REQ: My XP no longer will boot up!

[geezer]

I am running WXP PRO.

I did a re-install to try to fix a re-curring problem. The re-install
gave me the option of restoring - which I chose in order not to lose
the current contents. The re-install ran flawlessly. Now the drive
will not boot.

I temporarily mounted it as a secondary drive with a spare I had as
the boot drive that contained a skeleton XP installed, and found that
all the content of the re-installed drive seems intact and complete.
Therefore I have not lost anything, at least as yet.

Is there a trick I can use to render the re-installed drive bootable?
I really want to get back to where I was.

Thanks

Geezer

 

[philo]

I am running WXP PRO.

I did a re-install to try to fix a re-curring problem. The re-install
gave me the option of restoring - which I chose in order not to lose
the current contents. The re-install ran flawlessly. Now the drive
will not boot.

I temporarily mounted it as a secondary drive with a spare I had as
the boot drive that contained a skeleton XP installed, and found that
all the content of the re-installed drive seems intact and complete.
Therefore I have not lost anything, at least as yet.

Is there a trick I can use to render the re-installed drive bootable?
I really want to get back to where I was.

Thanks

Geezer

boot from the XP cd and opt to enter the recovery console

try the command: fixboot

(you might also try: fixmbr)

 

[geezer]

boot from the XP cd and opt to enter the recovery console

try the command: fixboot

(you might also try: fixmbr)

Thanks for your quick response.

I entered the recovery console, entered 1 (for c:\windows) then
'fixboot' - same result. Same with 'fixmbr'.

The commands seem to work okay - message said boot sector was
modified.

Maybe my problem is not with just the boot sector. Can you suggest
anything else I might try?

Thank

Geezer

 

[geezer]

boot from the XP cd and opt to enter the recovery console

try the command: fixboot

(you might also try: fixmbr)

Thanks for your quick response.

I entered the recovery console, entered 1 (for c:\windows) then
'fixboot' - same result. Same with 'fixmbr'.

The commands seem to work okay - message said boot sector was
modified.

Maybe my problem is not with just the boot sector. Can you suggest
anything else I might try?

<MORE> The boot gets as far as asking me to choose a normal start, or
a safe start. If I choose normal, it reboots. If I choose safe, it
shows several items ended by 'Press escape to cancel loading
A347BUS.SYS'. Whether I press escape or not, it still reboots
immediately.


Thank

Geezer

 

[John Barnett MVP]

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org

The information in this post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any kind,
either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this post. The Author shall not be liable for any
direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use
of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this post..

 

[geezer]

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.

Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer

 

[Guest]

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.

Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer

 

[geezer]

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.

Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer

Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer

 

[Guest]

Well I thought I was following yuo until I got to your ver las t sentecne!!
and then:
This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:51:09 -0000, "John Barnett MVP"

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.


Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer

Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer

 

[geezer]

Well I thought I was following yuo until I got to your ver las t sentecne!!
and then:
This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Put it another way, I have two machines. One (this one) is fine. The
other has all the problems. On that machine, there are two drives.
One drive will not boot. The other drive is just a small one with XP
and nothing else, least of all internet access.

Thanks
G

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:51:09 -0000, "John Barnett MVP"

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.


Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer

Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer

 

[Guest]

Please place you response above mine!! It is easier for me to read. Thanks!!

Did you have e full retail version of XP? this is not an MFG OEM version?

When you did repair? you stated that you used "restore" option?
When asked, did you install in same directory, create new directory, or
install in a separate partition?
"The re-install gave me the option of restoring - which I chose in order not
to lose
the current contents."

Well I thought I was following yuo until I got to your ver las t sentecne!!
and then:
This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Put it another way, I have two machines. One (this one) is fine. The
other has all the problems. On that machine, there are two drives.
One drive will not boot. The other drive is just a small one with XP
and nothing else, least of all internet access.

Thanks
G

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 09:02:02 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:51:09 -0000, "John Barnett MVP"

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.


Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer


Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer

 

[John Barnett MVP]

The ntldr and ntdetect are hidden system files, so you would need to disable
the 'hide protected operating system files' option in the folder option to
see them.

In some cases the emergency boot disk simply will not work. But this is only
in a small number of cases. I have actually instructed people to create the
emergency boot disk and they have said they have had problems with it. I
have then suggested that they email me direct and that i send them the files
from my emergency boot disk and these have usually worked. I'm not saying
that it will in your case, but re-visit my website and click on the Contact
tab and email me directly (this is done to prevent you from having to
disclose your real email address on a newsgroup and openning yourself up to
spam). I'll send you the files from my emergency boot disk and you can give
those a try.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org

The information in this post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any kind,
either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this post. The Author shall not be liable for any
direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use
of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this post..

