More Problems - XP Will Not Boot - 2nd Computer - Following Update

[Jeff]

Hi Everyone,

I am stumped.

This morning I ran Windows Update on a second XP system that I have in my
office.

Prior to running the Windows XP install for the downloaded updates, I had a
message that Norton Internet Security had installed updates and asked to
restart.

Long story short... The system will not boot.

Almost exactly the same problem as I described for the Gateway notebook
computer. However, on this system I can boot to the Windows XP system disk.

When I try to start Windows XP normally, the boot goes to the point of the
splash screen with the moving scroll bar. Then the light which indicates hard
drive activity stops. The scroll bar continues to revolve until I do a hard
reset of the system.

I can boot into Safe Mode and view event errors on this system. There are
several, and I would be happy to post them; but, I thought I would post the
general details to see what other details would be helpful.

I tried to boot to the recovery partition on the hard drive (Raid 0). It
works for a short while and then goes to a BSOD. I can run the recovery
console from the recovery disk. I did not attempt to do the recovery at that
time, just in case there is a better fix.

What is peculiar is that both of these problems between the two computers
are so similar (both are XP SP3), and they both occurred after Norton
Internet Security and Windows XP updates.

Any thoughts about how I should proceed would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Jeff]

Still stumped!

I have tried various things to get my Windows XP system to boot normally.

I can boot into Safe Mode with no problems.

I will post the facts as I know them in hopes that they will ring a bell:

1. The system was working normally before a Norton Internet Security ran,
followed by a Windows XP update.

2. When I attempt a normaly boot, the system hangs at the Windows XP splash
screen, scroll bar srolling, no apparent drive activity (drive light not
illuminated).

3. I have attempted to uninstall several of the Windows updates which were
installed immediately before these problems. I receive errors that the
services' installers will not work in safe mode.

4. I have loaded the utility Safemsi while in safe mode in an attempt to be
able to install MS' Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. I cannot get the
cleanup utility to load in Safe Mode, even after using Safemsi.

5. I have booted from a Windows XP SP2 installation CD. I attempt to run a
repair. When I select that option, I end up at a screen that displays:
"Microsoft Windows XP(TM) Recovery Console.
The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.
Type Exit to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.

C:"
If I inspect that drive, it shows there are no files or directories.
The system is set up as a Raid 0 configuration. I am pretty certain that the
drivers required for the raid array are included on the Windows XP CD.

6. If I try to run the Recovery Console from the recovery option shown on
the boot screen, I get a Blue Screen of Death.

I am tempted to install two new hard drives and reinstall my latest backup;
but, this problem seems very similar to a problem I am experiencing on my
notebook computer after an installation of Windows Updates and Norton
Internet Security Updates. I would like to find the reason for this problem
before moving on.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Daave]

There is always a possibility you have been infected with malware. If
you haven't seen this helpful page already, have a look at it now:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

In the event you are malware-free, you may want to try the equivalent of
a manual "System Restore":

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

Hopefully, that will work. If not...

In order to run a Repair Install (the second "R"), you need to avoid the
Recovery Console (the first "R")! Here are instructions:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Note that your installation CD really should be at the same SP level as
what is on your PC (and for best results, you need to revert to IE6
first, too). If it isn't, you should be able to create an installation
CD from your current one and slipstream SP3 onto it. See:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=xp+slipstream+sp3&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g9

(and choose the method that looks best) FWIW, I've had success with this
method:

http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=295

(Also, there are programs like nLite that streamline the process.)

If the Repair Install doesn't work, there's always a Clean Install:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

No matter what you do, make sure you will have already copied *all* your
data! This includes e-mails, Web browser favorites, etc. Bootable live
Linux CDs (e.g., Knoppix or Ubuntu) are good for this. Or you can build
your own UBCD4Win, which is very handy to have.

Finally, you should consider ditching Norton, which can be very
problematic for many people, not to mention resource-hogging.

 

[Jeff]

Hi Daave,

Thanks for the very detailed message.

I will work my way through the steps you recommend.

I agree with you about Norton. Several months ago I had a problem with a
file manager program not running in Vista. I had used it for several years.
It stopped working after Norton update. Norton's prevented it from running
afterward. Symantec said that the file manager program was at fault because
it didn't meet the standards to which the latest update was written; but,
that seemed pretty funny to me that I had been using it with Vista.

If you don't mind, I will keep you posted with additional emails.

(Off Topic... You asked the question about the CD media in the notebook
computer that I was having problems booting from the CD drive. I tried
several different sets of media... .iso disks that I created and two Windows
XP (Gateway OEM and MS) system disks.)

I'll be in touch.

Thanks again for putting so much thought into your post.

Jeff

 

[Daave]

YW and keep us posted.

Hi Daave,

Thanks for the very detailed message.

I will work my way through the steps you recommend.

