[sammiboy33]

hi im new to this forum and am hoping someone could help me,
the other day my computer wasn't responding at all and I forced it down, which is something I never do, but I didn't see any other option. After restarting I get an error message ntoskrnl.exe is either corrupt or missing - after googling around I found this link http://icrontic.com/...indows_xp/page2
which was fairly easy for even a newbie like me to follow, but I only got as far as BOOTCFG /REBUILD which was unsuccessful, I don't remember the exact error. I tried CHKDSK /R /F, and it's been over 15 hours and its only at 53% (after 20 minutes was at 25% and 1 hour 50%, since then it's still working but only moved to 53%), im assuming this isn't normal and there is something seriously wrong with my hd, should I allow scandisk to complete? should I force it down (there is no exit option, mid scan)? what are my options from here) and what is the probability of my data being salvageable (100 gb hd, about 90% full)?
thanks in advance for any responses, any help would be appreciated.


p.s. I have a 160 gb seagate passport, 2.5 form factor, is there anyway I could pry it open and use it to connect my laptop hd to another pc, and/or use the seagate in my laptop?

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but I only got as far as BOOTCFG /REBUILD

Hello sammiboy33 and welcome to Geeks To Go.

There is no need to use the above command to do a repair installation please read this post by admin.

If it asks you to create a new account don't I have seen it asks for this so be careful as if you make a new account you may lose all or some of your data.

I have only seen this once or twice but just be aware.

Regards

[wizzy2k5]

but I only got as far as BOOTCFG /REBUILD

Hello sammiboy33 and welcome to Geeks To Go.

There is no need to use the above command to do a repair installation please read this post by admin.

If it asks you to create a new account don't I have seen it asks for this so be careful as if you make a new account you may lose all or some of your data.

I have only seen this once or twice but just be aware.

Regards

[sammiboy33]

i couldn't regardless, it didn't work; none of the commands worked, i received some error message about a not finding a valid windows installation to repair.

[sammiboy33]

oh, i forgot to mention, i ran dell diagnostics and there were sata read errors. does that mean my hd is gone? is it only my hd? is it even worth attempting a repair at this point where it seems to be a hardware caused issue? can it make it worse?

Edited by sammiboy33, 24 August 2008 - 02:21 PM.

[sammiboy33]

but I only got as far as BOOTCFG /REBUILD

this post by admin.

If it asks you to create a new account don't I have seen it asks for this so be careful as if you make a new account you may lose all or some of your data.

I have only seen this once or twice but just be aware.

Regards

hi, i followed directions but im not given an option to repair, instead it says a
CAUTION: A folder already exists that may contain a Windows installation. If you continue, the existing Windows installation will be overwritten. All files, subfolders, user accounts, applications, security and desktop settings for that Windows installation will be deleted. The "My Documents" folder may also be deleted.
im given the option to delete folder and overwrite or to create a new one. does this mean my windows installation is beyond repair.

[wizzy2k5]

Hello

From one of your above posts I am guessing your pc was built by a manufacturer? if so you should have some recovery disks, your only other option maybe to use these to restore your system.

Before you do this I would like you to try this post here by wannabe1 if you can.

If you are unable to do this you may need to use the recovery disks.

Regards

Edited by wizzy2k5, 24 August 2008 - 03:40 PM.

[sammiboy33]

i followed the instructions in the link you sent, i was prompted to overwrite a file and then i rebooted but i still get the message
ntoskrnl.exe is either corrupt or missing.
my pc is a dell e1405 running windows xp, i have a diagnostics cd, a drivers and utilities cd, and the dell branded windows xp cd, which i believe is just a regular os cd.
p.s. when i tried to run the bootcfg /rebuild command in the recovery console, i received this message
failed to successfully scan discs for windows installations. this error may be caused by a corrupt file system, which would prevent bootcfg from successfully scanning. use chkdsk to detect any disc errors.

like i noted above i tried to scan with chkdsk but after 15 hours it had only progressed from 51% to 53%

Edited by sammiboy33, 24 August 2008 - 04:50 PM.

[sammiboy33]

i just pried open my seagate passport and swapped drives, i connected my system drive to another pc externally, good news is it seems all files are intact and in place. is there any way i can repair it now, can i manually edit/add the necessary boot files? is it worth the bother, i could just install windows on my blank seagate drive and then copy and paste files.

im running a scandisk from inside windows on my drive connected externally, its been running for about an hour and seems stuck on step 4 of 5

Edited by sammiboy33, 24 August 2008 - 07:37 PM.

[The Skeptic]

have a look at this article, especially at method 3.

I am sure that the HD, as a piece of hardware, can be fixed either by simple format or by zeroing all bits. If the above process doesn't work and if you are comfortable with reinstalling all your applications and data on the other disk then go for that. Latter on you can try to fix the damaged HD.

[sammiboy33]

the link doesn't work, and if i formatted the drive, wouldn't the data be lost?

[The Skeptic]

It will. Before the format back it up by moving the disk to another computer and backing up to the second.

Quote from one of your previous posts: "i could just install windows on my blank seagate drive and then copy and paste files".