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XP Hard Driver will not boot

R

rock

Flightless Bird
Hi,

Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.

It does not get to Dos or windows.

What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?

Thanks


rock
 
J

Jose

Flightless Bird
On Jan 9, 2:14 am, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
> and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
> screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.
>
> It does not get to Dos or windows.
>
> What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?
>
> Thanks
>
> rock
What are the correct lists on the black screen?

You need to boot on something, so start by booting the XP Recovery
Console and they you can resolve remaining issues.

Eliminate or repair possible file system corruption from a power
failure, ungraceful shutdown or aborted restart.

Have any of these events occurred?

Boot your PC into the XP Recovery Console using a bootable XP
installation CD or a bootable CD with the XP Recovery Console on it.
This is not the same as any Recovey or System CDs that may have come
with a store bought system.

If you do not have a genuine bootable XP installation CD, use a
working computer to create an bootable XP Recovery Console CD (no XP
media required).

For each of your hard disks, you should then run:

chkdsk /r

You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
and burning it to a CD.

The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

xp_rec_con.iso

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:

http://www.imgburn.com/

It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is
working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These
adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it,
you will have to reboot the system again.

When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

Press any key to boot from CD...

The Windows Setup... will proceed.

Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:/WINDOWS)

You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

You should be in the C:/WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the C:
\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

RC allows basic file commands - copy, rename, replace, delete, cd,
chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
afflicted drive.

Running chkdsk is fine to run even if it doesn't find any problems.

Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:

chkdsk C: /r

Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. It may take
a long time to complete or appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the
HDD light is still flashing, it is doing something. Keep an eye on
the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.

Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
computer.

You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
CD will not be present.
 
R

rock

Flightless Bird
Jose wrote:
> On Jan 9, 2:14 am, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
>> and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
>> screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.
>>
>> It does not get to Dos or windows.
>>
>> What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> rock
> What are the correct lists on the black screen?
>
> You need to boot on something, so start by booting the XP Recovery
> Console and they you can resolve remaining issues.
>
> Eliminate or repair possible file system corruption from a power
> failure, ungraceful shutdown or aborted restart.
>
> Have any of these events occurred?
>
> Boot your PC into the XP Recovery Console using a bootable XP
> installation CD or a bootable CD with the XP Recovery Console on it.
> This is not the same as any Recovey or System CDs that may have come
> with a store bought system.
>
> If you do not have a genuine bootable XP installation CD, use a
> working computer to create an bootable XP Recovery Console CD (no XP
> media required).
>
> For each of your hard disks, you should then run:
>
> chkdsk /r
>
> You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
> and burning it to a CD.
>
> The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:
>
> xp_rec_con.iso
>
> Download the ISO file from here:
>
> http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig
>
> Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:
>
> http://www.imgburn.com/
>
> It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is
> working.
>
> You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
> drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These
> adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it,
> you will have to reboot the system again.
>
> When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:
>
> Press any key to boot from CD...
>
> The Windows Setup... will proceed.
>
> Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.
>
> Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:/WINDOWS)
>
> You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).
>
> You should be in the C:/WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the C:
> \WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.
>
> RC allows basic file commands - copy, rename, replace, delete, cd,
> chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.
>
> From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
> where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
> afflicted drive.
>
> Running chkdsk is fine to run even if it doesn't find any problems.
>
> Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:
>
> chkdsk C: /r
>
> Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. It may take
> a long time to complete or appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the
> HDD light is still flashing, it is doing something. Keep an eye on
> the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.
>
> Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
> computer.
>
> You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
> CD will not be present.

Thank you for this.

The lines are the normal lines which show after boot.. memory, discs
installed etc. It still shows as it normally does. There are no messages
etc.

Yes it happened when I was adding a couple of CDroms and they did not
show in Bios, I had to reboot a few times and it was after this I was
not able to boot.

I do have my XP install disc so I will follow your instructs as soon as
I get time.

Thanks again,

rock
 
S

sgopus

Flightless Bird
You won't get to DOS that went bye bye, with the advent of XP. However with
that said you can get a version of DOS (NTDOS) that you can boot with to view
files on your HD (if it hasn't failed, and you remember your DOS commands),
Just do a search on GOOGLE or Yahoo for NTDOS boot disk.

if the screen is just blank with a blinking cursor, the pc is not finding
ANY kind of operating system, and or, you have some type of hardware failure
keeping the OS on the HD from Loading, Since it's hard to diagnose issues
remotely, I urge you to take it to a good repair shop not Best buy, for
service.

