XP pro won't restart or recover

[Guest]

After power outage yesterday when I turned my pc on it started to boot and
went to the screen asking for safe mode, safe mode with command prompt etc,
including the option to do last configuration. I tried all 5 option with no
results. It goes to the windows logo and then there's stops and reboots
itself. In between all there are various screens including a blue screen
that flashes by faster than it can be read. So I tried booting with my
installation disk and get to windows setup window and go to repair. I do
chkdsk c: and chkdsk c: /p and /r and various other iterations of that. It
doesn't seem to really check anything but after a little pause, gives a
message that there is one or more operations - or similar wording -
unrecoverable. Then I reboot and at the windows setup I hit enter to
install Windows XP so I can repair it. But it doesn't even look for another
installed OS, it goes straight to the window asking to choose a partition and
gives one choice which is c: partition1 [unknown] and lists the size as that
of my hard drive. When I hit that it next goes to format -- at which point I
exited as I don't wish to format or lose the files on my hard drive.

Can someone help me here? Right now I have no idea what to do next to
salvage my programs and files. I've got some very important files on my c:
drive that I can't afford to lose.

My computer techie doesn't think it's hopeful but wants to try and put in
another hard drive and then see if he can recover the files that way.

Any other ideas on what to do here?

If any one does, please help. Thanks!

 

[thecreator]

Hi Eva,

Insert the Windows XP CD. Make sure that the CD-Rom is booted first. After the Setup is loaded go back to the Recovery Console. Hit Enter for the Password.

At the prompt, type chkdsk /r and hit Enter. Do not remove the Windows XP CD, while it is running. When done, type Exit and hit Enter and now remove the Windows XP CD and try booting into Windows.

I saw your plea earlier for Help, but wanted to try my suggestion, before giving it. It runs and fixes the Hard Drive.

 

[Guest]

Hi!

Wow, thanks for the fast response and sure appreciate you checking this out
on your own computer first.... (as long as you didn't have to crash it the
way mine did)

So I tried out what you suggested - here are the results:

I booted up with the Windows XP CD in the DVD drive and got the Welcome to
Setups window with Setups loaded. This is where the screen says
ENTER=install, F3=repair and something else for quit.

I wasn't totally sure what you meant by "go back to recovery console" so
tried two things:

1) I hit enter for install - and the computer went straight to the partition
screen which I exited out of

2) then I booted up again and this time hit F3 for repair

This time I got a black DOS screen - I hit ENTER right away and got a list
of key boards to select. No password prompt.

I went back to the DOS screen and hit ENTER again but the only thing that
came up was C:\>

At this point I entered the command CHKDSK /R and hit ENTER and let it run

After about a minute or so, it displayed the message I was getting before as
per my earlier message "The volume appears to contain one or more
unrecoverable problems" (Aaargh!)

Okay, I kept going and typed in EXIT and hit ENTER and then removed the
Windows XP CD to let the computer boot without the CD

But....instead of booting, it defaulted back to the black screen that says
it's booting from CD and to press any key... which I did but of course with
no CD in the drive, it read "disk error" and then said to "press
Ctl-Alt-Delete" to restart. I did that several times through and got the
same response

Then I went into set ups to see if I could change something in the BIOS and
ended up leaving it as is because I didn't really know what to do so
cancelled out without changing or saving anything

So now I'm back to a screen that says its trying to boot from CD and to hit
Ctl-Alt-Delete to restart.

Any idea what's going wrong here and what to do or check?

I'll be here at the office for several more hours so if you or someone else
sees this and knows what to do, please message as I'll keep checking.

Thanks!

Hi Eva,

Insert the Windows XP CD. Make sure that the CD-Rom is booted first. After the Setup is loaded go back to the Recovery Console. Hit Enter for the Password.

At the prompt, type chkdsk /r and hit Enter. Do not remove the Windows XP CD, while it is running. When done, type Exit and hit Enter and now remove the Windows XP CD and try booting into Windows.

I saw your plea earlier for Help, but wanted to try my suggestion, before giving it. It runs and fixes the Hard Drive.


--
thecreator

After power outage yesterday when I turned my pc on it started to boot and
went to the screen asking for safe mode, safe mode with command prompt etc,
including the option to do last configuration. I tried all 5 option with no
results. It goes to the windows logo and then there's stops and reboots
itself. In between all there are various screens including a blue screen
that flashes by faster than it can be read. So I tried booting with my
installation disk and get to windows setup window and go to repair. I do
chkdsk c: and chkdsk c: /p and /r and various other iterations of that. It
doesn't seem to really check anything but after a little pause, gives a
message that there is one or more operations - or similar wording -
unrecoverable. Then I reboot and at the windows setup I hit enter to
install Windows XP so I can repair it. But it doesn't even look for another
installed OS, it goes straight to the window asking to choose a partition and
gives one choice which is c: partition1 [unknown] and lists the size as that
of my hard drive. When I hit that it next goes to format -- at which point I
exited as I don't wish to format or lose the files on my hard drive.

