Safe Mode boot question

[Jose]

        That is what I was afraid of.  It sounds like there is little I can do
to repair the corrupt HD from my end.  Although I would rather not, I
guess I shall walk her through a cloning of the current working drive to
the failed drive.  Thanks.

Did you ever specify what the "boot error" was?

Sometimes these won't boot things are ridiculously simple to fix with
just a bootable Recovery Console CD which anyone can make in just a
few minutes.

 

[Ken]

Did you ever specify what the "boot error" was?

No, all I know is that the computer goes into a reboot.

Sometimes these won't boot things are ridiculously simple to fix with
just a bootable Recovery Console CD which anyone can make in just a
few minutes.

I was thinking the same way you are, hoping that it is simply one file
I could copy to the faulty drive in order to solve the problem. This is
probably unlikely, but I am a dreamer!!

 

[Twayne]

Seems like a lot of work to just avoid putting a CD in the drive and
removing it.

Maybe she will; or she'll just continue to keep in using it as pirated
software. And wonder why problems crop up down the road.

Not really. There's not only the hassle of creating/testing the
slipstreamed CD but also the point of having become the permanent
resource of that CD forever, most likely.

 

[Jose]

        No, all I know is that the computer goes into a reboot.


        I was thinking the same way you are, hoping that it is simply one file
I could copy to the faulty drive in order to solve the problem.  This is
probably unlikely, but I am a dreamer!!

Well, I'll tell ya...

A frequent and easy to fix issue like this often involves a file
called userinit.exe. Malicious software can delete it, replace it or
corrupt it. It may not be your problem, but it happens a lot, is easy
to check and easy to fix.

Won't boot does not equal can't login. The userinit.exe controls both
logging in modes so if it is broken you will see the same problem in
Normal or any Safe Mode.

First build a Recovery Console CD, get that working and we can check
the userinit.exe issue. My copy/paste instructions from doing this
many, many times:

Eliminate or repair possible file system corruption from a power
failure, ungraceful shutdown or aborted restart.

Have any of these events occurred?

You should first boot your PC into the XP Recovery Console using a
bootable XP installation CD or a bootable CD with the XP Recovery
Console on it.

You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
and burning it to a CD.

The same XP Recovery Console commands can be run from the bootable
Recovery Console CD.

The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

xp_rec_con.iso

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:

http://www.imgburn.com/

It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on the computer that
is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These
adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it,
you will have to reboot the system again.

When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

Press any key to boot from CD...

The Windows Setup... will proceed.

Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:\WINDOWS)

You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the C:
\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

RC allows basic file commands - copy, rename, replace, delete, cd,
chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
afflicted drive.

Running chkdsk is fine to run even if it doesn't find any problems.

Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:

chkdsk C: /r

Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. It may take
a long time to complete or appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the
HDD light is still flashing, it is doing something. Keep an eye on
the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.

Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
computer.

You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
CD will not be present.



After you get this preliminary process done, we will determine if it
is userinit.exe and fix it.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

<snip>

Won't boot does not equal can't login. The userinit.exe controls both
logging in modes so if it is broken you will see the same problem in
Normal or any Safe Mode.
<snip>
After you get this preliminary process done, we will determine if it
is userinit.exe and fix it.
===================

While your detailed instructions for the use of the Recovery Console are
great, I should point out that an inability to boot up (as the OP reported
in his first post) is *never* caused by a flaw in userinit.exe. This file is
invoked only at logon time. If the problem occurs during the boot phase then
no manipulation of userinit.exe will fix it.

 

[Jose]

<snip>

Won't boot does not equal can't login.  The userinit.exe controls both
logging in modes so if it is broken you will see the same problem in
Normal or any Safe Mode.
<snip>
After you get this preliminary process done, we will determine if it
is userinit.exe and fix it.
===================

While your detailed instructions for the use of the Recovery Console are
great, I should point out that an inability to boot up (as the OP reported
in his first post) is *never* caused by a flaw in userinit.exe. This fileis
invoked only at logon time. If the problem occurs during the boot phase then
no manipulation of userinit.exe will fix it.

Agreed and understood, but "won't boot" means can't login to some
people.

After the Safe Mode option was suggested, the OP later says:

"When her computer would not boot into the GUI, I told her to try
booting into Safe Mode. It seems that a reboot takes place in either
mode when it reaches the booting error. I next suggested that she
choose one of the other choices available for booting from the boot
menu when hitting F-8 early in the loading of windows. Even booting
to a prompt delivers the same result."

Prior, the OP says:

"It seems that a reboot takes place in either mode when it reaches the
booting error."

Details on the the booting error remain unclear except we now know the
same error (whatever it is) occurs in Regular of several Safe Mode
options.

Since it sounds like a Safe Mode menu was at least presented that
tells me that XP is at least trying to load.

I am thinking userinit.exe, but am open to other ideas.

It is easy to rule out (or fix) userinit.exe from RC.