[AmandaAskari]

I experienced a brief and sudden power outage while my PC was running today. When I tried starting it back up, I got the error message : Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe. Please re-install a copy of the above file.
I attempted to do a system recovery from the bios screen, but none of the function keys would work. I tried using the system recovery disk I got when I purchased the PC from the store, but the system doesn't seem to be reading the disk at all. Every time I insert the disk, I still get the message. I do NOT have the actual XP disk because I was told when I bought the system the recovery disks the store provided would be what I needed to use if anything needed to be re-installed. From what I've been able to read on line, it apprears that without the original XP disk I'm out of luck. Is there anything that I can do to restore my system???? I have all of my family photos on there and it would be heartbreaking to lose them all. Please tell me there is some help!!!

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It sounds like you have a corrupted file system, and need to run chkdsk.

You are going to have to get into BIOS Setup on your computer to set the CD/DVD drive as the first bootable device, so you can then boot your XP CD, unless it provides the ability to press a Fn key at boot time to bring up the boot selection menu. If it does, use that.

How you do this varies with each manufacturer. Normally you press F1, F2, F10 or Del when you see the manufacturers logo. Often there is a clue somewhere on the screen when you boot normally telling you what key to press. Some computers (most newer ones) have a key you can press (often F12) to bring up the Boot Menu from where you can select the CD/DVD drive to boot from.

If you don't have an XP CD, download and run ARCDC by Artellos. It will download the required files from the Microsoft Web site and create a .iso file. It will also offer to burn the iso image to a CD for you. If you don't do it then, there is a good freeware burner called ImgBurn which will do it at a later time. If you're unsure how to do this, you can follow the tutorial here: How to Burn an ISO File. This can be done from any computer.
Boot the CD and at the first opportunity, enter R to start the Recovery Console.

Next, choose which XP installation you want to login to. Normally this will be 1.
Lastly you will be asked for the Administrator password. Just press the Enter key as the Administrator does not have a password (unless you gave it one, then you would enter it).

From the command prompt, type: chkdsk /r and press Enter.
Allow it to complete undisturbed. It can take an hour or more depending on the size of the hard drive.

Remove the CD, type exit and the computer will reboot. Hopefully that will have fixed the problem (corrupted file system).

[Ztruker]

It sounds like you have a corrupted file system, and need to run chkdsk.

You are going to have to get into BIOS Setup on your computer to set the CD/DVD drive as the first bootable device, so you can then boot your XP CD, unless it provides the ability to press a Fn key at boot time to bring up the boot selection menu. If it does, use that.

How you do this varies with each manufacturer. Normally you press F1, F2, F10 or Del when you see the manufacturers logo. Often there is a clue somewhere on the screen when you boot normally telling you what key to press. Some computers (most newer ones) have a key you can press (often F12) to bring up the Boot Menu from where you can select the CD/DVD drive to boot from.

If you don't have an XP CD, download and run ARCDC by Artellos. It will download the required files from the Microsoft Web site and create a .iso file. It will also offer to burn the iso image to a CD for you. If you don't do it then, there is a good freeware burner called ImgBurn which will do it at a later time. If you're unsure how to do this, you can follow the tutorial here: How to Burn an ISO File. This can be done from any computer.
Boot the CD and at the first opportunity, enter R to start the Recovery Console.

Next, choose which XP installation you want to login to. Normally this will be 1.
Lastly you will be asked for the Administrator password. Just press the Enter key as the Administrator does not have a password (unless you gave it one, then you would enter it).

From the command prompt, type: chkdsk /r and press Enter.
Allow it to complete undisturbed. It can take an hour or more depending on the size of the hard drive.

Remove the CD, type exit and the computer will reboot. Hopefully that will have fixed the problem (corrupted file system).

[AmandaAskari]

I'm having a problem making the recovery disk, I think because the computer I'm using is running the Linux system. It is the only other computer I have access to. Is there any way that you know of that I can make the recovery disk for Windows XP on my main computer while using the Linux on my back-up? I really need to get my main PC up and running again.

[Ztruker]

I don't think you can do this from Linux.

Can you get a friend to do it for you from a Windows system?

[AmandaAskari]

I was finally able to get someone to burn the disk for me. I thought it was promising as it went through all the steps you said, however, when it was supposed to run the chkdsk action, it failed stating {Entry Point Not Found}. What do I do now?? I feel like taking it out in the parking lot and running over it with my van. Is there anything I can do?

[Ztruker]

You were able to get to the Command Prompt, right?

Sounds like the CD is corrupted then. Can you try booting it on another computer and running chkdsk to test? Many people have used the procedure I gave you successfully so the process does work which is what makes me think the CD is defective somehow.

[IH8WINDOWS]

I created the rc.iso disc, ran the chkdsk /r and now it says there are one or more unrecoverable problems. Is there anything else I can do? I noticed that before entering the recovery program the disc also said something about installing windows xp. Is that an option, I really hate to lose everything I had saved on my hard drive (docs etc.)

[Ztruker]

Can you see any of your data from the recovery console?

Use the cd (Change Directory) and dir (Directory) commands. If you can see your data then you can copy it to a flash drive or external hard drive.

For instance:

cd "\documents and settings"
cd youruserid
dir

Should give you a list of folders under your userid under Documents and Settings.

dir "my documents" should show you what is there.

Note: If the folder name has a space in it you need to enclose it in double quotes.