Windows XP won't reboot
The following may or may not be the problem you are experiencing with your Windows XP booting.
As with any advice you seek from online resources, read carefully and proceed at your own risk.
(This article is written by a non-techie, who is just sharing what worked for her.)
At least twice in the last year, my Windows XP Professional Edition for no apparent reason suddenly developed
a problem at reboot. My Windows kept looping through the boot sequence and was unable to complete through to load my Windows application.
After reaching a quick blue error page it would recycle many times, attempting to load. Then finally
would come to a screen that informed me that there was a problem loading Windows. I had the options of loading Windows normally, loading in safe mode, loading from last good configuration, etc.
Of course my first instinct was to choose LOAD NORMALLY. After doing this, I later found out through various advice on the net, that I should have chose LAST GOOD CONFIGURATION.
You only have one shot at that, as once you have chosen load Normally, you can't go back and choose that later.
Well, unfortunately I didn't know that at the time and chose the wrong solution. Now, no matter which choice I made it did the same thing. Windows attempted to reboot, and looped over and over through the process, until once again returning to the black screen of choices.
I didn't really know what the actual error was as the blue error page flashed so quickly that I could not read it. However I knew that I needed help before proceeding. I didn't want to lose all my files and information on my hard drive.
I had not backed up in so long and knew that I was going to loose important documents and programs.
I am going to pass on some information I found on the net, after searching carefully for days. (Important note--I did finally recover and save my files!)
Blah Blah many sites give you reasons why this may have happened. These range from not shutting down your Windows improperly, memory problems, hard disk problems, or software conflicts with recently downloaded or installed programs. Of course they also mentioned the problem could have been spyware or even a virus.
I had no clue why it happened to me. Most of the information you will find is just other postings from people with the same looping problem with Windows XP boot up. Very little information exists about how to fix this or how to save your valuable files.
Before I proceed, let me explain that I know a little about hardware and software--a LITTLE, and I can follow directions, especially if given step by step instructions. However I am not a member of any geek squad, or a techie of any nature.
Know that if you too have this problem and do what I did to resolve it, you may not have positive results.
That being said, I will go on...
My situation: I was using a laptop, I was running Windows XP Pro. I did not have a Windows Bootable disk, nor an installation disk. All I had was the manufacturer's recovery disk that came with my laptop when I purchased it.
If I used the recovery disks from the manufacturer, I would format/delete everything on my computer and everything would go back to the way it was from the factory settings. All my downloaded or installed programs would be gone and so would my files!
Also, I only had a CD drive and a couple of USB ports on my computer--no floppy disk drive.
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The steps I took that allowed me to save my files...
As I stated before, I read about situations like mine all over the net. Someone mentioned that all that my files were probably still there--a 90% chance anyhow--and that my Windows XP boot problem was just a problem in the software. EASY to fix, so they said
just POP in your Windows installation disk, and go into the recovery console. But wait, remember I did NOT have a Windows disk, my Windows was included on the instalation disk from my laptop manufacturer!
So now what??? Well I read that I could download the Windows installation disks--to download you need 6 formatted floppy disks! Remember, I had no floppy drives..SO now what???
Well after reading more and more I found out that I could download one single file, and burn it as an ISO file onto a CD.
Okay, I downloaded the file to my computer, then burned it as an ISO image file to a CD.
There is free software you can download that will burn ISO files to a CD.
Okay, now I had to change my computer boot settings. Instead of booting from the harddrive first, I needed it to attempt to boot
from the CD ROM drive. SO I had to change the boot order.
So I cranked up the laptop and before it began attempting to load Windows, I hit F2 to get to the settings.
I clicked through the tabs and located the boot choices and moved the CDROm to first position. Easy enough. I clicked Exit with changes and left the settings. I shut down the computer before it decided
to loop again and again! Then I powered it up again, and quickly inserted my new CD rom with the ISO file.
This next step is VERY IMPORTANT!!!
DO not be frightened but read carefully before clicking any choices.
The computer acted as if it were installing wondows. It came to a blue screen and I was given a few choices.
To hit enter to Install Windows, or hit R for recovery. Your first instinct will tell you to hit R, but DON'T.
Hit Enter as if you are installing Windows. Then you will be given another choice, choose the option for a repair install.