Can someone help me here? Right now I have no idea what to do next to
salvage my programs and files. I've got some very important files on my c:
drive that I can't afford to lose.

My computer techie doesn't think it's hopeful but wants to try and put in
another hard drive and then see if he can recover the files that way.

Any other ideas on what to do here?

If any one does, please help. Thanks!

 

[thecreator]

Hi Eva,

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/ Boot It Program. Installs from a floppy disk onto the Hard Drive to control the Boot process.

http://highergroundsoftware.com/

This program runs off a Floppy Disk. - I have not use this product. But this product may be the one you need.

Or, you can try this procedure. The Hard Drive does seem to be bootable, just the operating system does not boot totally, like a program is corrupt.

This procedure maintains your Desktop, just replaces Windows files and reinstalls them fresh.

Procedure to Reinstall Windows XP!

If you want to save any files, make a backup of those files off the Hard Drive and proceed.

00. - Turn off the printer.
01. - Go into Computer Bios and Set Defaults and Exit, if you know how.
Make sure the Boot Order is set to Boot to CD-Rom Drive First.
02. - Insert Windows XP CD into CD-Rom Drive.
03. - Reboot the computer.
04. - Press any key to begin to boot from the Windows XP CD.
05. - Welcome to Setup.
06. - Reinstall XP - Press Enter
07. - F8 - I Agree
08. - Esc: Don't Repair
09. - Select Windows XP Highlighted Partition to repair Windows XP on.
10. - Press Enter.
11. - Follow on screen prompts to allow the Deletion and reinstallation of the Windows XP System Files.
12. - Then Copies files to partition.
13. - Now it Reboots to Windows XP. Don't press a key to boot to CD.
14. - And now it installs Windows XP.
15. - You need to be here now.
16. - Starts at 39 Minutes to Complete.
17. - At 33 minutes, you need to set Time and Time Zone, if need to.
18. - And Enter The Product Key.
19. - At 29 minutes, you need to pick the Network, if needed to.
20. - Now wait for Reboot and you are done.
21. - Go online and go to Windows Update and download and reinstall all the patches.

Note: - If you have the original Windows XP CD, not Service Pack 2 CD, you will need to have already downloaded to Your Briefcase Folder, WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU from this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&DisplayLang=en

You must install Windows XP Service Pack 2 before you can use Windows Update. Also you must install the tool to validate your copy of Windows after upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 2, before you can begin to reinstall all the Windows XP Patches.



--
thecreator

Hi!

Wow, thanks for the fast response and sure appreciate you checking this out
on your own computer first.... (as long as you didn't have to crash it the
way mine did)

So I tried out what you suggested - here are the results:

I booted up with the Windows XP CD in the DVD drive and got the Welcome to
Setups window with Setups loaded. This is where the screen says
ENTER=install, F3=repair and something else for quit.

I wasn't totally sure what you meant by "go back to recovery console" so
tried two things:

1) I hit enter for install - and the computer went straight to the partition
screen which I exited out of

2) then I booted up again and this time hit F3 for repair

This time I got a black DOS screen - I hit ENTER right away and got a list
of key boards to select. No password prompt.

I went back to the DOS screen and hit ENTER again but the only thing that
came up was C:\>

At this point I entered the command CHKDSK /R and hit ENTER and let it run

After about a minute or so, it displayed the message I was getting before as
per my earlier message "The volume appears to contain one or more
unrecoverable problems" (Aaargh!)

Okay, I kept going and typed in EXIT and hit ENTER and then removed the
Windows XP CD to let the computer boot without the CD

But....instead of booting, it defaulted back to the black screen that says
it's booting from CD and to press any key... which I did but of course with
no CD in the drive, it read "disk error" and then said to "press
Ctl-Alt-Delete" to restart. I did that several times through and got the
same response

Then I went into set ups to see if I could change something in the BIOS and
ended up leaving it as is because I didn't really know what to do so
cancelled out without changing or saving anything

So now I'm back to a screen that says its trying to boot from CD and to hit
Ctl-Alt-Delete to restart.

Any idea what's going wrong here and what to do or check?

I'll be here at the office for several more hours so if you or someone else
sees this and knows what to do, please message as I'll keep checking.

