Help with Recovery

[Guest]

Hi all

Fixing a computer for a friend that will no longer start to windows. The following system file is gone or so it says. windows\system23\config\syste

I have finally got it to boot to the Windows XP install CD from the CD rom drive. However I ahve tried both the "R" for recovery mode to enter the recovery console and the 2nd option to install a fresh copy of windows xp. I can not get either to work

In recovery mode which I would prefer if possible I get to the screen where it asks me to pick which version to install and I always choose 1. windows xp. It is the only option. I then hit enter adn it states it is searching for pervisouly installed versions of windows and freezes. I waited 20 minutes to make sure and nothing happened. So I never really get into the recovery console from what I can tell. There is no command prompt line

If I try to reinstall from new it also seems to just freeze

Anyone have any ideas? am I missing something? I am not an expert at this it is only the second time I have done something like this. Maybe there is something I need to do in the recovery mode that I am missing? Does the recovery setup run by itself or so I have to copy files or waht

Any ideas and help would be greatly apperciated..

Thank
Ichiban10

 

[John Barnett MVP]

The procedure for repairing the file is available on my web site
www.freelanceit.glowinternet.net Click the WinFAQ button and take a look at
question 51. Are you being asked for a password at all?
You might also try the system file checker. Go to the command prompt in
windows Start>allprograms>accessories>Command prompt and type sfc /scannow
You need your origianl windows xp cd inserted into your cd rom so that the
files can be checked and updated if necessary.

 

[Guest]

Hi John

Thanks for your quick feedback and response. I checked question 51 on your website. It is exactly what I am having problem with. The only thing is as stated above I can not get to the recovery console really. In your directions I can get to step 6. I put in the number 1 of course to install Windows XP. Then nothing happens. So I hit 1 with an enter to see if that will work and I get nothing. I can not see that the computer is thinking or CD-rom spinning just nothing. No password nothing

Also I can not get into windows to do anything. I have tried to do things like boot in safe mode or last known safe configuration etc but nothing. The only thign I can get thte computer to do is boot from the CD-rom drive using the Windows xp Install software. I get to the repair console and select 1 and then nothing. Do I need to wait longer? Should I just press the number 1 for the correct installation or is it 1 with an enter afterward? Any ideas?

Thank
Ichiban101

 

[John Barnett MVP]

the usual procedure is to enter the desired number first, i.e., 1 followed
by Enter. Just pressing the number 1 does absolutely nothing.
after inserting the number of the windows operating system and pressing
Enter a box should appear asking for a password. Now if you have XP Home no
password is needed. If you have XP Pro then you use the administrator
password created when the operating system was installed. This is usually
different from the admin password you use as your user profile.
The problem with XP is that there are two instances where you can actually
press 'R'. The first is when the system is beginning to load - after the
files have been copied to memory. This is the 'repair' option. To use the
recovery console you actually have to start the installation process by
installing the basic windows setup files.
As for waiting for the process to complete after pressing 1 there shouldn't
be that much of a delay.
I can only suggest you attempt a clean install of the operating system.
Obviously you are going to loose all that is on the hard drive, but if you
cannot replace the file via recovery console you are rather stuck.

 

[Guest]

Tahnks again John for your help

I am still having problems though and I guess I ahve not been very good about explaing where I am getting stuck let me try again and see. By the way thanky ou for being so patient

Okay from your wbesite question #51 it states the steps as suc
1/ Place your Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM and Reboot your P

2/ XP's setup program will automatically start and files will be loaded to memor

3/When you reach the Welcome to Setup screen choose the Repair option by pressing

4/ This will open the Recovery Consol

5/ The list of Windows installations will appea

6/ As you only have one installation on your PC you need to press the number which is relevant to your installations location. This, obviously will typically be

7/ Type in your Administrator password. If no administrator password exists, simply press Ente

8/At the command prompt type: CD C:\Windows\System32\ConfigREN system system.oldCOPY C:\Windows\Repair\syste

