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Windows XP repair with CD

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Ouch. I think I caused a big problem on my tablet! I found 4 misc (system?) files (in My Docs?) and moved them into a folder in My Docs called Windows since they wouldn’t delete since they were “being used”, it said. I wasn’t thinking! I should have left them alone but I was in some kinky clean-up mood. Now when I attempt a restart, it won’t start Windows XP. It says NTLDR Is Missing. That is probably one of those files that I moved. I have found info on this at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318728 but I have no idea how to run a Recovery Console which it mentions using. My tablet keyboard is sometimes ignored since it is a usb keyboard. I have the operating system CD and have tried the Recovery Console. But I have no idea what I am doing. I hoped to start it up with the CD, move those 4 files back out of that Windows folder, and it would just restart as it did before. But I don’t know how! Can someone help me with specific instruction?

I put the operating system CD in and started my pc, thinking that I could just run a repair or something. But I have no idea what to do. When it starts up, it says Press any key to boot from the CD. So I hit Enter. It has a blue Windows Setup screen which keeps saying Setup is loading files, and the CD keeps running and I see it “loading files”. Then a Welcome To Setup screen appears and as one of the choices it says To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R. But when I hit R, nothing ever happens, even after a long wait. Another choice, To quit Windows setup without installing Windows XP, press F3. If I hit F3, a box pops up that says Windows XP is not completely setup on your computer. If you quit Setup now, you will need to run Setup again to setup Windows XP. To continue setup, press Enter. To quit setup, press F3. Pressing Enter just sends you back to the same Welcome screen. Pressing F3, reboot pc and you start all over and you end up back at the Welcome screen. Then I hit R and for some reason now it changes to a new black screen that says Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console. The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality. Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer. 1: C:\WINDOWS, Which Windows installation would you like to log on to? I hit a 1 and then Enter. It says Type the admininstrator password:. I type nothing (the admin password) and hit Enter. It now says C:\WINDOWS, and I don’t know what to do.

What must I do to start up Windows using this CD?

Topic

Clarifications

In reply to Windows XP repair with CD

Clarifications

start reading here

In reply to Windows XP repair with CD

if you haven’t botched your system too bad, it should work http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

But honestly, if you don’t know what you’re doing, research it before you go muddling around in your system. I’ve seen over the course of the last few months that you continually have issues of some sort; you may have nackered your system enough by now that you may have to do a complete backup/wipe/and reload. 😐

Your advice is taken well!

In reply to start reading here

I appreciate your insight. I must get out of this habit of fiddling. I am interested in the technology but I must leave it alone. I may have a bad sector issue on this tablet and that may be why I find myself constantly with issues that don’t make any sense. Now my tablet won’t even boot up and I am very scared. I am pretty sure that I caused this problem. I must fix it and then leave it alone. Thanks for showing me some advice and patience!

Geez….I’d say it looks like you’re going to have to

In reply to Your advice is taken well!

do a total wipe & reload….it sounds like you have multiple installations sort of half way begun.

Probably the best thing to do it just totally wipe the partition…recreate it & install Windows.

Here’s the “quick” instructions on doing that (I think you’ve seen the install process enough that you don’t need it too detailed)

Boot to the XP CD & say you want to install windows

When it says there is an existing/partial installation there….say you want to do a new installation (it will probably list the installations)
It will ask you where you want to install it…
at this point, you should be able to “highlight” the “C” drive (or whichever drive letter is being used.
At the bottom of the screen, you should see “Press D to delete the partition”…
Press D
Then it should say “Press L to confirm”…
Press L
Now you should have no partitions…
Press C to create a new partition & use the default sizes….

now you’re working with a totally blank hard drive…

This is where you want to install a fresh copy of Windows.

Format it NTFS

When done, you’ll have to go get all the Windows updates….that will take a while & you’ll have to reboot many times.
After each reboot….go check for more updates until you get them all.

You may have to get drivers also….

Right click My Computer & select Manage
goto Device Manager
Right click any devices with a yellow exclamation mark & select update driver.

It’s usually a lot quicker to totally reinstall XP than it is messing around for 4 or 5 days trying to fix a messed up version.

It’ll take you the best part of a day to do this….

