XP SP2 not installing.

[Jyoti Sharma]

I am not able to access my Windows XP. When I start Windows XP ( during
booting ), for a 'flash' of a moment a blue screen comes on which
something is written, but I am not able to see what is written there.
After this the system restarts. I wanted to repair Windows XP ( assuming
that some system file might have gone missing which was causing this
behaviour ), but the setup fails everytime stating that some file is
missing or corrupted and asks me to press enter to continue. When I press
enter it says setup failed press enter to restart. And then I have to
restart again. I used lens cleaner assuming that probably dirt and dust
might be prohibiting the dvd-writer to read properly. But this did not
work either. So I have two problems. The first I am not able to boot
Windows XP and second, I am not able to run the installation cd of Windows
XP?

 

[Malke]

I am not able to access my Windows XP. When I start Windows XP ( during
booting ), for a 'flash' of a moment a blue screen comes on which
something is written, but I am not able to see what is written there.
After this the system restarts. I wanted to repair Windows XP ( assuming
that some system file might have gone missing which was causing this
behaviour ), but the setup fails everytime stating that some file is
missing or corrupted and asks me to press enter to continue. When I press
enter it says setup failed press enter to restart. And then I have to
restart again. I used lens cleaner assuming that probably dirt and dust
might be prohibiting the dvd-writer to read properly. But this did not
work either. So I have two problems. The first I am not able to boot
Windows XP and second, I am not able to run the installation cd of Windows
XP?

Run hard drive diagnostics. Use a utility which you will download from the
drive mftr.'s website. You will create a bootable cd with the file you
download - burn as an image, not as data - and boot with it. I always do
the quick test first because if it fails, you don't need to go further.
However, even if the drive passes the quick test do the full thorough test.
If the drive fails any physical tests, replace it.

Malke

 

[Jim]

I am not able to access my Windows XP. When I start Windows XP ( during
booting ), for a 'flash' of a moment a blue screen comes on which
something is written, but I am not able to see what is written there.
After this the system restarts. I wanted to repair Windows XP ( assuming
that some system file might have gone missing which was causing this
behaviour ), but the setup fails everytime stating that some file is
missing or corrupted and asks me to press enter to continue. When I press
enter it says setup failed press enter to restart. And then I have to
restart again. I used lens cleaner assuming that probably dirt and dust
might be prohibiting the dvd-writer to read properly. But this did not
work either. So I have two problems. The first I am not able to boot
Windows XP and second, I am not able to run the installation cd of Windows
XP?

Disable automatic restart after crash. Then the error message will stay as
long as you wish.
The setting is part of local security policy. I would tell you where, but
as I am using a non privileged account right now,
I can't get at the settings.
Jim

 

[Jyoti Sharma]

Disable automatic restart after crash. Then the error message

will stay as long as you wish.

But I cannot even start Windows in the first place! My PC is dual boot- It
has Linux also. Do I have still have a way to do this Jim?

 

[Jyoti Sharma]

Run hard drive diagnostics. Use a utility which you will downloadfrom

the drive mftr.'s website. You will create a bootable cdwith the file
you download - burn as an image, not as data - and
boot with it. I always do the quick test first because if itfails, you
don't need to go further.

But I cannot even start Windows in the first place. But I doubt if HDD is
the problem. Because my PC is dual boot and I can still use my Linux, in
fact, even read my Windows partition from there?

Malke, Do you think I should still go for a HDD check with the
manufacturer's software? I am asking becuase finding one for Linux is
tough and I have a slow dial-up.

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

I am not able to access my Windows XP. When I start Windows XP ( during
booting ), for a 'flash' of a moment a blue screen comes on which
something is written, but I am not able to see what is written there.
After this the system restarts. I wanted to repair Windows XP ( assuming
that some system file might have gone missing which was causing this
behaviour ), but the setup fails everytime stating that some file is
missing or corrupted and asks me to press enter to continue. When I press
enter it says setup failed press enter to restart. And then I have to
restart again. I used lens cleaner assuming that probably dirt and dust
might be prohibiting the dvd-writer to read properly. But this did not
work either. So I have two problems. The first I am not able to boot
Windows XP and second, I am not able to run the installation cd of Windows
XP?

