I have the problem that you two guys are trying to fix for everyone.
I have tried the following solution from Schrock Innovations that was posted in a similar thread.
I have also tried the method described in Thrax's document.
I have now got to the stage on re-boot whereby I have two options to select, either the Windows XP that is now there from the boot.ini procedure I followed and the original XP installation.
I have tried BOTH of these, and still my PC fails to boot, and I still get the message:
windows\system32\config\ is either missing or corrupt
I have also tried booting in Safe Mode and selecting: Last good configuration. This does not work and I get greeted by that now familiar statement saying I'm screwed.
Now I have five questions:
1) And somewhat obviously the first question, is there a way around this now, or am I only left with the choice of a full re-installation of XP?
2) The Schrock Innovation article states, that if it still will not work, then the folder which holds the files you are trying to copy has been deleted. If this is the case, can I connect my Hard Drive to another computer and copy the FOLDER to my system32 area, and then try a re-boot?
3) Failing any of the above, I'm assuming I can connect my Hard Drive to another PC, and then copy any vital data I need before doing a complete re-install of Windows XP on my machine. If this is so, I'm assuming I need a caddie. Is there a certain sized caddie I need? Any steps I should follow?
4) Im assuming its too early for anyone to tell whether Vista would have the same issue?
5) And now it has happened once, what are the chances of this happening to my machine in the next few months and having to go through this whole process again?
My machine is an Acer Aspire 1691 Wlmi with XP Home Edition and my machine has 2GB RAM.
As an afterthought, I have read other threads that indicate it could be a RAM problem, could this still be the case for me even though the above two methods I have tried do not work?
Many thanks for any help you can offer me, and apologies if I have missed something previously explained that I should have done!
I have the problem that you two guys are trying to fix for everyone.
I have tried the following solution from Schrock Innovations that was posted in a similar thread.
I have also tried the method described in Thrax's document.
I have now got to the stage on re-boot whereby I have two options to select, either the Windows XP that is now there from the boot.ini procedure I followed and the original XP installation.
I have tried BOTH of these, and still my PC fails to boot, and I still get the message:
windows\system32\config\ is either missing or corrupt
I have also tried booting in Safe Mode and selecting: Last good configuration. This does not work and I get greeted by that now familiar statement saying I'm screwed.
Now I have five questions:
1) And somewhat obviously the first question, is there a way around this now, or am I only left with the choice of a full re-installation of XP?
2) The Schrock Innovation article states, that if it still will not work, then the folder which holds the files you are trying to copy has been deleted. If this is the case, can I connect my Hard Drive to another computer and copy the FOLDER to my system32 area, and then try a re-boot?
3) Failing any of the above, I'm assuming I can connect my Hard Drive to another PC, and then copy any vital data I need before doing a complete re-install of Windows XP on my machine. If this is so, I'm assuming I need a caddie. Is there a certain sized caddie I need? Any steps I should follow?
4) Im assuming its too early for anyone to tell whether Vista would have the same issue?
5) And now it has happened once, what are the chances of this happening to my machine in the next few months and having to go through this whole process again?
My machine is an Acer Aspire 1691 Wlmi with XP Home Edition and my machine has 2GB RAM.
As an afterthought, I have read other threads that indicate it could be a RAM problem, could this still be the case for me even though the above two methods I have tried do not work?
Many thanks for any help you can offer me, and apologies if I have missed something previously explained that I should have done!
I totally agree with you.........this is exactly how I feel i have 2 different systems to choose from but none will even attempt to load
This came as a private message, but I'm keen to share it. Maybe Thrax can pull one more rabbit out of the hat. It follows up on my old post when I first got this problem with the XP.
Hi i was checking out some posts when i ran across yours about your loss of shortcuts/f*ed up ad-aware and i have the EXACT same problem!! im trying to get a solution right and im hoping that youve found something that works please contact me if you have And if you havent! Reply to this or email me at ___ thank you.
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
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.