Have fun 🙂

I’m getting close to doing this total reload

In reply to Geez….I’d say it looks like you’re going to have to

Once I can get my Outlook back on with my data, which is saved on an e: drive, I will just need to find a note that I made in Outlook with a list of all the installed programs and how or where to get them to install. I just reimaged this pc a few weeks ago and still have this note with the details. I’d sure rather keep trying to figure out this repair first. I even had an idea which may make some sense. Could I possibly hook this tablet to another of my pcs and use the other pc to move the file (that I moved that Windows can’t find) back to where it was, which is just outside of the folder that it is in? I am not sure if what I am saying could actually be done with firewalls and non-sharing things. Is this idea too wild? Or could an expert help me with a repair with the CD? I would be so grateful …

I am a little confused

In reply to start reading here

I read that XPrepairinstall article and have questions. I see that it says to make sure all docs are backed up (mine are backed up on an external e: drive), then he says to do the install and not the repair at first. Here is his text:
3.Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.
do not choose “To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R”, (you Do Not want to load Recovery Console). I repeat, do not choose “To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R”.
4.Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.
5.Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair. If Repair is not one of the options, END setup. After the reboot read Warning#2!
6.Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot. Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears. Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact.

So I chose the install by hitting enter and I accepted the license. But in his #5, it says Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair. I didn’t get to select the system after that and never got to hit an R. But I have seen this installation choice before. Just not this time.
Then it ran for a while and a new screen displayed that said CAUTION: A \WINDOWS folder already exists that may contain a Windows installation. If you continue, the existing Windows installation will be overwritten. All files, subfolders, user accounts, applications, security and desktop settings for that Windows installation will be deleted. The “My Documents” folder may also be deleted.
o To use the folder and delete the existing Windows installation in it, press L
o To use a different folder, press ESC.
o To quit Setup, press F3.
I am not sure what it wants if I just want to reinstall, so I hit F3, but again it ignored my tablet’s usb keyboard. So I unplugged the CD drive and then held down the power switch on the tablet to force a shut down. Hope I did the right thing. It rebooted and gave me that familiar NTLDR Is Missing note just like before.
This is not in the article and probably is not what I want. I am confused. Does this make any sense to you? I really need some guidance as I am out of my league and desperate to find a correct solution.

i think i’m with Darryl on this one

In reply to I am a little confused

it may be the best choice for you to make at this point…back up, wipe and reload. This is one of my favorite sites for instructions on how to do a format http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/format_XP.htm if you’re uncertain, see if a tech savvy friend can lend you a hand.

Here are M$ Directions for doing a Repair/In Place Install of XP

In reply to I am a little confused

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978788

Look at Method 2

[i]Method 2: Repair install of Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP CD
Note If Windows XP was preinstalled on your computer, you may need the installation CD to reinstall. Contact your computer manufacturer to make sure that you have the installation CD for a repair installation.

To reinstall Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP CD, follow these steps:
Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer’s CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.
When you receive the “Press any key to boot from CD” message on the screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
The following message on the Welcome to Setup screen will appear:
This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer: To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER. To repair a Windows XP installation by using Recovery Console, press R. To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
Press ENTER to set up Windows XP.
On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to reinstall Windows XP. After you repair Windows XP, you may have to reactivate your copy of Windows XP. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
310064 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310064/ ) How to troubleshoot Windows XP Setup problems when you upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition
If you successfully completed the reinstallation, congratulations. You are almost done. Please continue to the “After you reinstall Windows XP” section to finish.

If you received an error or if the reinstallation did not finish, unfortunately, this article did not resolve your problem. For your next steps, you may want to ask someone whom you know for help. Or, you may want to contact Microsoft Support to help you resolve this problem.[/i]

However if you have a System Makers Recovery Disc not a M$ OEM Install Disc you will not be able to do a Repair/In Place Install of Windows.

You need a M$ Branded OEM Install Disc to perform this procedure and the System Makers Recovery Disc’s do not have this option available. Instead of being a M$ Install Disc with a Complete Version of XP they are a Cut Down Slipstreamed Disc with just the Drivers required for your Hardware.

So you can install XP and not need to load any dedicated Drivers after you load Windows.

By your description you have a System Makers Recovery Disc and this lacks the ability to do any Repairs/

As for the Repair Console it’s should go to a blank screen with a DOS Prompt on the top left hand corner. You then enter DOS Commands to do things. This is good for [i]Window[/i] Command Line Users and fairly useless for anyone else as the command line isn’t used by many and those who do Command Lines find that Windows Command Line way too limiting.

