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

I'm trying to get xp to boot. The original problem had to do with a corrupt
ntoskrnl.exe. Microsoft's help database (KB314477) gave me the fix (expand
d:\i386\ntoskrnl.ex_ c:\windows\system32). It said the file was successfully
expanded.
But now I am stuck in some sort of infinite loop. It begins with the screen
"We are sorry for the inconvenience..." blah blah, and do I want to start
windows normally, last known good configuration, or in one of 3 safe mode
options. No matter which one I pick, I loop back to the same screen: "were
sorry for the inconvenience. Presently, my boot device order in advanced
bios options of the set-up menu are 1. cd-rom, 2. hdd-0, and 3. floppy drive.
I've but that doesn't seem to make a difference.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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

I would run Check Disk to see of the generated report gives you a clue.

Boot from your XP Installation CD and then press a key to boot from CD (when
prompted).

Select the 2nd option by pressing R at the first screen.

Select the number for the appropriate folder on you hard drive, Typically
you press "1" for C:\WINDOWS.

When prompted for a password press enter (for a blank p/w) should work.

When C:\WINDOWS is displayed type the following:

chkdsk /r

This will take a while (perhaps up to an hour.) I can't recall exactly as I
have not run chkdsk recently. It should locate bad sectors and recover
readable information.

Post back with your results.

--
Michael


"Danny Noonan" <DannyNoonan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:36CA31F2-F222-4562-972C-876F80B12433@microsoft.com...
> I'm trying to get XP to boot. The original problem had to do with a
> corrupt
> ntoskrnl.exe. Microsoft's help database (KB314477) gave me the fix
> (expand
> d:\i386\ntoskrnl.ex_ c:\windows\system32). It said the file was
> successfully
> expanded.
> But now I am stuck in some sort of infinite loop. It begins with the
> screen
> "We are sorry for the inconvenience..." blah blah, and do I want to start
> windows normally, last known good configuration, or in one of 3 safe mode
> options. No matter which one I pick, I loop back to the same screen:
> "were
> sorry for the inconvenience. Presently, my boot device order in advanced
> bios options of the set-up menu are 1. cd-rom, 2. hdd-0, and 3. floppy
> drive.
> I've but that doesn't seem to make a difference.
> Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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

If this started after upgrading to Service Pack 2, then perhaps this link
applies.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=878474

Here's another link regarding problems with a corrupt kernel file
Ntoskrnl.exe and Hal.dll..
http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] -us;314477

By any chance are you using a cable modem with the ISP Roadrunner. This
combo has created problems similar to yours.

Are you using a USB port to connect - or a NIC (or Ethernet)? Some have had
your reboot problem with USB.

Finally, make sure Auto Restart is turned off so you 'hopefully' will get a
Stop Message (or error code) instead of a reboot.

Right-click My Computer, click the Advanced tab, click Settings under
Startup and Recovery , and then view the Automatically restart check box
under System Failure . UNcheck this check box.

Keep us posted.

--
Michael


"Hans W" <HansW@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:ABDD2E6A-A9A5-493A-B2E2-7F5D27232662@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for the response, gents. I had already run chkdsk /r but I ran it
> again to make sure. No disk error reports were listed. The only report
> was
> the numbers associated with disk space and allocation units.
>
> After running chkdsk, I let it try to boot windows. Once again, whether
> letting it start up after 30 seconds in the default mode ("Start Windows
> Normally" ) or, say, in "Safe Mode with Command Prompt," I find myself in
> the
> same infinite loop. The computer just winds back to the screen that
> begins
> with the dreaded words, "We apologize for the inconvenience." I keep
> thinking there's something obvious that I'm missing...
>
> Again, any wisdom any out there might share will be greatly appreciated.
>
> Hans W (formerly Danny Noonan)

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

"Hans W" <HansW@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A538301B-96B2-42D7-BAE7-156B489F25E7@microsoft.com...
>
> I have a hunch that the problem is with my boot.ini file. Either it's not
> where it's supposed to be or it's corrupted. My next step is to go back
> into
> the recovery console and see if I can't do something with the boot file.