You will see lots of files and stuff happening. Just relax, and say yes if it asks permissions etc.
Then once completed, shut down and reboot, again, hit F2 immediately and change the boot order back to Harddrive in first position.
Exit with changes and reboot again. WINDOWS XP should now reboot normally and your files Should be intact.
BUT WAIT
Remember that I mentioned this boot problem had happened to me twice in the last year?
Well I had remembered to use my Windows ISO CD, but had forgotten to hit enter when given my choices. The second time
this happened to me, I accidentally hit R and went into the recovery console instead of the Installation and then recovery install.
At first I thought no biggie, I can fix things from in here too. WRONG
I was very limited. I was given a DOS promt, and had no idea what to do. I tried many things in there.
I tried FIXBOOT, and chkdsk /p and chkdsk /r and various other command sequences that I found through searches on the internet.
Nothing worked--every time I tried to reboot I went through the endless boot loop.
I tried going back into the ISO CD and hitting enter instead of R, but after you make tht mistake--it will not allow you to use that function again.
I did use the recovery console to determine that my files and folders were still there.
at the C:\windows prompt..
I typed CD C:\ and hit enter, then I got a C:\ prompt. I typed DIR and my file names came up.
SO thankfully I knew they were still there.
BUT NOW WHAT? How in the world can I get them off here safely and then just do a clean install to fix my darn Windows?
Do not worry, there was an answer!
I had read that all I needed was a LINUX stand alone Operating system CD. called a LIve Linux CD.
I downloaded it and burned an ISO image CD of Knoppix.
I then went into my settings--by hitting F2 at the beginning of my bootup
and then changing to bot from CD in first order.
I loaded the knoppix, and it was pretty cool. Looked very similar to windows, but I had no idea how to do anything in the system.
I tried to find instructions online--but very little was out there that I truely understood.
Finally I read that I could use a flash drive or removeable flash stick to rescue my files on my laptop.
I was able to figure out how to mount my harddrive called hda drive in KNoppix, but the darn KNoppix never recognized my flash drive. No matter what I did, it just
did not see it! So I was about to give up!!
NONONO Not me--never give up!
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Okay I read about another Linux Operating system. DSL-stands for Damn Small Linux.
I found it online--downloaded it, then burned it as an ISO image onto a CD.
Popped it in and WOW.
Okay--so it did NOT look anything like Windows. PLAIN desktop, and no icons--what could I do??
I right clicked the mouse and found I could scroll through a menu of sorts. I located something that was the file manager within DSL. ALL I HAD TO DO, was mount the hda drive--which was my hard drive, and mount my sda drive-which was my flash stick.
I clicked on the mnt folder, saw the hda, clicked it and BAM, saw all my files on my computer! In the filemanager there are two boxes,one on the right and one on the left. IN the middle are
some buttons you can click--like move, delete, copy, etc.
Okay this is how I rescued my files..
I opened my hda on the left side, and I opened the sda on the right. All I had to do was highlight files on the left and click the button that said copy.
and the files were immediately copied to the sda side. MY FLASH STICK! Of course I could not fit everything on the flash stick as it ran out of room. But I just shut down, and moved my stick to another computer, saved it all to that hard drive, then cleaned off the stick and went back.
I did this two or three times, until everything was off the laptop that I needed.
Once I had saved my precious files, I just inserted the manufacturers recovery disk into my laptop.
It let me know that my laptop would be reformatted and I would lse everything on it! WHO CARES NOW?
Of course, I reinstalled everything, including Windows XP Professional Edition. Everything was original--and not updated.
SO before I did anything else--I downloaded and installed the latest Windows patches and updates. I also downloaded and installed new virus protection.
Then I started moving my files from the other computer back to my laptop.
Anyhow... I have learned my lesson this second time around. I save weekly. I also have kept my ISO image CD's for future emergencies.
I hope that sharing this will help someone else. Please--remember that there are many different errors and reasons for something like this to happen to your computer.
What worked for me, may not for you--anything you do--is your own responsibility.
THESE STEPS worked for ME. I am providing them as I know how desperate I as and hope to help someone else too.
I did not have the money to take my laptop in for service and I did not trust that they would do everything in their power to save my files.
Again, I provided this true story in hopes that it might help at least one other person out there.
Use any info here at your OWN RISK--as I did.
Good Luck,
Lori
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