Boot Problem

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Please help. I have a P4 1.4, 512MB, 80GB,120GB Dell PC. My 120GB drive
serves as a storage drive. The 80GB drive was partitioned (using FDisk) into
2 different partitions. For a long time I was running Windows XP on one
partition and Windows Media Center on the other.

I used Partition Magic to make a 3rd partition using space from both of the
existing partitions (C and E). When all was said and done I logged into the
partition C and everthing was fine. When I tried to boot into E: the system
booted up to the login screen and then a Windows XP logo screen came up
(light blue background) and the login screen never showed up.

Went back into the c: partition and opened PM to use a utility to log into
any installed Windows application. Rebooted and got an "Ntldr Missing" error.
Tried to use the PM rescue disks but they wouldn't load.

I used FIXBOOT AND FIXMBR and lost the ability to boot altogether (Ntldr
Missing error).

Made a Windows XP boot disk with boot.ini, Ntldr, netdetect.com (?), and the
system took me to the screen where I could chose which OS to boot into.

E: still boots to just before the login screen
C: loads windows then says "autochk not found . . . " and then I get the
BSOD.

I would like to troubleshoot this problem because I don't want to reload and
I can't afford to lose my emails. I did not back up my Outlook accounts.
Everything else of value is on my (S)Storage drive.
Also, I can't repair the installation from my XP install disk because I am
only given the option to format (not using auto recovery or recovery console).

Please help me. I would like to get this all working but only need to get
into my E: drive long enough to back up my Outlook.

Thank you,

Matt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Did you try to boot with PQboot? You may need to repair your Windows
installation from the XP setup disk or contact Dell customer service for
their setup disk particulars, if there is not a repair option. Usually you
can just at the first window hit enter and setup finds your original install
and asks if you want to repair or install a fresh copy. If you choose repair
(R), setup will go through the same motions as a fresh install and you will
need your key code. The repair should allow you to access your existing
settings and files.. If the registry has been severely damaged though, a
repair may not work and a format w/install will be the only option. Keep in
mind that a repair could remove SP2, depending on the original XP home/pro
ver on the setup disk..

Also, did you setup C:& E: as primary partitions, both as active, with fdisk?

j;-|

"Powlaz" wrote:

> Please help. I have a P4 1.4, 512MB, 80GB,120GB Dell PC. My 120GB drive
> serves as a storage drive. The 80GB drive was partitioned (using FDisk) into
> 2 different partitions. For a long time I was running Windows XP on one
> partition and Windows Media Center on the other.
>
> I used Partition Magic to make a 3rd partition using space from both of the
> existing partitions (C and E). When all was said and done I logged into the
> partition C and everthing was fine. When I tried to boot into E: the system
> booted up to the login screen and then a Windows XP logo screen came up
> (light blue background) and the login screen never showed up.
>
> Went back into the c: partition and opened PM to use a utility to log into
> any installed Windows application. Rebooted and got an "Ntldr Missing" error.
> Tried to use the PM rescue disks but they wouldn't load.
>
> I used FIXBOOT AND FIXMBR and lost the ability to boot altogether (Ntldr
> Missing error).
>
> Made a Windows XP boot disk with boot.ini, Ntldr, netdetect.com (?), and the
> system took me to the screen where I could chose which OS to boot into.
>
> E: still boots to just before the login screen
> C: loads windows then says "autochk not found . . . " and then I get the
> BSOD.
>
> I would like to troubleshoot this problem because I don't want to reload and
> I can't afford to lose my emails. I did not back up my Outlook accounts.
> Everything else of value is on my (S)Storage drive.
> Also, I can't repair the installation from my XP install disk because I am
> only given the option to format (not using auto recovery or recovery console).
>
> Please help me. I would like to get this all working but only need to get
> into my E: drive long enough to back up my Outlook.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Matt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

I did try to boot w/ PQboot and thats when everything went bad. I just used
a DOS program to unhide one of the partitions. I don't know how that
partition (C became hidden.

I booted into Windows, right into this partition. It's like (E doesn't
even exist. Then I opened Partition Magic to anaylyze the drives. I am in
C: but E: is listed as the active drive. Both Primary. I:, the newest
addition, is Logical Drive.

