Try a repair install as follows:
NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.
Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive and you have an
actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, boot with the XP
CD in the drive and perform a repair install as outlined below. If the
system isn't set to boot from the CD or you are not sure, you need to enter
the system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter set press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.
When the system boots, a few screens into the process you may see a message
instructing you
to hit any key in order to boot from the CD along with a countdown. When
you see this be sure to
hit a key on the keyboard, if you miss this instruction and the system fails
to boot from the CD, it's too
late, you'll need to reboot and try again.
Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.
Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console. ***The selection you want at this screen is
"Setup Windows,"
NOT "Repair Windows Installation.
The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.
Note, in some cases, you won't receive the repair option, only an option to
reinstall. We have discovered that sometimes this is caused by damaged
boot.ini file that can be repaired as follows and also note, in the
instructions, "K" refers to the CD drive in which you have placed the XP CD,
replace that drive letter with the appropriate letter on your system, "K" is
simply an example.
Reboot, this time taking the immediate R option (this is the section I told
you to skip above. In this case, you will need to get to the Recovery
Console to perform the function below), and if the CD letter is say K: give
these commands
COPY K:\i386\ntldr C:
COPY K:\i386\ntdetect.com C:
(two other files needed - just in case)
ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\boot.ini
DEL C:\boot.ini
BootCfg /Rebuild
Once you've completed this function, reboot and see if you can access XP as
sometimes, the problem is the damaged boot.ini. If you still cannot access
XP, then reboot and re-run the repair install instructions at the beginning
of this message.
*www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-516023.php
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Posted again:
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How to Run a chkdsk to Repair Your Damaged Hard Drive
Repair Procedure:
1. Boot your computer from your Windows XP Cd or from your 6-disk XP/2000 Boot Disk Set. To do this, insert your CD or Floppy #1 and turn your computer on. When the menu comes up, select boot from CD or boot from floppy (do not select boot from hard drive).
2. Your computer will begin to boot. Eventually, you will see a screen asking you what you would like to do. Press the ltter R on your keyboard to proceed to the Windows Recovery Console.
3. As you progress to the Recovery Console you may be asked which partition you would like to boot into. Type the number associated with the partition containing your NTFS partition (usually 1 or 2) and then press enter to continue. You may be asked for your administrator password. If you have one, type it in and press enter. If you do not have a password to boot your computer into Windows, simply press enter.
4. Now youshould be at a command prompt. from here, typr the following command without the quotes and press enter: "chkdsk /p"
5. This is a short test that will tell you whether or not a longer test is needed. If after the test completes, the message "One or more errors detected on the volume" appears, then proceed to step 6. If no errors are reported, then your drive can not be repaired using chkdsk.
6. Now you should be back at the command prompt. Type the following command without the quotes and press enter: "chkdsk /r"
7. This test will take a while depending on the size of your drive. It will look for the errors on your drive and repair them. When it completes, you will be back at a command prompt.
8. Now type "chkdsk /p" again and press enter. If no errors are reported, your drive has been successfully repaired and is safe to use again temporarily. If errors are still reported, then your drive is on its last leg. You may be able to boot it now though.
9. Remove the floppy disk or CD from your system and restart the PC. Take a moment now to back up your important data.
Additional Syntax for Experienced Users
* /F Automatically Fix file system errors on the disk.
* /X Fix file system errors on the disk, (Win2003 and above)
dismounts the volume first, closing all open file handles.
* /R Scan for and attempt Recovery of bad sectors.
* /V Display the full path and name of every file on the disk.
* /L:size NTFS only: change the log file size to the specified number of kilobytes. If size is not specified, displays the current log size and the drive type
(FAT or NTFS).
* /C Skip directory corruption checks.
* /I Skip corruption checks that compare directory entries to the
file record segment (FRS) in the volume's master file table (MFT)
*www.schrockinnovations.com/chkdsk.php
