Windows xp will not boot in any mode

Anonymous

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.

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Anonymous

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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41 additional answers

Anonymous

2011-08-01T01:53:57+00:00

Oh yeah... when you see that kind of stuff (especially the missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM kinds of messages) always ask this question:

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

I think I have found that the answer is almost always going to be yes, so that is another good reason to "start" with chkdsk /r first.

Cool.. Thanks for the tip...
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Anonymous

2011-08-01T01:37:50+00:00

Oh yeah... when you see that kind of stuff (especially the missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM kinds of messages) always ask this question:

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

I think I have found that the answer is almost always going to be yes, so that is another good reason to "start" with chkdsk /r first and not dive right in with KB307545. Noooooo...
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Anonymous

2011-08-01T01:14:40+00:00

I don't think I have every even suggested KB307545. I may have a long time ago before I beame convinced it never really worked out and chkdsk /r usually does work out.

I have "tried" it a few times to see how it works and it works fine - if you follow the directions exactly.

For this error and the Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM kinds of messages, I have never had to resort to KB307545 - chkdsk /r has always worked (fingers crossed).

You can recreate each of these issues easily on a test system and see all the different variants. Power your system up, get it running and pull the plug on it, restart and repeat that about 5-10 times and you soon will see something like the above or below.

When I see these:

STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure}

The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SECURITY or its log or alternate. It is corrupt, absent, or not writeable.

STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure}

The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate. It is corrupt, absent, or not writeable.

STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure}

The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SYSTEM or its log or alternate. It is corrupt, absent, or not writeable.

You need to run chkdsk and find out if they are running Norton/Symantec. Some EOL versions still get updates (no longer supported though) and will corrupt the file system when they load on boot. You can run chkdsk /r and boot again (but only one more time), or you can run chkdsk /r and then boot in Safe Mode as often as you like since Norton will not load and therefore not corrupt the file system.

Of course if I was a Microsoft Support Engineer, I would never bother to actually reproduce the issue and learn how to fix it... I would just Bing the error and post the first KB that comes up - which happens to be either KB307545 or KB830084, then I would get an "Answer" credit in 5-10 days.

Here is a typical example of a MSE sending the OP off into the weeds. Fortunately, somebody jumped in and provided the correct solution:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-system/after-windows-restart-and-then-no-configsystem/83d5c57f-9836-4f3a-bec8-04c7d81861d3
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Anonymous

2011-08-01T00:37:40+00:00

Actually, I have never had any luck with KB307545 nor chkdsk when the above error appears. Perhaps I am doing something wrong though.. Then again, what I think about breaking out the old windows disc and formatting is nothing. I re-format once every 90 days needed or not. Most apps I use are portable anyway so there is no problem loosing software. The ones that are not portable are either free or I have the serial key to... But, yeah, I agree to give chkdsk a run first.
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