[Etiquette]

When I start up my laptop (acer) running Windows XP; I get a black screen with a blinking white cursor in the upper left hand corner. Haven't been able to start in safe mode either.

Had been having some issues recently and had started following the steps on this site. Thought I had it working again, but then this...

At the very least, I'd like to be able to get the photos and documents I have on it.

Thanks in advance... Kelly

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Hello Etiquette.... Welcome to
GeeksToGo,


I'm sorry to hear about your issue. We will try to help you resolve this as soon
as possible.

• Please understand we are all volunteers and we are not here all the time.
• Sometimes it may be a extended amount of time to get back to you. If it has been
  more then 3 days please shoot me a PM and I will try to get back to you quickly
  then.
• Please do the following and supply the requested information as needed. If you
  don't understand my instructions please ask and I will try to explain them
  clearer for you.
• Do not attempt any steps unless instructed or ask before to
  make sure they will not cause any further issues.

Please explain in more detail the following:

Had been having some issues recently

Do you have a XP genuine installation disk? This can not be a Recovery Disk that may have been included with your laptop. If you do then try the first set of instructions and if not try the second set of instructions.


Method 1:

Put your winxp cd in cd drive and reboot your system
When prompted to push any key to boot to cdrom then click a key
Click R to enter recovery console

Type the following

expand d:\i386\userinit.ex_ c:\windows\system32
click enter

Once it says 1 file copied
Then type exit and click enter
System will reboot
Make sure to remove winxp cd before it boots up and let it boot fully
Windows should start normally

If not post with result 







Method 2:

Give this a try. Without knowing a little more about what caused the problem, I can't guarantee it will work...and it requires the machine you make the disk on AND the machine you are fixing are both running XP.

Please download RC.ISO and save it somewhere you can find it.
Also download MagicISO

Start MagicISO. You should see a window informing you about the full version of MagicISO.
In the bottom right select Try It! and the program will open.
Click on File and then on Open and navigate to the RC.ISO file you downloaded. Select it, and click Open.

First, we'll need to add a clean version of userinit.exe to the current RC.ISO

* In the upper right pane, double click on the i386 folder.
* Right click in the upper right pane and select Add Files...
* Navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and select userinit.exe
* Then click Open to add userinit.exe to the CD image.
* Click File and select Save As...
* Name the file RCplus and save it somewhere you can find it.


Next, we'll need to burn the newly created image to a disk that we can use to fix the problem.

* Put a blank CD-R disk in your CD burner and close the tray. If an AutoPlay window opens, close it.
* Click on Tools and select Burn CD/DVD with ISO.... A window will appear.
* Click on the little folder to the right of CD/DVD Image File then navigate to the newly created RCplus.iso Image file and click Open.
* In the CD/DVD Writing Speed drop-down menu choose the 8X setting.
* Under Format make sure that Mode 1 is selected.
* And finally, click on the Burn it! button to burn RCplus.iso to disk.


Once the disk is burned, put it in the machine you want to fix and restart it.
Boot to the CD just as you would with a Windows XP disk.
At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to enter the Recovery Console.
Choose the installation to be repaired by number (usually 1) and press Enter.
When you are asked for the Administrator password, enter the password or leave it blank (default) and press Enter.

At the C:\Windows> prompt, type the following commands pressing Enter after each one. Note: Watch the spaces.

D:
cd i386
copy userinit.exe c:\windows\system32
exit


After putting in the third command, you should receive the message 1 file copied which will indicate that the operation succeeded.
Now take out the CD and reboot your computer to normal mode. Try to log in and it should let you back in.

Thanks to wannabe1

[rshaffer61]

Hello Etiquette.... Welcome to
GeeksToGo,


I'm sorry to hear about your issue. We will try to help you resolve this as soon
as possible.

• Please understand we are all volunteers and we are not here all the time.
• Sometimes it may be a extended amount of time to get back to you. If it has been
  more then 3 days please shoot me a PM and I will try to get back to you quickly
  then.
• Please do the following and supply the requested information as needed. If you
  don't understand my instructions please ask and I will try to explain them
  clearer for you.
• Do not attempt any steps unless instructed or ask before to
  make sure they will not cause any further issues.

Please explain in more detail the following:

Had been having some issues recently

Do you have a XP genuine installation disk? This can not be a Recovery Disk that may have been included with your laptop. If you do then try the first set of instructions and if not try the second set of instructions.