I've ended up trying to reinstall the whole system, but then faced a problem that the screen would go dark with 33 minutes on the timer before Windows was set to complete its installation. So I was forced to dump the machine in the closet. After a few weeks, I have successfully managed to force Windows to install itself and it worked fine for a couple of weeks. I was thinking to start updating the machine with soft to match its former load (it's my most powerful comp) when suddenly, Windows stalled, forced me to reboot, and having done so, I've got a how-is-it-hanging message: windows\system32\config\ is either missing or corrupt
Having read the below post I figured indeed, that the problem may be hyding in the RAM and not the viruses. But my machine will quickly find its way back to the closet unless I get some help from you guys.
I have the problem that you two guys are trying to fix for everyone.
I have tried the following solution from Schrock Innovations that was posted in a similar thread.
I have also tried the method described in Thrax's document.
I have now got to the stage on re-boot whereby I have two options to select, either the Windows XP that is now there from the boot.ini procedure I followed and the original XP installation.
I have tried BOTH of these, and still my PC fails to boot, and I still get the message: windows\system32\config\ is either missing or corrupt
I have also tried booting in Safe Mode and selecting: Last good configuration. This does not work and I get greeted by that now familiar statement saying I'm screwed.....
.....As an afterthought, I have read other threads that indicate it could be a RAM problem, could this still be the case for me even though the above two methods I have tried do not work?
PS. Ooo.. I've almost forgot. I've got a Norton Goback set on that machine and though it is supposed to help with restoring the system to its functioning state(s), in this case it's impotent.
I'd appreciate any help you can offer. :smiles:
The first thing that you need to do when you get a weird problem on a computer which has been running fine for a long time: is to turn the computer off and not mess with it until you have checked for an accumulation of grunge and/or bad cooling fans in the power supply, the case, and the heat sinks on the motherboard. In a matter of moments--seconds really--you can go from a recoverable situation to a total loss. From that moment forward, what you do is dependant upon how important the information is which is located upon the hard drive. It is best, after cleaning the computer, to boot it from a live CD or floppy (with the hard drive unplugged) to see if the thing is stable before trying to get an image of the drive. This is a good time to run software to check all of the hardware except the hard drive. Then, make an image of the drive using software which runs from the CD-DVD-floppy drive--send the image over a network or burn multiple CDs or DVDs. Once you have backed up everything, you can then attempt to boot from the drive and repair the installation.
There is a reason that the "strong recommendation" of a format and reload of your operating system at least once a year has never been withdrawn from the MSKB at Microsoft.
The reason is not just software, but also hardware. Even if there appears to be no problem, there can be some sectors on your hard drive which were good but "iffy" when you did the original format and installation (or when your manufacturer did it.) When everything was new and pristine, the "iffy" sector was readable and writable--in fact, the sector that appears to be corrupted may be readable if the drive is run with a different board and power supply (I've had that happen); I have also had a system come back after a thorough cleaning of the dust-bunnies in the power supply, motherboard, and case (or with a whack on the case also known as a "faith healing"--the "nudge" of the case simply dislodged a bit of dirt in a critical place.) The system may be functional, but the dirt and consequent heat can take things just a enough out of specifications to render a weak sector on a drive unreadable.
While it can indicate that a drive is getting "tired", it could just be that the drive just needs to be formatted and reloaded with a backup of the operating system and software (if the situation "heals" itself after a good cleaning); or a fresh installation of the Operating System, software, and backed up data on the freshly formatted drive--which is what is recommended by Microsoft to avoid problems not apparent in the original operating system.
**A few unsuspected little errors can give you a system that "seems" to be okay, but gives you random crashes or "goofy" behavior. In my experience, there is nothing more frustrating than inconsistent behavior from a computer.**
The cooling fans on a computer cycle a lot of air through the case. This leads to a concentration of "grunge"--dust, dander, and dirt in the power supply and heat sinks located inside the computer case (it doesn't matter how clean you keep your house.) It is best to have the computer cleaned at least once a year as part of maintenance--whether you do it yourself or have someone else do it.
Maintenance will save you time, money and frustration--it will also force you to do complete backups if you have perhaps gotten a little behind on them. (Was I delicate enough with that? (I'm guilty as charged also.))
