10 Things you can do when Windows XP won't boot

10 Things you can do when Windows XP won't boot


When your computer hardware appears to power up okay, but the Windows
XP operating system won't boot properly, you have to begin a troubleshooting
expedition that includes getting into the operating system, determining
the problem, and then fixing it. To help you get started on this
expedition, here are 10 things you can do when Windows XP won't boot.


** Use a Windows startup disk

One of the first things you should reach for when troubleshooting a
Windows XP boot problem is a Windows startup disk. This floppy disk can come in
handy if the problem is being caused when either the startup record for
the active partition or the files that the operating system uses to start
Windows have become corrupted.


To create a Windows startup disk, insert a floppy disk into the drive
of a similarly configured, working Windows XP system, launch My Computer,
right-click the floppy disk icon, and select the Format command from
the context menu. When you see the Format dialog box, leave all the default

settings as they are and click the Start button. Once the format
operation
is complete, close the Format dialog box to return to My Computer,
double-click the drive C icon to access the root directory, and copy
the following three files to the floppy disk:

· Boot.ini
· NTLDR
· Ntdetect.com


After you create the Windows startup disk, insert it into the floppy
drive on the afflicted system and press [Ctrl][Alt][ Delete] to reboot the
computer. When you boot from the Windows startup disk, the computer
will bypass the active partition and boot files on the hard disk and attempt
to start Windows XP normally.


** Use Last Known Good Configuration

You can also try to boot the operating system with the Last Known Good
Configuration feature. This feature will allow you to undo any changes
that caused problems in the CurrentControlSet registry key, which defines
hardware and driver settings. The Last Known Good Configuration feature

replaces the contents of the CurrentControlSet registry key with a
backup copy that was last used to successfully start up the operating system.


To use the Last Known Good Configuration feature, first restart the
computer by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][ Delete]. When you see the message Please
select the operating system to start or hear the single beep, press [F8] to
display the Windows Advanced Options menu. Select the Last Known Good Configuration
item from the menu and press [Enter].


Keep in mind that you get only one shot with the Last Known Good
Configuration feature. In other words, if it fails to revive your
Windows XP on the first attempt, the backup copy is also corrupt.


** Use System Restore

Another tool that might be helpful when Windows XP won't boot is System

Restore. System Restore runs in the background as a service and
continually monitors system-critical components for changes. When it detects an
impending change, System Restore immediately makes backup copies,
called restore points, of these critical components before the change occurs.
In addition, System Restore is configured by default to create restore
points every 24 hours.


To use System Restore, first restart the computer by pressing
[Ctrl][Alt][Delete].
When you see the message Please select the operating system to

start or hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows
Advanced Options menu. Now, select the Safe Mode item from the menu and press
[Enter].


Once Windows XP boots into Safe mode, click the Start button, access
the All
Programs Accessories System Tools menu,and select System Restore.
Because you're running in Safe mode, the only option on the opening
screen of the System Restore wizard is Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time,
and it's selected by default, so just click Next. Then, follow along with
the wizard to select a restore point and begin the restoration procedure.


** Use Recovery Console

When a Windows XP boot problem is severe, you'll need to use a more
drastic approach. The Windows XP CD is bootable and will provide you with
access to a tool called Recovery Console.

To boot from the Windows XP CD, insert it into the CD-ROM drive on the
problem system and press [Ctrl][Alt][ Delete] to reboot the computer.
Once the system begins booting from the CD, simply follow the prompts that
will allow the loading of the basic files needed to run Setup. When you see
the Welcome To Setup screen, press R to start the Recovery Console.


You'll then see a Recovery Console menu. It displays the folder
containing the operating system's files and prompts you to choose the operating
system you want to log on to. Just press the menu number on the keyboard, and
you'll be prompted to enter the Administrator' s password. You'll then
find yourself at the main Recovery Console prompt.


** Fix a corrupt Boot.ini

As the Windows XP operating system begins to load, the Ntldr program
refers to the Boot.ini file to determine where the operating system files
reside and which options to enable as the operating system continues to load.
So if there's a problem rooted in the Boot.ini file, it can render Windows XP

incapable of booting correctly.


If you suspect that Windows XP won't boot because Boot.ini has been
corrupted, you can use the special Recovery Console version of the
Bootcfg tool to fix it. Of course, you must first boot the system with the
Windows XP CD and access the Recovery Console as described in #4.


