-----Original Message-----
Hi, Jim.
I empathize with your problem...that can be a REAL
bummer! I've come across this several times. Usually
this is caused by some error on the hard drive, more
particularly in the boot sector, registry, or elsewhere
in the Windows directory. This is most often,
unfortunately, caused by a virus of some kind, but can
also occur during normal use on a rare basis. There are
several possible solutions.
First, assuming that you don't have any crazy boot
options set up, such as booting to another partition with
another operating system on it (if you don't know what
this is, then you probably don't), you can start windows
by booting from the XP Home CDROM. If you have problems
doing so, go into BIOS when the computer starts by
pressing "delete" (or whatever else it tells you) and
telling it to boot from the CD before the hard drive. It
will ask you what you want to do after loading a lot of
files into memory. (This could take up to 10 minutes.)
Tell it that you want to use the Recovery Console to
repair your current installation of windows. You should
not be asked any more questions during this blue screen,
and it will boot to a black command prompt.
Wait for it to finish loading (a message will appear
asking if you need to do anything special with your
configuration; ignore it) and then tell it you want work
on your Windows XP Home edition partition. (This should
be option 1, so type "1" and press enter.) Type your
administrator password and press enter. Next type "help"
(always ignore the quotation marks). This should give
you a basic idea of the kind of things that you can do
while using the Recovery Console. If you type any of the
commands with out anything after it, or
type "[command] /?", it will usually give you some
details on what that command does. If you can't read
everything it says, try typing "[command] /? | more".
(Hold shift and press the backslash (\) key to get
the "|" character.) Now that you've acquainted yourself
with the list of commands (don't spend too much time on
it), you're ready to get to work on fixing your hard
drive.
First, re-write your Master Boot Record (the hidden
8MB partition that tells your computer where to look for
operating systems) by typing "fixmbr". Confirm that you
want to do it when it asks you. Next, type "bootmgr
delete". (You may need to type "bootmgr /delete"
instead. If neither command works, look in the "help"
list because I may have remembered the name of the
command correctly, but it's pretty close.) When asked
which boot record you want to delete, select the only one
available and press enter. Confirm this decision if it
asks you. The help file for some reason doesn't include
the delete option, so don't be alarmed if you don't get
more info on that function by typing "bootmgr /?". Next,
re-add that boot record by typing "bootmgr add"
(or "bootmgr /add") and select the only option
available. Call your new entry "Windows XP Home
Edition". Now, confirm that you have Windows XP set as a
bootable partition by typing "bootmgr list"
(or "bootmgr /list"). If it lists "Windows XP Home
Edition", you're OK.
Now see if that worked. Type "shutdown -
r", "reboot" or "restart", depending on which option is
listed in "help". If it worked, IMMEDIATELY install a
virus scanner with the LATEST virus definitions and
updates (the best one I know of is free and can be
downloaded from
www.free-av.com, about 1-3MB) and do a
full system scan. Next back up all data onto a CD or
network drive if you don't have a burner. DO NOT use zip
disks; they are extremely unreliable for backup purposes.
If the problem was with your XP boot partition or
MBR, this should have solved the problem. If the problem
persists, press the "pause/break" key the second the blue
screen comes up, and that might let you read it. If this
didn't work, other possible solutions include using
another hard drive with Windows XP 2000 or Linux/Unix to
get the information off, re-installing Windows XP over
the current installation using a specific set of
parameters to avoid data loss, and booting from disks
specifically designed to allow access to the CD burner,
etc. while ignoring the operating system.
Let me know if this worked.
--Dane
(e-mail address removed)
-----Original Message-----
Using WinXp Home, on a 1.8GHz P4, 512 MB RAM.
For no apparent reason, programs started crashing and
ceasing to respond. Eventually, nothing would respond to
any type of input, except for mouse movement. I pressed
and held the power button to power the system down, waited
about 10 seconds, and powered back up. During restart, a
blue screen appears for a fraction of a second and the
system immediately reboots. It's hard to read the error
text on the blue screen, but I believe it says,
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE. There is important data on this
drive (isn't there always?) and (of course) it is our main
computer.
What recommendations can I get for this situation? Thanks
loads!
Jim Orr
(e-mail address removed)
.
.