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk
will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11
on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the
floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.

Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer

 

[geezer]

The ntldr and ntdetect are hidden system files, so you would need to disable
the 'hide protected operating system files' option in the folder option to
see them.

Yes - I am familiar with that. I checked and the view options were
correct. The hide option was disabled.

In some cases the emergency boot disk simply will not work. But this is only
in a small number of cases. I have actually instructed people to create the
emergency boot disk and they have said they have had problems with it.

Actually, where I stand right now is that the boot disk runs, but
stops saying the 'hal.dll' file is missing or corrupt. I tried
replacing it from another hard disk, but it didn't change anything.
The hal.dll file is in fact on the drive I am trying to fix. I
looked.

I

have then suggested that they email me direct and that i send them the files
from my emergency boot disk and these have usually worked. I'm not saying
that it will in your case, but re-visit my website and click on the Contact
tab and email me directly (this is done to prevent you from having to
disclose your real email address on a newsgroup and openning yourself up to
spam). I'll send you the files from my emergency boot disk and you can give
those a try.

I will do that - and thank you. You correctly interpret why I use an
alias here.

Geezer

 

[geezer]

Sorry!

Yes it is XP PRO bought and paid for
Yes I used the 'restore'
Yes I use same dir (c:\windows)
Yes It installed in same partition
Yes I have not lost any files or data so far - except that the drive
no longer boots.

Thanks

Geezer

Please place you response above mine!! It is easier for me to read. Thanks!!

Did you have e full retail version of XP? this is not an MFG OEM version?

When you did repair? you stated that you used "restore" option?
When asked, did you install in same directory, create new directory, or
install in a separate partition?
"The re-install gave me the option of restoring - which I chose in order not
to lose
the current contents."

Well I thought I was following yuo until I got to your ver las t sentecne!!
and then:
This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Put it another way, I have two machines. One (this one) is fine. The
other has all the problems. On that machine, there are two drives.
One drive will not boot. The other drive is just a small one with XP
and nothing else, least of all internet access.

Thanks
G

:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 09:02:02 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:51:09 -0000, "John Barnett MVP"

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.


Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer


Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer

 

[Guest]

I'm pretty sure it is called "repair" and not 'restore' but I can bite my
tongue if needed.

I would go back and do what is called a "parallel install". this will put
windows in a different directory. You application will have to be reloaded
but the related files will be intact as long as you load applications in
default directories. Updates would have to be done. also.
This will create dual boot menu. Then you will have to edit the dual boot
menu and delete the previous Windows directory.


The other option is to do "Clean Install" which starts you with totally
clean and fresh start. will loose all personal files unless copied to other
media prior to install.

Sorry!

Yes it is XP PRO bought and paid for
Yes I used the 'restore'
Yes I use same dir (c:\windows)
Yes It installed in same partition
Yes I have not lost any files or data so far - except that the drive
no longer boots.

Thanks

Geezer

Please place you response above mine!! It is easier for me to read. Thanks!!

Did you have e full retail version of XP? this is not an MFG OEM version?

When you did repair? you stated that you used "restore" option?
When asked, did you install in same directory, create new directory, or
install in a separate partition?
"The re-install gave me the option of restoring - which I chose in order not
to lose
the current contents."

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 10:25:01 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Well I thought I was following yuo until I got to your ver las t sentecne!!
and then:
This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.


Put it another way, I have two machines. One (this one) is fine. The
other has all the problems. On that machine, there are two drives.
One drive will not boot. The other drive is just a small one with XP
and nothing else, least of all internet access.

Thanks
G


:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 09:02:02 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:51:09 -0000, "John Barnett MVP"

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.


Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer


Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer

 

[Gene K]

John,
Another thing: XP looks for boot files on the C drive AND the C drive must
be the Master drive, not the Slave. It may be he imaged to the Slave and
failed to switch the plugs after that.
Gene

The ntldr and ntdetect are hidden system files, so you would need to
disable the 'hide protected operating system files' option in the folder
option to see them.

In some cases the emergency boot disk simply will not work. But this is
only in a small number of cases. I have actually instructed people to
create the emergency boot disk and they have said they have had problems
with it. I have then suggested that they email me direct and that i send
them the files from my emergency boot disk and these have usually worked.
I'm not saying that it will in your case, but re-visit my website and
click on the Contact tab and email me directly (this is done to prevent
you from having to disclose your real email address on a newsgroup and
openning yourself up to spam). I'll send you the files from my emergency
boot disk and you can give those a try.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org

The information in this post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any kind,
either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of
the use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
post..

