[n3ko]

It came with a different laptop than this one, though - correct?

You could use that for a Repair, if it's an Install Disk and not a Recovery Disk. But, not for a format and re-install.

To clarify, in order for you to use that disk to repair this system, it would have to be the same exact flavor or XP (Home, Business or Pro, etc...) and would also have to be an Installation Disk. A Recovery Disk would not work.

You can't use it to Format and Install a new system on this laptop because (assuming it's an installation disk and not a recovery disk) it's Illegal. It will also not work correctly until you find and install all your drivers - which we would not be able to help you with here because it's illegal.

Let me know if it's an Installation Disk and if it matches the kind of XP to this broken machine. If it does, we can use repair and that should fix everything.

If you want to re-partition, re-format and re-install, you will need to buy a new disk with a new license. Keep in mind that if you don't double-check that Hard Drive, and it's part of the problem, this will likely only happen again even with a clean install.

That said, I do rebuilds all the time and would be happy to assist if that's the route you choose.

Edited by n3ko, 25 September 2009 - 02:18 PM.

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its a reinstallation disc????

Will that work?

[czfckd]

its a reinstallation disc????

Will that work?

[n3ko]

That's what it says on the front of the disk? Does it specify on the front of the disk if it's for a specific system or computer? Or does it just say the name of the Operating System and "reinstallation"?

[czfckd]

it has Dell on the front of the disc but It dosn't say that it is specifically for Dell computers

[n3ko]

Then it's most likely a Dell Recovery Disk. It's unlikely that will help, it will have been created to the specs of the motherboard and chipset on your laptop and probably won't work for anything else. Also, the OS on there is licensed to that laptop and no other computer, so even if it did work and install an operating system by some fluke, we could not help you with getting the correct drivers for the machine and any issues that will inevitably pop up.

Before you try that, try using the Recovery Console disk you burned.

Boot from the CD, and when you get the 3 options you listed in post 17, choose #2 and enter Recovery Console by pressing "R".
This is a big black screen with white text - it looks intimidating. It's not.

Type the following(making sure you use the exact syntax, spelling and spacing):

LOGON (hit Enter)
You will be asked which windows installation you want to log on to. Type:
1 (hit Enter)
You will be prompted for an administrator password, leave it blank and just press Enter
The System prompt line should now read: C:> or may read C:\WINDOWS>
Type:
cd \ (hit Enter)
cd system~1 (hit Enter)
(if you get an "access denied" message here, stop and let me know)
cd _resto~1 (hit Enter)

Hopefully, the screen should now read:
C:\system~1\resto~1>
If it doesn't, stop and let me know - it may even tell you the folder doesn't exist, again let me know if it tells you this.
If it does, Type:
dir (hit Enter)

A list of several dated files should come up, with names like RP1 and RP2 etc. 1 will be the oldest and the highest number will be the newest. These are old restore points, you can't access and restore from the OS since it won't boot, so we're trying to use them from DOS.
Let me know if there are no files listed.
Assuming there are, let's proceed.

You don't want to immediately go for the oldest restore point, since that will wipe all points after it. If it doesn't work, you won't be able to try another one. Go for the second to last one. As an example for the text you need to type, I'm going to use "RP5", but that isn't to say you should use that one. If you have 10 restore points, I'd try 9 first and if that didn't work, I'd repeat the procedure above and try the immediately preceeding that - 8, etc.

Type:
cd rp5 (hit Enter)
cd snapshot (hit Enter)

Your command prompt should read:
c:\system~1\resto~1\rp5\snapshot>

Now, make very sure of your spelling and syntax. Make sure you use the correct spellings. This is going to be a long string of commands. If you get a "File Not Found" or similar message it's not a problem, try the same command again and double-check spacing & spelling.

If things go well, each line of command should get a response of "1 File Copied". Also, if you are asked if you want to "overwrite" files, type "y" to agree.

Type:

copy _registry_machine_system c:\windows\system32\config\system (Enter)
copy _registry_machine_software c:\windows\system32\config\software (Enter)
copy _registry_machine_security c:\windows\system32\config\security (Enter)
copy _registry_machine_sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam (Enter)
copy _registry_user_.default c:\windows\system32\config\default (Enter)

Now Type:
Exit (Enter)

Let the computer reboot. It will hopefully be working now. If it does not, repeat the above with earlier restore points, one of them should work unless the entire drive is corrupted or your hard drive failing is the problem, or your RAM has a fault or failure. Hardware problems, Drive and RAM, could be the trouble though. If this doesn't work we can try one more thing in Recovery Console, but after that we should really look harder at the hardware.

