Windows XP Pro Won't Complete Boot

JeepBud

Computer: Sony VAIO 1.5 yrs old 3.01 GHz, 1Gb RAM, 200Gb (c,d HDD)
Status: worked fine until son tried to launch game. Shut down, then wouldn't boot up -- launches to blue screen "loading windows" and hangs. Won't boot into safe mode either or even last successful boot option.
Question: (1) how can I force it to boot into safe mode? (2) what might be causing it to hang (it will run all night with HDD activity light but no changes on screen -- figured either in loop or bad sector/spot on HDD prevents reading).
JeepBud

Spinner

JeepBud wrote:

Computer: Sony VAIO 1.5 yrs old 3.01 GHz, 1Gb RAM, 200Gb (c,d HDD)
Status: worked fine until son tried to launch game. Shut down, then wouldn't boot up -- launches to blue screen "loading windows" and hangs. Won't boot into safe mode either or even last successful boot option.
Question: (1) how can I force it to boot into safe mode? (2) what might be causing it to hang (it will run all night with HDD activity light but no changes on screen -- figured either in loop or bad sector/spot on HDD prevents reading).
JeepBud

When you press F8 to go into safe mode, have you tried the 'last known good config' selection?

You can't force it to go into safe mode if it don't want to. Period. The fact that you say this lock out only occured after a piece of software was loaded, or attempted to be loaded, makes me think VIRUS? Is that a possibility?

A repair install (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14826&highlight=repair+install) should get you back on your feet however, or if you've got one of those nice VAIO recover disks, that might be worth a go.

Cheers

JeepBud

Yes, I have tried "last known good config" and it doesn't complete the boot up sequence. I also tried the Sony Recover disc and it will retore my computer to the origional windows configuration and delete all my applications added since I bought it. That is a no brainer -- that is why I'm trying to recover the data I have on my HDD. Its the data I want to get off -- if I could only get into safe mode or even dos with a C: prompt, but Windows XP doesn't offer as many options to interrupt the boot sequence as Win98 did. I tried booting with a floopy (into A:>) but it won't recognize the C: drive, so that's no good. Even a chkdsk verifies the partitions are ok (all 5 stages of checking) for both C: and D: drives. THe few times it boot to the account login screen, the mouse wouldn't work, nor the keyboard. Frustrating. I need to know how to boot into safe mode or even to C: prompt. I have no idea why or how this happened. If it is a virus (and I keep my virus detection files up to date as well as anti-spyware and defragging, and registry scrubbing) -- I can't even do a virus check (or spyware check) because all those require Windows to be loaded.
I've seen others pose this question of an incomplete window boot up secquence -- at the same point it hangs. There must be a way to get past it or around it. Who can advise?

Spinner wrote:

When you press F8 to go into safe mode, have you tried the 'last known good config' selection?

You can't force it to go into safe mode if it don't want to. Period. The fact that you say this lock out only occured after a piece of software was loaded, or attempted to be loaded, makes me think VIRUS? Is that a possibility?

A repair install (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14826&highlight=repair+install) should get you back on your feet however, or if you've got one of those nice VAIO recover disks, that might be worth a go.

Cheers

Spinner

JeepBud wrote:

Yes, I have tried "last known good config" and it doesn't complete the boot up sequence. I also tried the Sony Recover disc and it will retore my computer to the origional windows configuration and delete all my applications added since I bought it. That is a no brainer -- that is why I'm trying to recover the data I have on my HDD. Its the data I want to get off -- if I could only get into safe mode or even dos with a C: prompt, but Windows XP doesn't offer as many options to interrupt the boot sequence as Win98 did. I tried booting with a floopy (into A:>) but it won't recognize the C: drive, so that's no good. Even a chkdsk verifies the partitions are ok (all 5 stages of checking) for both C: and D: drives. THe few times it boot to the account login screen, the mouse wouldn't work, nor the keyboard. Frustrating. I need to know how to boot into safe mode or even to C: prompt. I have no idea why or how this happened. If it is a virus (and I keep my virus detection files up to date as well as anti-spyware and defragging, and registry scrubbing) -- I can't even do a virus check (or spyware check) because all those require Windows to be loaded.
I've seen others pose this question of an incomplete window boot up secquence -- at the same point it hangs. There must be a way to get past it or around it. Who can advise?

Like I have already said, you need to try and do a repair install (use the link I gave you above for more info). That will in most cases allow you to get Windows working again, without having the state of your OS being reset.

Failing that however, you can gain access to a dos prompt by entering the recovery console. You can do this by using your Windows XP setup CD. Again, more info at the link I posted above.

Cheers

JeepBud

Thanks for the advice... I *would* try the Repair Install or even the Recovery Console but you have to have a Windows XP Setup CD. I don't. The Sony VIAO's don't ship with them, Windows XP Pro was pre-installed and all I got is their stupid System Recovery CD, which only offers to restore the C drive to the original state the computer was shipped, deleting everying on the drive first. Its a bummer for Sony to do this. I guess I need to find someone with an XP Setup CD. If you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears. Thx.

Spinner

JeepBud wrote:

Thanks for the advice... I *would* try the Repair Install or even the Recovery Console but you have to have a Windows XP Setup CD. I don't. The Sony VIAO's don't ship with them, Windows XP Pro was pre-installed and all I got is their stupid System Recovery CD, which only offers to restore the C drive to the original state the computer was shipped, deleting everying on the drive first. Its a bummer for Sony to do this. I guess I need to find someone with an XP Setup CD. If you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears. Thx.

Try this: http://www.ntfs.com/boot-disk.htm

It's a little application you can download that will create a floppy boot disk which once loaded will allow you to access NTFS partitions through DOS.

Give it a whirl and post back.

JeepBud

Thanks Spinner. I did as you suggested but couldn't totally navigate my way in that routine. I decided to try the Repair Install or load the Recovery Console and try to fix windows that way. I got an XP Pro Setup CD. The repair install errors off after copying files to windows directory. I tried installing the Recovery Console and it wants the Windows Administrator password before it will do it. Since I bought my computer new from Sony with XP already installed, I didn't have an Administrator's password (I had created a couple user accounts but their PW's didn't work, neither did a blank entry, or "sony" or "mysony"). I called Sony Tech Support and got 3 levels up the Tech-chain and they didn't know the Administrator's pw either. Best advice was to do a fresh install of windows into a new directory (ie. WINNT) to get a boot up and then I can backup or recover data before proceeding. Do you have any ideas of a better approach?

Spinner

JeepBud wrote:

Thanks Spinner. I did as you suggested but couldn't totally navigate my way in that routine. I decided to try the Repair Install or load the Recovery Console and try to fix windows that way. I got an XP Pro Setup CD. The repair install errors off after copying files to windows directory. I tried installing the Recovery Console and it wants the Windows Administrator password before it will do it. Since I bought my computer new from Sony with XP already installed, I didn't have an Administrator's password (I had created a couple user accounts but their PW's didn't work, neither did a blank entry, or "sony" or "mysony"). I called Sony Tech Support and got 3 levels up the Tech-chain and they didn't know the Administrator's pw either. Best advice was to do a fresh install of windows into a new directory (ie. WINNT) to get a boot up and then I can backup or recover data before proceeding. Do you have any ideas of a better approach?

If I was in your shoes, and I couldn't access the drive very easily (though that book disk should work fine), I would just take the hard drive out of my computer and put it in someone else's (with a working Windows installation installed) and retrieve the data that way.

Cheers