"rock" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
> and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
> screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.
>
> It does not get to Dos or windows.
>
> What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?
>
> Thanks
>
>
> rock
> .
>
 
J

Jose

Flightless Bird
On Jan 9, 6:19 pm, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
> Jose wrote:
> > On Jan 9, 2:14 am, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >> Hi,
>
> >> Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
> >> and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
> >> screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.
>
> >> It does not get to Dos or windows.
>
> >> What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?
>
> >> Thanks
>
> >> rock
> > What are the correct lists on the black screen?
>
> > You need to boot on something, so start by booting the XP Recovery
> > Console and they you can resolve remaining issues.
>
> > Eliminate or repair possible file system corruption from a power
> > failure, ungraceful shutdown or aborted restart.
>
> > Have any of these events occurred?
>
> > Boot your PC into the XP Recovery Console using a bootable XP
> > installation CD or a bootable CD with the XP Recovery Console on it.
> > This is not the same as any Recovey or System CDs that may have come
> > with a store bought system.
>
> > If you do not have a genuine bootable XP installation CD, use a
> > working computer to create an bootable XP Recovery Console CD (no XP
> > media required).
>
> > For each of your hard disks, you should then run:
>
> > chkdsk /r
>
> > You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
> > and burning it to a CD.
>
> > The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:
>
> > xp_rec_con.iso
>
> > Download the ISO file from here:
>
> >http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig
>
> > Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:
>
> >http://www.imgburn.com/
>
> > It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is
> > working.
>
> > You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
> > drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk.  These
> > adjustments are made before Windows tries to load.  If you miss it,
> > you will have to reboot the system again.
>
> > When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:
>
> > Press any key to boot from CD...
>
> > The Windows Setup... will proceed.
>
> > Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.
>
> > Select the installation you want to access (usually  1: C:/WINDOWS)
>
> > You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).
>
> > You should be in the C:/WINDOWS folder.  This is the same as the C:
> > \WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.
>
> > RC allows basic file commands - copy, rename, replace, delete, cd,
> > chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.
>
> > From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
> > where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
> > afflicted drive.
>
> > Running chkdsk is fine to run even if it doesn't find any problems.
>
> > Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:
>
> > chkdsk C: /r
>
> > Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find.  It may take
> > a long time to complete or appear to be 'stuck'.  Be patient.  If the
> > HDD light is still flashing, it is doing something.  Keep an eye on
> > the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.
>
> > Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
> > computer.
>
> > You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
> > CD will not be present.
>
> Thank you for this.
>
> The lines are the normal lines which show after boot.. memory, discs
> installed etc. It still shows as it normally does. There are no messages
> etc.
>
> Yes it happened when I was adding a couple of CDroms and they did not
> show in Bios, I had to reboot a few times and it was after this I was
> not able to boot.
>
> I do have my XP install disc so I will follow your instructs as soon as
> I get time.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> rock

Get the Recovery Console running and we'll see what the deal is.

Did you undo any of your hardware or BIOS changes?
 