But if you type [b]Help Enter[/b] you should see a list of available commands.

[i]edited to add[/i] As you are using a USB Keyboard it lacks support during the Install process so use the Tablets Keyboard not a plug in External Keyboard.

Col

I do not have the Microsoft CD

In reply to Here are M$ Directions for doing a Repair/In Place Install of XP

The CD that I have is from the tablet manufacturer. Can you give me the DOS commands that I will need to use to perform this repair and any instructions on using them?

go to

In reply to I do not have the Microsoft CD

the tablet’s manufacturers website and look for the instruction manual on how to do a system repair

thanks

In reply to go to

On the mfg site at http://www.motioncomputing.com/resources/L_Series_UserGuide.pdf, in the repair section of Chapter 3, it says “On the Set Up screen, select ENTER to set up Windows XP. NOTE: Do not select R=Repair before you accept the End User License”
Someone on this site told me to do this but I was afraid that it would overwrite everything on my drive with a new installation of Windows XP. I will try it now!

darn, didn’t work as planned

In reply to thanks

Darn. I did what I thought would be a Repair installation and it did a new installation. Even the help text on my tablet’s mfg site said to hit Enter and not R (repair) in the beginning of running the operating system cd and then accept the license agreement and then hit R for Repair. But it never offered me a chance to hit R after accepting the license agreement. So all of my docs are gone and I am starting fresh. The docs are on a backup drive but I will need to install all of the programs again. But now when I start my pc, it asks me which operating system to boot on and it lists Windows XP twice. Can I clean this up? How?

Yes, you can clean that up……

In reply to thanks

Right click My Computer….
Select Properties….
Select the Advanced Tab….
Under Startup & Recovery….
Click Settings button….
Select the default operating system

Pretty simple. 🙂

To clean that up……See this also….

In reply to thanks

But I don’t know if you should do this….

You don’t seem to have very good luck when it comes to the more technical stuff 😉

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022

That explains how to edit the boot.ini file so it’s removed from the list of available operating systems.

At this stage I think you would be better off

In reply to I do not have the Microsoft CD

Just following your Nose and allowing the Tablet Makers Recovery Disc to format the HDD and load the OS.

This will return the system to [b]As New[/b] so you can start from scratch.

Of course you’ll need all your Data Backed up somewhere and that includes any Documents that you have created, and E-Mail you have sent received if you use a Mail Client like Outlook.

Col

yes you can

In reply to I do not have the Microsoft CD

considering that you’ve already lost your docs and whatnot…just do a clean install http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html but make sure you delete all partitions when prompted to

Here is a step by step version for you jadavis9….

In reply to Windows XP repair with CD

Take it slow, read it and digest it well on another computer running along side while you read and understand.
Scroll down to this section from the list “How to access the Recovery Console”.

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

Hope all goes well. 🙂

I have to say it, Davis

In reply to Windows XP repair with CD

You are self-absorbed.

Had you spent half all this time with your self-centered questions and preoccupations examining quietly instead all other questions asked and answered here, you might have a clue about what you are doing.

You don’t.

As it is, you walk to the head of the line and cut, oblivious.

I’m sick of it and I am sick and tired of you.

I still need help

In reply to I have to say it, Davis

I am probably doing stuff that I should not be doing, but it interests me so I do it. I have probably caused some of my own problems. Oops. I promise you that if I get past this, I will quit messing around with computers and just use them however they are.
Anyway, for some reason, it is always now doing nothing when I hit R at the Welcome screen where it says To repair a Windows XP installation with Recovery Console, press R. Why would this be happening?

RE: [i]Recovery Console, press R. Why would this be happening?

In reply to I still need help

You are using a USB Keyboard.

Thugs is not supported by the Install Process.

oops, fixed it now

In reply to RE: [i]Recovery Console, press R. Why would this be happening?

Silly me! Oops. I accidentally had my disc drive unplugged and that is why the R key would not do anything. But now it starts the Recovery Console as it should. So it asks which Windows installation to log in to and I hit 1 and enter since it is the only one listed above and is shown as 1 on the list (it is the only one on this pc). Then it asks me to enter the administrator password, which I did. Then the screen adds a line which says C:\WINDOWS> and is waiting for some input from me. I have no idea what to do now. Can someone please help me with specific instructions?