To use the Bootcfg tool, from the Recovery Console command prompt, type


Bootcfg /parameter


Where /parameter is one of the required parameters listed in the table
below.


Parameter Description


/Add Scans the disk for all Windows installations and allows
you to add any new ones to the Boot.ini file.


/Scan Scans the disk for all Windows installations.


/List Lists each entry in the Boot.ini file.


/Default Sets the default operating system as the main boot
entry.


/Rebuild Completely re-creates the Boot.ini file. The user must
confirm each step.


/Redirect Allows the boot operation to be redirected to a specific
port when using the Headless Administration feature. The
Redirect parameter takes two parameters of its own:


[Port Baudrate ] [UseBiosSettings] .


/Disableredirect Disables the redirection.



** Fix a corrupt partition boot sector

The partition boot sector is a small section of the hard disk partition
that contains information about the operating system's file system
(NTFS or FAT32), as well as a very small machine language program that is
crucial in assisting the operating system as it loads.


If you suspect that Windows XP won't boot because the partition boot
sector has been corrupted, you can use a special Recovery Console tool called
Fixboot to fix it. Start by booting the system with the Windows XP CD
and accessing the Recovery Console as described in #4.


To use the Fixboot tool, from the Recovery Console command prompt, type

Fixboot [drive]:

Where [drive] is the letter of the drive to which you want to write a
new partition boot sector.


** Fix a corrupt master boot record

The master boot record occupies the first sector on the hard disk and
is responsible for initiating the Windows boot procedure. The master boot
record contains the partition table for the disk as well as a small
program called the master boot code, which is responsible for locating the
active, or bootable, partition, in the partition table. Once this occurs, the
partition boot sector takes over and begins loading Windows. If the
master boot record is corrupt, the partition boot sector can't do its job and
Windows won't boot.


If you suspect Windows XP won't boot because the master boot record has
been corrupted, you can use the Recovery Console tool Fixmbr to fix it.
First, boot the system with the Windows XP CD and access the Recovery Console
as described in #4.


To use the Fixmbr tool, from the Recovery Console command prompt, type


Fixmbr [device_name]


Where [device_name] is the device pathname of the drive to which you
want to write a new master boot record. For example, the device pathname format
for a standard bootable drive C configuration would look like this:


\Device\HardDisk0


** Disable automatic restart

When Windows XP encounters a fatal error, the default setting for
handling such an error is to automatically reboot the system. If the error
occurs while Windows XP is booting, the operating system will become stuck in
a reboot cycle-rebooting over and over instead of starting up normally.
In that case, you'll need to disable the option for automatically
restarting on system failure.


When Windows XP begins to boot up and you see the message Please select
the operating system to start or hear the single beep, press [F8] to
display the Windows Advanced Options Menu. Then, select the Disable The Automatic
Restart On System Failure item and press [Enter]. Now, Windows XP will
hang up when it encounters the error and with any luck, it will display a
stop message you can use to diagnose the problem.


** Restore from a backup

If you can't seem to repair a Windows XP system that won't boot and you
have a recent backup, you can restore the system from the backup media. The
method you use to restore the system will depend on what backup utility
you used, so you'll need to follow the utility's instructions on how to
perform a restore operation.

** Perform an in-place upgrade
If you can't repair a Windows XP system that won't boot and you don't
have a recent backup, you can perform an in-place upgrade. Doing so reinstalls
the operating system into the same folder, just as if you were upgrading
from one version of Windows to another. An in-place upgrade will usually
solve most, if not all, Windows boot problems.


Performing a Windows XP in-place upgrade is pretty straightforward. To
begin, insert the Windows XP CD into the drive, restart your system,
and boot from the CD. Once the initial preparation is complete, you'll see
the Windows XP Setup screen (shown earlier in Figure A). Press [Enter] to
launch the Windows XP Setup procedure. In a moment, you'll see the License
Agreement page and will need to press [F8] to acknowledge that you
agree. Setup will then search the hard disk looking for a previous
installation of Windows XP. When it finds the previous installation, you'll see a
second Windows XP Setup screen


This screen will prompt you to press R to repair the selected
installation or to press [Esc] to install a fresh copy of Windows XP. In this case,
initiating a repair operation is synonymous with performing an in-place upgrade,
so you'll need to press R. When you do so, Setup will examine
the disk drives in the system. It will then begin performing the in-place
upgrade.


Keep in mind that after you perform an in-place upgrade or repair
installation, you must reinstall all updates to Windows.