both actions elicited the same response, the window with
the lsass.exe / lsasrv.dll message...and then nothing.

And there you have it.

I agree with you...I am not optimistic either but I may just bring it into
the tech shop nearby...but it's bugging me and I keep thinking the "fix" is
right around the corner.

Thanks again Anna and if there is anything else you suggest, I am open to
trying it.

Sue :-)
 
Suzn said:
Hi Anna,

Thanks so much for your response. Sorry to make you go to so much trouble
but I do appreciate your help. Let me see if I can answer some of your
questions.

Yes I am still experiencing the problem. (that was easy) And you are
correct when you suggest I am looking for a fix without doing a "fresh
install". I would really like very much to keep my programs and data.

I am not familiar with that process, the repair install.

1. I have a Dell, 600m notebook. Windows 98 Professional. It's about 2
years old.

2. I do not have a retail CD for reinstall but rather the one that Dell
provides with the machine.

3. Yes I have a current version of Norton Antivirus installed.

4. The system remains unbootable. You assumed correctly , I have another
PC.

5. AOL is not my ISP. I happened to be on that evening after not being
on
that service in ages, just to "talk" to an old friend. I have a cable
connection to the internet with Optimum On line. I did not call either of
them. I had downloaded some "wav" files but Norton did not seem to find
them
objectionable.

6. I did try booting to "last known good configuration" and also tried to
boot to safe mode. Both actions elicited the same response, the window
with
the lsass.exe / lsasrv.dll message...and then nothing.

And there you have it.

I agree with you...I am not optimistic either but I may just bring it into
the tech shop nearby...but it's bugging me and I keep thinking the "fix"
is
right around the corner.

Thanks again Anna and if there is anything else you suggest, I am open to
trying it.

Sue :-)
Click to expand...


Sue:
It seems to me that at this point a Repair install of the XP OS is worth
undertaking. In order to do so you would need the XP installation CD. I
don't know if your Dell CD contains the XP OS which would include the
necessary data to undertake a Repair install or is simply a so-called
recovery disk that's designed to return your system to its original state,
i.e., when you first purchased the notebook.

My impression is that Dell is now bundling their machines with a full copy
of the XP installation CD or that it can be obtained from Dell for a slight
extra charge. Check your user's manual or other documentation to determine
whether your CD is, in effect, a full copy of the XP OS. If not, perhaps you
can obtain one directly from Dell at a nominal charge.

Assuming you're able to undertake a Repair install, the process is
relatively straightforward. It would be roughly akin to making a fresh
install of the OS, but your existing programs & user-created data would be
retained. As I previously mentioned, it would be a rather rare situation
where data would be lost as a result of the Repair install, but as unlikely
as it may be, it could happen. So if there are any programs and/or other
data on the drive that are absolutely crucial to you and you could not
tolerate its loss, then I would *not* advise undertaking a Repair install
until you either made a clone of that drive (which I'm reasonably certain is
not practical for you) or you were able to access the drive by some other
means in order to access its data prior to undertaking the Repair install. I
really don't want to overemphasize the possible negatives in this situation
because in the overwhelming amount of cases where a Repair install is
undertaken, even if it fails to correct the underlying problem, there's no
loss of data occurring. But you must understand that the of loss of data,
remote as it is, remains a possibility.

There are a number of websites that contain step-by-step instructions for
undertaking a Repair install. Let me assure you that it's not a difficult
process and not terribly time-consuming. If you do a Google search on "XP
repair install", you'll be pointed to many of these sites. Here are a few...
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138

Assuming the Repair install is successful, you should use your A-V program
to immediately check out your laptop for any virus infestation. Also, you
will need to download/install all the MS critical updates since SP2 (I'm
assuming the XP installation CD that you will be using to undertake the
Repair install contains SP2). Since you have a cable connection that
shouldn't be too terribly time-consuming. And you should keep current with
critical updates, right?

I hope it all works out. Please keep us informed of your progress.
Anna
 
Anna thanks again for your advice. I will try this, in the next day or two
and let you know how it went.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Sue
 
Anna I just wanted to tell you that IT WORKED! and I thank you very much. I
completed the repair install and it seems like everything is good to go. My
apps are still there, and near as I can tell all is good.

Thank you very much for your help!!!!!!
 
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