R

rock

Flightless Bird
Jose wrote:
> On Jan 9, 6:19 pm, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
>> Jose wrote:
>>> On Jan 9, 2:14 am, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>> Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
>>>> and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
>>>> screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.
>>>> It does not get to Dos or windows.
>>>> What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?
>>>> Thanks
>>>> rock
>>> What are the correct lists on the black screen?
>>> You need to boot on something, so start by booting the XP Recovery
>>> Console and they you can resolve remaining issues.
>>> Eliminate or repair possible file system corruption from a power
>>> failure, ungraceful shutdown or aborted restart.
>>> Have any of these events occurred?
>>> Boot your PC into the XP Recovery Console using a bootable XP
>>> installation CD or a bootable CD with the XP Recovery Console on it.
>>> This is not the same as any Recovey or System CDs that may have come
>>> with a store bought system.
>>> If you do not have a genuine bootable XP installation CD, use a
>>> working computer to create an bootable XP Recovery Console CD (no XP
>>> media required).
>>> For each of your hard disks, you should then run:
>>> chkdsk /r
>>> You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
>>> and burning it to a CD.
>>> The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:
>>> xp_rec_con.iso
>>> Download the ISO file from here:
>>> http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig
>>> Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:
>>> http://www.imgburn.com/
>>> It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is
>>> working.
>>> You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
>>> drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These
>>> adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it,
>>> you will have to reboot the system again.
>>> When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:
>>> Press any key to boot from CD...
>>> The Windows Setup... will proceed.
>>> Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.
>>> Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:/WINDOWS)
>>> You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).
>>> You should be in the C:/WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the C:
>>> \WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.
>>> RC allows basic file commands - copy, rename, replace, delete, cd,
>>> chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.
>>> From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
>>> where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
>>> afflicted drive.
>>> Running chkdsk is fine to run even if it doesn't find any problems.
>>> Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:
>>> chkdsk C: /r
>>> Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. It may take
>>> a long time to complete or appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the
>>> HDD light is still flashing, it is doing something. Keep an eye on
>>> the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.
>>> Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
>>> computer.
>>> You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
>>> CD will not be present.
>> Thank you for this.
>>
>> The lines are the normal lines which show after boot.. memory, discs
>> installed etc. It still shows as it normally does. There are no messages
>> etc.
>>
>> Yes it happened when I was adding a couple of CDroms and they did not
>> show in Bios, I had to reboot a few times and it was after this I was
>> not able to boot.
>>
>> I do have my XP install disc so I will follow your instructs as soon as
>> I get time.
>>
>> Thanks again,
>>
>> rock
>
> Get the Recovery Console running and we'll see what the deal is.
>
> Did you undo any of your hardware or BIOS changes?
HI again,

I used made the boot recover CD and with R did the chkdisk. It all
showed correctly with no errors.

I rebooted and still get the same blinking cursor but with the message..

DISK BOOT FAILURE INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER.

Thanks

rock
 
R

rock

Flightless Bird
sgopus wrote:
> You won't get to DOS that went bye bye, with the advent of XP. However with
> that said you can get a version of DOS (NTDOS) that you can boot with to view
> files on your HD (if it hasn't failed, and you remember your DOS commands),
> Just do a search on GOOGLE or Yahoo for NTDOS boot disk.
>
> if the screen is just blank with a blinking cursor, the pc is not finding
> ANY kind of operating system, and or, you have some type of hardware failure
> keeping the OS on the HD from Loading, Since it's hard to diagnose issues
> remotely, I urge you to take it to a good repair shop not Best buy, for
> service.
>
> "rock" wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
>> and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
>> screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.
>>
>> It does not get to Dos or windows.
>>
>> What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>>
>> rock
>> .
>>
Thanks.

I did use the XP Recovery CD I created from the url above and also made
a XP boot floppy.

I did use the R and got to see all my files so they all look fine. It
must be the boot record.

Should I use the fixmbr command in the recovery console?

I just don't want to lost my data if I can help it.

rock
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Flightless Bird
"rock" <1940@pobox.com> said this in news item
news:ew6sENokKHA.2160@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> sgopus wrote:
>> You won't get to DOS that went bye bye, with the advent of XP. However
>> with that said you can get a version of DOS (NTDOS) that you can boot
>> with to view files on your HD (if it hasn't failed, and you remember your
>> DOS commands), Just do a search on GOOGLE or Yahoo for NTDOS boot disk.
>>
>> if the screen is just blank with a blinking cursor, the pc is not finding
>> ANY kind of operating system, and or, you have some type of hardware
>> failure keeping the OS on the HD from Loading, Since it's hard to
>> diagnose issues remotely, I urge you to take it to a good repair shop not
>> Best buy, for service.
>>
>> "rock" wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
>>> and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
>>> screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.
>>>
>>> It does not get to Dos or windows.
>>>
>>> What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>>
>>> rock
>>> .
>>>
> Thanks.
>
> I did use the XP Recovery CD I created from the url above and also made a
> XP boot floppy.
>
> I did use the R and got to see all my files so they all look fine. It must
> be the boot record.
>
> Should I use the fixmbr command in the recovery console?
>
> I just don't want to lost my data if I can help it.
>
> rock

If you don't have any backups of your important files then your first task
is to secure your data. Fixing the boot issue comes later. If you do it the
other way round then you risk losing the lot.

There are several methods to save your files when Windows won't boot. Here
are some of them:
a) If it is a desktop PC: Remove the hard disk, then connect it as a slave
disk to some other PC.
b) If it is a laptop: Remove the hard disk, then put it into a $25 USB case
and connect this case to some other PC.
c) If the disk cannot easily be removed: Make yourself a Bart PE boot CD.
Buy a 2.5" disk in an external USB case. Connect the USB case to your PC,
then boot it with your Bart PE boot CD and back up your files.

