[8eight]

Hello,

I'm having a boot issue with my Dell Studio 15. It just hangs at the XP splash screen and the load bar continually scrolls. I was previously able to boot in Safe Mode, but when I tried running MBAM it froze up. I had not noticed any signs of Malware prior to the boot issue. Running the scan was just my initial response. But now when I attempt to boot in Safe Mode it just freezes altogether. Trying to figure out if the OS is corrupted or if there's something wrong with my HD. Unfortunately I have not been able to find my copy of XP to attempt to run recovery. Appreciate any help to trouble shoot issue and hopefully fix it.

Thanks,
8eight

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Hi 8eight

In this situation, I suggest you to find an installation or recovery CD for your Windows XP version/edition as you'll most likely need it if you can't access the Recovery PE normally via F8 while you boot. Our primary goal here is to run the Start Up Repair as well as gaining access to the command prompt.

[Aura]

Hi 8eight

In this situation, I suggest you to find an installation or recovery CD for your Windows XP version/edition as you'll most likely need it if you can't access the Recovery PE normally via F8 while you boot. Our primary goal here is to run the Start Up Repair as well as gaining access to the command prompt.

[Ztruker]

XP doesn't have a Startup Repair

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.

The above can be done from any computer with internet access.

On the problem 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).

[8eight]

Hey Ztruker,

 

I was able to download ARCDC & burn a copy of the XP Professional SP3 ISO  to a disc. I attempted to boot from CD:Drive and the program loaded as needed but when it reached the point of booting Windows I received a blue screen error message.

 

" A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

 

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

 

Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drive, hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer. 

 

Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF78D2524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x000000000)"

 

Also I've tried to run a Pre-boot System Assessment. It was running fine then I received the following error.

 

"Error Code 0142.

Msg:  Error Code 2000-0142

Msg: Hard Drive 0 - self test unsuccessful. Status 79..."

 

A HD failure  would be unfortunate. I don't know if you have any other suggestions or diagnostics we can run? 

[Ztruker]

Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
7 Free Hard Drive Testing Programs
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
Bootable Hard Drive Diagnostics