Best of luck! Let me know how it goes, I'll be around all evening. And again, if you get any access denied errors, let me know and I'll tell you the workarounds.

Edited by n3ko, 27 September 2009 - 03:12 PM.

[czfckd]

Hi I followed your instructions and got the message (if you get an "access denied" message here, stop and let me know)

I await my instructions

Barry

[n3ko]

Hi Barry,

Apologies for the late reply - been a heck of a day.

Not a giant surprise that folder's protected. I'm glad it exists though, that's hopeful there are restore points in there and that at least one may be good. Here's what to do:

I'm assuming the "Access Denied" happened at the cd system~1 command. I'm also assuming you've had to shutdown the laptop and are going to have to boot up again. If so do the following (pressing Enter after each line):

Logon
1
(Enter with no password)

All as before.

Now type:
cd windows
cd system32
cd config
ren system system.bak
Exit

Let the computer restart and go back into recovery console.
Start from the beginning of the original instructions.

If you've been letting the computer hang in recovery console until I responded, you only need to type cd \ to get back to the system root and proceed from the cd windows command.

Crossing my fingers that all goes well, but if you get any more hang-ups or error messages, let me know exactly what they say and at which point in the command chain they happened. Should go smoothly though.

[czfckd]

after following the latest instructions and allowing the computer to restart it came back with a black screen with the following text;

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

You can attempt to repair this by starting windows set up using the original set up CD-ROM.
Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.

I have left the computer on this time:)

[n3ko]

OK, so I just want to be absolutely sure what you did... You followed my instructions in my last post (#37) to gain access to that folder.

Then did you boot from that CD again and go back into recovery console and complete everything in post #35? If so, you should have replaced the system file with one from a restore point and it should have rebooted afterward into Windows normally, with no errors.

That message only makes sense if you didn't complete the steps in post 35 after doing the above steps, since the above renames the system file into something the computer can't use to boot. It would default to using the system file you copied from the restore point.

All I can think, if you completed the steps in post 35, is that the system file in that restore point was corrupt. I would restart from that CD again, go back into recovery console and try setting an earlier restore point than the one you just used. Reboot into normal Windows and if that one doesn't work or gives an error message, try an even earlier one. Hopefully one will work, but if you try a few and one doesn't don't try all of them - leave a few so we can try a couple of other things.

Edited by n3ko, 29 September 2009 - 04:53 PM.

[czfckd]

I did this;
Logon
1
(Enter with no password)

All as before.

Now type:
cd windows
cd system32
cd config
ren system system.bak
Exit

Let the computer restart and go back into recovery console.

Then i got the message as per the last post

[n3ko]

Now that's just bizarre. The computer doesn't need to read that file to boot from a CD. It's booting from the files on the CD.

It only needs the system file if you were trying to boot into windows. And that message is one you would get if you're trying to boot from the Hard Drive into Winows, it's not a CD boot error.

It won't let you into recovery console at all now?
OK going to see if I an find any info on this, it's a completely new one on me.

Edit:
Try and boot into that CD once again. Make sure to "Press any key to boot from CD". Selecting "r" to repair, as in the above message, is recovery console. My guess is it didn't boot from the CD at all for some reason.

I'll still look for info on this though.

Edited by n3ko, 30 September 2009 - 07:26 AM.

[czfckd]

sorry I made a mistake.. when I type cd windows the message 'The system cannot find the file or directory specified is displayed, does this make more sense

[n3ko]

when I type cd windows the message 'The system cannot find the file or directory specified is displayed, does this make more sense

It does. I think I know what happened, it's just a syntax error.

You were able to do all the steps to rename system to system.bak?
Then you rebooted into recovery console and it gives you that message when you type cd windows?
Or were you getting this when you tried to do the steps to rename the system file?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm not clear on how far you got with the rename commands and if you got the error in the middle of that or if you were able to complete that and had moved back to trying to access the restore points when you got it.

I'm not trying to be obtuse or frustrating. Since I can't see what you're doing and DOS is so very exact, it's very important you be as clear and exact with your steps as you can. Don't be afraid to spell it out for me step by step, it's necessary.

