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Lincoln
Snapperhead
Lincoln
16,163 Posts
17 May 2006, 8:27am

Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - Icrontic Guide

Read Thrax's Guide to Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands, just published on Icrontic's front page.
Allow me to build tension by prefacing the end-all/be-all solution with my background: Having worked for the now-incorporated Geek Squad branch of Best Buy Corporation for the better part of eight months, I have seen dozens upon dozens of systems come through our department with any one of these errors, brought in by customers who are afraid they did something, have a virus, or are in jeopardy of losing their data.

Prior to my discovery of an invaluable sequence of commands, our standard procedure was to hook the afflicted drive to an external enclosure, back up a customer’s data and then restore the PC with the customer’s restore discs or an identical copy of Windows with the customer’s OEM license key. If the customer wasn’t keen on the applicable charges for the data backup, we informed them of the potential risks for a Windows repair installation (Let’s face it, they don’t always work right), had them sign a waiver, and we did our best.
Please leave your feedback and thanks for visiting us. Icrontic's content is created by both its staff and members. If you're interested in contributing to the site, please read how you can get published.
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lemonlime
Veteran Icrontian
lemonlime
2,728 Posts
17 May 2006, 1:55pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Well done, Thrax!

This will help a lot of people. I know I've been in that sort of situation before.
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shwaip
elaborate bot
shwaip
5,885 Posts
17 May 2006, 3:11pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

very helpful, but you can cut it down to 6 steps if you combine all the attrib commands:

attrib -r -s -h boot.ini
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johndoe
New to the neighborhood
johndoe
1 Posts
17 May 2006, 6:36pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting shwaip
very helpful, but you can cut it down to 6 steps if you combine all the attrib commands:

attrib -r -s -h boot.ini
dang! you beat me to it

anyways i'd suggest renaming the old boot.ini rather than deleting it outright
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johndoe edited : 17 May 2006 at 6:41pm .
profdlp
Off To The Gym
profdlp
21,407 Posts
17 May 2006, 8:06pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Nice job, Thrax.

One of the most-viewed ongoing threads in our Emergency Help forum is filled with people who will wish that a right-to-the-point article like this had been around when their problem first appeared. In the future, countless more will be back in business in no time thanks to your guide.
__________________ ---Prof

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Hawk
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Hawk
2,869 Posts
17 May 2006, 8:29pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Nice article Thrax. I'll be using it when needed.
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Thrax
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Thrax
24,032 Posts
17 May 2006, 8:49pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting shwaip
very helpful, but you can cut it down to 6 steps if you combine all the attrib commands:

attrib -r -s -h boot.ini
It doesn't work. I had to modify the article at the last minute to separate the commands. The Windows Recovery Console says that it's an invalid command.
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jradmin
I work for a living!!!
jradmin
629 Posts
17 May 2006, 9:17pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

excellent work Thrax!
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shwaip
elaborate bot
shwaip
5,885 Posts
17 May 2006, 9:43pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting Thrax
It doesn't work. I had to modify the article at the last minute to separate the commands. The Windows Recovery Console says that it's an invalid command.

Ah cool. I just tested in the cmd console and assumed it worked in the recovery console.
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Gargoyle
We can't stop here...
Gargoyle
4,768 Posts

» Subscriber

21 May 2006, 7:36pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting Thrax's Article
Secondly, if you are the owner of a CPU featuring Intel’s XD or AMD’s NX buffer overflow protection, you must also use /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN as an OS Load Option. I will demonstrate both commands for the purpose of this guide, but do not set NOEXECUTE as a load option if you do not own one of these CPUs.
From my Google searches, it appears that only 64-bit AMD CPUs have the NX buffer overflow protection. Is that true? It'd be helpful to have a list of CPUs or something in the article so that we know whether or not we need to worry about that load option.
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Private_Snoball
Cynical Airman
Private_Snoball
244 Posts
23 May 2006, 2:04pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting Gargoyle
From my Google searches, it appears that only 64-bit AMD CPUs have the NX buffer overflow protection. Is that true? It'd be helpful to have a list of CPUs or something in the article so that we know whether or not we need to worry about that load option.
Your assumption, to the best of my knowledge, is correct. The NX buffer overflow protection was implemented only in 64 bit CPUs from AMD. I don't know about Intel, mostly cause I never cared to ,know, but if you have a 64 bit AMD CPU you have NX buff overflow protection.
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monkeysplice
nautical nerd
monkeysplice
2 Posts
23 May 2006, 9:45pm

Question Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Nice Job, Thrax. To the point and logical.