Thanks!

Hi Eva,

Insert the Windows XP CD. Make sure that the CD-Rom is booted first. After the Setup is loaded go back to the Recovery Console. Hit Enter for the Password.

At the prompt, type chkdsk /r and hit Enter. Do not remove the Windows XP CD, while it is running. When done, type Exit and hit Enter and now remove the Windows XP CD and try booting into Windows.

I saw your plea earlier for Help, but wanted to try my suggestion, before giving it. It runs and fixes the Hard Drive.


--
thecreator

After power outage yesterday when I turned my pc on it started to boot and
went to the screen asking for safe mode, safe mode with command prompt etc,
including the option to do last configuration. I tried all 5 option with no
results. It goes to the windows logo and then there's stops and reboots
itself. In between all there are various screens including a blue screen
that flashes by faster than it can be read. So I tried booting with my
installation disk and get to windows setup window and go to repair. I do
chkdsk c: and chkdsk c: /p and /r and various other iterations of that. It
doesn't seem to really check anything but after a little pause, gives a
message that there is one or more operations - or similar wording -
unrecoverable. Then I reboot and at the windows setup I hit enter to
install Windows XP so I can repair it. But it doesn't even look for another
installed OS, it goes straight to the window asking to choose a partition and
gives one choice which is c: partition1 [unknown] and lists the size as that
of my hard drive. When I hit that it next goes to format -- at which point I
exited as I don't wish to format or lose the files on my hard drive.

Can someone help me here? Right now I have no idea what to do next to
salvage my programs and files. I've got some very important files on my c:
drive that I can't afford to lose.

My computer techie doesn't think it's hopeful but wants to try and put in
another hard drive and then see if he can recover the files that way.

Any other ideas on what to do here?

If any one does, please help. Thanks!

 

[Guest]

Dear Creator: I have been reading all over the internet regarding this same
problem. You seem to be very precise. So, I hope you respond to this. How
can I do what you advised Eva without an Installation Disk?

Hi Eva,

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/ Boot It Program. Installs from a floppy disk onto the Hard Drive to control the Boot process.

http://highergroundsoftware.com/

This program runs off a Floppy Disk. - I have not use this product. But this product may be the one you need.

Or, you can try this procedure. The Hard Drive does seem to be bootable, just the operating system does not boot totally, like a program is corrupt.

This procedure maintains your Desktop, just replaces Windows files and reinstalls them fresh.

Procedure to Reinstall Windows XP!

If you want to save any files, make a backup of those files off the Hard Drive and proceed.

00. - Turn off the printer.
01. - Go into Computer Bios and Set Defaults and Exit, if you know how.
Make sure the Boot Order is set to Boot to CD-Rom Drive First.
02. - Insert Windows XP CD into CD-Rom Drive.
03. - Reboot the computer.
04. - Press any key to begin to boot from the Windows XP CD.
05. - Welcome to Setup.
06. - Reinstall XP - Press Enter
07. - F8 - I Agree
08. - Esc: Don't Repair
09. - Select Windows XP Highlighted Partition to repair Windows XP on.
10. - Press Enter.
11. - Follow on screen prompts to allow the Deletion and reinstallation of the Windows XP System Files.
12. - Then Copies files to partition.
13. - Now it Reboots to Windows XP. Don't press a key to boot to CD.
14. - And now it installs Windows XP.
15. - You need to be here now.
16. - Starts at 39 Minutes to Complete.
17. - At 33 minutes, you need to set Time and Time Zone, if need to.
18. - And Enter The Product Key.
19. - At 29 minutes, you need to pick the Network, if needed to.
20. - Now wait for Reboot and you are done.
21. - Go online and go to Windows Update and download and reinstall all the patches.

Note: - If you have the original Windows XP CD, not Service Pack 2 CD, you will need to have already downloaded to Your Briefcase Folder, WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU from this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&DisplayLang=en

You must install Windows XP Service Pack 2 before you can use Windows Update. Also you must install the tool to validate your copy of Windows after upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 2, before you can begin to reinstall all the Windows XP Patches.



--
thecreator

Hi!

Wow, thanks for the fast response and sure appreciate you checking this out
on your own computer first.... (as long as you didn't have to crash it the
way mine did)

So I tried out what you suggested - here are the results:

I booted up with the Windows XP CD in the DVD drive and got the Welcome to
Setups window with Setups loaded. This is where the screen says
ENTER=install, F3=repair and something else for quit.

I wasn't totally sure what you meant by "go back to recovery console" so
tried two things:

1) I hit enter for install - and the computer went straight to the partition
screen which I exited out of

2) then I booted up again and this time hit F3 for repair

This time I got a black DOS screen - I hit ENTER right away and got a list
of key boards to select. No password prompt.

