Computer won't start - Windows XP

[confused001]

What if you can't click on start. the computer keeps going back to "previous attempt was interrupted due to power failure". I can't get past that point - I've tried starting Windows in every method, and nothing works. It will act likes it's booting up and then goes right back to the black screen with the above message. Can someone help?

 

[tigsounds]

You need to run chkdsk /r from the recovery console.
Here is the Microsoft instruction to run the recovery console from your XP CD.


http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

 

[confused001]

You need to run chkdsk /r from the recovery console.
Here is the Microsoft instruction to run the recovery console from your XP CD.


http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

I cannot get to the command prompt to do this. It keeps bringing me back to the error screen with all the options to choose from, which I have tried every one. After each attempt, it tries to load Windows XP and then fails to load and brings me back to the options. It also says I may have a driver or software that was recently installed. I haven't used this computer very much at all and when I did try to use it, Norton was up with failed attempts to update. Norton was hung up on it, and then I shut off the computer because I couldn't get out of Norton.

 

[aford10]

First, remove the CMOS battery for ~5 minutes, then put it back in. This will reset the BIOS. Try booting up after you've done that.

Do you have an XP disc, or does it have a recovery partition?

 

[confused001]

First, remove the CMOS battery for ~5 minutes, then put it back in. This will reset the BIOS. Try booting up after you've done that.

Do you have an XP disc, or does it have a recovery partition?

I have an IT person helping me right now - but she won't have time to look at it for a little while. I've passed your information along as I didn't know enough to fix myself. Many thanks for your reply.

 

[aford10]

Ok. If you want to give it a shot yourself, it's real simple to remove the CMOS battery. All you have to do, is remove the side of the tower. Look for a silver watch-like battery on the motherboard. You can pop that out pretty easy. Just leave it out for ~5 minutes, and then put it back in. Easy as that.

Best of luck!

 

[Ijack]

At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, if you have an IT person on the case I would leave it to them. They certainly won't appreciate it if you do anything to make the situation worse. If it's a company PC it's probably against the IT policy for you to do this sort of work on your PC anyway.

Having worked in IT support for many years I saw a lot problems caused by people following a friend's well-meaning advice. Don't make an enemy of your support people - they can make life difficult for you!