Corrupt OS - ntoskrnl.exe

  • Thread starter Thread starter MarkW
  • Start date Start date
M

MarkW

Could someone please help me with the following?

I have a user whose laptop has recently stopped working due to a corrupt OS.
A message appears on startup:

'Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe. Please reinstall a copy of the above
file.'

I have tried recover the file system by using Recovery Console as was
suggested elsewhere but I can't get the recommended commands to work. I
suspect this is because I'm not classed as having admin rights, but I can't
enter the admin account password as I never get asked for it, even though I
know there is a local admin account present. When you choose 'R' to activate
Recovery console it eventually just comes up with the standard black screen
with a '1: C:\Windows' option'. When you choose this location it just goes
straight to the command prompt. The pc also appears to be unable to see
beyond c:\windows. If I enter 'dir' I get a message 'The path or file
specified is not valid'. It does read the CD drive.

I have also tried to repair the installation as was suggested in a post but
the option to 'repair' does not appear after you press F8 and agree to the
Microsoft licence etc.

Is anyone aware of an alternative utility that I could try that might allow
me to recover the file system??? I'm desperate as there are offline files on
the laptop which need to be recovered if at all possible.

Thanks in advance,
Mark
 
If you just want to recover files you could use a bootable CD like Bart's
PE. This will enable you to boot the computer to a familiar XP desktop that
runs right off the CD. You can then explore the hard drive and transfer the
files either through a network connection, USB drive or even to CD/DVD. You
can download the makings here http://www.ubcd4win.com/
 
MarkW said:
Could someone please help me with the following?

I have a user whose laptop has recently stopped working due to a corrupt OS.
A message appears on startup:

'Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe. Please reinstall a copy of the above
file.'

I have tried recover the file system by using Recovery Console as was
suggested elsewhere but I can't get the recommended commands to work. I
suspect this is because I'm not classed as having admin rights, but I can't
enter the admin account password as I never get asked for it, even though I
know there is a local admin account present. When you choose 'R' to activate
Recovery console it eventually just comes up with the standard black screen
with a '1: C:\Windows' option'. When you choose this location it just goes
straight to the command prompt. The pc also appears to be unable to see
beyond c:\windows. If I enter 'dir' I get a message 'The path or file
specified is not valid'. It does read the CD drive.

I have also tried to repair the installation as was suggested in a post but
the option to 'repair' does not appear after you press F8 and agree to the
Microsoft licence etc.

Is anyone aware of an alternative utility that I could try that might allow
me to recover the file system??? I'm desperate as there are offline files on
the laptop which need to be recovered if at all possible.

Thanks in advance,
Mark
Click to expand...

See the following KB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314477
 
The easiest way to see if files can be recovered from the hard drive is to
remove the hard drive from the laptop and mount it in an external USB
enclosure (or comparable device) and try to read it from another computer.
If that fails then the hard drive is toast.
 
Hi

Thanks for the response, but I've already tried these suggestions out and
because Recovery Console won't work properly the commands aren't recognised.

Mark
 
MarkW said:
Hi

Thanks for the response, but I've already tried these suggestions out and
because Recovery Console won't work properly the commands aren't recognised.

Mark
Click to expand...

Sounds like the hard drive has failed. Go into the BIOS, is the hard drive
seen there?
 
Could someone please help me with the following?

I have a user whose laptop has recently stopped working due to a corrupt OS.
A message appears on startup:

'Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe. Please reinstall a copy of the above
file.'

I have tried recover the file system by using Recovery Console as was
suggested elsewhere but I can't get the recommended commands to work. I
suspect this is because I'm not classed as having admin rights, but I can't
enter the admin account password as I never get asked for it, even thoughI
know there is a local admin account present. When you choose 'R' to activate
Recovery console it eventually just comes up with the standard black screen
with a '1: C:\Windows' option'.  When you choose this location it just goes
straight to the command prompt. The pc also appears to be unable to see
beyond c:\windows. If I enter 'dir' I get a message 'The path or file
specified is not valid'. It does read the CD drive.

I have also tried to repair the installation as was suggested in a post but
the option to 'repair' does not appear after you press F8 and agree to the
Microsoft licence etc.

Is anyone aware of an alternative utility that I could try that might allow
me to recover the file system??? I'm desperate as there are offline fileson
the laptop which need to be recovered if at all possible.

Thanks in advance,
Mark
Click to expand...

Was there a recent power interruption, non graceful shutdown or
aborted restart?

I would first run chkdsk /r on the afflicted drive.

Until you confirm the file system itself is intact, nothing else is
likely to work. It is the easiest and quickest thing to try first.

If you have a bootable XP installation CD, boot on it and chose the
Recovery Console, respond to the few prompts to get to the C:\
prompt. That is what it is supposed to do, but does not mean your
file system is intact.

You cannot create a Bart PE or a UBCD4WIN without an XP installation
CD. Then you have to worry about Service Packs and other things, so
start with the easy stuff first.

Sounds like you got into the RC anyway, so at the C:\ prompt, run:

chkdsk /r

Let it finish/fix, then try to reboot.

It is easy to create a bootable Recovery Console CD is you do not have
an XP installation CD, or if you do, you can go the Bart PE route.
Many options... but it sounds like you already booted RC but just
didn't know what to do next.

You need to run chdsk /r
 
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