Does anyone know about getting around/through the Administrator Password prompt?

In my experience, on some OEM installed versions of XP, the password is set and the end-user does not know it, thus throwing a frustrating roadblock in the path. Though withholding this powerful information is **obviously** for my own protection... I'm willing to risk it.
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Thrax
Cad
Thrax
24,032 Posts
23 May 2006, 10:34pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

You'd have to run Linux-based administrator password-recovery tools such as Knoppix STD.
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cpugeniusmv
New to the neighborhood
cpugeniusmv
1 Posts
23 May 2006, 11:39pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Instead of using attrib 3 times, you can do this:

Code:
attrib -s-h-r boot.ini
(No spaces between the switches works fine).

But I think it would be better to
Code:
rename boot.ini boot.ini.bak
in case you need it again. You don't have to change the attributes before renaming.

Also, the chkdsk program in the recovery console does not have a /F parameter, so you only need to specify /R on the command line.
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Kwitko
Sheriff of Dicktown
Kwitko
6,647 Posts

» Subscriber

24 May 2006, 11:54pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Excellent article, Thrax! It's attracting quite a bit of attention.
__________________ "Is it not cruel to let our city die by degrees, stripped of all her proud monuments, until there will be nothing left of all her history and beauty to inspire our children?... this is the time to take a stand, to reverse the tide, so that we won't all end up in a uniform world of steel and glass boxes." - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
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Gargoyle
We can't stop here...
Gargoyle
4,768 Posts

» Subscriber

25 May 2006, 12:09am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting Kwitko
Excellent article, Thrax! It's attracting quite a bit of attention.
Wow, I'd say so! I say article writers should get a bonus if we get slashdotted
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Thrax
Cad
Thrax
24,032 Posts
25 May 2006, 12:13am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

I've also been courteously approached by Smart Computing to rewrite the article for the October edition of their publication.
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Thrax edited : 25 May 2006 at 12:25am .
QCH
Guru
QCH
13,288 Posts

» Subscriber

25 May 2006, 3:45pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Very nice job Thrax.... I bet all the notice is from the Crumpet Newsletter!!!
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league
New to the neighborhood
league
1 Posts
28 May 2006, 4:17pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting General Keebler
Read Thrax's Guide to Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands, just published on Short-Media's front page.

Please leave your feedback and thanks for visiting us. Short-Media's content is created by both its staff and members. If you're interested in contributing to the site, please read how you can get published.
Thank you so much for this clear and, most importantly, successful guide. Only found this guide by searching through Google for help, as the Windows screens gave no idea how to proceed. So relieved that this problem could be solved without having to buy a new computer! Thanks again. Would highly recommend it to anyone in similar situation.
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miniwedgie
New to the neighborhood
miniwedgie
1 Posts
1 Jun 2006, 12:53am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

I have a serious problem with my computer and I tried this fix and none of the commands work. My original error message was a missing or corrupted \system32\hal\.dll
I tried safety mode... nothing I tried all eight of these commands listed and not even one will work. The first command gives a response that is unable to open file. I ran a check disk and it still says 0% completed after 20 minutes. Now I the only thing I get when I reboot is unable to find disk error. Can anyone give me some advise or direction as to how to fix this problem????
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kenarmst609
New to the neighborhood
kenarmst609
2 Posts
1 Jun 2006, 10:01pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

I need to do the steps in Repairing WindowsXP in Eight Commands, but I can't access the Recovery Console. When I try to access from Windows XP installation disk, it searches for hardware then displays the first line, "Windows Setup" with the rest of the screen blue and locks up.

I installed the recovery console as a start-up option on the hard drive. When I try to access it, it searches for hardware set-up with a progress line across the bottom of the screen and then locks up.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thank you.
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Thrax
Cad
Thrax
24,032 Posts
1 Jun 2006, 10:54pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting miniwedgie
I have a serious problem with my computer and I tried this fix and none of the commands work. My original error message was a missing or corrupted \system32\hal\.dll
I tried safety mode... nothing I tried all eight of these commands listed and not even one will work. The first command gives a response that is unable to open file. I ran a check disk and it still says 0% completed after 20 minutes. Now I the only thing I get when I reboot is unable to find disk error. Can anyone give me some advise or direction as to how to fix this problem????
You probably have a dead hard drive, and my guide can not hope to fix your problem. Try downloading the diagnostic tools your manufacturer has designed for your hard drive from their website, and running them if the computer even sees the drive at all.