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win
XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the
floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows
desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk
will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11
on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the
floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.

Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer

 

[geezer]

You may be right - They call me Geezer because of my advanced age -
which means I forget easily.

Parallel install may be a way to go. I hadn't thought of that.
Clean Install sill be my l a s t option.

Geezer

I'm pretty sure it is called "repair" and not 'restore' but I can bite my
tongue if needed.

I would go back and do what is called a "parallel install". this will put
windows in a different directory. You application will have to be reloaded
but the related files will be intact as long as you load applications in
default directories. Updates would have to be done. also.
This will create dual boot menu. Then you will have to edit the dual boot
menu and delete the previous Windows directory.


The other option is to do "Clean Install" which starts you with totally
clean and fresh start. will loose all personal files unless copied to other
media prior to install.

Sorry!

Yes it is XP PRO bought and paid for
Yes I used the 'restore'
Yes I use same dir (c:\windows)
Yes It installed in same partition
Yes I have not lost any files or data so far - except that the drive
no longer boots.

Thanks

Geezer

Please place you response above mine!! It is easier for me to read. Thanks!!

Did you have e full retail version of XP? this is not an MFG OEM version?

When you did repair? you stated that you used "restore" option?
When asked, did you install in same directory, create new directory, or
install in a separate partition?
"The re-install gave me the option of restoring - which I chose in order not
to lose
the current contents."



:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 10:25:01 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Well I thought I was following yuo until I got to your ver las t sentecne!!
and then:
This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.


Put it another way, I have two machines. One (this one) is fine. The
other has all the problems. On that machine, there are two drives.
One drive will not boot. The other drive is just a small one with XP
and nothing else, least of all internet access.

Thanks
G


:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 09:02:02 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:51:09 -0000, "John Barnett MVP"

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.


Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer


Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer

 

[ANONYMOUS]

Geezer,

It looks increasingly clear to me that the only option left for you is
to do a clean install. There is no other way as you have taken advice
from so many people that your system has reached a stage of No Return.

hth

You may be right - They call me Geezer because of my advanced age -
which means I forget easily.

Parallel install may be a way to go. I hadn't thought of that.
Clean Install sill be my l a s t option.

Geezer

I'm pretty sure it is called "repair" and not 'restore' but I can bite my
tongue if needed.

I would go back and do what is called a "parallel install". this will put
windows in a different directory. You application will have to be reloaded
but the related files will be intact as long as you load applications in
default directories. Updates would have to be done. also.
This will create dual boot menu. Then you will have to edit the dual boot
menu and delete the previous Windows directory.


The other option is to do "Clean Install" which starts you with totally
clean and fresh start. will loose all personal files unless copied to other
media prior to install.

Sorry!

Yes it is XP PRO bought and paid for
Yes I used the 'restore'
Yes I use same dir (c:\windows)
Yes It installed in same partition
Yes I have not lost any files or data so far - except that the drive
no longer boots.

Thanks

Geezer



On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 11:15:02 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Please place you response above mine!! It is easier for me to read. Thanks!!

Did you have e full retail version of XP? this is not an MFG OEM version?

When you did repair? you stated that you used "restore" option?
When asked, did you install in same directory, create new directory, or
install in a separate partition?
"The re-install gave me the option of restoring - which I chose in order not
to lose
the current contents."



:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 10:25:01 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Well I thought I was following yuo until I got to your ver las t sentecne!!
and then:
This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.


Put it another way, I have two machines. One (this one) is fine. The
other has all the problems. On that machine, there are two drives.
One drive will not boot. The other drive is just a small one with XP
and nothing else, least of all internet access.

Thanks
G


:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 09:02:02 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:51:09 -0000, "John Barnett MVP"

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.


Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer


Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer

 

[ANONYMOUS]

Actually, where I stand right now is that the boot disk runs, but
stops saying the 'hal.dll' file is missing or corrupt. I tried
replacing it from another hard disk, but it didn't change anything.
The hal.dll file is in fact on the drive I am trying to fix. I
looked.

No you need to press the up arrow key to select the fist Windows
(default). You normally get two and by default it goes to the 2nd (also
Windows (default) ) where you get the error you say. If you select the
first then it should boot up.

hth

 

[geezer]

You may be right!

One choice worth exploring is the so-called 'parallel install', which
should at least preserve my data.

G

Geezer,

It looks increasingly clear to me that the only option left for you is
to do a clean install. There is no other way as you have taken advice
from so many people that your system has reached a stage of No Return.

hth

You may be right - They call me Geezer because of my advanced age -
which means I forget easily.

Parallel install may be a way to go. I hadn't thought of that.
Clean Install sill be my l a s t option.