I went back to the DOS screen and hit ENTER again but the only thing that
came up was C:\>

At this point I entered the command CHKDSK /R and hit ENTER and let it run

After about a minute or so, it displayed the message I was getting before as
per my earlier message "The volume appears to contain one or more
unrecoverable problems" (Aaargh!)

Okay, I kept going and typed in EXIT and hit ENTER and then removed the
Windows XP CD to let the computer boot without the CD

But....instead of booting, it defaulted back to the black screen that says
it's booting from CD and to press any key... which I did but of course with
no CD in the drive, it read "disk error" and then said to "press
Ctl-Alt-Delete" to restart. I did that several times through and got the
same response

Then I went into set ups to see if I could change something in the BIOS and
ended up leaving it as is because I didn't really know what to do so
cancelled out without changing or saving anything

So now I'm back to a screen that says its trying to boot from CD and to hit
Ctl-Alt-Delete to restart.

Any idea what's going wrong here and what to do or check?

I'll be here at the office for several more hours so if you or someone else
sees this and knows what to do, please message as I'll keep checking.

Thanks!

Hi Eva,

Insert the Windows XP CD. Make sure that the CD-Rom is booted first. After the Setup is loaded go back to the Recovery Console. Hit Enter for the Password.

At the prompt, type chkdsk /r and hit Enter. Do not remove the Windows XP CD, while it is running. When done, type Exit and hit Enter and now remove the Windows XP CD and try booting into Windows.

I saw your plea earlier for Help, but wanted to try my suggestion, before giving it. It runs and fixes the Hard Drive.


--
thecreator


After power outage yesterday when I turned my pc on it started to boot and
went to the screen asking for safe mode, safe mode with command prompt etc,
including the option to do last configuration. I tried all 5 option with no
results. It goes to the windows logo and then there's stops and reboots
itself. In between all there are various screens including a blue screen
that flashes by faster than it can be read. So I tried booting with my
installation disk and get to windows setup window and go to repair. I do
chkdsk c: and chkdsk c: /p and /r and various other iterations of that. It
doesn't seem to really check anything but after a little pause, gives a
message that there is one or more operations - or similar wording -
unrecoverable. Then I reboot and at the windows setup I hit enter to
install Windows XP so I can repair it. But it doesn't even look for another
installed OS, it goes straight to the window asking to choose a partition and
gives one choice which is c: partition1 [unknown] and lists the size as that
of my hard drive. When I hit that it next goes to format -- at which point I
exited as I don't wish to format or lose the files on my hard drive.

Can someone help me here? Right now I have no idea what to do next to
salvage my programs and files. I've got some very important files on my c:
drive that I can't afford to lose.

My computer techie doesn't think it's hopeful but wants to try and put in
another hard drive and then see if he can recover the files that way.

Any other ideas on what to do here?

If any one does, please help. Thanks!

 

[thecreator]

Hi Deborahlovely,

One of the best tools that Microsoft included with Windows XP, is the ability to repair the operating system using the XP CD as a tool. If you don't have the Windows XP CD with your computer, I would contact your Computer's manufacturer. If that fails, then the only recourse is to go out and buy the Windows XP Home Edition or Professional Edition Upgrade CD, if you have a previous version of Windows operating system on a CD.

Don't buy from Manufacturers that don't give the purchasers backups of everything that is installed on a CD or DVD.

Also you can take it into the Shop for repair or buy the Windows XP CD which may be far cheaper. The choice is yours.


--
thecreator

Dear Creator: I have been reading all over the internet regarding this same
problem. You seem to be very precise. So, I hope you respond to this. How
can I do what you advised Eva without an Installation Disk?

Hi Eva,

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/ Boot It Program. Installs from a floppy disk onto the Hard Drive to control the Boot process.

http://highergroundsoftware.com/

This program runs off a Floppy Disk. - I have not use this product. But this product may be the one you need.

Or, you can try this procedure. The Hard Drive does seem to be bootable, just the operating system does not boot totally, like a program is corrupt.

This procedure maintains your Desktop, just replaces Windows files and reinstalls them fresh.

Procedure to Reinstall Windows XP!

If you want to save any files, make a backup of those files off the Hard Drive and proceed.

