Windows xp will not boot in any mode

Anonymous
2010-04-20T19:52:30+00:00

I still can't find info about windows xp will not boot in any mode.  Keep looping on the screen where it has Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Network, Last Know Configuration, etc.  Any solution?  I appreciate your time.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2010-12-30T10:55:27+00:00

Did you rview the XP No Boot Troubleshooting Steps in the sticky post at the top of the forums?

They were virtually useless, I am glad they took them down.

What is your system make and model?

What is your XP Version and Service Pack?

Describe your current antivirus and anti malware situation:  McAfee, Symantec, Norton, Spybot, AVG, Avira!, MSE, Panda, Trend Micro, CA, Defender, ZoneAlarm, PC Tools, Comodo, etc.

Was the issue preceded by a power interruption, aborted restart, or improper shutdown?  (this includes plug pulling, power buttons, removing the battery, etc.)

Does the afflicted system have a working CD/DVD drive?

Do you have a genuine bootable XP installation CD (this is not the same as any Recovery CDs that came with your system)?

Fill in the blank:  

My system was working fine until: _________________________________________.

If there is a problem booting, XP is configured to automatically try to boot again and you can get stuck in a loop of just being unable to get past the boot options screen or none of the boot options you choose will work.

Sometimes when XP has a problem starting or crashes and tries to start again, it will give you a "short" menu of boot options and none of them will seem to be the right ones to get your system going again.  You've tried them all!

The options resemble the XP Advanced Boot Options menu, but the one option you need (Disable automatic restart on system failure) is not offered because XP has gone too far along in the boot process and offers you a limited number of boot options.

If that is the case, you must invoke the Advanced Boot Options menu yourself until you do see the option:

Disable automatic restart on system failure

When you do get to the correct XP Advanced Options Boot menu you want to see, it has options on it like these:

Safe Mode

Safe Mode with Networking

Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Enable Boot Logging

Enable VGA mode

Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked)

Directory Services Restore Mode (Windows domain controllers only)

Debugging Mode

Disable automatic restart on system failure 

Start Windows Normally

Reboot

Return to OS Choices Menu

What you need to choose from that menu is the option:

Disable automatic restart on system failure

Then if XP fails to boot normally, you will see an error screen with information and clues regarding the problem and then you can decide what to do next.

If you do not see the Disable automatic restart on system failure option, you need to reset your system and start tapping the F8 key on the keyboard until you do see the Disable automatic restart on system failure option. 

If you miss the F8 window of opportunity, you need to try again and start tapping the F8 key with more urgency (sooner and more frequently) until you do see Disable automatic restart on system failure, then select it.

You need to keep trying the F8 menu until you do see Disable automatic restart on system failure option, and select it.

 If your system is experiencing a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), we need to know what the screen says:

Here is a BSOD example showing information you need to provide:

http://techrepublic.com.com/i/tr/downloads/images/bsod_a.jpg

Send the information pointed to with the red arrows (3-4 lines total).  

Send the entire *** STOP message line since there are clues in the 4 parameters.

If it looks like there is some kind of file name listed under the STOP message, send that line too.

Skip the boring text unless it looks important to you.  We know what a BSOD looks like, we need to know what your BSOD looks like.

Respond to the queries and report back the results from the Disable automatic restart on system failure screen and you can decide what to do next.

Do, or do not. There is no try.

I decided to save up points for a new puppy instead of a pony!

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-08-01T00:15:05+00:00

    That message usually means that XP just can't find the file(s) - probably because of a corrupted file system.

    When you see that message, you should always start with a chkdsk /r from the XP Recovery Console first.

    Then, if you have certain versions of older Norton/Symantec products installed and they have recently updated, it will corrupt your file system again the next time it loads (when you reboot).  You run chkdsk again, and you will boot one more time... then you run chkdsk again and you will boot one more time, etc.  It is too bad we know nothing about your system.

    Since we know nothing about your system, I would start with the chkdsk /r from the XP Recovery Console.

    I would not and have never chased the wild goose of KB307545 for this problem (but I sure have fixed it many times with chkdsk /r).  It does not make sense to even attempt KB307545 unless you are sure that your file system is not corrupted, so why not do that part first and see if that is all you need to do?

    Please provide additional information about your system as best you can:

    What is your system make and model?

    What is your XP Version and Service Pack?

    Describe your current antivirus and anti malware situation:  McAfee, Symantec, Norton, Spybot, AVG, Avira!, MSE, Panda, Trend Micro, CA, Defender, ZoneAlarm, PC Tools, Comodo, etc.

    Was the issue preceded by a power interruption, aborted restart, or improper shutdown?  (this includes plug pulling, power buttons, removing the battery, etc.)