If you can boot to the Recovery Console on the CD (hit R when asked to) you
can run the BOOTCFG /REBUILD command to have Windows automatically rebuild
your boot.ini file for you.

"Invalid Boot.ini" or "Windows Could Not Start" Error Messages When You
Start Your Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] &Produc...

HOW TO: Edit the Boot.ini File in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] &Produc...

The Purpose of the Boot.ini File in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] &Produc...

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

[This is the 3rd attempt at posting this; if the other two cam through,
please forgive the redundancy.]

Here's what my c:\boot.ini file says:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional"/fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

Hello. It doesn't seem to me that /NoExecute=OptIn belongs there at all.
In my CMOS setup, there is no NoExecute option. Seems to me that if I edit
my boot.ini by simply deleting /NoExecute=OptIn I might get some action.
What do the experts say?

Hans W

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

Okay, so NoExecute stays. Which leaves me with the on-going problem (which I
repeat here > Depsite numerous attempts to run bootcfg /rebuild, I continue
to get the following response:

First, I'm told "Scanning all disks for windows installations. Please wait
since this may take a while..." Then, after 10-15 seconds, I get: "Error:
Failed to successfully scan disks for windows installations. This error may
be caused by a corrupt file system, which would prevent bootcfg from
successfully scanning. Use chkdsk to detect any disk errors. Note: This
operation must complete successfully in order for the /add or /rebuild
commands to be utilized.

I have run chkdsk /r about four times now. The first time, "one or more"
bad sectors were recovered and reparied. After this, bootcgf /rebuild still
did not run properly but terminated in the original error message (quoted
above). Three more runs of chkdsk showed no bad sectors or repairs, but
bootcfg /rebuild still nets me the same error report.

The error report suggests that there is a problem locating any windows
installation (duh), despite the fact that upon initializing the recovery
console, I am presented with the option "1. C:\windows" as the one and only
windows installation. That is, it seems to me the boot.ini file, though
intact and in the root directory, is not able to get anything going.

Getting closer to a fix? Or am I totally effed? (Either way, I remain much
obliged for the help.)

Hans W


"Michael T" wrote:

> "Hans W" <HansW@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:A538301B-96B2-42D7-BAE7-156B489F25E7@microsoft.com...
> >
> > I have a hunch that the problem is with my boot.ini file. Either it's not
> > where it's supposed to be or it's corrupted. My next step is to go back
> > into
> > the recovery console and see if I can't do something with the boot file.
>
> If you can boot to the Recovery Console on the CD (hit R when asked to) you
> can run the BOOTCFG /REBUILD command to have Windows automatically rebuild
> your boot.ini file for you.
>
> "Invalid Boot.ini" or "Windows Could Not Start" Error Messages When You
> Start Your Computer
> http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] &Produc...
>
> HOW TO: Edit the Boot.ini File in Windows XP
> http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] &Produc...
>
> The Purpose of the Boot.ini File in Windows XP
> http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] &Produc...
>
>
>

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

An attempt to run bootcfg /add gets me the same error message as trying to
run bootcfg /rebuild. The error message is as follows:

Error: Failed to successfully scan disks for windows installations. This
error may
be caused by a corrupt file system, which would prevent bootcfg from
successfully scanning. Use chkdsk to detect any disk errors. Note: This
operation must complete successfully in order for the /add or /rebuild
commands to be utilized.

Repreated runs of chkdsk /r show no problems, but still does not result in
the ability run bootcfg /rebuild.

Again, outside of the recovery console, my system loops endlessly between
two screens: the system initialization screen and the default screen that
"Starts Windows Normally" in 30 seconds.

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

I ran fixboot but no resolution. I'm running chkdsk again, jic. I've been
hesitant to run fixmbr because one of the microsoft articles says that if the
cause of the problem is a virus, running fixmbr may render all data
irretrieveable. I'd be surprised if a virus was the cause, since all of this
happened some days after installing XP Service Pack 2 and my security setup
supposedly had all the bases covered. Still...

So, probably run fixmbr and if that doesn't do it, time to reformat? Or is
there still hope?


"Ricky" wrote:

> Would using the fixboot or fixmbr commands help?