Windows XP Xp Pro Boot Problem

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seat172

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Hi guys and gals, i have xp pro installed and it has worked quite happily until now. All service packs and upgrades are installed.



When i switch on the pc it goes through the normal checks OK, the windows XP logo appears then i get the windows was not shut down blurb, even though it was and the start in safe mode etc. options.



Whichever one i choose just sends the pc through the same routine. Here is the rub my daughter has a piece of work for University that is not on my last backup and it needs to be handed in tomorrow, Friday. So i am desperate to get the pc up and running WITHOUT loosing her work, any help appreciated.



Nothing has been installed recently although i have upgraded a couple of pieces of hardware it worked ok after. The floppy drive was a bit "iffy" says number one daughter. Could it's not working have "tipped" xp over the edge?
 
Xp boot problem

Yes, it just goes round and round in the same loop. I seem to remeber reading if you change too many hardware components it can cause this sort of problem. But i aint too sure. I have a spare 120g hdd i am going to re-install on that with the current drive as slave to recover the file but i don't want to have to re-install everything again.

Thanks
 
Does sound like a driver issue to me.

Good luck with it. Hope you get it sorted.

Cheers,

Rich
 
Boot the system in safe mode. (keep hitting f8 after the bios screens). logon as administrator, In system properties, I think the advanced tab, turn off reboot on error. I don;t xp in front of me now, but it's in system properties, advanced, system recovery and startup. check create a log and uncheck the reboot. this should allow xp to at least boot in normal mode.


Is this plain pro or corporate pro? plain pro can require a reactivation, but that does not stop a boot. Safemode will allow you to copy off the files you need.
 
xp boot problem

Think it's corporate version as the machine belongs to work, and i use the vpn to logonto the domain. Will the F8 get me in to safe mode? When i try to start safe mode from the on screen options it just re-boots again!

Many Thanks
 
ok, then there is something really wrong there. do you even get the f8 options menu?
if so, and safemode fails, you could try command line only.
if you can get that, you can try to run fixmbr and fixboot commands. (I think they are available outside of the recovery console.
but that is assuming that even command prompt only works.
If that fails, you need need toboot the xp install cd if available, and try the fixboot, fixmbr from there and a scandisk too.
If you do have the install cd available, a repair install will leave your programs instact, but will remove all fixes and servcie packs installed since that cd was pressed.
 
ive got solution for a machine so currupted, it requires onather cmoputer


dowbnload BART PE and create a loadable cd or jump drive using your windows disk

use it to boot laptop, using included file manager you can retrieve this file



...this does not fix ypour machine however, this is just to retrieve the paper
 
xp boot problem

Thanks for the help guys, got the file off no real problem. I had an old HDD that i had installed XP on with my current hardware configuration. I put that in as master and the naf one as slave and booted from there. I was able to pick up the work for my daughter and print it as the new master was already set up for that hardware config.

I did this after a previous problem with XP but had forgotten about it, doh!

It turns out the MBR is corrupted on the original drive, so i will have to invest in a new one anyhow.

May i reccomend this as a good idea, for the cost of a small HDD and a blag call to Microsoft to re-activate after a mock HDD failure?

XP don't fail often but when it does it is a real pain, and this is a quick and relatively cheap "fix".

Thanks again for the advice
 
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