Eric, you give sage advice. Sometimes there's nothing like a brand new car after fixing your beater for the millionth time. I reformat every 60-90 days, just like clockwork. Love the feeling of a freshly-configured system with the newest drivers, no junk files, and no gunked-up registry.
I'm not going to get into a pissing contest with you.
When you jump into the thread and dismiss what someone else has done by characterizing it as a "magic bullet", you are trying to start a "pissing contest". Thrax did not use the word "magic bullet", and a casual reader would take it as an interesting guide, a way to explain something that many novices don't understand.
Thrax was trying to be constructive. peterd has made three posts....all of them taking shots at Thrax. Who was starting a "pissing contest"?
Let it go, Mtrox. It's okay. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Lots of people have been helped in this thread by the article, lots of people haven't. I know it's a hit or miss process (Lord knows it saved my ass two days ago, though, when Vista butchered my partitions).
The only fear that I have with the advice I have given is that people can bring their own meaning to the phrase "clean up the power supply, case, and Motherboard".
I can think of many nightmare scenarios which have been described elsewhere.
By "cleaning" I mean to use "canned air" or compressed air to blow the dust out of the heat sinks, fans and power supply--unless you are a tech; don't use any "wet" forms of cleaning (solvents like brake cleaner), nor is it a good idea for non-techs to open the power supply or unplug any of the cables or add-on cards on the board. Vacuum, and compressed air, is usually sufficient unless the computer is in a greasy or smoky place. Intensive cleaning should be left to those who are really familiar with the solvents and techniques for using them in the correct way.
So true. You'd not believe the things I see at work (Or maybe you would...). I see that you've only made a few posts, Eqwatz. Just wanted to welcome you to S-M and hope you have a good stay here.
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LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited March 2007
Mr. Thwaacks, I have a problem...er, my computer has a problem. I experimented with the 8 Steps a couple months ago and found it to work beautifully. Just one hitch. It revolves around this step in the process:
For the "Enter Load Identifier" portion of this command, you should enter the name of the operating system you have installed. If, for example, you are using Windows XP Home, you could type "Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" for the identifier.
When I performed this step, I didn't have the exact Windows XP name that was already registered on the original boot loader. Now I have two boot loaders (pardon me if my tech explanation is not correct). During the boot process, before Windows loads into GUI, I have to make a Windows installation choice in a DOS screen - the original XP boot or the new one (the wrong name I entered during the 8 steps). Once I make the correct selection, the computer boots into Windows and works rock solid perfectly. How do I get rid of the boot selection that is no longer needed, so that I no longer have this extra step during bootup? Again, sorry if my terminology is all wrong.
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BlackHawkBible music connoisseurThere's no place like 127.0.0.1Icrontian
edited March 2007
Win+R > x:\boot.ini > delete duplicate.
Not sure if showing you mine would help since I have Vista installed.
Should look something like this:
[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" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT /USEPMTIMER
Change "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" to your OS version.
Open the boot.ini in the root of C:\ and delete the line that is no longer needed. Disable "read only" on the file permissions, save the file, reapply that permission and reboot to test.
Are you saying that my article worked to repair the described issue, even though people in this thread have said it's impossible?
I saved one this morning using the 8 steps. In the past I would have knoppix'ed in and grabed the registry out of Sys Restore. I have added my own step number one. "type c:\boot.ini." before I delete it. Then I know exactly what to type to avoid Leonardo's problem, and don't have to wonder whether to add the "/NOEXECUTE=OPTIN" switch.
I formatted my hard drive using my Windows XP installation CD. After the HDD was formatted and the installation began, it kept prompting me saying that certain files were missing: skip or cancel. I thought of copying the first few later so I skipped and continued the installation. But it kept prompting for almost every single file so I cancelled the installation thinking that I'll start fresh.
After restarting my laptop, I got the "NTLDR is missing. Please enter Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart" error. I have checked my BIOS. It is setup to boot from the CD and the CD Boot is enabled too. I also tried creating a bootdisk on a USB flash drive as mentioned in ntldrmissing dot com. Nothing seems to work. It keeps giving me the NTLDR missing message. I can't get into the Windows Recovery console because of this either (this is the first message that I get).