00. - Turn off the printer.
01. - Go into Computer Bios and Set Defaults and Exit, if you know how.
Make sure the Boot Order is set to Boot to CD-Rom Drive First.
02. - Insert Windows XP CD into CD-Rom Drive.
03. - Reboot the computer.
04. - Press any key to begin to boot from the Windows XP CD.
05. - Welcome to Setup.
06. - Reinstall XP - Press Enter
07. - F8 - I Agree
08. - Esc: Don't Repair
09. - Select Windows XP Highlighted Partition to repair Windows XP on.
10. - Press Enter.
11. - Follow on screen prompts to allow the Deletion and reinstallation of the Windows XP System Files.
12. - Then Copies files to partition.
13. - Now it Reboots to Windows XP. Don't press a key to boot to CD.
14. - And now it installs Windows XP.
15. - You need to be here now.
16. - Starts at 39 Minutes to Complete.
17. - At 33 minutes, you need to set Time and Time Zone, if need to.
18. - And Enter The Product Key.
19. - At 29 minutes, you need to pick the Network, if needed to.
20. - Now wait for Reboot and you are done.
21. - Go online and go to Windows Update and download and reinstall all the patches.

Note: - If you have the original Windows XP CD, not Service Pack 2 CD, you will need to have already downloaded to Your Briefcase Folder, WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU from this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&DisplayLang=en

You must install Windows XP Service Pack 2 before you can use Windows Update. Also you must install the tool to validate your copy of Windows after upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 2, before you can begin to reinstall all the Windows XP Patches.



--
thecreator

Hi!

Wow, thanks for the fast response and sure appreciate you checking this out
on your own computer first.... (as long as you didn't have to crash it the
way mine did)

So I tried out what you suggested - here are the results:

I booted up with the Windows XP CD in the DVD drive and got the Welcome to
Setups window with Setups loaded. This is where the screen says
ENTER=install, F3=repair and something else for quit.

I wasn't totally sure what you meant by "go back to recovery console" so
tried two things:

1) I hit enter for install - and the computer went straight to the partition
screen which I exited out of

2) then I booted up again and this time hit F3 for repair

This time I got a black DOS screen - I hit ENTER right away and got a list
of key boards to select. No password prompt.

I went back to the DOS screen and hit ENTER again but the only thing that
came up was C:\>

At this point I entered the command CHKDSK /R and hit ENTER and let it run

After about a minute or so, it displayed the message I was getting before as
per my earlier message "The volume appears to contain one or more
unrecoverable problems" (Aaargh!)

Okay, I kept going and typed in EXIT and hit ENTER and then removed the
Windows XP CD to let the computer boot without the CD

But....instead of booting, it defaulted back to the black screen that says
it's booting from CD and to press any key... which I did but of course with
no CD in the drive, it read "disk error" and then said to "press
Ctl-Alt-Delete" to restart. I did that several times through and got the
same response

Then I went into set ups to see if I could change something in the BIOS and
ended up leaving it as is because I didn't really know what to do so
cancelled out without changing or saving anything

So now I'm back to a screen that says its trying to boot from CD and to hit
Ctl-Alt-Delete to restart.

Any idea what's going wrong here and what to do or check?

I'll be here at the office for several more hours so if you or someone else
sees this and knows what to do, please message as I'll keep checking.

Thanks!


:

Hi Eva,

Insert the Windows XP CD. Make sure that the CD-Rom is booted first. After the Setup is loaded go back to the Recovery Console. Hit Enter for the Password.

At the prompt, type chkdsk /r and hit Enter. Do not remove the Windows XP CD, while it is running. When done, type Exit and hit Enter and now remove the Windows XP CD and try booting into Windows.

I saw your plea earlier for Help, but wanted to try my suggestion, before giving it. It runs and fixes the Hard Drive.


--
thecreator


After power outage yesterday when I turned my pc on it started to boot and
went to the screen asking for safe mode, safe mode with command prompt etc,
including the option to do last configuration. I tried all 5 option with no
results. It goes to the windows logo and then there's stops and reboots
itself. In between all there are various screens including a blue screen
that flashes by faster than it can be read. So I tried booting with my
installation disk and get to windows setup window and go to repair. I do
chkdsk c: and chkdsk c: /p and /r and various other iterations of that. It
doesn't seem to really check anything but after a little pause, gives a
message that there is one or more operations - or similar wording -
unrecoverable. Then I reboot and at the windows setup I hit enter to
install Windows XP so I can repair it. But it doesn't even look for another
installed OS, it goes straight to the window asking to choose a partition and
gives one choice which is c: partition1 [unknown] and lists the size as that
of my hard drive. When I hit that it next goes to format -- at which point I
exited as I don't wish to format or lose the files on my hard drive.

Can someone help me here? Right now I have no idea what to do next to
salvage my programs and files. I've got some very important files on my c:
drive that I can't afford to lose.

