XP Won't start, not even in safe mode Solved

Question

Hi,

My windows XP won't start. I shutted down the computer yesterday, today when I started it it will run till the windows boot screen, when the bar reaches the end the screen will stay black and nothings happens

I tried to boot in safe mode but after loading the drivers it just stays there as well and wont go on with the boot.

I wanted to repair the system with the Windows XP CD-ROM but I'm not given the option to repair. After it starts all the devices needed, i'm presented with the partitions I have on my PC to choose in which to install windows, if I pick one I can format and install or just install.

Is there a way to run a repair or a scandisk to try and solve the problem without re instaling windows?

Really appreciate any help.

Thank you in advance

mesiduma · Accepted Answer

So, I spent half a day struggling why my windows XP won't start on any of the safe modes with similar symptoms you all have been seeing.  Here is what worked for me on HP pavilion.

There is an option F11 when you boot the system. It takes you to Restore manager by HP via RAM something option. Select Advanced Options for Restore Manager.  

A. I first selected the option to back up my files (Photos and Personal Docs/Files) on DVD-R drive.  This takes about 1.5 hr to finish but is a worth-it safety step.

B.  Rebooted the system, pressed F11, and selected the option to restore system to an older time.  Restored the system to 20 days ago.  I had tried restoring to two days ago but saw similar problem with it.  This worked like charm and kept all my documents intact.

C. There is another option to restore to factory settings and I had intended to go all the way to original factory settings, if option B had not worked.  In such a case, my backup DVDs from A would have come handy to restore all my Photos/Videos/Personal files back.

So, the problem seems to be the corruption of a system file and could be attributed to any of the programs I downloaded from the Internet such as DVD Fab in the interim.

All the best.
Mesiduma

xpcman · Answer

check this link for Win XP repair/install

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

steve · Answer

hi yes there is a simple way if you have the windows disk make it the OS boot with the cd rom then when you get to a screen that says would you like to install windows click R to repair it!

kingull · Answer

Quite often, this can be caused by faulty components on the motherboard.
Worst offenders are PCI modems and then the next is network cards.

So! remove an item and try restart or remove all peripherals except the hard drive and try again.

Repeat this after adding one component etc until all are added.

If added device causes lockup, you know what caused it.

Mixergirl · Answer

Thy this free boot CD,

Has helped me :)


http://www.ubcd4win.com/index.htm

loufer30 · Answer

The only thing that I ended up doing was reformanting my pc but I think one of the bios went bad and now the vlk key for my disc is block and I have to manually download updates for it.

Zorig · Answer

I start my windows so up then it goes to a option screen and it said safe mode , safe mode with network and sao on then there is start windows normaly I press that then I get the option. Screen again

Jepoy · Answer

It happen to me before. I just used the installation disk and checkdisk and wallllllllla... Problem solve..

itprof · Answer

Probably a reg problem. hkey\locmach\system\contro\some control set\.....
maybe corrupt reg entry, bad entry in hdw enmerator. Some viruses do this. If bad enuff you must re-install-do new install over old one erasing all current files but your data will live. very unpleasant. you could try reg fixes or manual on that key nothing to lose.

of course try cd boot w/repair first & pull all extra hdw out. Assumes you use latest antivirus.

x3n0n · Answer

If all methods above fail, this is one last (more advanced) method to repair your Windows XP boot.ini file or to backup your files before formatting and reinstalling your Windows XP ;) 

First you need to get a version of Backtrack (Live Boot version) and write it on a CD. 
You can get backtrack here: http://remote-exploit.org/backtrack_download.html 

Once you have a Backtrack Live Boot CD/USB, insert it in the corrupt machine. 
Boot Backtrack and login if necessary. 

Open a kernel and type: 
cd /mnt
You should now be working in the mnt dir 

Now type: 
ls
Now you should see a lot of other directories, but you should select sda1. (This may be sda0 or other, depending on your system.) 

So to go to the sda1 dir, type: 
cd /sda1

Now type: 
ls
This command lists all your files in the working directory. 
You should see your hard drive, with all the directories ;) 

Now if you want to recover files from your hard drive, just open them with BackTrack and copy them to your USB or external HD. 

Now if you want to edit your boot.ini file, you just open it in BT and adjust the content. 
This is an example for Windows XP Home Edition (on partition 1 of your harddrive, if you have partitions) 
[boot loader] 
timeout=5 
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS 
[operating systems] 
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect
After you have edited your boot.ini, just save it and reboot Windows XP without BT. 

I hope this was helpfull ;)

noworryz · Answer

hello I had the same problem! uh it sucked but I figured it out, in f10 or f11 theres a option that says AC POWER if it says off, turn it on save changes an your set! this should do the trick bud

noworryz · Answer

in f10 or f11 theres a option that says AC POWER if it says off, turn it on save changes an your set!

warrior · Answer

not sure what is more surprising that someone just replied a thread I started 4 years ago, or that the answer is turn the AC POWER on Oo

XP Won't start, not even in safe mode

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