XP wont start

[Arch Phoenix]

My friend has a Pent 4 and today he has phoned me for
help.
His computer wont start past the error message, "We
appologise for inconvenience but Windows did not start
successfully. A recent hardware or software change may
have caused this".
The message goes on.
I have had him try to go back to a previous date but this
has proved unsuccessful. I tried him in safemode but we
are not sure as to where we should go next.
Any Ideas
Arch Phoenix

 

[Julie]

Sorry I don't have an answer but the SAME THING has
happened to me. I can't do anything!!!

however, after i get that message, xp tries to run but it
doesn't and then a blue screen pops up and says somthing
about there was an error and windows was shut down to
prevent damage to the computer and then begins a memory
dump or something like that.

someone please help!!

thanks,
Julie

 

[Guest]

one more thing, when the blue screen pops up..sometimes it
says the error is "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" or sometimes
it says "PFN_LIST_CORRUPT" or sometimes it doesn't say
anything at all... (these are the only error messages i
bothered to jot down..i think i've seen other ones too)

this is an old spare computer someone gave to me so i just
started using it 2 days ago. I have no qualms about
reformating everything and starting over again. But i
don't know how to do that

Julie

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Assuming you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, try a Repair
install as follows:
NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.

If you only have a recovery CD, your options are quite limited. You can
either purchase a retail version of XP will allow you to perform the above
among other tools and options it has or you can run your system recovery
routine with the Recovery CD which will likely wipe your drive, deleting all
files but will restore your setup to factory fresh condition.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Assuming you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, try a Repair
install as follows:
NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.

If you only have a recovery CD, your options are quite limited. You can
either purchase a retail version of XP will allow you to perform the above
among other tools and options it has or you can run your system recovery
routine with the Recovery CD which will likely wipe your drive, deleting all
files but will restore your setup to factory fresh condition.