I’m not sure that you want to be there

In reply to oops, fixed it now

But typing [b]HELP[/b] and pressing the [b]Enter Key[/b] should get you a list of available commands.

Col

I think Col is right.

In reply to oops, fixed it now

You don’t want to be in Recovery Console. You don’t have the first idea of how you would manually repair the damage, right? So, you are pressing R too early – the first time R is offered – when you should be pressing Enter.

The following message on the Welcome to Setup screen will appear:
This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer: To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER. To repair a Windows XP installation by using Recovery Console, press R. To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
Press ENTER to set up Windows XP. Don’t press R, press Enter.

On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP. Now, press R.

jadavis…

In reply to I think Col is right.

follow seanford’s instructions…those instructions should have been laid out perfectly on michael steven’s website that i gave you yesterday as well.

still lost & asking for help about Command Line in Recovery Console

In reply to jadavis…

When I start my pc with the mfg cd of the operating system and choose to boot from the CD, it opens as I explained above. Once it loads the Recovery Console, if I hit Enter, it just seems to want to install a new version of Windows. If I hit R, it asks Which Windows installation, and I hit 1 since there is only one and it is listed as 1. Then I hit enter without a password, as the administrator password is blank. I get C:\WINDOWS>, and I don’t know what to do from there. Can I have some help in doing this as I am not understanding what to do. I have tried to learn online, but I am failing. I found much info about such as in http://commandwindows.com/recovery.htm, but I can’t figure out what I need to do to repair my tablet pc so it will boot.

Last time: Do NOT go into Recovery Console.

In reply to jadavis…

Don’t press R, press Enter. Both you, and the installation process, need to get past the recovery console. Pretend it isn’t there.

rule of thumb with repair installs

In reply to jadavis…

hit the R on the second screen, not the first screen…although I still think you should just back the whole thing up and wipe and reload, but that’s just my opinion

Ditto seanferd.

In reply to jadavis…

Do not go into Recovery Console. You’ve blindly fiddled your system into oblivion. Boot from CD, back up your data to an external drive. Reload and start fresh.

And quit fiddling without first researching.

And don’t be so stingy with thumbs. You’ve had way more than one thumbs worth of help here, and in other threads. That you don’t listen or are easily confused by that which you know nothing about is your fault, not the fault of the good people here trying to help you.

I can see

In reply to Windows XP repair with CD

At least 3 or 4 other posts that you could thumb.

I found the answer to all your problems….

In reply to Windows XP repair with CD

http://www.online-education.net/

Give it a try 😉

Already tried that

In reply to I found the answer to all your problems….

It’s just easier for him if you do it.

Besides, the technical malarkey amounts to very little of all this.

I like this option

In reply to I found the answer to all your problems….

http://fotosa.ru/stock_photo/Zefa%20RF/p_2418365.jpg

lol

In reply to I like this option

me too…there are just those times when the whole thing needs to go out the window 😉

And there’s nothing like

In reply to lol

A couple of burley blokes to help make the job easier?
Bahahaha!

glad I can help you guys have fun

In reply to And there’s nothing like

I still need to get my tablet to boot. Sad problem – I don’t know how to run the Recovery Console to run a repair if I need to run command line stuff. Please, someone, take a moment out of your day and help me figure out how to get out of this mess. Please. I promise, if you will help me out, I will stop messing with my computers and stop coming to this site to ask questions. I promise!

See, the thing is….you don’t want to run the recovery console..

In reply to glad I can help you guys have fun

Do not press “R” when you see that (don’t press the second R either)….keep going….you want to wipe the existing partition…create a new one & reload XP there.

You have it so messed up that a repair installation will no longer work.

And the fact that you are using

In reply to See, the thing is….you don’t want to run the recovery console..

A System Makers Recovery CD without the Ability to do a Repair Install doesn’t seem to have sunk in.

You need to reinstall the Entire OS after Wiping the HDD with something and then formating it.

I would suggest Kill Disc as it’s easy to use and relatively Fool Proof.

http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm

So download the ISO listed under the [b]Download KillDisk Suite (Free)v.5.2-[/b] heading burn this to a CD and then place into the Tablet and boot the Tablet.

Select the Wipe HDD and allow the process to run till it is complete.

