XP home not booting

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a similar problem to the other post about xp freezing. xp home boots but displays the advanced menu screen, select start normally system reboots to the same menu, does display message saying could be a possible hardware or software error. system will not boot even in safe mode, just loops to the advanced menu. not had access to the system yet, just getting a few ideas as to what to check when i do. system was working fine, no hardware or software added recently.
any ideas?

 

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First, if you can, back up all data from your hard drive by putting it into a different machine or an external drive caddy.

Download the UBCD (NOT the Win version, please!).

Run diagnostics on your hard drive.

If HD passes, run memory diagnostics (I like the Windows memory test -- the name is misleading -- you don't need MS Windows for it).

If memory passes three or four hours of testing, run CPU tests.

If all hardware passes and you have satisfactory backups of data, try putting your Windoze CD in and doing the chkdsk /r thang.

If that doesn't work, run a repair.

This is the order I'd do things in.

 

Did you try *last known good*? That could save you a lot of time as it uses a backup of some of the registry files that were created the last time you *logged in*.

 

And also try the entry that says "Dont reboot on error" (or similar) so as to get the Blue-screen error.

Harry.

 

Good call. I should have mentioned LKG. Must be more fried than I thought.

 

Last known good still reboots to the advanced menu. didn't think about the reboot on error option, will try that next.

 

I feel for you buddy...to save u time...check the link in my sig @ post #33...may help you out...i hope it does...le us know.
Only run the checks in my post if you have exhausted attempts outlined by the posters above me though

 

Why do you not like the UBCD4win? It helped me a great deal and iv heard that if you do not use the one for windows and u run windows OS, you can run the diagnostics but not repair anything...is that true?
Anyway, iv had no issues with the Windows version just to clarify.
Although i owe my pc running again to you neutralhills so thanks for that

 

its not my pc, i'm just trying to help out a non techie person. at the end of the day i have to reinstall xp so be it, would rather not if i can help it.

 

may be the case but Id still say troubleshoot it as though it was your own PC, its only fair for the end user @ the end of the day imho. ....but thats just my opinion.

Like i said, the steps in my thread should sort them out one way or another

 

finally got round to looking at the pc today. system would not boot to safe mode or any other option on the advanced menu. got into the recovery console and ran chkdsk, scanned to about 50% then went fast upto 75% then dropped back to 50%, did this twice before i stopped it. tried to get a directory listing on c drive but got a directory structure damaged message. tried to repair windows but when i got to the screen where it should detect a previous win install it did not see it. in the end i reformatted and installed a fresh copy of xp home. to me it looks like the hdd is on borrowed time.

 

Had a very similar problem recently and this is exactly what I did. Perfect advice!

It turned out that I had bad sectors on my HD, and an WinXP reinstall fixed it after repairing the bad sectors and wiping the HD.

 

IMHO if you have bad sectors on a drive then you should be looking to replace that drive.

Most drives these days have some 'spare sectors' that can be mapped in to replace bad ones. When that set runs out then new bad sectors become 'visible' to the OS, which then works around them.

The result of this is that when you start seeing reports of such things you can assume the drive has been having failures earlier.

Time for a new drive!

Harry.

 

In my experience 'bad sectors' can mean anything from corrupt data on those sectors which can be repaired/replaced to the sector itself being unable to hold data for whatever reason. If the reports are consistent, or cannot be repaired, then I'd consider replacing.