[flat-erica]

No progress made I'm afraid.
- Tried opening xp in Safe Mode with network but yet another window appeared: Windows XP cannot run in SafeMode (photo 1)
- Hit OK. Windows restarted then stopped at blue screen message again!! (photo 2)
Strange that I can't open in Safe Mode?
Over to you my friend..

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Hi phillpower2. Hope you are well.
Another day gone. In sheer desperation I started up xp several times hoping it would open in safe mode, but no joy. It starts off promising, then tells me 'xp cannot run in safe mode etc..'. Then I realised something..

Each time I tried safe mode, the drivers stopped loading at hotcore3.sys. (It belongs to Paragon Software. I have their free Backup & Restore (2010?) installed. Always meant to use it but never did coz I thought it was a bit complicated. This also means the software was not updated ..oops!)

Anyhoo, I googled hotcore3.sys and was amazed at the results - others were having almost exactly the same problem! I read through a few to see if I could come uncover some clues to help resolve the safe mode issue.
I learned the following.
XP shows drivers that HAVE LOADED so..

- Maybe Paragon's outdated driver hotcore3.sys has loaded but has caused the loading process to freeze?
- If the list is NOT COMPLETE what would be next to load - could this be the problem?
- Maybe the list IS COMPLETE and hotcore3.sys just happened to be the last entry and I'm barking up the wrong tree!

I know you probably have your own plan so please ignore this if need be. I'm just testing myself by doing a bit of detective work (keeps me out of mischief!) Plus I don't like being 'stumped - my XP has gone from wonky screen to no access at all and I know there just has to be an answer..

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[flat-erica]

Hi phillpower2. Hope you are well.
Another day gone. In sheer desperation I started up xp several times hoping it would open in safe mode, but no joy. It starts off promising, then tells me 'xp cannot run in safe mode etc..'. Then I realised something..

Each time I tried safe mode, the drivers stopped loading at hotcore3.sys. (It belongs to Paragon Software. I have their free Backup & Restore (2010?) installed. Always meant to use it but never did coz I thought it was a bit complicated. This also means the software was not updated ..oops!)

Anyhoo, I googled hotcore3.sys and was amazed at the results - others were having almost exactly the same problem! I read through a few to see if I could come uncover some clues to help resolve the safe mode issue.
I learned the following.
XP shows drivers that HAVE LOADED so..

- Maybe Paragon's outdated driver hotcore3.sys has loaded but has caused the loading process to freeze?
- If the list is NOT COMPLETE what would be next to load - could this be the problem?
- Maybe the list IS COMPLETE and hotcore3.sys just happened to be the last entry and I'm barking up the wrong tree!

I know you probably have your own plan so please ignore this if need be. I'm just testing myself by doing a bit of detective work (keeps me out of mischief!) Plus I don't like being 'stumped - my XP has gone from wonky screen to no access at all and I know there just has to be an answer..

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[phillpower2]

Hello flat-Erica

As you can neither carry out a Repair Installation or boot into Safe Mode (+ the earlier user account issue) can I ask that you refer to a second tutorial that is also provided courtesy of admin, Unbootable system tutorial

Good luck, we will be here should you need to return to this topic.

[flat-erica]

Thanks - I think! Just read the instructions and confess I am terrified at the idea of having to do all this. However, it seems I have no option.
Will be brave and do me best (which means I'll be back soon!).
Well, cheerio for now.. (gulp)

Edited by flat-erica, 13 February 2014 - 04:12 PM.

[phillpower2]

Take your time with it and you will be fine

[flat-erica]

(progress report)

Well, I am taking my time and following instructions.
Burned the AVG cd which is now in xp. This is all I get (see photo).. you can see how nervous I am by the camera shake! lol
May burn another cd in case this one is dodgy (which would not surprise me right now. One problem just leads to another, then another, and another etc).
Am scared to shut down xp in case I do more damage. Do I leave cd in or not, I dunno. What next.
I am sooo lost right now I could cry! sigh

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[phillpower2]

XP does not need to load for the AVG tool to work, did you follow the exact steps that are provided by admin.

Also worth reading is from Preparing the computer onwards from here

[flat-erica]

Progress so far..
This is what I did based on instructions (and logic when required!):
- Using Active ISO Burner, burned AVG Rescue Disk as .iso
- Tried booting XP with my burned AVG cd - no joy (see earlier post). Because it booted from my own genuine XP disk, I assumed no settings had to be changed.
- Checked BIOS to boot from CD (don't think I had to do anything here). No joy
- Uninstalled then reinstalled Active ISO Burner: made sure I installed SPTD Setup v 1.62 this time (for all users on xp - no admin. privileges (spelling?) required)
- Set burning speed to 16x instead of 'auto'
- Did another copy of AVG Rescue Disk as .iso in case the first was wrong for some reason

The above I did late at night, in prep for a fresh attempt next day. And all this time I was dreading the next step/s!!
Please note: I may have to make individual posts (for example, per photo) simply coz it works best for me. My apologies in advance!
(( Tis very late now - hope you don't mind if I continue this tomorrow coz my brain is fried right now!)) Sweet dreams you lucky devil/s!

