Recovery console advice

[James1978]

Hi there,

I hope someone can help or give me some words of encouragement. I'm stuck in a logon/logoff loop in XP which occurred as a result of one or more files being removed when Malwarebytes removed some malware.

I've been doing a fair bit of research into what to do (as I can't log in using safe mode etc) and it turns out I need to use the recovery console - there's even a guide telling e exactly what to do herehttp://icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp/2 which is what led me to this forum.

I'm just a bit concerned that things could go wrong (I'm definitely not an advanced user, but probably a notch or two above average) and I wondered if anyone had any additional advice to give, even if it's just "Get somebody who knows more than you to do it". Given that as it stands it's impossible to access any of my files, programs etc, what's the worse that can happen if I don't get it right?

Many thanks in advance.

[kryyst]

The worse thing that can happen is you lose all your files and accidentally format your computer.

If you have an actual windows XP cd and not a restore cd, then you can do a windows repair install. You won't lose any of your installed programs or data.

[Cliff_Forster]

As kryyst stated, the big concern is with your files on the drive. Are your pictures, music, critical financial documents backed up? If they are, proceed by trying a repair install first which "should" keep all your regular data intact while just restoring the windows subsystem, but if your unsure, and you have data you realy fear to loose, you might want to see if you can find another system you can get that drive on to retrieve the files prior to continueing.

Your system will come out fine either way, its just the data on the drive that you have to be a little concerned about. Backed up ahead of time, hit repar with no fear, have nothing you are concerend about loosing on the drive, hit repair with no fear, otherwise, be a little careful before you proceed.