I need to do the steps in Repairing WindowsXP in Eight Commands, but I can't access the Recovery Console. When I try to access from Windows XP installation disk, it searches for hardware then displays the first line, "Windows Setup" with the rest of the screen blue and locks up.

I installed the recovery console as a start-up option on the hard drive. When I try to access it, it searches for hardware set-up with a progress line across the bottom of the screen and then locks up.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thank you.
Same for you also. Sounds like your hard drive or memory has one foot in the grave; the scope of this document is limited to the correction of software-related malfunctions. Try downloading and running the disk utility made by your hard drive manufacturer, as well as running Memtest on a CD downloaded and burned as an image file from www.memtest86.com
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kenarmst609
New to the neighborhood
kenarmst609
2 Posts
2 Jun 2006, 6:30pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Thanks for the reply, but all hard drives test fine with no problem accessing any partition or sector. Mem test is fine. Computer working fine accept for being able to access Recovery console.

Hoping you have another suggestion.

Thanks.
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del
New to the neighborhood
del
4 Posts
6 Jun 2006, 10:12am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

it didn't work i'm still havin the same probelms, i cannot access the web the page comes up blank i cannot access help and support it does not load cannot access system information will not load i've got missing mshtml.dll and actprxy.dll files please help
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del
New to the neighborhood
del
4 Posts
6 Jun 2006, 10:15am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

why after doing the 8 commands its asking me to choose which xp home edition
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del
New to the neighborhood
del
4 Posts
6 Jun 2006, 10:15am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

how do i undo the 8 commands thingnee
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imunggoy
New to the neighborhood
imunggoy
1 Posts
13 Jun 2006, 2:37am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Excellent article, Thrax! Appreciate the publication. I foresee it saving me lots of time.

I noticed however that the process involves entering the administrator password. If the password is no longer available (quite often the case), is there a way around it and still use your suggested technique?

Keep up the great work
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Thrax
Cad
Thrax
24,032 Posts
13 Jun 2006, 3:09am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting del
why after doing the 8 commands its asking me to choose which xp home edition
Because your pre-existing Windows XP Home installation was not damage in the manner the guide describes. You, therefore, fixed what did not need fixing (In the way my guide suggests) and added a second entry of the same operating system.

To correct the issue:
Boot from the NEW Windows XP Home entry.
Right click on My Computer
Hit properties
Go to the advanced tab
Hit "Settings" under "Startup and Recovery"
Hit "Edit"
Remove the entry for the old Windows XP Home. Leave the entry that you added as a result of my guide. Then uncheck "Time to display list of operating systems."

Done.

Excellent article, Thrax! Appreciate the publication. I foresee it saving me lots of time.

I noticed however that the process involves entering the administrator password. If the password is no longer available (quite often the case), is there a way around it and still use your suggested technique?

Keep up the great work
This website is helpful for that.
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Skettalee
New to the neighborhood
Skettalee
4 Posts
15 Jun 2006, 7:32pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

im having a problem where i got 4 hard drives and an install of windows xp home on the main one and 2 other hard drives with vista beta 1 and then vista beta 2. I accidently deleted the boot.ini file and now i cant get back to my windows xp home. anyone can help cause i tried this and it keeps only saying it found only one install of windows on the wrong HD and i think thats what got fixed and not the right one. I know xp home works great, i just need to fix the boot. HELP! PLEASE! Im waiting at this forum thread for someone to be so helpful, lol.
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Hawk
Veteran Icrontian
Hawk
2,869 Posts
15 Jun 2006, 7:45pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Quoting Skettalee
im having a problem where i got 4 hard drives and an install of windows xp home on the main one and 2 other hard drives with vista beta 1 and then vista beta 2. I accidently deleted the boot.ini file and now i cant get back to my windows xp home. anyone can help cause i tried this and it keeps only saying it found only one install of windows on the wrong HD and i think thats what got fixed and not the right one. I know xp home works great, i just need to fix the boot. HELP! PLEASE! Im waiting at this forum thread for someone to be so helpful, lol.
Here's MS's walkthrough on how to fix it. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=330184
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Skettalee
New to the neighborhood
Skettalee
4 Posts
15 Jun 2006, 8:33pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Thanks for the quick reply but I tried that already and it only showed a wrong version. it showed 1 of the 3 os's installed and it wasn't the right one. I know they are all there cause in windows setup it shows all 3 versions registered.
Windows XP longghorn
Windows XP Home
Windows Vista Ultimate

Anything else someone can tell me? I tried most everything, the 8 step and now im booting to linux INSERT to do that one step repairing. But dont know if that will work, i want to find a way to delete all windows but the right one so there is no confusion with these programs.

