Re: My computer doesn't boot

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"Terry" <kilowatt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1135271336.054029.41930@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > I get a message ftdisk.sys is corrupted.
> > > sigh
> > >
> >
> > You may have to select the other Repair option, the one that
> > installs WinXP over the top of the existing installation. It will
> > keep your applications intact.
> >
>
> When I first boot from CD I get a message asking if I want an auto
> recovery. I picked that first and it asks for a disk. I don't have a
> disk. I don't even have a floppy in the machine.
>
> I press escape to skip that option and that is when I see messages of
> it loading all kinds of stuff. After all the loading messages that is
> when I get ftdisk.sys is corrupt.
>
> I put the drive in a working machine and renamed ftdisk.sys and copied
> the good file to the bad drive.
>
> The next time I tried to boot from cd in the bad computer instead of
> ftdisk.sys I get a message saying dmio.sys is corrupt. So, I renamed
> it and copied over a good file.
>
> The next time I tried to boot from the bad drive I again get ftdisk.sys
> is corrupt so I renamed both and tried again.
>
> I still get ftdisk.sys is corrupt.
>
> There is no option to do anything except auto recovery and when that
> fails I get bad .sys file error messages.
>

The repair method I suggested relies on having a proper
WinXP installation CD. It seems you used a "recovery"
CD instead. They are made by PC/laptop manufacturers,
not by Microsoft, and are specific to the machine with
which they are sold. Some will wipe the hard disk during
the recovery process.

When I boot my PC with my WinXP CD then the first
menu I see has these options:
- To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER
- To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
- To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
Do you ever see this menu?

You now have several options:
a) You could save all your data, then format the drive
and use the Recovery CD to restore your system.
b) You could obtain a WinXP installation CD from a
friend, then use the Repair option I mentioned above.
c) You could obtain a WinXP installation CD from a
friend, then re-install WinXP from scratch. There is a
risk that your Windows key may not match the CD
you use.
e) You could copy the whole installation to another
disk, then format your own disk, then copy the whole
lot back again.

Option e) would work if your file system is damaged
but the files are still readable. It may require a couple
of minor steps at the end to restore the WinXP boot
environment.


.

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