Bootsect.dat file is corrupted, NTLDR is missing/compressed on x86 pc with WinXP Home Edition Sp3 and Ie8

Anonymous
2014-02-24T05:47:39+00:00

I have a x86 pc with WinXP Home Edition SP3 and IE8. 

While preparing for an eventual upgrade to Win 7, I have been considering repartioning and multibooting my HDD. 

I have been trying to get WinXP operating as best as I can.  I also have been checking out how to use the Windows Recovery Console to reinstall WinXP and transfer files for a clean reinstall.

I discovered while checking "All Boot Paths" at Start\Run\msconfig\BOOT.INI that one Boot Path was highlighted with errors indicating that the "File is Corrupted because a disk read error occured" and that NTLDR is missing or corrupted.  In fact, it is garbled.  It points to "Microsoft Windows Recovery Console/cmdcon".  I have not used the Recovery Console, ever. 

I have a Gateway 5310S desktop (retail) and no original XP disks, apparently. 

I do have, but have never used, a 4ea. set of Recovery CDs dated 5/12/05 that I must have created after purchase.

I also have been having numerous, odd, problems that come and go, including trouble displaying various websites, Yahoo Home Pages, and eMail that keep going into compatibility mode or blanking outright.  The video and audio on Hulu and online video services are always out of sync.  I have problems editing posts on sites like this even though I can edit my profile pages just fine.

This particular set of problems started occurring recently and very suddenly, from one day to the next.  This was after it had actually been working fairly well for a change. 

I have no idea how long the boot.ini file has been corrupted, I actually discovered it by accident.

I also can not reinstall certain programs such as Family Tree Maker 2005 and 2008 after it was suggested to me by ancestry.com to uninstall/reinstall.

I have the latest Java and Adobe Flash Player.  I have defragged and disk checked my drives. 

I have used CCleaner to remove temp and junk files daily.  I have run Hitman Pro, MBAM, MBAR, MSE, and SAS multiple times with no viruses or malware detected. 

And, as I had mentioned above, I am having problems with the editor on this site, right now.  Sometimes it just freezes and I have to exit to clear.  Other times it duplicates entire sentences.  It also flip/flops between a full page editor and, like now, a half page editor window on the left half of the page.

Any suggestions you folks can come up with would be greatly appreciated.  This is getting really annoying.

Thanks

Vernon

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

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Anonymous
2014-03-05T08:10:47+00:00

when you check out the boot.ini paths, and the recovery console is installed, you will always get an error stating that the boot path is invalid.

if the recovery console is indeed corrupted just uninstall, you can reinstall or burn a cd with the recovery console.

go here for instructions on deleting the recovery console.

===========

Here's how to make a bootable xp recovery console cd

Courtesy of JoseIbarra

You need to start by booting into the XP Recovery Console using a CD you can make (no XP media required) and run a chkdsk with error correction enough times until it runs clean and if that doesn't work, you can create a new boot.ini file (it is usually one of those two things).

Here's how:

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 what you have (no XP media required).

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:

rc.iso 

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.thecomputerparamedic.com/?p=8    (courtesy of Daavee)

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.

===============

as for the other problems:

have you used any registry cleaners??

these can harm your system

since you appear to be infection free, it would seem that some part of your cleaning process has deleted a necessary file.

===============

checkdisk with the /r parameter should be run. and run again until no errors are found.

==========

are you fully updated and patched at Microsoft updates??

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-03-17T05:10:28+00:00

    Hi, Elizabeth23,

    UnsupportedDebug="do not select this" /debug

    "That debug option is a new addition when running Combofix"

    "you can delete that line from your boot.ini"

    I have only used Combofix while (quite recently) working with a tech from MalwareBytes Support forum on a virus issue that I could not easily get rid of.

    BUT, I have had this entry above on my bootup menu for a much longer time than that and I'm talking YEARS.  I have no clue as to where it came from or how it got there.  My memory is getting bad. 

    I have just been ignoring it and I certainly have never tried to use it.  But I'll get rid of it.  Will I need to also get rid of any files or such on my PC regarding this boot entry?

    Besides, my open timeout on the boot.ini was set to only 3 secs, and it's been that way for a very long time, so I never had the opportunity to actually choose anything, including Recovery Console. 

    It just booted straight into XP.  I have just now set the timeout to 10 secs.

    Also, I am now getting an error message "RegSvcs.exe encountered a problem and needed to close" on reboot of the PC after uninstalling Windows .NET Framework versions 2 thru 4 with the .NET Framework Cleanup Tool per the article .NET Framework update installation error "0x80070643".

    AND, I have run into yet another problem while attempting to reinstall .NET Framework 1.1 per the same article.  I get an error message stating "Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 setup has ended prematurely.  If this persists, please contact Product Support."

    Additionally, version 1.1 will not reinstall via Microsoft Update either, but no reason is given.

    Note that I had previously, early last year, gotten this same error message while attempting to reinstall .NET Framework per an online article which said NOT to install it via Microsoft's method of starting at the lowest version and working your way up to the latest version, but RATHER, reinstalling it in a certain 'block' sequence starting with the newer version first and working downwards!