My computer techie doesn't think it's hopeful but wants to try and put in
another hard drive and then see if he can recover the files that way.

Any other ideas on what to do here?

If any one does, please help. Thanks!

 

[Guest]

Hi again,

Thank you very much for your detailed response!

I read this through carefully and wanted to ask/clarify some points before I
run through this.

First of you should know that I'm trying to save my data files and want to
recover these along with the hard drive.

Your first step says to make a back up of those files off my hard drive and
I am not able to do that as I can't boot up or get onto my computer at
all...so not sure how to access them which is the problem. And I am
absolutely planning to back up these files as soon as I get them back

Now when I go through these steps after step 07. F8 - I agree - it doesn't
go to 08. -- it goes straight to 09. but instead of having a Windows XP
highlighted partition it has an entry that says something like c: partition1
[unknown] and lists the size of the hard drive. And when I select that and
press ENTER - I get a screen that tells me that I have to reformat the hard
drive which means I'll lose all the files - right?

So that's when I go - I don't think I can go there. I don't want to delete
anything I can't get back.

So uhhh... now I'm not sure how to best proceed.

Hopefully you can tell. Thanks again.

Hi Eva,

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/ Boot It Program. Installs from a floppy disk onto the Hard Drive to control the Boot process.

http://highergroundsoftware.com/

This program runs off a Floppy Disk. - I have not use this product. But this product may be the one you need.

Or, you can try this procedure. The Hard Drive does seem to be bootable, just the operating system does not boot totally, like a program is corrupt.

This procedure maintains your Desktop, just replaces Windows files and reinstalls them fresh.

Procedure to Reinstall Windows XP!

If you want to save any files, make a backup of those files off the Hard Drive and proceed.

00. - Turn off the printer.
01. - Go into Computer Bios and Set Defaults and Exit, if you know how.
Make sure the Boot Order is set to Boot to CD-Rom Drive First.
02. - Insert Windows XP CD into CD-Rom Drive.
03. - Reboot the computer.
04. - Press any key to begin to boot from the Windows XP CD.
05. - Welcome to Setup.
06. - Reinstall XP - Press Enter
07. - F8 - I Agree
08. - Esc: Don't Repair
09. - Select Windows XP Highlighted Partition to repair Windows XP on.
10. - Press Enter.
11. - Follow on screen prompts to allow the Deletion and reinstallation of the Windows XP System Files.
12. - Then Copies files to partition.
13. - Now it Reboots to Windows XP. Don't press a key to boot to CD.
14. - And now it installs Windows XP.
15. - You need to be here now.
16. - Starts at 39 Minutes to Complete.
17. - At 33 minutes, you need to set Time and Time Zone, if need to.
18. - And Enter The Product Key.
19. - At 29 minutes, you need to pick the Network, if needed to.
20. - Now wait for Reboot and you are done.
21. - Go online and go to Windows Update and download and reinstall all the patches.

Note: - If you have the original Windows XP CD, not Service Pack 2 CD, you will need to have already downloaded to Your Briefcase Folder, WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU from this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&DisplayLang=en

You must install Windows XP Service Pack 2 before you can use Windows Update. Also you must install the tool to validate your copy of Windows after upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 2, before you can begin to reinstall all the Windows XP Patches.



--
thecreator

Hi!

Wow, thanks for the fast response and sure appreciate you checking this out
on your own computer first.... (as long as you didn't have to crash it the
way mine did)

So I tried out what you suggested - here are the results:

I booted up with the Windows XP CD in the DVD drive and got the Welcome to
Setups window with Setups loaded. This is where the screen says
ENTER=install, F3=repair and something else for quit.

I wasn't totally sure what you meant by "go back to recovery console" so
tried two things:

1) I hit enter for install - and the computer went straight to the partition
screen which I exited out of

2) then I booted up again and this time hit F3 for repair

This time I got a black DOS screen - I hit ENTER right away and got a list
of key boards to select. No password prompt.

I went back to the DOS screen and hit ENTER again but the only thing that
came up was C:\>

At this point I entered the command CHKDSK /R and hit ENTER and let it run

After about a minute or so, it displayed the message I was getting before as
per my earlier message "The volume appears to contain one or more
unrecoverable problems" (Aaargh!)

Okay, I kept going and typed in EXIT and hit ENTER and then removed the
Windows XP CD to let the computer boot without the CD

But....instead of booting, it defaulted back to the black screen that says
it's booting from CD and to press any key... which I did but of course with
no CD in the drive, it read "disk error" and then said to "press
Ctl-Alt-Delete" to restart. I did that several times through and got the
same response

Then I went into set ups to see if I could change something in the BIOS and
ended up leaving it as is because I didn't really know what to do so
cancelled out without changing or saving anything

So now I'm back to a screen that says its trying to boot from CD and to hit
Ctl-Alt-Delete to restart.

