Startup issues. Nothing works.

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Alright. I am quite desperate.

Windows XP Home, Pentium 4 (I think).... I forget the rest because I am so
upset...

Last night there was a thunderstorm so I switched off my computer, which
usually is always on. When I switched it on today, Windows came up but took
ages to load and then got stuck for a bit. So as soon as I could I restarted,
hoping it'd run more smoothly now.

But ever since then all I get is a screen that says:
Windows could not be started correctly, please select one of the following
options.

And it lists these:
To start in protected mode.
To start in protected mode with network.
To start in protected mode with command prompt.
To start with the last working configuration.
To start normally.

All of these have the exact same effect, namely causing the same screen to
come up again.

The Windows loading screen does appear but it restarts again at the same
point of the little blue bar underneath.

I tried system recovery and re-copied the original startup files and
drivers. Did not work. I got one message saying that it could not access the
/windows folder.

I THINK my HD might be corrupt or some such thing.
All I care about ae my user files. Is there a chance to recover them? At
all? If need be by a professional? Years of work are on this computer... I
was foolish not to back it up, I know.

Any ideas? Please?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

You should/can boot to xp cd,select,install xp,repair this copy.All you loose
are the updates for xp.You can also,select recovery,press enter for password,
then type:CHKDSK C: /R When its thru type:EXIT Let xp restart.

"Tamashii" wrote:

> Alright. I am quite desperate.
>
> Windows XP Home, Pentium 4 (I think).... I forget the rest because I am so
> upset...
>
> Last night there was a thunderstorm so I switched off my computer, which
> usually is always on. When I switched it on today, Windows came up but took
> ages to load and then got stuck for a bit. So as soon as I could I restarted,
> hoping it'd run more smoothly now.
>
> But ever since then all I get is a screen that says:
> Windows could not be started correctly, please select one of the following
> options.
>
> And it lists these:
> To start in protected mode.
> To start in protected mode with network.
> To start in protected mode with command prompt.
> To start with the last working configuration.
> To start normally.
>
> All of these have the exact same effect, namely causing the same screen to
> come up again.
>
> The Windows loading screen does appear but it restarts again at the same
> point of the little blue bar underneath.
>
> I tried system recovery and re-copied the original startup files and
> drivers. Did not work. I got one message saying that it could not access the
> /windows folder.
>
> I THINK my HD might be corrupt or some such thing.
> All I care about ae my user files. Is there a chance to recover them? At
> all? If need be by a professional? Years of work are on this computer... I
> was foolish not to back it up, I know.
>
> Any ideas? Please?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Thank you so much! After much hesitation to avoid messing things up even
more, I did as you said and chkdsk did find some problem. Now I was able to
start Windows and though it crashed a few times, I am now putting my files on
DVD, so no matter what else happens, I won't lose my data.

Thank you terribly much~!

"Andrew E." wrote:

> You should/can boot to xp cd,select,install xp,repair this copy.All you loose
> are the updates for xp.You can also,select recovery,press enter for password,
> then type:CHKDSK C: /R When its thru type:EXIT Let xp restart.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Hi,

I would try a disk check, but I fear that you might have damaged hardware.
Did you just turn the system off, or did you unplug it as well? Just turning
it off would not prevent damage from an electrical surge, it would have to
be physically disconnected.

To run a disk check, boot with the XP CD and hit 'r' when prompted to
repair. Logon to the existing installation (the password in most Home
systems is <blank> unless you actually set one yourself). From the prompt,
run "chkdsk c: /r" (without the quotes). When prompted for autochk.exe,
indicate C:\Windows\system32. This may take some time to run.

If it fails to help, I would seek out a competent technician.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"Tamashii" <Tamashii@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:5811EE37-CD97-43C4-A34A-D3475A1A12E4@microsoft.com...
> Alright. I am quite desperate.
>
> Windows XP Home, Pentium 4 (I think).... I forget the rest because I am so
> upset...
>
> Last night there was a thunderstorm so I switched off my computer, which
> usually is always on. When I switched it on today, Windows came up but
> took
> ages to load and then got stuck for a bit. So as soon as I could I
> restarted,
> hoping it'd run more smoothly now.
>
> But ever since then all I get is a screen that says:
> Windows could not be started correctly, please select one of the following
> options.
>
> And it lists these:
> To start in protected mode.
> To start in protected mode with network.
> To start in protected mode with command prompt.
> To start with the last working configuration.
> To start normally.
>
> All of these have the exact same effect, namely causing the same screen to
> come up again.
>
> The Windows loading screen does appear but it restarts again at the same
> point of the little blue bar underneath.
>
> I tried system recovery and re-copied the original startup files and
> drivers. Did not work. I got one message saying that it could not access
> the
> /windows folder.
>
> I THINK my HD might be corrupt or some such thing.
> All I care about ae my user files. Is there a chance to recover them? At
> all? If need be by a professional? Years of work are on this computer... I
> was foolish not to back it up, I know.
>
> Any ideas? Please?