    Does the afflicted system have a working CD/DVD drive (internal or external)?

    Do you have a genuine bootable XP installation CD (this is not the same as any Recovery CDs that came with your system)?

    What do you see that you don't think you should be seeing?

    What do you not see that you think you should be seeing?

    If the system used to work properly, what do you think might have changed since the last time it did work properly?

    Use the XP Recovery Console to verify the file system on your HDD and correct any problems and then try to boot your system - this may be all you need to do.  Or, you are welcome to just start trying things that might work.

    Boot into the Windows Recovery Console using a bootable XP installation CD.

    If you have no bootable XP media (or are not sure what you have) create a bootable XP Recovery Console CD and be sure.

    This is not the same as any recovery disks that might have come with a store bought system.  

    You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file and burning it to a CD.

    The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

    xp_rec_con.iso 

    Download the ISO file from here:

    http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

    Use a new CD and this free and easy program to burn your ISO file and create your bootable CD:

    http://www.imgburn.com/

    When installing ImgBurn, DO NOT install the Ask toolbar.

    Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

    http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

    It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is working.

    You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk.  These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load.  If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.

    When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

    Press any key to boot from CD...

    The Windows Setup... will proceed.

    Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

    Select the installation you want to access (usually  1: C:\WINDOWS)

    You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

    You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder.  This is the same as the 

    C:\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

    The Recovery Console allows basic file commands like: copy, rename, replace, delete, cd, chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

    For a list of Recovery Console commands, enter help at the prompt or read about the XP Recovery Console here:

    http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/recovery_console_cmds.mspx?mfr=true

    A good idea before starting things is to first verify the integrity of your file system using the chkdsk command.

    From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the afflicted drive.

    Running chkdsk is fine even if it doesn't find any problems.  It will not hurt anything to run it.

    Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:

    chkdsk C: /r

    Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find.  

    It may take a long time for chkdsk to complete or it may appear to be 'stuck'.  Be patient.  If the HDD light is still flashing, chkdsk is doing something.  Keep an eye on the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.  It may even appear to go backwards sometimes.

    You should run chkdsk /r again until it finds no errors to correct.

    Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the computer.

    You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the CD will not be present.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-07-31T23:42:37+00:00

    HELLLLPPPP!!! MY BSOD SAYS,...

     

    c0000218 (registry file failure)

    the registry connot loas the hive (file):

    systemroot/systerm32.config/software

    or its log is laternate

    it is corrupt absent or not writable

    Do you mean you get this error: Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate? If so, you will need to follow the instructions  HERE. If you do not have a windows disc follow the instructions HERE to create a Recovery Console disc.

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-07-31T23:20:28+00:00

    HELLLLPPPP!!! MY BSOD SAYS,...

    c0000218 (registry file failure)

    the registry connot loas the hive (file):

    systemroot/systerm32.config/software

    or its log is laternate

    it is corrupt absent or not writable

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-07-31T21:44:40+00:00

    The thought is that you need to run chkdsk /r from the XP Recovery Console.

    Here are some instructions assuming you may not have a genuine bootable XP installation CD:

    Boot into the Windows Recovery Console using a bootable XP installation CD.

    If you have no bootable XP media (or are not sure what you have) create a bootable XP Recovery Console CD and be sure.

    This is not the same as any recovery disks that might have come with a store bought system.  

    You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file and burning it to a CD.

    The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

    xp_rec_con.iso 

    Download the ISO file from here:

    http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

    Use a new CD and this free and easy program to burn your ISO file and create your bootable CD:

    http://www.imgburn.com/

    When installing ImgBurn, DO NOT install the Ask toolbar.

    Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

    http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

    It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is working.

    You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk.  These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load.  If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.

    When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

    Press any key to boot from CD...

    The Windows Setup... will proceed.

    Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

    Select the installation you want to access (usually  1: C:\WINDOWS)

    You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

    You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder.  This is the same as the 

    C:\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

    The Recovery Console allows basic file commands like: copy, rename, replace, delete, cd, chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

    For a list of Recovery Console commands, enter help at the prompt or read about the XP Recovery Console here:

    http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/recovery_console_cmds.mspx?mfr=true

    A good idea before starting things is to first verify the integrity of your file system using the chkdsk command.

    From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the afflicted drive.

    Running chkdsk is fine even if it doesn't find any problems.  It will not hurt anything to run it.

    Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:

    chkdsk C: /r

    Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find.  

    It may take a long time for chkdsk to complete or it may appear to be 'stuck'.  Be patient.  If the HDD light is still flashing, chkdsk is doing something.  Keep an eye on the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.  It may even appear to go backwards sometimes.

    You should run chkdsk /r again until it finds no errors to correct.

    Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the computer.

    You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the CD will not be present.

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