Also now it dont boot at all to HD's it says NTLDR whatever not found.
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Skettalee
New to the neighborhood
Skettalee
4 Posts
15 Jun 2006, 8:58pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Now the linux wont mount and of the HD's but i dont know much about linux anyway, ill try once again what you said to do because im running out of options. anyway i can call someone on the phone (free) and get some help? I can call using skype if need be, thanks in advance!


This is the error im getting now. I finally got it so it shows a bootloader but only shows the Windows Legacy Longhorn something Pre Vista beta 1 version and when i select it, the next screen says :
Windows Boot manager Error
Status: 0Xc000000f
Info: The selected entry could not be loaded because the application is missing, or corrupt.
File: \NTLDR

Any help?
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Skettalee edited : 15 Jun 2006 at 9:04pm .
Skettalee
New to the neighborhood
Skettalee
4 Posts
15 Jun 2006, 9:17pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Ok, just to catch you guys up.. i dont know what all i did really but now i got it fixed so when it comes up it gives me these three boot choices :

Windows XP Home
0
Microsoft Windows XP Home

And I tried the first 2 and they just hang up on a black screen. The third girls me an al.dll or hal.dll missing or something, says to reinstall windows. HELP!!!
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Brenie Jr.
New to the neighborhood
Brenie Jr.
1 Posts
6 Jul 2006, 11:12pm

Cool Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

To start, this problem began after running adaware se checking for sypware. I left the comupter while the scan was in progress to return to the blue screen of death. The screen stated windows was shut down to prevent damage to the computer. I tryed to re-boot the machine to another blue screen stating /windows/system32/config/system file was either missing or corrupted. I tryed this solution and found at the BOOTCFG /REBUILD step I received an error message "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 an disk errors." I then ran chkdsk /r/f and repaired one or more errors on the disk. I re-ran BOOTCFG /REBUILD and it came back with the same error message! I've also run CHKDSK /P/F and the volume checks out with no errors reported. I'm at a loss to which step to take now as I do not want to re-install the operating system and lose all my saved data. Please help if anyone can. Thanks
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Brenie Jr. edited : 7 Jul 2006 at 1:32am . Reason: correct spelling
Angry_Ferret_Jones
I.T. Guy
Angry_Ferret_Jones
1 Posts
5 Sep 2006, 9:56pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

One of the best articles I have found. I have fixed a number of machines with this quick process. Thanks!
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aronvonbrando
New to the neighborhood
aronvonbrando
1 Posts
8 Sep 2006, 11:05am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

I've tried and completed all the steps and still get the same responce - "missing or corrupt:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONGIG\SYSTEM."

Please help.

ps. Is my hard drive shot?

Thanks in advance.
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Shuey
New to the neighborhood
Shuey
1 Posts
19 Sep 2006, 10:07pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Thanks for the guide Thrax, nice work!

How do I determine if my processor type uses the XD buffer overflow protection? I have a Intel Pentium IIIEB 1000MHz (Coppermine, CuMine, A80526).

Thanks in advance
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vadlectro
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vadlectro
3 Posts
24 Sep 2006, 4:31pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

My biggest, deepest, grandest gratitude!
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NlightN
New to the neighborhood
NlightN
2 Posts
24 Sep 2006, 5:10pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

TU Thrax

Have used it successfully twice. Simple and quick. I like that

N
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jeffbowes
New to the neighborhood
jeffbowes
1 Posts
10 Nov 2006, 4:55pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

This also worked with windows 2003 standard. thanks.
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Thrax
Cad
Thrax
24,032 Posts
10 Nov 2006, 10:08pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Hey, guys! I'm glad it's working for you! Feels really good to know that my work is out and about helping people out.
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johnny canuk
New to the neighborhood
johnny canuk
2 Posts
13 Nov 2006, 5:06am

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

I followed your steps carefully and I tried twice and both times I ended up with the same message

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

Please help
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profdlp
Off To The Gym
profdlp
21,407 Posts
13 Nov 2006, 2:51pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Find a comfortable chair and give this thread a read. Hopefully you will find something there which helps.
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johnny canuk
New to the neighborhood
johnny canuk
2 Posts
13 Nov 2006, 8:45pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

I read the thread last night and to no avail. I gues I am going to have to use the recovery disks that were made when the laptop was bought and install the newer drivers and applications again. I think that once I do that I will make a more current Recovery disk.