I tried the Hard Drive test from the BIOS to see if it was dead. But it passed that too. Any ideas on how to get past this?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks. I checked the CD on another system and it seems to be working fine. I can also hear the disk whirring in my CD-ROM of the broken system(the light blinks too). Is there any way to test if the CD-ROM has gone bad? (I am guessing thats not easy since there is not OS installed).
Also why wasn't the system able to boot from the USB drive. I had created the drive as a boot disk(as mentioned in ntldrmissing.com) and the drive was appearing under the Floppy disk category in the BIOS.
LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited April 2007
Pop in another CD drive and should be OK. Don't feel bad about the failure to load from a USB device. That can be problematic. But check the BIOS settings to make sure it's set to allow USB device boots.
Thanks a million. I hooked up an external USB CD-ROM and the whole thing worked. I installed XP and and my laptop's in-built CD-ROM seems to be working fine.... just curious on why it wasnt able to read the installation CD earlier
Edit - ok the drive can read DVDs not CD-ROMs.... tried updating drivers... no luck so far
Pop in another CD drive and should be OK. Don't feel bad about the failure to load from a USB device. That can be problematic. But check the BIOS settings to make sure it's set to allow USB device boots.
Hmm, I've tried the 8 steps - and unfortunately it doesn't fix my problem!
Basically my cpu fan died a horrible grinding death. I've got a new one, and the processor is fine.
However, windows is not. It's happened before - gets to the XP loading screen and restarts. Won't even start in safe mode.
Tried using the old recovery console on the system disk. CHKDSK -R only took 7 hours(!) Immediately after this though, it *would* load in safe mode. So I tried a system restore - and got a blue screen of death. Then, on reboot, back to the same problem.
I tried the 8 steps, but to no avail.
BOOTCFG /REBUILD won't run, because of errors on the disk. FIXMBR gives me the message that the partion signature is invalid, and performing fixmbr could make my drive unreadable(so I chose no, not to continue).
FIXBOOT doesn't seem to fix anything.
So, I ran a plain chkdsk, and after that it will load again in safe mode - but just once, after restart it's back to not booting again in any mode.
And now I've hit CHKDSK -R again, so it's going to be chugging away for a while yet.
Um, any ideas? My dissertation is in on friday, and I've just lost 2 days to this. I have some, but not all, of the work backed up but I could be looking at dropping a grade in my degree because of this problem
I consider myself agnostic, but some believe such misfortunes are god testing us. If so he's having a good laugh at my expense.
I can get into the filestore via an ubuntu boot disk I have, so I can mess around with files there; obviously I can get my work off this way too but I really would like to get it back the way it was if possible
Rhodri I'm not sure exactly what you've got going there. But I have done what you're proposing. I did it with a Knoppix disk a few times. I've pulled the registry out of system restore. I've also pulled it out of system32\repair\config\original, then limped into Windows and did a sys restore to a registry that works.
Someone here knows better than I do, but it almost sounds like you've got some boot record/file system kind of problems too though. It's worth a try, but I don't know if a good registry is going to fix what ails you.
So I have this problem as well. Turned off computer last night only to find the missing/corrupt message this morning. I've done the 8 steps and they fixed the boot.ini problem. However the missing (in my case) windows\system32\config\system file still persisted so I tried peterd's method and to my surprise I was able to enter the Windows boot screen with the moving bar.
However after that it just went to a black screen again and wouldn't move. I've also tried booting into safe mode, last known good configuration and none of them worked either. Also trying to get back into the recovery console I am prompted for an administrator password but I have no idea what it is since there never was one (I built this computer).
I am now trying to figure out how I can get back into Windows and access my files again. Any suggestions guys?