    Unfortunately, everything worked just fine until I got to the installation of version 1.1, which refused to install properly. 

    I have been using XP for almost a year without version 1.1 and I have not noticed any ill effects.  But with the sudden onset of various seemingly unrelated problems, I am beginning to wonder "what if"? 

    QUICK QUESTION:

    With the drop-dead date for XP coming up on April 14, will you folks STILL be able to respond to the "Bizillions" of XP users that are going to continue using their machines (along with ALL the bankers in the world), at least for awhile, or is Microsoft going to pull the plug on that also?

    OK, and lastly for now, did I drive ElderL away?  He hasn't replied in a while.  I thought that perhaps I had scared him off.  <|:-)

    Vernon

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-03-17T03:20:32+00:00

    That debug option is a new addition when running Combofix,when installing RC.

    I doubt it has caused the issue.

    If repair dosn't remedy blank screen, a system restore may fix it,  going back to a point before Avast was running.

    above quote from here:

    http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/Q_26448701.html

    you can delete that line from your boot.ini

    ===========

    the order is okay

    ===========

    to buy a cd from Elder L. you would have to deal with him on that matter.

    ===========

    when you buy a pc, the manufacturer has to provide a way to recover to factory settings, most just do this with a recovery partition instead of including a cd with the purchase.  I would not buy a pc that did not provide a reinstall cd myself. :)

    ==========

    as for making a cd I have not done this, I used my install cd and slipstreamed sp3 onto it.

    these are the instructions I followed,

    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25129

    XP service pack 3 ISO image

    http://www.ehow.com/how_7192127_slipstream-dell-xp-home-cd.html

    Slipstream a Dell cd with xpsp3

    http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=11190

    Create slipstreamed cd with ImgBurn

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246/en-gb

    Replacing broken disk

    http://news.softpedia.com/news/Install-Windows-XP-On-SATA-Without-a-Floppy-F6-47807.shtml

    Slipstream sata driver onto installation cd for xp

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-03-16T22:34:12+00:00

    Hi, Elizabeth23,

    OK, I edited the Boot.ini file, I now have the following:

    C:\boot.ini (Configuration Settings)

    [boot loader]

    timeout=3

    default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

    [operating systems]

    C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

    UnsupportedDebug="do not select this" /debug

    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=AlwaysOn /fastdetect

    QUESTION:  Is the order of the operating systems important in any way?

    QUESTION:  Just what IS the "UnsupportedDebug="do not select this" /debug" thing anyway?

    I also went into the first of four of my "Master" Recovery CDs:  titled:  CD-R Recovery14 (E:\drive)  

    Note, this did not autoboot when tried. 

    If I ever needed to, how would I load the CD on startup? 

    I found two "lock symbol" folders labled:  i386 and updgoi and two other folders labeled:  MiniNT and Preload (no "lock symbol"). 

    I also found the "Master.log" file and got the following:

    [Master]

    Language=English

    Description=XP-Home-SP2-RTM-US-V1

    Short_Language=ENG

    Image_Type=MHD_Dynamic

    Signature=04/08/27 - 03:05:59

    Win_ver=2

    VSN=-1059743721

    Win_Size=2561595

    DriverCabName=DRIVER.CAB

    article_code=S00002-003-001

    Size_Excl=0

    Size_CD0=684709888

    Size_CD1=678871040

    Size_CD2=619749376

    Size_CD3=79808512

    CDs=4

    Files=1710

    Size=2063138816

    RCDCSmimg=1

    BootImgSize=0

    BootImg=1

    OK, now back to ElderL's comment about making my own "original XP bootable CD (or buying one from him).

    How do I actually go about making my own? 

    Is this really even possible? Because a lot of the online How-To-Do-It articles keep assuming that you actually have one on hand so you can use their methods of fixing stuff.

    Or alternately, just how do (can?) I get one from Microsoft? 

    Why does this even seem difficult to do in the first place?

    Since I (and everyone else) paid for WinXP to start with, WHY did they NOT provide the proper software disk anyway?

    I keep telling myself that I am asking what seems to be perfectly logical questions.

    But everyone online just seems to be "dancing around" the answer.

    Enough for now, more later.  I need to catch up on some more reading.

    Thanks

    Vernon

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-03-16T21:00:45+00:00

    Hi, Elizabeth23,

    I read the article (rather short).  The gentleman was indicating that he had ONLY one option, that was to boot into the D:\MiniNT portion.  He then could type in C:\ and it would take him to that option.

    In my case I actually have BOTH options available through the ESC key, to select D:\MiniNT or to select C:\Windows directly. 

    However, I did confirm that you can do as he says and go first into the D:\ drive, THEN go to the C:\ drive.

    Either way, I'm covered. 

    Now, all I have to do is a lot of reading (when I get time) to learn all the commands/choices and uses and then attempt to actually use them. 

    But ONLY after I understand what I'm doing, which at this point I do not.  Up until now I have not had the NEED to use them, since my XP ran just fine without any problems at all for YEARS!  Thank you VERY much!

    Vernon

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