Any idea what's going wrong here and what to do or check?

I'll be here at the office for several more hours so if you or someone else
sees this and knows what to do, please message as I'll keep checking.

Thanks!

Hi Eva,

Insert the Windows XP CD. Make sure that the CD-Rom is booted first. After the Setup is loaded go back to the Recovery Console. Hit Enter for the Password.

At the prompt, type chkdsk /r and hit Enter. Do not remove the Windows XP CD, while it is running. When done, type Exit and hit Enter and now remove the Windows XP CD and try booting into Windows.

I saw your plea earlier for Help, but wanted to try my suggestion, before giving it. It runs and fixes the Hard Drive.


--
thecreator


After power outage yesterday when I turned my pc on it started to boot and
went to the screen asking for safe mode, safe mode with command prompt etc,
including the option to do last configuration. I tried all 5 option with no
results. It goes to the windows logo and then there's stops and reboots
itself. In between all there are various screens including a blue screen
that flashes by faster than it can be read. So I tried booting with my
installation disk and get to windows setup window and go to repair. I do
chkdsk c: and chkdsk c: /p and /r and various other iterations of that. It
doesn't seem to really check anything but after a little pause, gives a
message that there is one or more operations - or similar wording -
unrecoverable. Then I reboot and at the windows setup I hit enter to
install Windows XP so I can repair it. But it doesn't even look for another
installed OS, it goes straight to the window asking to choose a partition and
gives one choice which is c: partition1 [unknown] and lists the size as that
of my hard drive. When I hit that it next goes to format -- at which point I
exited as I don't wish to format or lose the files on my hard drive.

Can someone help me here? Right now I have no idea what to do next to
salvage my programs and files. I've got some very important files on my c:
drive that I can't afford to lose.

My computer techie doesn't think it's hopeful but wants to try and put in
another hard drive and then see if he can recover the files that way.

Any other ideas on what to do here?

If any one does, please help. Thanks!

 

[thecreator]

Hi Eva,

You need to try that Hard Drive Mechanic program. There is a 100% Money Back Guarantee. This program saids that it can fix the Hard Drive. http://highergroundsoftware.com/ is the link to your program and information about it.

It can fix the Software crashes, where the Boot Record or FAT gets messed up.

Corrupted Partition
Damaged FAT
Boot Sector not Found
Invalid Drive Specification
An Invalid Media error



This is the best solution to save your Data files.


--
thecreator

Hi again,

Thank you very much for your detailed response!

I read this through carefully and wanted to ask/clarify some points before I
run through this.

First of you should know that I'm trying to save my data files and want to
recover these along with the hard drive.

Your first step says to make a back up of those files off my hard drive and
I am not able to do that as I can't boot up or get onto my computer at
all...so not sure how to access them which is the problem. And I am
absolutely planning to back up these files as soon as I get them back

Now when I go through these steps after step 07. F8 - I agree - it doesn't
go to 08. -- it goes straight to 09. but instead of having a Windows XP
highlighted partition it has an entry that says something like c: partition1
[unknown] and lists the size of the hard drive. And when I select that and
press ENTER - I get a screen that tells me that I have to reformat the hard
drive which means I'll lose all the files - right?

So that's when I go - I don't think I can go there. I don't want to delete
anything I can't get back.

So uhhh... now I'm not sure how to best proceed.

Hopefully you can tell. Thanks again.

Hi Eva,

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/ Boot It Program. Installs from a floppy disk onto the Hard Drive to control the Boot process.

http://highergroundsoftware.com/

This program runs off a Floppy Disk. - I have not use this product. But this product may be the one you need.

Or, you can try this procedure. The Hard Drive does seem to be bootable, just the operating system does not boot totally, like a program is corrupt.

This procedure maintains your Desktop, just replaces Windows files and reinstalls them fresh.

Procedure to Reinstall Windows XP!

If you want to save any files, make a backup of those files off the Hard Drive and proceed.