I am wondering if this problem might be due to our installation of Quickbooks 2007? The problem start two weeks after installation.
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profdlp
Off To The Gym
profdlp
21,407 Posts
13 Nov 2006, 10:15pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Did you try the procedure described in Post #39 in that thread?
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zooski
Short-Media Noob
zooski
1 Posts
18 Nov 2006, 12:47pm

Thumbs up Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Great guide Thrax, many thanks, it will come in handy.
Does anyone know if anything can be done to prevent or reduce the occurences of this type of error? It seems to happen on one of our computers about once every month or two. chkdsk and memtest don't reveal any problems with hd or ram, but I don't know what else to look at. I'm not overclocking or running anything exotic. Would low voltage on the RAM or HD cause this to happen? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

John
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vadlectro
New to the neighborhood
vadlectro
3 Posts
19 Nov 2006, 7:49pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Thanks again, Thrax, for the great guide. It helped me once and certainly saved me a great deal of time. Now, I'm facing something very strange to say the least. The problem began with Adware Ad-Watch running on my system not connected to the internet and suddenly the program told me that something is trying to alter a protected value in the registry. When it asked me for my action I denied the change, and then same thing occurred over and over in the same session the program kept telling me that different registry values are being altered. I kept cancelling the change and then just punched a reboot button on the computer. The Windows reloaded but much to my bewilderment most icons on the desktop as well as all quick launch icons instead of their usual individual signs had the same kind of system icon and Windows cannot recognize how to open any of the programs that usually load at start up, so I have to do it manually i.e. “open with”. Neither could windows recognize how to open any of the system tools programs in start menu. So finally I opened system restore manually and much to my surprise discovered that “no restore points are available”! I have System Mechanic 6 installed which didn’t help either when I tried to restore the registry. So I finally decided to attempt Thrax’s 8 step recovery and though certain that I enter things correctly (since I’ve done it once before), in the first step of ATTRIB –H C:BOOT.INI it tells me that C:BOOT.INI is not found!

So I’m at a loss. If anybody could help figure out what to do, I’d greatly appreciate it. I haven’t lost any data, but sure you know it’s a hustle to have to completely reinstall the system.

Thanks
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Thrax
Cad
Thrax
24,032 Posts
19 Nov 2006, 7:54pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

My guide only fixes the issues described in the article. If windows is bootable, and you can get to a desktop, my article is not for you.

It looks like you have a serious virus and/or spyware problem, for which you should read my article HERE and follow it very closely.
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Crimguy
Icrontic Regular
Crimguy
46 Posts
22 Nov 2006, 6:00pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

Thrax and everyone else:

I came across your article a bit on the late side I'm hoping I'm not totally hosed.

I have the boot error with a corrupt /config/system file every 6 months or so. Normally what I've done is let the XP SP2 cd work it's way to the install screen where it gives me a choice as to what to do with the detected volumes. I select the "do not format" option, and let the CD scan the install and repair. Upon reboot everything has been honky-dory, until now.

This time it rebooted and gave me the same corrupt error. I let the CD boot and it proceeded to install XP again. However, instead of checking the disk for errors it went straight to copying files. I figured I lost everything.

However, when I rebooted I got a bootloader screen with two XP installs. The 1st in the list was a new installation of XP, the second was the corrupted version. All files from the previous installation appear to be in tact on the drive.

Anyway I can copy files from one folder to the other to get the old install up and running?

Thanks for a great tutorial - I've printed it out for my next bout with this error.
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Crimguy - schizophrenic member
of icrontic, er, short-med . . , er icrontic
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Crimguy
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Crimguy
46 Posts
22 Nov 2006, 11:52pm

Re: Repairing Windows XP in 8 Commands - SM Guide

as a follow-up, I checked the drive thoroughly. I lost everything in My Documents, but all else was essentially intact. I tried copying SYSTEM from /system32/repair to no avail. I also tried going into the recovery console from a different win xp cd. Turns out the system is hosed b/c the password file was screwed up in teh process.

I'm investing in a big hard drive to go into my linux server, will schedule periodic backups from various spots, and won't worry about this again.

What's really sad is that, until about 3 months ago, I had assigned My Documents to a folder on my server. If I had done that I would have saved myself a lot of grief.
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