WindowsXP Boot, System Recovery Menu

[Guest]

When I boot up my other computer, which runs WindowsXP, I get to the System
Recovery menu, with the options;

Safwe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with command Prompt

Last Known Good Configuration

Start Windows Normally.

IT doesnt matetr which one I choose however, as all five do not work. Ill
select one, itll go for a couple of seconds more before restarting and going
back to this menu. Ive unplugged everything and tried to boot it but it still
goes to this menu. I checked that the internal fan is working. I havent
installed any new software or hardware recently, and the computer isnt on a
network.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Menno Hershberger]

When I boot up my other computer, which runs WindowsXP, I get to the
System Recovery menu, with the options;

Safwe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with command Prompt

Last Known Good Configuration

Start Windows Normally.

IT doesnt matetr which one I choose however, as all five do not work.
Ill select one, itll go for a couple of seconds more before restarting
and going back to this menu. Ive unplugged everything and tried to
boot it but it still goes to this menu. I checked that the internal
fan is working. I havent installed any new software or hardware
recently, and the computer isnt on a network.

Any ideas?

If you have an XP CD, boot from it and go into the recovery console by
pressing "R" at the first screen.
When prompted for a password enter the proper password. If it's Home
Edition, just press enter. At the prompt type "chkdsk c: /r"
Judging from past experience, you've got about a 50-50 chance that'll fix
it. It's worth a try anyway, before you resort to more desperate methods.
"fixboot" and "fixmbr" typed from the same prompt are other
possibilities. But if you're making it as far as the menu, I don't think
those last two will help.
If none of those work, then a repair install is probably in order.

 

[Rock]

When I boot up my other computer, which runs WindowsXP, I get to the
System
Recovery menu, with the options;

Safwe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with command Prompt

Last Known Good Configuration

Start Windows Normally.

IT doesnt matetr which one I choose however, as all five do not work. Ill
select one, itll go for a couple of seconds more before restarting and
going
back to this menu. Ive unplugged everything and tried to boot it but it
still
goes to this menu. I checked that the internal fan is working. I havent
installed any new software or hardware recently, and the computer isnt on
a
network.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Do you have a full and complete backup of all important data on the drive?
If not do that first. Put the drive as a slave drive in another XP or Win2k
computer and copy the important data.

Download a hard drive diagnostic utility from the drive manufacturer's web
site. That will create a bootable floppy or CD. Run the diagnostics from
there.

Download and run at least two of these memory diagnostic utilities. They
will also be run from a bootable floppy or CD. Let each one run for some
time, not just a a single pass.

Memtest86+
http://www.memtest.org/

Windows Memory Diagnostic
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

DocMemory Memory Diagnostic
http://www.simmtester.com/page/products/doc/download.asp

If after correcting any problems and/or replacing bad memory, if needed,
there is still a problem, do a repair install:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

[Guest]

If you have an XP CD, boot from it and go into the recovery console by
pressing "R" at the first screen.
When prompted for a password enter the proper password. If it's Home
Edition, just press enter. At the prompt type "chkdsk c: /r"
Judging from past experience, you've got about a 50-50 chance that'll fix
it. It's worth a try anyway, before you resort to more desperate methods.
"fixboot" and "fixmbr" typed from the same prompt are other
possibilities. But if you're making it as far as the menu, I don't think
those last two will help.
If none of those work, then a repair install is probably in order.

I created a boot disk and booted it up. IT never asked me for a password.]
It comes up with the prompt "A:\>". None of the commands given work, they
just come up with "Bad command or file name".

 

[Anna]

I created a boot disk and booted it up. IT never asked me for a password.]
It comes up with the prompt "A:\>". None of the commands given work, they
just come up with "Bad command or file name".

Sam:
You misunderstood Menno's instructions. You don't boot from a DOS boot
floppy disk (Startup disk) in this situation. Rather, you boot from your XP
installation CD.

You can try the Recovery Console commands as Menno suggests, but if it
doesn't work you would probably be best served by undertaking a Repair
install of the OS. In that situation you bypass the Recovery Console. I
assume you're unfamiliar with that process so it would probably be useful
for you to Google for "XP repair install" and you'll be directed to a number
of sites that provide step-by-step instructions for undertaking this
process.
Anna

 

[Rock]

If you have an XP CD, boot from it and go into the recovery console by
pressing "R" at the first screen.
When prompted for a password enter the proper password. If it's Home
Edition, just press enter. At the prompt type "chkdsk c: /r"
Judging from past experience, you've got about a 50-50 chance that'll fix
it. It's worth a try anyway, before you resort to more desperate methods.
"fixboot" and "fixmbr" typed from the same prompt are other
possibilities. But if you're making it as far as the menu, I don't think
those last two will help.
If none of those work, then a repair install is probably in order.

I created a boot disk and booted it up. IT never asked me for a password.]
It comes up with the prompt "A:\>". None of the commands given work, they
just come up with "Bad command or file name".

What kind of boot disk did you create? Does it have the capacity to read
the ntfs file system? It seems like it doesn't.