You might try booting into the Safe mode. You might be able to do it using
the F8 key method talked about below;
To get into the Windows 2000 / XP Safe mode, as the computer is booting
press and hold your "F8 Key" which should bring up the "Windows Advanced
Options Menu" as shown below. Use your arrow keys to move to "Safe Mode" and
press your Enter key.

Note: With some computers if you press and hold a key as the computer is
booting you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of
pressing and holding the "F8 key", tap the "F8 key" continuously until you
get the startup menu.
If you are able to bring windows up in this method you might be able to use
a restore point prior to when the problem started. If your lucky this
might fix the problem with out having to reload everything.

As for the CD, I have better luck cleaning the disks with a little tooth
paste and water. The mild abrasive in the tooth paste removes any
fingerprints and can may polish out minor scratches that might be causing
reading problems. Be sure to use a cloth that will not scratch the disk
when drying it.

 

[King Loui]

Hi Jyoti Sharma:

Try to get a copy od ultimate Booet CD (ultimatebootcd.com) and use
testdisk to recover all last and broken files.
You must read the instructiobs very carefully, as you can also kill
everything on your HD.
E.g.: I once killed my main partion with gparted (by uncarefullness),
testdisk recover all within 3 minutes (including reading instruction
and rebooting).
Good Luck

Ajax

 

[Malke]

But I cannot even start Windows in the first place. But I doubt if HDD is
the problem. Because my PC is dual boot and I can still use my Linux, in
fact, even read my Windows partition from there?

Malke, Do you think I should still go for a HDD check with the
manufacturer's software? I am asking becuase finding one for Linux is
tough and I have a slow dial-up.

This is why having all the pertinent information in the *first* post is
important. Otherwise you just waste people's time.

While it is possible that the hard drive is failing, if Linux runs perfectly
it is unlikely. However, the errors you are getting during the installation
do indicate hardware problems. So if the machine were in my shop I would
test the hard drive anyway since that's easy. I would also test the RAM
with Memtest86+ because the fact that Linux works doesn't rule out flaky
RAM. I would also swap out the optical drive for a known-working one.

If you don't have the equipment you need or are unable to download the
diagnostic utilities you need, take the machine to a professional computer
repair shop and have them do it. I don't recommend a
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place.

Once you've diagnosed and fixed any hardware issues, try a Repair Install of
Windows. If that doesn't work, back up your data from Linux and do a clean
install of Windows.

Malke

 

[Jyoti Sharma]

This is why having all the pertinent information in the *first* post is

important. Otherwise you just waste people's time.

My computer is cured- thank you and feedback:

Yes Malke, I will be more careful from the next time. Sorry, for
the inconvenience.

I checked the disk using a Linux Live CD using cfdisk and ntfsfix-
it found one anomaly. The Windows CD this time reached the installation
stage but could not detect the NTFS partition and a few steps later
the blue error screen came. I could read it this time. It was a
typical ntfs.sys file error. I again used Linux Live CD to rename
ntfs.sys to a ntfs.old and copy a new one in its place.
It worked fine now.

And the installation disc also had some problem which I could
check with Nero toolkit on a friends computer. Then I used
my backup installation disc.

Thanks again Malke, and Jim.

 

[Plato]

Run hard drive diagnostics. Use a utility which you will download from the
drive mftr.'s website. You will create a bootable cd with the file you
download - burn as an image, not as data - and boot with it. I always do
the quick test first because if it fails, you don't need to go further.
However, even if the drive passes the quick test do the full thorough test.
If the drive fails any physical tests, replace it.

Well I agree with your advice. My experience however is that it is
usually NOT the HDD, but the CDrom drive if "setup" is failing. Just my
experience. Yes of course if Jyoti has just been getting a XP boot
problem then of course, yes, that may be due to a corrupt windows or bad
sectors on the hard drive which havn't yet been marked bad.