Post again when your data is secure. And yes, you can issue these two
commands while in Recovery Console mode: fixboot and fixmbr.
 
S

smlunatick

Flightless Bird
On Jan 11, 2:47 am, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
> Jose wrote:
> > On Jan 9, 6:19 pm, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >> Jose wrote:
> >>> On Jan 9, 2:14 am, rock <1...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >>>> Hi,
> >>>> Everything was fine until yesterday the XP Pro box rebooted by itself
> >>>> and then after the Bios setting and then the correct lists on the black
> >>>> screen, it just hangs with the cursor blinking.
> >>>> It does not get to Dos or windows.
> >>>> What is the best way for me to check what the problem may be?
> >>>> Thanks
> >>>> rock
> >>> What are the correct lists on the black screen?
> >>> You need to boot on something, so start by booting the XP Recovery
> >>> Console and they you can resolve remaining issues.
> >>> Eliminate or repair possible file system corruption from a power
> >>> failure, ungraceful shutdown or aborted restart.
> >>> Have any of these events occurred?
> >>> Boot your PC into the XP Recovery Console using a bootable XP
> >>> installation CD or a bootable CD with the XP Recovery Console on it.
> >>> This is not the same as any Recovey or System CDs that may have come
> >>> with a store bought system.
> >>> If you do not have a genuine bootable XP installation CD, use a
> >>> working computer to create an bootable XP Recovery Console CD (no XP
> >>> media required).
> >>> For each of your hard disks, you should then run:
> >>> chkdsk /r
> >>> You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
> >>> and burning it to a CD.
> >>> The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:
> >>> xp_rec_con.iso
> >>> Download the ISO file from here:
> >>>http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig
> >>> Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:
> >>>http://www.imgburn.com/
> >>> It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is
> >>> working.
> >>> You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
> >>> drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk.  These
> >>> adjustments are made before Windows tries to load.  If you miss it,
> >>> you will have to reboot the system again.
> >>> When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:
> >>> Press any key to boot from CD...
> >>> The Windows Setup... will proceed.
> >>> Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.
> >>> Select the installation you want to access (usually  1: C:/WINDOWS)
> >>> You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).
> >>> You should be in the C:/WINDOWS folder.  This is the same as the C:
> >>> \WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.
> >>> RC allows basic file commands - copy, rename, replace, delete, cd,
> >>> chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.
> >>> From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
> >>> where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
> >>> afflicted drive.
> >>> Running chkdsk is fine to run even if it doesn't find any problems.
> >>> Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:
> >>> chkdsk C: /r
> >>> Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find.  It may take
> >>> a long time to complete or appear to be 'stuck'.  Be patient.  Ifthe
> >>> HDD light is still flashing, it is doing something.  Keep an eye on
> >>> the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.
> >>> Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
> >>> computer.
> >>> You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
> >>> CD will not be present.
> >> Thank you for this.
>
> >> The lines are the normal lines which show after boot.. memory, discs
> >> installed etc. It still shows as it normally does. There are no messages
> >> etc.
>
> >> Yes it happened when I was adding a couple of CDroms and they did not
> >> show in Bios, I had to reboot a few times and it was after this I was
> >> not able to boot.
>
> >> I do have my XP install disc so I will follow your instructs as soon as
> >> I get time.
>
> >> Thanks again,
>
> >> rock
>
> > Get the Recovery Console running and we'll see what the deal is.
>
> > Did you undo any of your hardware or BIOS changes?
>
> HI again,
>
> I used made the boot recover CD and with R did the chkdisk. It all
> showed correctly with no errors.
>
> I rebooted and still get the same blinking cursor but with the message..
>
> DISK BOOT FAILURE INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER.
>
> Thanks
>
> rock

It is sad to say but your system seems to have suffered a complete
boot failure. If you need to save all your data, I would suggest you
replace the hard drive and use a newer hard drive in order to set up a
working Windows. Then, get an USB external drive enclosure so as to
"recover" you data.

After, you can attempt to fix the "boot" from the Recovery console:

fixboot
fixmbr

However, if it still fails to boot, you are "out of luck" getting the
drive to boot correctly.
 
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