I put fresh copies (from my XP CD) of NTdetect and Ntldr onto C: and E: I
updated the boot.ini file in C: and copied it to E:

I noticed that the LONG list of files listed in C: is not listed in E: For
instance, pagefile.sys is missing in E: So is $win-nt$.~bt, and a number of
other small system files. Could adding partition I: have erased system
files/folders from E:?

How do I replace them?
I don't get the option to Repair an install at all when booting from the CD.
The last screen I get to acknowledges that Windows is installed and asks if
I want to press L to over write it. Get that option wheter I'm in the E:
partition or the C: partition
--also of note, my WinXP cd is a Slipstreamed SP2 version.

So I'm back to where I started. I can boot into C: but when I boot into E:
the Windows XP logo comes up but the "Starting . . ." message never comes.
What do I do next?

Thank you for the help.

Matt

"Jaymon" wrote:

> Did you try to boot with PQboot? You may need to repair your Windows
> installation from the XP setup disk or contact Dell customer service for
> their setup disk particulars, if there is not a repair option. Usually you
> can just at the first window hit enter and setup finds your original install
> and asks if you want to repair or install a fresh copy. If you choose repair
> (R), setup will go through the same motions as a fresh install and you will
> need your key code. The repair should allow you to access your existing
> settings and files.. If the registry has been severely damaged though, a
> repair may not work and a format w/install will be the only option. Keep in
> mind that a repair could remove SP2, depending on the original XP home/pro
> ver on the setup disk..
>
> Also, did you setup C:& E: as primary partitions, both as active, with fdisk?
>
> j;-|
>
> "Powlaz" wrote:
>
> > Please help. I have a P4 1.4, 512MB, 80GB,120GB Dell PC. My 120GB drive
> > serves as a storage drive. The 80GB drive was partitioned (using FDisk) into
> > 2 different partitions. For a long time I was running Windows XP on one
> > partition and Windows Media Center on the other.
> >
> > I used Partition Magic to make a 3rd partition using space from both of the
> > existing partitions (C and E). When all was said and done I logged into the
> > partition C and everthing was fine. When I tried to boot into E: the system
> > booted up to the login screen and then a Windows XP logo screen came up
> > (light blue background) and the login screen never showed up.
> >
> > Went back into the c: partition and opened PM to use a utility to log into
> > any installed Windows application. Rebooted and got an "Ntldr Missing" error.
> > Tried to use the PM rescue disks but they wouldn't load.
> >
> > I used FIXBOOT AND FIXMBR and lost the ability to boot altogether (Ntldr
> > Missing error).
> >
> > Made a Windows XP boot disk with boot.ini, Ntldr, netdetect.com (?), and the
> > system took me to the screen where I could chose which OS to boot into.
> >
> > E: still boots to just before the login screen
> > C: loads windows then says "autochk not found . . . " and then I get the
> > BSOD.
> >
> > I would like to troubleshoot this problem because I don't want to reload and
> > I can't afford to lose my emails. I did not back up my Outlook accounts.
> > Everything else of value is on my (S)Storage drive.
> > Also, I can't repair the installation from my XP install disk because I am
> > only given the option to format (not using auto recovery or recovery console).
> >
> > Please help me. I would like to get this all working but only need to get
> > into my E: drive long enough to back up my Outlook.
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > Matt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Ok, so, you can boot to c: and see the e: partition from c:, you just can't
boot to e:, right? Did you try repairing e: with your slipstreamed copy?

From XP Inside Out MS Press, tweaked a bit for your slipstreamed CD, see
below:
>The repair option is quick and painless and typically does not adversely affect user settings. To exercise this option, start from the slipstreamed copy as if you were going to do a clean install. It’s easy to become confused during this process, because the word repair appears in two different places when you start your computer using the slipstreamed CD. At the Welcome To Setup screen, do not choose the option to repair your installation using the Recovery Console. Instead, press Enter, which starts the Windows Setup program. After you accept the license agreement, Windows searches your system for existing Windows installations. When you reach the screen that lists your current Windows installations, select the one you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair process. The remainder of this procedure requires the same steps as if you were performing a clean installation; when Setup finishes, your system files should be refreshed and your existing data and
settings should be accessible again.<

