I was wondering if anyone could help me;


I am currently running winxp sp2 home edition. We had a power cut the other night and my pc turned off. No biggie right?
Well I tried turning it on today and it comes up with windows was not shut down properly, yadda yadda yadda

1. start in safe mode
2. safe mode with networking
3. safe mode with cmd
4. start windows with last working config.
5. Run windows normally


I have been through all of the options on the above list it gets to the xp loading screen before the password prompt then it restarts, back to previous screen.

I don’t know why but I went in checked the boot devices, made sure it was the HDD so for and so on.

Normally I would off started in safe mode and took my computer back to a later stage but if I can’t get the pc to login then what can I do eh?

(FYI: No new Hardware was installed, the pc hasn’t been opened in ages, there was new software installed about a week or so ago, but the pc has been in good use since then and worked fine)
I am open to suggestions, I’m baffled

Could someone please assist me asap.

Kind Regards

James

You will need to run checkdisk from recovery console (Windows xp). Courtesy dsenette

1. Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.
Note:Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
Note:If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console.
3. When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
4. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following then press Enter:

chkdsk /r

5. Allow this to run UNDISTURBED until completed (45 min or so)
6. Report any errors

SRX660

Thank you for the quick response, is there anything else I can try bearing in mind that I don’t have my copy of windows anymore.

Kind Regards

James

Not that i know of.

SRX660

Here is a link to download an .iso if just the Recovery Console:
http://www.thecomputerparamedic.com/files/rc.iso

Best practice is to test such a file with Virus Total before opening:
http://www.virustotal.com/

Once downloaded 'burn' the .iso file to a CD. If you do not have a program with this ability like Nero or Roxio,
free CDBurnerXP: http://cdburnerxp.se/
Or free InfraRecorder: http://infrarecorder.sourceforge.net/
will do the job.

Once 'burned,' boot the computer from the CD. It will look exactly like a Windows set-up but only the Recovery Console will be available. Therefore press the "R" key upon the first prompt to enter the Recovery Console, and then follow SRX660's excellent directions.

Hello,
If you have a working machine with XP on it you can connect the drive from this machine as a slave (secondary) drive.
Check disc should run automatically, if not right click and select properties.
You should have the option of checking the drive for errors here.
Do you need instructions for connecting the drive?
Always unplug the machine first.
Pay attention to the jumper settings.

Burnt the RC ISO to a disk.

Changed my boot to be CD first. I ran the CD, got to the recovery console ran the CHKDSK /R let it run (no point asked for a password) it said it fix 1 error. Restarted the pc and it shows the same error I had to begin with.

When I select to run windows this time it comes up saying a windows file is missing and I can try the rc console again. Tried that & when it goes in it asks me which windows I want to run 1: C/Windows or press enter to exit.

Naturally I pressed 1 enter same thing?

Anymore Ideas?

Since you do not have the XP CD, a "scannow" procedure is moot. I could not discover a way to run it from the Recovery console in any event.

Ther is a way to do a system Restore from the RC:
http://forums.cclonline.com/showthread.php?t=1183

And here is a quick guide to using the RC to rebuild the boot.ini file and fix the boot sector:
http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:q_ebO...;cd=5&gl=us
And: http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm#How to Repair the Boot Sector:

If you had access to a XP CD of the same "flavor" as your installation (home or pro with same service pack) you could perform a "repair" install:
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/How-to-repa...ws-XP-t138.html

Burnt the RC ISO to a disk.

Changed my boot to be CD first. I ran the CD, got to the recovery console ran the CHKDSK /R let it run (no point asked for a password) it said it fix 1 error. Restarted the pc and it shows the same error I had to begin with.

When I select to run windows this time it comes up saying a windows file is missing and I can try the rc console again. Tried that & when it goes in it asks me which windows I want to run 1: C/Windows or press enter to exit.

Naturally I pressed 1 enter same thing?

Anymore Ideas?

Burnt the RC ISO to a disk.

Changed my boot to be CD first. I ran the CD, got to the recovery console ran the CHKDSK /R let it run (no point asked for a password) it said it fix 1 error. Restarted the pc and it shows the same error I had to begin with.

When I select to run windows this time it comes up saying a windows file is missing and I can try the rc console again. Tried that & when it goes in it asks me which windows I want to run 1: C/Windows or press enter to exit.

Naturally I pressed 1 enter same thing?

Anymore Ideas?