Geezer

I'm pretty sure it is called "repair" and not 'restore' but I can bite my
tongue if needed.

I would go back and do what is called a "parallel install". this will put
windows in a different directory. You application will have to be reloaded
but the related files will be intact as long as you load applications in
default directories. Updates would have to be done. also.
This will create dual boot menu. Then you will have to edit the dual boot
menu and delete the previous Windows directory.


The other option is to do "Clean Install" which starts you with totally
clean and fresh start. will loose all personal files unless copied to other
media prior to install.



:

Sorry!

Yes it is XP PRO bought and paid for
Yes I used the 'restore'
Yes I use same dir (c:\windows)
Yes It installed in same partition
Yes I have not lost any files or data so far - except that the drive
no longer boots.

Thanks

Geezer



On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 11:15:02 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Please place you response above mine!! It is easier for me to read. Thanks!!

Did you have e full retail version of XP? this is not an MFG OEM version?

When you did repair? you stated that you used "restore" option?
When asked, did you install in same directory, create new directory, or
install in a separate partition?
"The re-install gave me the option of restoring - which I chose in order not
to lose
the current contents."



:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 10:25:01 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Well I thought I was following yuo until I got to your ver las t sentecne!!
and then:
This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.


Put it another way, I have two machines. One (this one) is fine. The
other has all the problems. On that machine, there are two drives.
One drive will not boot. The other drive is just a small one with XP
and nothing else, least of all internet access.

Thanks
G


:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 09:02:02 -0800, "Dixonian69"

Your best bet for help is to only make changes made and reply about add'l
problems before making those changes!!!

Everyone is trying to help but only do what is suggested. Do not proceed w/o
psoting new problems and waiting for assisstance before maiking changes!!

Are working with only one computer? OR are yuo putting bad drive in a
different computer?

The bad "C" drive is primary master with jumper set as master and is Only HD
in computer?

You had ntldr and ntdetect.com and a boot.ini file with entries that yuo
provided.
You booted up. You received an error message. You should have stopped and
reposted problem!!

You said at one time bad drive would boot normally but not in safe mode?
Is that still true?

:

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:51:09 -0000, "John Barnett MVP"

Geezer, visit my website http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP
Faq button and take a look at question 10 'How do i create an emergency
start up disk for XP' You will need a floppy disk for this. Once you have
created the floppy disk reboot your computer with the floppy in the floppy
drive. If all goes well you should be able to boot to the windows desktop.
If the emergency floppy has booted to the desktop then go to Windows
explorer and click on the floppy drive. The contents of the floppy disk will
become visible (you must have 'show hidden files and folder, etc enabled
otherwise you will not be bale to see the boot.ini file (see question 11 on
my site). Now copy the contents - boot.ini. NTDetect, NTLDR from the floppy
to your C: drive and then reboot again. Hopefully, assuming the floppy
worked, this should repair the problem and you should be able to boot as
normal.


Thanks
You sound very knowledgable and your site is one to keep accessible on
this end.

I tried what it says to do, which really is to grab the 'ntldr' and
ntdetect.com files from the hard drive - then create a new boot.ini
file with content
[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating
systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

I can find no ntldr or ntdetect file. Remember I have my skeleton
drive as c drive and the bad drive as d drive. Both have what look to
be valid XP structures. I looked (searched) on both drives. Yes, I
have view set to see hidden & system files.

However, I did find the 2 files on my XP installation CD. So I used
them to make the so-called emergency startup diskette.

With the bad drive as c drive, and the only drive, I booted up from
the floppy. It told me that a so-called 'hal.dll' file is missing or
corrupt. I copied that file from my skeleton XP drive, and placed it
on both the floppy and in the bad drive's c:\windows\system32 (which
was a 'replace'). I re booted from the floppy again, with only the
bad drive in place (as c drive), and I get the same error.

What now?
Thanks again
Geezer


Up thru yesterday the drive booted okay, but different apps were
failing, so I opted to try a XP re-install (not fresh). I did not
want to lose any of my apps or data. I run with this drive as the
only drive (c).

After I did the re-install, the drive would no longer boot.

I made it a second (slave) drive (d), and mounted a spare small drive
(c) I had from the past that had just a copy of XP on it - nothing
else. I just wanted to see if the drive that wouldn't boot still had
my data and apps. It did. It still does in fact. It was in this
mode that I could not find ntldr or ntdetect.com on either drive - so
I copied them from the installation CD.

All of my trials have been with the failing drive as c drive alone.

This post (and the others) are from a different machine entirely.

Sorry for any confusions I may have caused.

Geezer