Xp Reload failure

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My son was the computer person in the family. He installed XP on my computer as well as other members of the family's computers. He was killed in an auto accident last year, so I have no support for my computer problems. My niece began having a problem with her Xp. It would go to the page where you can start windows in safe mode, safe mode with command prompts, or latest successful configuration. I believe there was one other thing you could select, but I just can't remember it right now. Anyway, she tried to start windows with each of those selections, but they just kept looping back to the same page and no further. I found the XP disc and she used it to try to load XP back onto the computer, She went so far, then a screen stated that she would have to reformat her hard drive before it could be installed. It said the computer was either full, and several other reasons that could cause it not to load. Is there anything else we can try before completely reformatting her drive. She has so much stuff....... and of course , not backed up. I don't even know how to do that, either. Could you help, please?
 
Such a message indicates the setup is too corrupted for a reinstall or
repair install. Setup simply won't go any further unless you format,
something you can do from XP setup:

Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.

A few screens into the boot process, if you see the message on the boot
screen to "Press any key in order to boot from the CD," do so.

After loading drivers and files, you should be taken to a screen with
the following:

To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To Repair a Windows XP Installation using Recovery Console press R.
To Quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

In your case, press ENTER.

Agree to the License agreement by pressing F8.

You will then be taken to a screen with two options.

To repair the selected Windows XP installation press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing,
press ESC.

This will bring you to a partition map where you
can delete, create and format partitions.
Select the drive you wish to format, delete the partition, then create a new
partition, format as desired and continue with XP installation.

I am terribly sorry about the loss of your son, please accept my sympathies.
 
Hi, Jane.
She has so much stuff.......
Click to expand...

As Michael Solomon said, it's probably time for a complete clean install,
which includes formatting your niece's hard drive - which means deleting ALL
her "stuff". :>(

Before formatting, she could make one last attempt to recover irreplaceable
"stuff". This includes her DATA files, such as letters, pictures and other
documents that are personal to her and probably don't exist anywhere else in
the world. Don't worry about Windows files; those will be replaced from the
WinXP CD-ROM during the new installation. Don't worry about application
files; all the applications will have to be reinstalled from the original
CDs or other media after WinXP is reinstalled. But her data files can't be
replaced from anywhere; only SHE can decide whether they are worth the
trouble to save them.

If her computer can be booted at all, she can to copy only her data to
floppies, CD-R/RW, or some other temporary storage. If it cannot be booted,
then she may have to open the case, remove the hard drive, and transfer it
into a friend's computer. (Of course, this must be a friend that she trusts
to be both computer-competent and able to safely handle any secrets that may
be in those files. If such a friend is not available, a local computer shop
should be able to handle the job for a reasonable charge.) The friend can
temporarily install her HD as a secondary drive and copy her data to
temporary storage. Then return her HD to her computer and install WinXP,
including reformat of her HD. After WinXP is installed, restore her files;
this might involve repeating the process of temporarily installing her HD in
her friend's computer.

If she can afford it, and her data is worth enough to her, she could buy a
new HD. Remove the old one and install the new one as primary master.
Clean install WinXP on the new HD (with the old HD out of the computer so
that WinXP Setup doesn't get confused as to which is the active partition).
Then add the old HD as a secondary drive and copy her irreplaceable "stuff"
to the new HD. Then she can retire the old HD, or use WinXP's Disk
Management to delete the old partition, create and format a new one, and
have plenty of room for more "stuff". ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

Jane said:
My son was the computer person in the family. He installed XP on my
Click to expand...
computer as well as other members of the family's computers. He was killed
in an auto accident last year, so I have no support for my computer
problems. My niece began having a problem with her Xp. It would go to the
page where you can start windows in safe mode, safe mode with command
prompts, or latest successful configuration. I believe there was one other
thing you could select, but I just can't remember it right now. Anyway, she
tried to start windows with each of those selections, but they just kept
looping back to the same page and no further. I found the XP disc and she
used it to try to load XP back onto the computer, She went so far, then a
screen stated that she would have to reformat her hard drive before it could
be installed. It said the computer was either full, and several other
reasons that could cause it not to load. Is there anything else we can try
before completely reformatting her drive. She has so much stuff....... and
of course , not backed up. I don't even know how to do that, either. Could
you help, please?
 
Thank you so much for your sympathy, as well as the
information. My son was only 22 and had a brilliant
career ahead of him. An 18 year old on drugs entered an
exit ramp on the interstate and hit my son head-on,
killing him instantly. Our family is completely
devastated.
Your information is a lot of help. Thankfully, I
remembered my son learned just about everything he knew
about computers by asking questions in newsgroups, so
here was the only place I could think of to go.
I had a feeling that she would definitely have to
reformat the drive. Another question though.... since her
drive is already partitioned, could I just try to
reformat that partition and try to install XP on that
one, or when you format, do you have to format the whole
drive? Thanks again for your information. Jane
 
Thank you so much for this information! It was very
informative for me to know how to be able to save her
information. I had a feeling that she would definitely
have to reformat the drive. Another question.... since
her drive is already partitioned, is it possible to
reformat that partition and try to install XP on that
one, or when you format, do you have to format the whole
drive?
Thanks again for your information. It is nice to know
that we can possibly salvage her stuff from her hard
drive.
Jane
 
You may format only one partition on the HDD for installing XP. You don't have to do both

As the others have mentioned, try to back up your data first before you do anything

Chaitan.
 
Hi, Jane.

That existing second partition may be the key to solving the problem! How
big is it? What is on it? How much space is left? Depending on how the
computer has been used, all of her personal "stuff" may have been stored on
that partition, with only Windows and applications on the first partition.
That second partition may not need to be reformatted. It may be just fine,
and inaccessible only because she can't load Windows from the first
partition.

If that's the situation, then she can boot from the WinXP CD-ROM and clean
install WinXP on C:, reformatting just the first partition in the process.
Once she has Windows up and running on C:, she should be able to see all her
"stuff" on the second partition. Then all she has to do is reinstall her
applications and point them to the data files on that partition.

Another approach, depending on whether that second partition is big enough
and has enough free space (at least 2 GB; much more is much better), is to
"clean install" WinXP a second time, directing it to that partition. (She
can choose to have Setup format that partition or not, depending on whether
it is readable and whether it holds recoverable "stuff".) This will create
a "dual-boot" system. Each time she boots, she will see a menu from which
she can choose: WinXP or WinXP?? (She can edit the labels so that SHE can
tell the two installations of WinXP apart; the computer won't be confused
because it goes by partition numbers, rather than by the text labels.) She
can boot into the new WinXP and use it to diagnose and perhaps repair the
first partition. She might even be able to recover files from the first
partition while booted into the new WinXP. In the worst case, after she has
rescued all recoverable "stuff" from the first partition by copying it to
the second partition or other media, then she can reinstall WinXP on the
first partition, reformatting it in the process.

When we know more about that second partition, we can provide more specific
advice. In short, several possible solutions exist. They are not "quick
and easy", but they may be worth doing, depending on how badly she wants to
save her "stuff".

In our family, my son and his wife have the computer degrees. I have the 25
years of experience fiddling with personal computers. I'm very sorry for
your loss.

RC
 
Jane, again, my deepest sympathies.

You only need to format the partition on which XP is installed, just do it
during setup as I described and reinstall on that partition.
 
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