If the e: drive is on a slave HD where c: is on the master HD you could
disconnect the master HD change the jumper on the slave to master and boot to
e: which would become c: again.. Also, if you have imaging software like
Drive Image, True Image, or Norton Ghost you could use it to image e: from c:
and add the image to another HD and try to boot from it as you would a master
drive..You might have to still do a repair though..

j

"Powlaz" wrote:

> I did try to boot w/ PQboot and thats when everything went bad. I just used
> a DOS program to unhide one of the partitions. I don't know how that
> partition (C became hidden.
>
> I booted into Windows, right into this partition. It's like (E doesn't
> even exist. Then I opened Partition Magic to anaylyze the drives. I am in
> C: but E: is listed as the active drive. Both Primary. I:, the newest
> addition, is Logical Drive.
>
> I put fresh copies (from my XP CD) of NTdetect and Ntldr onto C: and E: I
> updated the boot.ini file in C: and copied it to E:
>
> I noticed that the LONG list of files listed in C: is not listed in E: For
> instance, pagefile.sys is missing in E: So is $win-nt$.~bt, and a number of
> other small system files. Could adding partition I: have erased system
> files/folders from E:?
>
> How do I replace them?
> I don't get the option to Repair an install at all when booting from the CD.
> The last screen I get to acknowledges that Windows is installed and asks if
> I want to press L to over write it. Get that option wheter I'm in the E:
> partition or the C: partition
> --also of note, my WinXP cd is a Slipstreamed SP2 version.
>
> So I'm back to where I started. I can boot into C: but when I boot into E:
> the Windows XP logo comes up but the "Starting . . ." message never comes.
> What do I do next?
>
> Thank you for the help.
>
> Matt
>
> "Jaymon" wrote:
>
> > Did you try to boot with PQboot? You may need to repair your Windows
> > installation from the XP setup disk or contact Dell customer service for
> > their setup disk particulars, if there is not a repair option. Usually you
> > can just at the first window hit enter and setup finds your original install
> > and asks if you want to repair or install a fresh copy. If you choose repair
> > (R), setup will go through the same motions as a fresh install and you will
> > need your key code. The repair should allow you to access your existing
> > settings and files.. If the registry has been severely damaged though, a
> > repair may not work and a format w/install will be the only option. Keep in
> > mind that a repair could remove SP2, depending on the original XP home/pro
> > ver on the setup disk..
> >
> > Also, did you setup C:& E: as primary partitions, both as active, with fdisk?
> >
> > j;-|
> >
> > "Powlaz" wrote:
> >
> > > Please help. I have a P4 1.4, 512MB, 80GB,120GB Dell PC. My 120GB drive
> > > serves as a storage drive. The 80GB drive was partitioned (using FDisk) into
> > > 2 different partitions. For a long time I was running Windows XP on one
> > > partition and Windows Media Center on the other.
> > >
> > > I used Partition Magic to make a 3rd partition using space from both of the
> > > existing partitions (C and E). When all was said and done I logged into the
> > > partition C and everthing was fine. When I tried to boot into E: the system
> > > booted up to the login screen and then a Windows XP logo screen came up
> > > (light blue background) and the login screen never showed up.
> > >
> > > Went back into the c: partition and opened PM to use a utility to log into
> > > any installed Windows application. Rebooted and got an "Ntldr Missing" error.
> > > Tried to use the PM rescue disks but they wouldn't load.
> > >
> > > I used FIXBOOT AND FIXMBR and lost the ability to boot altogether (Ntldr
> > > Missing error).
> > >
> > > Made a Windows XP boot disk with boot.ini, Ntldr, netdetect.com (?), and the
> > > system took me to the screen where I could chose which OS to boot into.
> > >
> > > E: still boots to just before the login screen
> > > C: loads windows then says "autochk not found . . . " and then I get the
> > > BSOD.
> > >
> > > I would like to troubleshoot this problem because I don't want to reload and
> > > I can't afford to lose my emails. I did not back up my Outlook accounts.
> > > Everything else of value is on my (S)Storage drive.
> > > Also, I can't repair the installation from my XP install disk because I am
> > > only given the option to format (not using auto recovery or recovery console).
> > >
> > > Please help me. I would like to get this all working but only need to get
> > > into my E: drive long enough to back up my Outlook.
> > >
> > > Thank you,
> > >
> > > Matt