Short version
My computer sometimes gets slow and requires a restart (FireFox doesn't always shut down all the way, which is a pretty common problem), but when I restarted it this time for that reason, it wouldn't load. I get a choice between XP or recovery console and then a blank screen, safe mode also gets a blank screen after visibly loading drivers.

I tried restoring the MBR but that did not change anything.

This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT because it is not my computer, I am a geek, I have no other way to talk to my boyfriend, and I will be blamed for this problem (by a person who asked if Google was installed when I told him it wouldn't load =\) and never allowed to use the computer again if I cannot fix this problem without reformatting.

I desperately need your help so thank you in advance to any attempts.







Long version
My computer sometimes gets slow and requires a restart (FireFox doesn't always shut down all the way, which is a pretty common problem), but when I restarted it this time for that reason, it wouldn't load. I get a choice between XP or recovery console and then a blank screen, safe mode also gets a blank screen after visibly loading drivers.

I uninstalled some programs before last restart, including a codec which a software I was using said was required but still popped up the same dialog after installing the codec, however, the site I got it from was legitimate (though I don't have a link, it was obvioulsy legitimate and the codec even had a logo), I just don't know what a codec is so I probablay installed the wrong one and I don't know where it installed to to fill in the dialog prompt. Every software I uninstalled, however, was installed the day before. I did not install anything other then t@b S4 video editor, which is a program known not to be a virus.

It is also not the type of commercial, ad-heavy, error-causing software, such as Adobe, Windows, McAfee and AIM, that people tend to want to stay away from.

My system does seem to have a virus of some sort on it. Google.com does not load (hosts file is fine), system is slower then it was last time I was at this house, a dll error for a dll that Google doesn't know about usually shows up at restart, and opendns.com loads, but not properly, and one particular webpage (that hads nothing to do with yahoo) kept redirecting me to yahoo for no reason. This virus, if that's what it is, has been present the entire 2 months I've been here, and I have restarted the computer plenty of times.

I recently started to wonder if the virus had something to do with about.com, when many of the links I clicked in Yahoo! search seemed to be related to about.com, which usually tends to have articles I wouldn't click on, and when I saw an ad for about.com at the top of a page on sourceforge.net with ann option to "close this frame," I realiazed that might be what the virus was. So I did a Yahoo! search on that (I am unaware of any alternative to Google) but had not yet navigated to that tab when I restarted ("save session"). Spybot did not cath this virus, and I have sucessfully restarted the computer once since that scan was done.

I am not asking for help with the virus but rather with the fact that my computer will not load Windows anymore. This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT because it is not my computer, I am a geek, I have no other way to talk to my boyfriend, and I will be blamed for this problem (by a person who asked if Google was installed when I told him it wouldn't load =\) and never allowed to use the computer again if I cannot fix this problem without reformatting.

The only suggested solution I have found so far is to try restoring the MBR table. I did this (it did not require a disc, as the person said that it did), and no different results have come from it. The Recovery Console asked me which installation I want to repair; D:/MiniNT, D:/I386, or C:/WINDOWS. C:/Windows was the third option, and I do not know what MiniNT is. I am also unsure why i386 was listed, since I believe the syatem should recognize what that is.

I desperately need your help so thank you in advance to any attempts.

This post has been edited by mewgirl: Nov 30 2008, 12:08 AM

Hello,
from the long version (which I did not read) I see that you made some changes.
Lets see if system restore can restore the computer back to before you made the changes.
Cant boot in to Windows?
Try this.

Step I. Access the reconvery console using the OS CD. as suggested already you need to have your OS CD to repair it.

To run the Recovery Console from the Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD-ROM, use the following steps:

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.
Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console and follow the process till you will be at the recovery console command prompt.Getting to the Windows Recovery Console

STEP II. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following lines(in blue) then press enter after.

1. cd \ ( Note: between "cd" and "\" there should be a "blank space" else the command won''''t work )
2. cd system~1\_resto~1

If it gives an error "Access Denied" while accessing the folder, follow the method below

cd \ <Enter>
cd windows\system32\config <Enter>
ren system system.bak<Enter>
exit<Enter>

Thenrestart the computer and follow step I.

3. dir

when you hit <Enter> it will list all the restore points folders like rp1,rp2................ we have to see the last restore point to copy the file from a recent backup. if the restore points have more than one page then u have keep on hitting the <Enter> key to view the last restore point folder.

4. cd rp {the last restore point no. } (Note : Example : cd rp9, if rp9 is the last restore point, where last restore point no.=9 )

5. cd snapshot

Now the command Prompt will look like this c:\system~1\_resto~1\rp9\snapshot> ( Note : restore point 9 assumed for clarity of the content, you have to goto the last restore point folder as described in the previous lines) Now according to the error message we have to copy the appropriate file from the restore point folder.

6. copy _registry_machine_system c:\windows\system32\config\system
7. Type Exit then press enter. your computer should restart and don't forget to cross your fingers

The only discs available were coded to prevent them from being used on non-Sony computers. The computer in question is an HP. I could not find any other discs. I followed these directions up to step 2.

Running this from C:\WINDOWS got, "Cannot find the file specified", though the directory was available.

However, running this from D:\I386 got the exact same results.

Next, at Windows load, "The following file is missing or corrupt" C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM.

I then renamed "system.bak" to "system" in both folders. This time, I did not get a "file not found" message. Windows load screen now behaves as it did at my first post.

I still do not know what "D:\MiniNT" is or if it is relevant.

Is there a way to acess regular MS-DOS, or if not, then the XP command prompt, so that I can XCOPY %AppData% to D:\i386 and then XCOPY i386 to c:\WINDOWS? (There is a way in which this should work after changing variables in SET, but if tried you get the error ~"Recovery Console does not support this feature."~

This post has been edited by mewgirl: Nov 30 2008, 01:24 AM

first...you should never install or uninstall anything on someone else's computer without their permission..
If you do not have a windows xp disk, download the following file: rc.iso....go here..

make sure in the bios the cd drive is the first boot device....put the cd in the cd drive..boot your computer....

then type fixmbr press enter
no joy ....
type in fixboot press enter


if you don't have a burning program that will burn .ISO files go here and get burncdcc ..a small FAST no frills iso burning program...

NOTE...do not put a blank cd in until burncdcc opens the tray for you
1. click on BurnCDCC.exe
2. Browse to the ISO file you want to burn on cd/dvd ....in this case its rc.iso
3. Select the ISO file
4. click on Start

still nojoy


because you are unable to boot into safe mode a repair on windows should be done...lowdown is here