Thanks in advance for this great article. I too have this problem. My computer wants to boot of a second partition, not the one windows is on. When trying to boot from the correct one it complained about hal.dll. It's possible this will overwrite Grub but thats easy to fix. I'm currently in Ubuntu but still need windows every now and then.
although it hurts my fragile "girl tech support" ego to write this, and the article is somewhat old, i wanted to reply and thank rob for providing such a great tutorial! and also detail the specific problem(s) i had, to assist future google searchers? and also i am borderline hallucinating from fatigue, so WHY NOT LOL OMG ):
background:
i'd installed Diskeeper Pro Premier 2007 on my gateway laptop/paperweight (model mx6123), but couldn't use it. every time i launched the program, it would crash, saying that [SIZE=-1]Microsoft Management Console (MMC) had encountered an error. the bug report was greek to me, and microsoft offered no information after submitting it. so i went a little lone wolf at this point and i guess we can all imagine how that ended up.
although i know that it has always ended in disaster when i've tried to fix a problem with my computer late at night, when i'm exhausted, for some reason i continue to do it. it's like this: if i'm too tired to think properly about how to solve something, i am also too tired to know that i should leave it alone, and work it out when i'm well-rested. i am hoping that this issue will be resolved when human neurology 3.0 is released.
ANYWAY, i downloaded MMC 3.0 and installed it blindly, SUDDENLY having infinite trust in XP[/SIZE][SIZE=-1](??!?!)[/SIZE][SIZE=-1] to refuse to install something that was already there, or obsolete, or would cause a conflict. i even backed up my data/settings with acronis beforehand, "just in case" [which was a completely useless gesture].
upon restarting, i was horrified to encounter this error:
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root=""><windows root=""><windows root=""></windows></windows></windows>[/SIZE]〈Windows root〉[SIZE=-1]<windows root=""><windows root=""><windows root="">\system32\ntoskrnl.exe</windows></windows></windows>[/SIZE]
process to resolution:
first, i tried every boot option available to me. of course nothing could get past that error.
second, i booted into System Recovery (F11, for me). when I reached the menu screen, i hit Alt+D to open a command prompt. i tried to CD windows\i386, but it told me that was an invalid directory.
third, i rebooted, went back to System Recovery, Alt+D, and accessed D: . i tried to run chkdsk /r but it refused, saying that because the system type was FAT, the volume could not be unmounted to run chkdsk, and would i like to unmount it manually? i said sure why not, it unmounted, and then said it would run chkdsk on restart. i hit y, restarted, and got the same error message as i did when booting normally. it couldn't get to the file check/recovery stage.
[SIZE=-1]
fourth, i booted from a knoppix 5.0 cd i have had lying around but never actually used, and proceeded to spend 3 hours trying to guess the unix commands to locate ntoskrnl.exe via terminal. i can barely even remember DOS commands, so this was a pretty tall order at 3am.
fifth, i went online and tried to figure out what had gone wrong and what people had been able to do to fix it. (to add to the shame of this story: it took an inappropriately long time for me to figure out how to connect to my WAN. i find every single aspect of linux hilariously counter-intuitive, as though it has been specifically designed opposite to my thought process.) i started searching gateway's support site, diskeeper's support site, MS support, and various tech support communities. i looked around half-heartedly for a downloadable version (ideally, an image) of the Gateway System Recovery Disc for xp, but was unsuccessful. turns out, gateway will mail me one "for free"... plus 20$ S&H [/SIZE]:bs: (that idea was ridiculous anyway, because how was i going to burn a cd if i was only able to load an OS with that capability from the SOLE CD DRIVE? oh god, no more of this late-night "problem solving". never again.)
it's an enormous endorsement of your article that, even during crazy fun-time 4am kamikaze computer hour, i was able to somehow write down the gist of the commands and complete the entire process without, say, removing the voice coil and slitting my wrists.
can't thank you enough! i'm positive that i'll get a ton of use out of this technique. sorry for being so long-winded; needless to say i didn't get any sleep last night so i'm nearly incoherent.
Great article Thrax! Have made a copy for a few machines(and on a few Flash Drives) just in case the need arises! About the detractors - hey if you have done it successfully - then what else need be said?
Comments
I have the problem that you two guys are trying to fix for everyone.
I have tried the following solution from Schrock Innovations that was posted in a similar thread.
I have also tried the method described in Thrax's document.
I have now got to the stage on re-boot whereby I have two options to select, either the Windows XP that is now there from the boot.ini procedure I followed and the original XP installation.