Edited by flat-erica, 14 February 2014 - 10:25 PM.

[phillpower2]

- Tried booting XP with my burned AVG cd - no joy (see earlier post). Because it booted from my own genuine XP disk,

Sorry but I am confused, you should not be booting to XP, if you mean that the computer booted from the hard drive (HDD) then you have not changed the boot sequence in the BIOS so that the optical drive is the first boot device and the HDD the second boot device;

To change the Boot Sequence in the BIOS;
Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) start tapping the appropriate key that allows you to access the BIOS (Esc - Del – F2 etc)
This will enter you into the BIOS/CMOS
Find the Advanced area and click Enter
Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to DVD/ CD drive
Change the second drive to the C: or Main Drive
Once that is done click F10 to Save and Exit
You will prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit.
Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings.

Once you have done the above, place the ISO that you burned into the disk drive tray, restart the computer and then follow the steps that are detailed in the admin tutorial.

NB: Please note that the slower the burning speed the better the results, I tend to burn ISOs at X4.

[flat-erica]

Have followed instructions on links.
It is not happening! That's what I have been trying to tell you. This is what I get..(see photo - AVG disk is in at this point.)
As you can see, I have selected option 4 = IDE CD-ROM Device.
Then I get: ..SOLINUX 5.01 2013-01-28 ETCD_ (the end bit keeps blinking like it's waiting for my input).

I did it again, this time using your post instructions only - same result!

My next post will show photos of what I did so you can see if I am missing something. (I dunno how to post pics with descriptions!)

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Edited by flat-erica, 15 February 2014 - 08:54 PM.

[flat-erica]

no cd in at this point..
Photo (1) shows setup
Photo (2) shows Boot Sequence exactly as it is. I have done nothing
Photo (3) I have de-selected all. Only IDE CD-ROM Device has been 'ticked'
Photo (4) Shows that I saved changes and exit-ed
Photo (5) Shows what appears next: option "Strike F1.. to retry.. etc"
At this point I insert CD then hit F1. Then I get:
Photo (6) Same as photo 5 but with this ..SOLINUX 5.01 2013-01-28 ETCD_ (the end bit keeps blinking like it's waiting for my input)
continued in next post..

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Edited by flat-erica, 15 February 2014 - 09:59 PM.

[flat-erica]

That's all I can do it seems.
There is something else which may or may not be relevant: a photo of my keyboard with 'numbers lock on'. If you look at photo 3 in my previous post you will see that this is noted in SETUP.

Lastly - I hope you don't think I am being cheeky but I have also included a photo from my other pc online showing your help etc - just to show that I am following advice!!

Please tell me I am missing something! (and sorry if I sound exasperated, but I am!)

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Edited by flat-erica, 15 February 2014 - 09:57 PM.

[phillpower2]

I can`t see anything that you have missed and so it is possibly the ISO being burned at too faster speed causing a problem, keep the same ISO for now though please and do the following;
1: Make sure that there are no disks or USB devices in the computer.
2: Shut down the computer.
3: Restart the computer and access the BIOS, check that the CD/DVD drive is still identified as the first boot device, if it is, exit the BIOS, place the AVG ISO in the CD/DVD drive and then restart the computer, see if the computer boots to the ISO, if it doesn`t it suggests a bad burn.

[123Runner]

When you strike F1 to reboot is it running through the bios screen again?
A reboot should be a complete system reboot. A full shutdown and power back on. At some point you should get something to the effect of "boot from cd hit any key".

[flat-erica]

Thanks sooo much phillpower2 and 123runner. At least I know that I didn't miss anything.

I burned another AVG Rescue cd and took screenshots - again to make sure I am doing it right!
- pic (1) The settings I used. This time I ticked 'Verify Data'.
- pic (2) Shows burn complete.
- pic (3) Regards burn speed, as you can see 16x is the slowest option.

@ 123runner

When you strike F1 to reboot is it running through the bios screen again?

I can't recall. I do know that I have not seen the option 'to boot from cd hit any key'.

Now, back to my poor xp to try again with your suggestions! x

ps: I hope you don't mind that I am recording every move step-by-step. Not only does this method help me, it also allows YOU to see what I am doing and hopefully, will help others who read this thread.

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