Method 1:

Put your winxp cd in cd drive and reboot your system
When prompted to push any key to boot to cdrom then click a key
Click R to enter recovery console

Type the following

expand d:\i386\userinit.ex_ c:\windows\system32
click enter

Once it says 1 file copied
Then type exit and click enter
System will reboot
Make sure to remove winxp cd before it boots up and let it boot fully
Windows should start normally

If not post with result 







Method 2:

Give this a try. Without knowing a little more about what caused the problem, I can't guarantee it will work...and it requires the machine you make the disk on AND the machine you are fixing are both running XP.

Please download RC.ISO and save it somewhere you can find it.
Also download MagicISO

Start MagicISO. You should see a window informing you about the full version of MagicISO.
In the bottom right select Try It! and the program will open.
Click on File and then on Open and navigate to the RC.ISO file you downloaded. Select it, and click Open.

First, we'll need to add a clean version of userinit.exe to the current RC.ISO

* In the upper right pane, double click on the i386 folder.
* Right click in the upper right pane and select Add Files...
* Navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and select userinit.exe
* Then click Open to add userinit.exe to the CD image.
* Click File and select Save As...
* Name the file RCplus and save it somewhere you can find it.


Next, we'll need to burn the newly created image to a disk that we can use to fix the problem.

* Put a blank CD-R disk in your CD burner and close the tray. If an AutoPlay window opens, close it.
* Click on Tools and select Burn CD/DVD with ISO.... A window will appear.
* Click on the little folder to the right of CD/DVD Image File then navigate to the newly created RCplus.iso Image file and click Open.
* In the CD/DVD Writing Speed drop-down menu choose the 8X setting.
* Under Format make sure that Mode 1 is selected.
* And finally, click on the Burn it! button to burn RCplus.iso to disk.


Once the disk is burned, put it in the machine you want to fix and restart it.
Boot to the CD just as you would with a Windows XP disk.
At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to enter the Recovery Console.
Choose the installation to be repaired by number (usually 1) and press Enter.
When you are asked for the Administrator password, enter the password or leave it blank (default) and press Enter.

At the C:\Windows> prompt, type the following commands pressing Enter after each one. Note: Watch the spaces.

D:
cd i386
copy userinit.exe c:\windows\system32
exit


After putting in the third command, you should receive the message 1 file copied which will indicate that the operation succeeded.
Now take out the CD and reboot your computer to normal mode. Try to log in and it should let you back in.

Thanks to wannabe1

[rshaffer61]

Don't worry if the above doesn't work we can get to the data using a Linux Live cd as long as the Hard Drive is still mechanically working.

[Etiquette]

Thanks

My apologies though - I am actually running Vista. I will post to that forum and I apologize for wasting your time.

[rshaffer61]

Not wasting my time and that is ok we can do it a different way with Vista.

You will have to Perform a Repair Installation For Vista...guide is here...
This will allow you to repair your Vista installation and keep all of your personal user account files, settings, and programs

[Etiquette]

OK, I'll get started working on that. Thanks!

[Etiquette]

OK, a friend in here in the neighborhood provided me with 2 disks:
- Vista SP1 Slipstream DVD
- Operating System Reinstallation DVD Windows Vista Home Premium 32BIT

Neither seems to be doing anything if I place in the drive prior to start up or after start up...

Is trying with these disks futile?

Also, I can get to the Setup Utility - not sure if that would help me get anywhere....

[rshaffer61]

Also, I can get to the Setup Utility - not sure if that would help me get anywhere....

You need to set the cdrom as the first boot device to boot to the installation disk.

[Etiquette]

I have it set to this:

Boot Priority Order:
1: USB CDROM:
2: IDE 0: ST9120822AS
3: IDE 1:
4: USB FDD:
5: Network Boot: MBA v10.0.9 Slot 0500
6: USB HDD:

I hit F10 to save and exit and it sounds like the disk is spinning, but I still get nothing but the blank screen and blinking light.

[rshaffer61]

Your cdrom is external usb?

[Etiquette]

Nope, but that's what the Boot Priority Order has it listed as... Can't find an option to edit the values...

[rshaffer61]

OK when you first turn the laptop oon is the Setup area where you can see your HD's and all the information about your system?
If so when you went to the Boot Priority did you change it and then click F10 to save and exit?