[czfckd]

Absolutely no offence taken I really appreciate the time and effort you are giving to help me.

i get the message when I try to rename the system file. I simply carried on regardless, im sorry, I am able to use a few programs etc but this stuff is like a different language to me

I also do not get the opportunity to type logon, it appears that it is already there I just simply type 1 enter to move to the next line, is this relevant?

[n3ko]

Hi Again!
My apologies for being away for so long, it's been a really hellish week...

i get the message when I try to rename the system file. I simply carried on regardless...

OK. So, taken in context with your other info (you don't get the chance to type in logon) it's just syntax that DOS is objecting to. You don't always need to logon, for instance one of my desktops remembers when I've logged in to Windows and the next time I run DOS I don't need to for some reason.

It also automatically takes me to the C:\Windows folder when I boot into DOS. So, you may not need to type "cd windows" at all. Just try "cd \" in place of that command instead. That will make sure you're in the correct folder and you should be able to continue from there without trouble.

You carried on regardless? How far did you get? If you like, type the exact command lines like I did and insert the responses you get from the computer where you get something unexpected.

im sorry, I am able to use a few programs etc but this stuff is like a different language to me

I totally understand. I used to use DOS all the time when I was younger, but eventually abandoned it for GUIs, as many did. When I started using it again a few years ago, it was like a shock and kind of scary. I had to relearn stuff I never thought I'd forgotten. It can be really intimidating and still shocks me for a minute or two each time I use it.

It's a simple and very exact way to get things done, though. I forgot how effective it can be when GUIs fail. It's worth learning about if you ever have the extra time. Here's a good site to bookmark if you're ever interested.

I also do not get the opportunity to type logon, it appears that it is already there I just simply type 1 enter to move to the next line, is this relevant?

The command chain goes like this:
You press "r" to enter recovery console,
The DOS console loads and you see "C:>" followed by a blinking cursor.
You type Logon and press Enter,
The computer asks you "Which installation of Windows would you like to Log on to?"
You type "1" and press enter
The computer asks for the "Administrative Password"
You don't type anything (most installations are made without one) and press "Enter"
You get a line that says "C:>" or "C:\windows>" with a blinking cursor after it.

Honestly, sometimes you don't need to logon. As I said above, one of my computers will remember that I logged on the next time I boot to DOS and I don't need to do so again.

But, if you try to type a command directly after you get into Recovery Console (any command, but for argument lets say "cd windows") and it tells you "Cannot find specified file or directory" or something similar, then you're not logged onto the system and you need to logon.

Logon simply allows you into the operating system on the disk. Some hard drives have more than one operating system on them (some have a recovery partition, some have more than one bootable operating systems), you you have to specify which one, regardless of whether or not you have more than one operating system on the disk. The one that boots automatically or first is "1", so you type that.

Typing "1" before "logon" will do nothing. The computer may not even give you a response. The command is nonsense if you don't tell the system you want to "logon" to something first.

Another thing you can try is "logoff" (Enter) and then type "logon" (Enter) and see if it prompts you for which installation you want to log on to.

Once you're logged on, you should automatically be in C:\Windows. Even if it says C:> it is still probably C:\Windows. You only really have access to the Root Folder of the system in dos. The command "cd windows" is usually redundant for starting out in Recovery Console, but can usually be worth it just to be sure where you are. You can also type "cd \", which amounts to much the same thing. It means "Go up a folder", so if you type that when you're in say "C:\Windows\System32\Cache>", you'll find yourself in "C:\Windows\System32>".

It's like pressing the "Back" button on your Explorer window when you're browsing your C: drive.

The direct command "cd Windows" says "go directly to the Wondows Folder from wherever I am now". So, using the above example, if you're in "C:\Windows\System32\Cache>" and you type "cd Windows", you get taken straight to "C:\Windows>". Similar to if you click on the directory address in your browser window and back space the paths of your folders back to the windows folder - you're just taken right there.

It's basically browsing your directory tree without the pictures to show you everything. You're blind to what's in a folder until you type "dir", which shows you all the files and folders in whatever folder you happen to be in. Then you can see what's there and choose where you want to go next.

LOL, lots of info, sorry. But really, DOS is pretty easy once you get the hang of what you're doing and what the commands do.

Try my suggestions above for your syntax error. Let me know what happens. If you have problems, try typing out your command chain and then the error you get as a response to be exact.