I have tried BOTH of these, and still my PC fails to boot, and I still get the message:
windows\system32\config\ is either missing or corrupt
I have also tried booting in Safe Mode and selecting: Last good configuration. This does not work and I get greeted by that now familiar statement saying I'm screwed.
Now I have five questions:
1) And somewhat obviously the first question, is there a way around this now, or am I only left with the choice of a full re-installation of XP?
2) The Schrock Innovation article states, that if it still will not work, then the folder which holds the files you are trying to copy has been deleted. If this is the case, can I connect my Hard Drive to another computer and copy the FOLDER to my system32 area, and then try a re-boot?
3) Failing any of the above, I'm assuming I can connect my Hard Drive to another PC, and then copy any vital data I need before doing a complete re-install of Windows XP on my machine. If this is so, I'm assuming I need a caddie. Is there a certain sized caddie I need? Any steps I should follow?
4) Im assuming its too early for anyone to tell whether Vista would have the same issue?
5) And now it has happened once, what are the chances of this happening to my machine in the next few months and having to go through this whole process again?
My machine is an Acer Aspire 1691 Wlmi with XP Home Edition and my machine has 2GB RAM.
As an afterthought, I have read other threads that indicate it could be a RAM problem, could this still be the case for me even though the above two methods I have tried do not work?
Many thanks for any help you can offer me, and apologies if I have missed something previously explained that I should have done!
I totally agree with you.........this is exactly how I feel i have 2 different systems to choose from but none will even attempt to load
When asked first, Thrax responded that: I've ended up trying to reinstall the whole system, but then faced a problem that the screen would go dark with 33 minutes on the timer before Windows was set to complete its installation. So I was forced to dump the machine in the closet. After a few weeks, I have successfully managed to force Windows to install itself and it worked fine for a couple of weeks. I was thinking to start updating the machine with soft to match its former load (it's my most powerful comp) when suddenly, Windows stalled, forced me to reboot, and having done so, I've got a how-is-it-hanging message: windows\system32\config\ is either missing or corrupt
Having read the below post I figured indeed, that the problem may be hyding in the RAM and not the viruses. But my machine will quickly find its way back to the closet unless I get some help from you guys.
PS. Ooo.. I've almost forgot. I've got a Norton Goback set on that machine and though it is supposed to help with restoring the system to its functioning state(s), in this case it's impotent.
I'd appreciate any help you can offer. :smiles:
There is a reason that the "strong recommendation" of a format and reload of your operating system at least once a year has never been withdrawn from the MSKB at Microsoft.
The reason is not just software, but also hardware. Even if there appears to be no problem, there can be some sectors on your hard drive which were good but "iffy" when you did the original format and installation (or when your manufacturer did it.) When everything was new and pristine, the "iffy" sector was readable and writable--in fact, the sector that appears to be corrupted may be readable if the drive is run with a different board and power supply (I've had that happen); I have also had a system come back after a thorough cleaning of the dust-bunnies in the power supply, motherboard, and case (or with a whack on the case also known as a "faith healing"--the "nudge" of the case simply dislodged a bit of dirt in a critical place.) The system may be functional, but the dirt and consequent heat can take things just a enough out of specifications to render a weak sector on a drive unreadable.
While it can indicate that a drive is getting "tired", it could just be that the drive just needs to be formatted and reloaded with a backup of the operating system and software (if the situation "heals" itself after a good cleaning); or a fresh installation of the Operating System, software, and backed up data on the freshly formatted drive--which is what is recommended by Microsoft to avoid problems not apparent in the original operating system.
**A few unsuspected little errors can give you a system that "seems" to be okay, but gives you random crashes or "goofy" behavior. In my experience, there is nothing more frustrating than inconsistent behavior from a computer.**
The cooling fans on a computer cycle a lot of air through the case. This leads to a concentration of "grunge"--dust, dander, and dirt in the power supply and heat sinks located inside the computer case (it doesn't matter how clean you keep your house.) It is best to have the computer cleaned at least once a year as part of maintenance--whether you do it yourself or have someone else do it.