I agree with you about Norton. Several months ago I had a problem
with a file manager program not running in Vista. I had used it for
several years. It stopped working after Norton update. Norton's
prevented it from running afterward. Symantec said that the file
manager program was at fault because it didn't meet the standards to
which the latest update was written; but, that seemed pretty funny to
me that I had been using it with Vista.

If you don't mind, I will keep you posted with additional emails.

(Off Topic... You asked the question about the CD media in the
notebook computer that I was having problems booting from the CD
drive. I tried several different sets of media... .iso disks that I
created and two Windows XP (Gateway OEM and MS) system disks.)

I'll be in touch.

Thanks again for putting so much thought into your post.

Jeff

 

[BillW50]

In Jeff typed on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:21:01 -0700:

Hi Daave,

Thanks for the very detailed message.

I will work my way through the steps you recommend.

I agree with you about Norton. Several months ago I had a problem
with a file manager program not running in Vista. I had used it for
several years. It stopped working after Norton update. Norton's
prevented it from running afterward. Symantec said that the file
manager program was at fault because it didn't meet the standards to
which the latest update was written; but, that seemed pretty funny to
me that I had been using it with Vista.

If you don't mind, I will keep you posted with additional emails.

(Off Topic... You asked the question about the CD media in the
notebook computer that I was having problems booting from the CD
drive. I tried several different sets of media... .iso disks that I
created and two Windows XP (Gateway OEM and MS) system disks.)

I'll be in touch.

Thanks again for putting so much thought into your post.

Jeff

Norton and Microsoft seems to hate each other. And Microsoft seems bent
on breaking Norton's with each new update. The silly games that nerds
play.

 

[Jeff]

Hi Daave,

I just wanted you to know that I haven't been able to spend any time on the
system for which the troubleshooting procedure will be so helpful. The system
is a secondary system that I use in my office, and it isn't critical that I
get it running right away. I want to make sure that I have enough time to
work with it when I begin troubleshooting it.

I hope you'll be around later this week, or early next week, should I need
some more of your wisdom.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Daave]

YW, Jeff.

Hi Daave,

I just wanted you to know that I haven't been able to spend any time
on the system for which the troubleshooting procedure will be so
helpful. The system is a secondary system that I use in my office,
and it isn't critical that I get it running right away. I want to
make sure that I have enough time to work with it when I begin
troubleshooting it.

I hope you'll be around later this week, or early next week, should I
need some more of your wisdom.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Jeff]

Hi Daave,

Well... this has become a bit more of a challenge that I had hoped.

I think maybe it will be easier if I tell you where things stand at the
moment... I started the quest of trying to search out malware and viruses
with several different programs on bootable CDs; but, I couldn't get them to
recognize the hard drives.

That led me in a slightly different direction. I can provide many more
details of my troubleshooting plan; but, maybe it will be easier if I give
you the major results.

First, the system that I am trying to troubleshoot has an onboard Promoise
RAID controller. The hard drives on the system are set up as RAID0.

As a point of reference, if I run the Win XP setup disk, I get to the Setup
screen which lists the drives which are available for installation. There are
four instances of Unknown Devices, and no volumes available for the
installation of XP.

I have made sure to load current RAID drivers during the XP Set routine. Yet
the RAID configuration is not identified.

If I go into the RAID setup utility which runs after POST, and I delete the
RAID0 volume, and then I go into BIOS and change the setting for SATA as RAID
from Yes to No, and reboot the system.... which spins up the Win XP setup
disk... I enter the setup routine again.

This time... I have two volumes available for the installation.

This leads me to believe that either the RAID controller on the motherboard
is bad, or the drivers are not up-to-date for the RAID controller during Win
XP setup. I know that I have the most current drivers from ASUS/Promise, so
I am reasonably certain that they are not the problem.

Do you think I am on the right trail?

Replacing the motherboard probabaly isn't a good option. Do you know if
there is a way to disable the RAID controller on the motherboard? Are there
RAID controllers mounted to aftermarket cards that I can run as a standalone
from the motherboard? (I will investigate those options today; but, I thought
you might know off the top of your head.)

I will probably just go ahead and install a larger hard drive in a non-RAID
configuration, and try to get things back up and running. The added speed of
the RAID0 configuration isn't really necessary now as this is more of a
back-up system.

I will always be a little suspect, though, fearing that other components on
the board may be close to failure.

Thanks again for your help.

Jeff

 

[Daave]

Hi, Jeff. Sorry that I cannot help with regard to your RAID0 setup as I
have no experience with that whatsoever. I do like your idea of starting
from scratch, using a non-RAID configuration. In the event you want to
troubleshoot and try to correct what you currently have, I suggest you
post to a hardware newsgroup such as:

microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware

And include a link to this thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...ad/e4f5f555b3121946/4795274e8331c587?hl=en&q=

Good luck.

 

[Jeff]

Hi Dave,

I'll give that a try. Thanks for the recommendation.

Have a great weekend.

Jeff

 

[Daave]

YW and same to you.

Hi Dave,

I'll give that a try. Thanks for the recommendation.

Have a great weekend.

Jeff