00. - Turn off the printer.
01. - Go into Computer Bios and Set Defaults and Exit, if you know how.
Make sure the Boot Order is set to Boot to CD-Rom Drive First.
02. - Insert Windows XP CD into CD-Rom Drive.
03. - Reboot the computer.
04. - Press any key to begin to boot from the Windows XP CD.
05. - Welcome to Setup.
06. - Reinstall XP - Press Enter
07. - F8 - I Agree
08. - Esc: Don't Repair
09. - Select Windows XP Highlighted Partition to repair Windows XP on.
10. - Press Enter.
11. - Follow on screen prompts to allow the Deletion and reinstallation of the Windows XP System Files.
12. - Then Copies files to partition.
13. - Now it Reboots to Windows XP. Don't press a key to boot to CD.
14. - And now it installs Windows XP.
15. - You need to be here now.
16. - Starts at 39 Minutes to Complete.
17. - At 33 minutes, you need to set Time and Time Zone, if need to.
18. - And Enter The Product Key.
19. - At 29 minutes, you need to pick the Network, if needed to.
20. - Now wait for Reboot and you are done.
21. - Go online and go to Windows Update and download and reinstall all the patches.

Note: - If you have the original Windows XP CD, not Service Pack 2 CD, you will need to have already downloaded to Your Briefcase Folder, WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU from this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&DisplayLang=en

You must install Windows XP Service Pack 2 before you can use Windows Update. Also you must install the tool to validate your copy of Windows after upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 2, before you can begin to reinstall all the Windows XP Patches.



--
thecreator

Hi!

Wow, thanks for the fast response and sure appreciate you checking this out
on your own computer first.... (as long as you didn't have to crash it the
way mine did)

So I tried out what you suggested - here are the results:

I booted up with the Windows XP CD in the DVD drive and got the Welcome to
Setups window with Setups loaded. This is where the screen says
ENTER=install, F3=repair and something else for quit.

I wasn't totally sure what you meant by "go back to recovery console" so
tried two things:

1) I hit enter for install - and the computer went straight to the partition
screen which I exited out of

2) then I booted up again and this time hit F3 for repair

This time I got a black DOS screen - I hit ENTER right away and got a list
of key boards to select. No password prompt.

I went back to the DOS screen and hit ENTER again but the only thing that
came up was C:\>

At this point I entered the command CHKDSK /R and hit ENTER and let it run

After about a minute or so, it displayed the message I was getting before as
per my earlier message "The volume appears to contain one or more
unrecoverable problems" (Aaargh!)

Okay, I kept going and typed in EXIT and hit ENTER and then removed the
Windows XP CD to let the computer boot without the CD

But....instead of booting, it defaulted back to the black screen that says
it's booting from CD and to press any key... which I did but of course with
no CD in the drive, it read "disk error" and then said to "press
Ctl-Alt-Delete" to restart. I did that several times through and got the
same response

Then I went into set ups to see if I could change something in the BIOS and
ended up leaving it as is because I didn't really know what to do so
cancelled out without changing or saving anything

So now I'm back to a screen that says its trying to boot from CD and to hit
Ctl-Alt-Delete to restart.

Any idea what's going wrong here and what to do or check?

I'll be here at the office for several more hours so if you or someone else
sees this and knows what to do, please message as I'll keep checking.

Thanks!


:

Hi Eva,

Insert the Windows XP CD. Make sure that the CD-Rom is booted first. After the Setup is loaded go back to the Recovery Console. Hit Enter for the Password.

At the prompt, type chkdsk /r and hit Enter. Do not remove the Windows XP CD, while it is running. When done, type Exit and hit Enter and now remove the Windows XP CD and try booting into Windows.

I saw your plea earlier for Help, but wanted to try my suggestion, before giving it. It runs and fixes the Hard Drive.


--
thecreator


After power outage yesterday when I turned my pc on it started to boot and
went to the screen asking for safe mode, safe mode with command prompt etc,
including the option to do last configuration. I tried all 5 option with no
results. It goes to the windows logo and then there's stops and reboots
itself. In between all there are various screens including a blue screen
that flashes by faster than it can be read. So I tried booting with my
installation disk and get to windows setup window and go to repair. I do
chkdsk c: and chkdsk c: /p and /r and various other iterations of that. It
doesn't seem to really check anything but after a little pause, gives a
message that there is one or more operations - or similar wording -
unrecoverable. Then I reboot and at the windows setup I hit enter to
install Windows XP so I can repair it. But it doesn't even look for another
installed OS, it goes straight to the window asking to choose a partition and
gives one choice which is c: partition1 [unknown] and lists the size as that
of my hard drive. When I hit that it next goes to format -- at which point I
exited as I don't wish to format or lose the files on my hard drive.

Can someone help me here? Right now I have no idea what to do next to
salvage my programs and files. I've got some very important files on my c:
drive that I can't afford to lose.

My computer techie doesn't think it's hopeful but wants to try and put in
another hard drive and then see if he can recover the files that way.

Any other ideas on what to do here?

If any one does, please help. Thanks!