Maintenance will save you time, money and frustration--it will also force you to do complete backups if you have perhaps gotten a little behind on them. (Was I delicate enough with that? (I'm guilty as charged also.))
Eric
When you jump into the thread and dismiss what someone else has done by characterizing it as a "magic bullet", you are trying to start a "pissing contest". Thrax did not use the word "magic bullet", and a casual reader would take it as an interesting guide, a way to explain something that many novices don't understand.
Thrax was trying to be constructive. peterd has made three posts....all of them taking shots at Thrax. Who was starting a "pissing contest"?
Lots of people have been helped in this thread by the article, lots of people haven't. I know it's a hit or miss process (Lord knows it saved my ass two days ago, though, when Vista butchered my partitions).
I can think of many nightmare scenarios which have been described elsewhere.
By "cleaning" I mean to use "canned air" or compressed air to blow the dust out of the heat sinks, fans and power supply--unless you are a tech; don't use any "wet" forms of cleaning (solvents like brake cleaner), nor is it a good idea for non-techs to open the power supply or unplug any of the cables or add-on cards on the board. Vacuum, and compressed air, is usually sufficient unless the computer is in a greasy or smoky place. Intensive cleaning should be left to those who are really familiar with the solvents and techniques for using them in the correct way.
Eric
Not sure if showing you mine would help since I have Vista installed.
Should look something like this:
Change "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" to your OS version.
Are you saying that my article worked to repair the described issue, even though people in this thread have said it's impossible?
I formatted my hard drive using my Windows XP installation CD. After the HDD was formatted and the installation began, it kept prompting me saying that certain files were missing: skip or cancel. I thought of copying the first few later so I skipped and continued the installation. But it kept prompting for almost every single file so I cancelled the installation thinking that I'll start fresh.
After restarting my laptop, I got the "NTLDR is missing. Please enter Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart" error. I have checked my BIOS. It is setup to boot from the CD and the CD Boot is enabled too. I also tried creating a bootdisk on a USB flash drive as mentioned in ntldrmissing dot com. Nothing seems to work. It keeps giving me the NTLDR missing message. I can't get into the Windows Recovery console because of this either (this is the first message that I get).
I tried the Hard Drive test from the BIOS to see if it was dead. But it passed that too. Any ideas on how to get past this?
Thanks in advance.
-N
Also why wasn't the system able to boot from the USB drive. I had created the drive as a boot disk(as mentioned in ntldrmissing.com) and the drive was appearing under the Floppy disk category in the BIOS.
Edit - ok the drive can read DVDs not CD-ROMs.... tried updating drivers... no luck so far
Basically my cpu fan died a horrible grinding death. I've got a new one, and the processor is fine.
However, windows is not. It's happened before - gets to the XP loading screen and restarts. Won't even start in safe mode.
Tried using the old recovery console on the system disk. CHKDSK -R only took 7 hours(!) Immediately after this though, it *would* load in safe mode. So I tried a system restore - and got a blue screen of death. Then, on reboot, back to the same problem.
I tried the 8 steps, but to no avail.
BOOTCFG /REBUILD won't run, because of errors on the disk. FIXMBR gives me the message that the partion signature is invalid, and performing fixmbr could make my drive unreadable(so I chose no, not to continue).
FIXBOOT doesn't seem to fix anything.
So, I ran a plain chkdsk, and after that it will load again in safe mode - but just once, after restart it's back to not booting again in any mode.
And now I've hit CHKDSK -R again, so it's going to be chugging away for a while yet.
Um, any ideas? My dissertation is in on friday, and I've just lost 2 days to this. I have some, but not all, of the work backed up but I could be looking at dropping a grade in my degree because of this problem
I consider myself agnostic, but some believe such misfortunes are god testing us. If so he's having a good laugh at my expense.
I can get into the filestore via an ubuntu boot disk I have, so I can mess around with files there; obviously I can get my work off this way too but I really would like to get it back the way it was if possible
Someone here knows better than I do, but it almost sounds like you've got some boot record/file system kind of problems too though. It's worth a try, but I don't know if a good registry is going to fix what ails you.
error: Failed to add the select boot entry to the boot list.