Then insert the Windows Recovery Disc into the Tablet and follow what it asks. Yo will not be given the option to enter the Windows Repair Console as it doesn’t exist. The Window Repair Console, is not for beginners or for that matter most experienced users. I personally don’t use it as it’s useless if that is any help.

Col

I’ve considered that …

In reply to I like this option

but it really wouldn’t work

I’m in a world of hurt

In reply to I’ve considered that …

Please guys. Forgive me for trying to learn how to do something that I don’t know much about. I ask lots of questions. I haven’t been visiting this type of site to know the ropes and I have never been on the other end and giving advice so I don’t know how that works or feels to get a thumbs up. I am in a world of misery trying to make my pc work and perhaps I am messing with stuff that I should not be messing with. But I try to be careful and I stay up late into the night researching before I do anything or ask anything. I get accused on here of jerking you guys around and “taking advantage” of you. But I’m not (in my mind). I’m just trying to get by. I have too little money to just hand my computer over to someone to fix, so the only thing that I know to do is to try to learn and fix it. But I am constantly badgered for doing this. Why can’t we all just get along? Why do some of us need to feel so high that we feel the need to put others down? Please settle down! Maybe there is something about this forum world that I really don’t understand and may never understand. Perhaps it is the anonymity that makes some courageous enough to be mean to someone, right to their face, and right in front of the others who visit. This has hurt me to read the mean things that are said to me, more than you will ever know or understand. Why can’t we all just get along? If you don’t want to give advice on subjects that you are much wiser in, then just stay home. Don’t come out and pick on those of us who are much less informed but who are curious enough to be interesed in learning what you know and maybe who need to fix things without paying. Kind of like a hobby. I guess I should just cut out here, as I don’t know why I find myself trying to teach kindness and manners. Sure … I’m not perfect. But at least I don’t feel like I am mean to others.

First things first

In reply to I’m in a world of hurt

[b]Don’t worry about it. Probably more importantly do not take things so personally.[/b]

Here you need to do a Clean Install using your Recovery Disc. Just make sure that you have your Data Backed up first and then you’re free to blow it all away and start from scratch.

The best way to learn things is to break them and then fix them. However in the case of Windows and computers it’s not always possible to [b]Repair the Install[/b] so there are times when you have to Bite the Bullet and reload. This is what the System Makers provide the Recovery Disc for. 😉

Where you will continually run into problems is attempting to undo what you have done sometimes it’s just not possible and most times it’s not desirable. However here if you really want to repair or just move these files back to where you moved them from you are attempting to use the wrong tool here.

You need a Tool Like Knoppix which is a Live Linux that runs off the CD without doing anything to the contents of the HDD. You can load a live Distro and then move the files on the HDD back to where they came from but the reality is until you have first rebuilt the system several times and are completely comfortable reinstalling Windows you shouldn’t be biting off more than you can chew. That was no different from any of us none of us knew it all when we started and even now we don’t know it all we are just stumbling through as best we can.

In my case that repairing as fast as possible to make the repair cheaper. I get paid by the hour so spending 30 hours attempting to fix something isn’t an option. After all who is willing to pay 10 times the cost of their system to get it fixed when they could have 10 new ones to play with?

So instead of confusing yourself start with the basics first and then as time goes by and you gain confidence you can attempt the more involved things without getting in over your head. The more that you try to cram in without understanding the basics completely the more confusing things appear to be. Really they are not that confusing but you have to be comfortable with the basics first and know how things work.

People here at TR will continue to offer help but as you have already gathered there are several different ways to do something and attempting to get 2 or more people to explain a different way to do the same thing makes thing confusing and always causes the person asking for help to feel out of their depth and lost.

Col

Why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we be friends..?

In reply to I’m in a world of hurt

First off, split your post into paragraphs – it makes it easier (and less avoidable) for members to read.

I, personally, have seen you around here for quite some time, so I’m fairly sure you know how things work.
It’s not a matter of learning what’s acceptable or not, it’s a matter of following instructions of those attempting to help you, reading any links provided to you (and that means reading the whole page).

Bottom line is: Harden up; people are tolerant, but everyone has a threshold, and somehow, you’ve managed to push past it.

LOL…okay…learn how to

In reply to Why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we be friends..?

write before you post here!!!!

LOL….too funny….made my night.

Thanks NexS

You’re welcome.

In reply to LOL…okay…learn how to

I aim to please.
Occasionally. :p

[Author]

Replies