Re: Can Not repair or boot XP



"Bob Harris" wrote:

You have several problems, but here are some ideas:

Your immediate problem sounds like how to rescue data. Assuming that it was
not XP-encrypted, you can probably copy it off of the internal hard drive by
booting the PC form a CD containing a self-contained operating system. My
favorite is KNOPPIX, a free LINUX distribution, which by default will not
write to the internal hard drive. It automatically provides drivers for
most hardware, including things that XP does not, like most SATA
controllers. It supports USB, firewire, and can read NTFS as well as FAT32
partitions. It even comes with its own CD burning software:
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

KNOPPIX is a big download, typicaslly 700 Meg for the CD and 2+ Gig for the
DVD. These are ISO files, which means they must be converted to optical
media by a prgram that can "burn from image", such as Nero or Easy CD
Creator. Do not simply drag&rop to CD.

If the PC does not boot from the CD, it is likely that it is set to boot
first from hard drive. In that case you need to go into the BIOS setup and
change the boot order to CD befoire hard drive.

Other, usually smaller, live LINUX CDs can be found at:
http://www.livecdlist.com/

Once you rescue your data, ask yourself WHY you seem to have this problem
every 4 to 6 months. I have had XP on one PC since 2003, and I can tell you
that frequent problems of the type you are having are NOT normal. Try
downloading some hardware testing programs, preferrably ones that run form
CD, thus bypassing any XP software problems. Key components to test, and
test hard, are CPU, RAM, and hard drives. Testing software is widely
available on the web, and also from most hardware makers.

It might also be wise to try several antivirus/anti-malware programs, many
of which can be run from CD. These are free from the assorted antvirus
makers.

You might also be interested in the Ultimate boot CD:
http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/ This is a free bootable CD image, with many
testing tools included. Like KNOPPIX this is a ISO image download.

A more advanced boot CD is called the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows. It
requires some assembly, since unlike the previosuly mentioned Ultimate Boot
CD, which is based on a free version of DOS, this one is actually based on
XP. But, Microsoft prohibits giving away pieces of XP, so you need to have
an XP CD of your your to obtain some of the files. But, making the final CD
is actually fairly easy, since a small program available free on this
website does all the thinking for you.

Finally, even with perfect hardware and perfect antivirus, sooner or later
your PC will fail. Why? Because you are using XP. I have had my PC
"killed" by Windows Updates, direct from Microsoft. I have had some
problems with third-party software or updates. I have also had problems
after a power outage, even though the NTFS file system is supposed to have
some redundancy built-in. But, having lived with similar problems under
Windows 95 and 98 (with FAT32 partitions, which is less reliabel than NTFS),
I started backing up data and making disk images. I keep my data on a
separate partition from the operating system and programs. Thus, I can
backup my data via XCOPY (or Windows copy&paste). As for the operating
system and installed programs, those require special backup software. At
first I used Norton GHOST, but then found Acronis True Image to be
friendlier. These are not free, but a good investment. However, there are
now some free programs that might be able to do almost as much for you.
Look at the programs listed at: http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads3.html
(Note, some are not free, but many are.)

Atila714" <Atila714@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:24B1AD75-2D9A-48FE-939E-D72FE62EAC0A@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OK Hello all is my first time posting here.. i been with my comp for 2 yrs
now and is always the same problem... it happens always like 4 or 6
months,
each incident, so here it goes let me explain it..
First it gives me this blue screen that the memory has suffered a problem
that i need to restart... and wont let me do anything.. so i have to turn
it
off manually
after that windows starts loading... and it just freezes there...after
that
what i usually do is get on repair trying to reinstall windows xp where
you
accept the contract and then select the R for repairing Starts and it just
freezes there where it says.. running looking for Windows previously
installed.. (or something like that) and there it stops

Ive tried everything, getting the repair instead of trying to reinstall
and
then repair... when it goes to the DOS screen and aske me that Cwindows is
installed that i select the partition.. same thing happens...

whe i usually do is get on another comp a reboot floopy disk for windows
95
... always format and reinstall normally...

But this time, i have precious data on my hd, i usually get a back up on a
dvd... but this time it was 1 month... so i didnt had back up... so i
wanna
repair it... but im still stuck in the same part...

where i try to run safe mode and nothing... windows loading screen....
freezes... or try to start normally or try to start the last known config
it
worked.. same result


when trying to repair... same thing as always...


Pls Help!!!... im rly desperate on always formatting my disk everytime i
have this problem....

Tx in advance



Will try those things today or when i come back since i have a business
trip...

Thank you...

Will try also that Andrew after i reinstall or get my working Xp again.


Ill post when i repair and/or recover my data..

.