9/ Finally remove your XP CD from the CD-ROM

I now understand the difference also from yor last post between the "r" for repair" and the "r" for recvoery. Unfortunatly I can not really get to either screen. But for the sake of making this simple let me just stay with the Recovery Console since that seems to be what I need

These are the steps I can do and have don
1. Boot from the CD witht he Windows XP
2. It loads necessary files and up comes the first screen the where you can choose the "rapir option" or to install
3. I choose install
4. Agree to the terms of agreement by hitting F
5. The computer then starts searching for pervious versions of windows

From here is where it is getting frozen or stuck. I can hear the hard drive gonig about few seconds like 30 maybe tops. Then the computer freezes adn there is no activity. Just to make sure I let it site in this mode for almost 1 hour today. However I can not get past the searching for pervious versions. So I never get to the second instance of r for repair option. I can not get past the screen after signing the agreement

Does that make sense? Any ideas how to get around this? Do I need to just get a new hard drive and start over?

Thank
Ichiban10

----- John Barnett MVP wrote: ----

the usual procedure is to enter the desired number first, i.e., 1 followed
by Enter. Just pressing the number 1 does absolutely nothing
after inserting the number of the windows operating system and pressing
Enter a box should appear asking for a password. Now if you have XP Home no
password is needed. If you have XP Pro then you use the administrator
password created when the operating system was installed. This is usually
different from the admin password you use as your user profile
The problem with XP is that there are two instances where you can actually
press 'R'. The first is when the system is beginning to load - after the
files have been copied to memory. This is the 'repair' option. To use the
recovery console you actually have to start the installation process by
installing the basic windows setup files
As for waiting for the process to complete after pressing 1 there shouldn't
be that much of a delay
I can only suggest you attempt a clean install of the operating system.
Obviously you are going to loose all that is on the hard drive, but if you
cannot replace the file via recovery console you are rather stuck

 

[John Barnett MVP]

I'm going to have to go through the procedure on my own machine to see if i
can either repeat the error or find out where things are getting 'stuck'
Just so i can get things right what version of xp are you using Home or
Professional? Also what file system are you using FAT32 or NTFS?

 

[John Barnett MVP]

First an apology. Having checked my last but one post to you it appears that
i inadvertantly got the 'r' the wrong way round. Recovery console is the
first 'r' and not the second as i stated in the post. Apologies for that
mistake.
Now i have gone through the procedure to get to the recovery console using
both Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional and i am having no problems
at all.
I load the XP CD; the setup begins and load all the necessary files. When i
reach the welcome to setup i press 'r' and the windows recovery console
appear complete with all four operating systems on my machine. I press 1
(which is xp home on my machine) and then pressed Enter. It immediately
asked for a password. The same happened when i tried using an XP
Professional CD. As soon as i typed the number and pressed Enter it asked
for a password. I typed the password in and was immediately given access to
the recovery console.

I have checked the microsoft knowledge base and haven't been able to locate
anything like your problem. I'm beginning to wonder if the actually CD is at
fault.


If you buy a new hard drive and the CD is at fault you have basically wasted
your money. The repair option, which once again you are unable to use, would
have been the next best thing because it would have reinstalled xp without
destroying the programs and data you already have on your disk. That now
brings me to a complete new install. Once again we have a problem here
because, as you stated in your last post, you choose to install a new
version, agree to the licence agreement and then the machine freezes so you
can't even install a new copy. If you are using FAT32 file system i would
suggest using a Windows 98 startup disk (available from www.bootdisk.com) to
boot to the DOS prompt and then reformat your drive. Even if you are using
NTFS you can still use the windows 98 startup disk but you can't access the
nfts partition. What it will actually recommend (ntfs file system only) is
that you delete the partition using the 'fdisk' utility. Once you have done
this you then need to create a new partition and then install xp afresh.

If, on the other hand, the xp disc is actually faulty then you cannot do
anything that i suggested. Instead you need to first make sure you have the
original purchase receipt (proof of purchase) for your copy of windows xp,
then you need to contact microsoft to see if they will supply you with a new
xp cd. You can find the details about lost, broken and damaged xp cd's on my
website. Again go to WinXP Faq and take a look at question 43