Now what?
Thanks
However after that it just went to a black screen again and wouldn't move. I've also tried booting into safe mode, last known good configuration and none of them worked either. Also trying to get back into the recovery console I am prompted for an administrator password but I have no idea what it is since there never was one (I built this computer).
I am now trying to figure out how I can get back into Windows and access my files again. Any suggestions guys?
Thanks
So well written, and so informative.
But when I run chkdsk on my machine, the only options are /R and /P.
No /F. What does /F do, and why do I not have it?
Win XP Home.
Thx.
-IK
background:
i'd installed Diskeeper Pro Premier 2007 on my gateway laptop/paperweight (model mx6123), but couldn't use it. every time i launched the program, it would crash, saying that [SIZE=-1]Microsoft Management Console (MMC) had encountered an error. the bug report was greek to me, and microsoft offered no information after submitting it. so i went a little lone wolf at this point and i guess we can all imagine how that ended up.
although i know that it has always ended in disaster when i've tried to fix a problem with my computer late at night, when i'm exhausted, for some reason i continue to do it. it's like this: if i'm too tired to think properly about how to solve something, i am also too tired to know that i should leave it alone, and work it out when i'm well-rested. i am hoping that this issue will be resolved when human neurology 3.0 is released.
ANYWAY, i downloaded MMC 3.0 and installed it blindly, SUDDENLY having infinite trust in XP[/SIZE][SIZE=-1](??!?!)[/SIZE][SIZE=-1] to refuse to install something that was already there, or obsolete, or would cause a conflict. i even backed up my data/settings with acronis beforehand, "just in case" [which was a completely useless gesture].
upon restarting, i was horrified to encounter this error:
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root=""><windows root=""><windows root=""></windows></windows></windows>[/SIZE]〈Windows root〉[SIZE=-1]<windows root=""><windows root=""><windows root="">\system32\ntoskrnl.exe</windows></windows></windows>[/SIZE]
process to resolution:
first, i tried every boot option available to me. of course nothing could get past that error.
second, i booted into System Recovery (F11, for me). when I reached the menu screen, i hit Alt+D to open a command prompt. i tried to CD windows\i386, but it told me that was an invalid directory.
third, i rebooted, went back to System Recovery, Alt+D, and accessed D: . i tried to run chkdsk /r but it refused, saying that because the system type was FAT, the volume could not be unmounted to run chkdsk, and would i like to unmount it manually? i said sure why not, it unmounted, and then said it would run chkdsk on restart. i hit y, restarted, and got the same error message as i did when booting normally. it couldn't get to the file check/recovery stage.
[SIZE=-1]
fourth, i booted from a knoppix 5.0 cd i have had lying around but never actually used, and proceeded to spend 3 hours trying to guess the unix commands to locate ntoskrnl.exe via terminal. i can barely even remember DOS commands, so this was a pretty tall order at 3am.
fifth, i went online and tried to figure out what had gone wrong and what people had been able to do to fix it. (to add to the shame of this story: it took an inappropriately long time for me to figure out how to connect to my WAN. i find every single aspect of linux hilariously counter-intuitive, as though it has been specifically designed opposite to my thought process.) i started searching gateway's support site, diskeeper's support site, MS support, and various tech support communities. i looked around half-heartedly for a downloadable version (ideally, an image) of the Gateway System Recovery Disc for xp, but was unsuccessful. turns out, gateway will mail me one "for free"... plus 20$ S&H [/SIZE]:bs: (that idea was ridiculous anyway, because how was i going to burn a cd if i was only able to load an OS with that capability from the SOLE CD DRIVE? oh god, no more of this late-night "problem solving". never again.)
it's an enormous endorsement of your article that, even during crazy fun-time 4am kamikaze computer hour, i was able to somehow write down the gist of the commands and complete the entire process without, say, removing the voice coil and slitting my wrists.
can't thank you enough! i'm positive that i'll get a ton of use out of this technique. sorry for being so long-winded; needless to say i didn't get any sleep last night so i'm nearly incoherent.