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Fixing a Boot Problem by Doing a Repair Install


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#1
Steve from New Jersey

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Upon a normal reboot tonight, my XP Pro would not reboot. It hung on a screen immediately after the Windows XP scroll, it went to a blue screen with a "Windows XP" on it, where normally I see the WELCOME screen before Windows and the desktop appears. So the stall came at a SECOND Windows XP screen.

After researching on the Net and talking to a couple of friends, and failing to get into Windows in Safe Mode (it stalled again at the same place), I started a Windows Repair reinstall. I did NOT, following the advice found here (http://www.michaelst...pairinstall.htm) go into the Repair console, but continued and pressed R.

Everything seemed to load okay, and the collecting info and dynamic update occurred, BUT the installation has stalled while still in PREPARING INSTALLATION. It says "Setup will complete in approximately 39 minutes" but it hasn't moved in close to an hour--AND the button that indicates that Windows is installing isn't even in green yet.

What the devil is going on? Why is it stuck like this? What can I do about this?

I'm writing from my laptop, so I can access the Internet. Please, don't desert a drowning man!
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#2
The Skeptic

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If possible run setup again this time entering recovery console. Click 1 when asked for xp installation and Enter when asked for password (or the password if you have one). At the prompt type chkdsk /r . Let the process run to the end. After that retry the full repair installation.
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#3
Steve from New Jersey

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Hi to The Sceptic!

Ok, I'll be happy to follow this suggestion, but I am unable to re-start the installation. It picks up where I left off when I insert the installation disk.

How do I go back to the beginning??
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#4
The Skeptic

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A good question. I suspected we are going to have this. Let the computer run the repair installation again. Reboot with the disk inside. Maybe it will succeed this time. Meanwhile I'll think about some other solution.
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#5
Steve from New Jersey

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Hi, The Sceptic!

I have inserted and reinserted the disk, and it always returns to the same place and it always hangs at the same place--in other words, making no progess.

I wondered if the disk were flawed, so I inserted another XP Pro installation disk and the same hangup occurred. Both of these disks are copies (from someone who did the initial installation). I do have a valid installation, however (it is not bootleg). But I'm wondering about the condition of the CD-ROM.

Thanks for sticking with me!
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#6
The Skeptic

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You can use another person's disk as long as you use YOUR product key. If you tried two disks and got the same results then I doubt if the problem is with the cds.

Try this: remove the disk and install it on another computer as a slave to the primary disk. If you don't know how to do this please ask. Boot up the computer, go to My Computer. With some luck you will be able to see the faulty disk. Right click on it's icon > properties > tools > error checking > check now > check the two boxes > start. Like I said, if you are lucky you will manage to run the process. Let it run to the end. Remove the disk, reinstall in your computer and try repair installation again.
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#7
Steve from New Jersey

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Ok, The Sceptic:

I hear the instructions: but I do not know what this means:

>>remove the disk and install it on another computer as a slave to the primary disk

PLEASE INSTRUCT WHAT THIS MEANS. Thanks!

Steve
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#8
The Skeptic

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Hi there,

I got your PM. I live seven time zones to your east so afternoon in new jersey can be quite late here.

Now to the point. You have to phsically remove the hard disk from your computer. Open the box of another computer and use the flat cable that connects the HD of his computer to connect your HD too. You will have both disks attached to the same cable, each getting it's own power (the white four leads thick connector). At the back of each HD there is a small jumper (a tiny two pin connector) that can be set in a number of positions. You can find jumpering instructions printed on the HD

Jumper both disks as cable select (csl). In this case your HD must be connected to the second from the end connector of the cable and the other computer's HD must be connected to the end connector. Alternatively the other disk can be jumpered as master and your disk as slave.
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#9
Steve from New Jersey

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Hi, The Sceptic!

Wow. I can't thank you enough, but I am afraid this is simply over my poor Pooh brain to do. I have disconnected everything and will take the box to a computer friend. I will report, however, to what he concludes.

Thanks again for taking the trouble to spell all that out for me!
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#10
The Skeptic

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My pleasure.
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#11
wannabe1

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Hi Steve from New Jersey...

Before you swap HDD's around, let's look at a couple things.

First, a hang at 39 minutes is usually caused by hardware. Do you have any external hardware connected to the machine during the installation? Printers and flash drives are particularly good at causing this hang. I have seen USB keyboards and mice cause this as well...you might try the install using PS2 input devices.

If the install still fails, you might see if it will complete a parallel install. This would allow you to recover any data you have on the old installation. If it runs well, you can move into the new install and remove the old one.

Parallel Installation of Windows XP

Boot to the Windows XP installation cd by pressing a key when the "Press any key to boot from cd" prompt appears at the top of the screen.
  • At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press Enter to set up Windows XP.
  • Accept the License Agreement by pressing F8
  • With your current installation selected in the box, press Esc
  • Select C: Partition1 [NTFS] in the box and press Enter
  • To continue setup using this partition, press C
  • Now you should see formatting options...choose the last one, Leave the current file system intact (no changes), and press Enter
  • To use a different folder, press Esc
  • Name the folder WINDOWS0 (just type a 0 (zero)) and press Enter
The Windows installation should begin. This will install Windows to a new folder, leaving your data intact. Any programs installed on the old directory will have to be reinstalled to the new one. Device drivers will also have to be installed for all the hardware to work as it should.

The data will be located in the Documents and Settings folder (C:\Documents and Settings) under your old user account name...so when you set up the new installation, give yourself a slightly different user account name.

Let me know how it goes...

wannabe1
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