XP Boot up issues

[Riddick]

Hey guys, i have an issue. My xp went hanging (if that's what you call it) and i had to restart everything by pressing the restart button on the pc.

Now everytime i switch on my pc it doesn't automatically log into windows. Rather it stops booting up after the motherbord screen appeared. Only thing that shows on my screen is a black screen with this flickering line in the top left corner. I then have to reboot again and press F8 to tell it to boot from my hard drive but this only gets me into windows for that session, but doesn't solve the issue because next time i have to do the same thing again. I've done all the virus and malware scans and haven't gotten anything.

Is there i way i can fix this without installing a fresh copy of xp again?

[rustypup]

you could:
1) leave your install disc outside for a week, making for a less-than-fresh install or...
2) do a repair install.... it's one of those recovery options....

have you checked the events logs?

made any changes lately?

[Riddick]

Hey rustypup,

I haven't made any changes recently.

I tried that recovery thing but it became quite complex. It was later in some sort of DOS interface and when that happened i was lost. I'm somewhat of a noob when it comes to theses thing so please bare with me.

[Vampyre_2099]

insert xp disk, restart, when it comes up with the first screen choose install, not recovery, then it should detect you windows installation. then select it from the list and choose repair

[Riddick]

Thanx for your reply Vampyre

I have tried that and it didnt work. It also took a while. I was affraid that it was installing another copy of xp but afterwards everything seemed ok. Was this normal that it took so long?

[rustypup]

repair install simply replaces the current os, without impacting the hive or the registry, (ie, all your installed apps/data remain intact). you should not be presented with a terminal.


a) have you tried to boot from last known working instance?

b) if you can still access your system:
=============================
right click "My Computer" and select "Manage" from the context menu. This will launch the managment tool.

under "System Tools", browse the "Event Viewer" branch under "System" and "Application" for obvious errors, (flagged as red or yellow events).

Report any to do with stop codes, drivers or system devices.

c) recovery process is:
=================
well covered here..

[Fanatic-X]

Now everytime i switch on my pc it doesn't automatically log into windows. Rather it stops booting up after the motherbord screen appeared. Only thing that shows on my screen is a black screen with this flickering line in the top left corner. I then have to reboot again and press F8 to tell it to boot from my hard drive but this only gets me into windows for that session, but doesn't solve the issue because next time i have to do the same thing again. I've done all the virus and malware scans and haven't gotten anything.

To me it sounds likeyour HDD is faulty... try a chkdsk and see if it fixes anything. In case you don't know how:

-Insert your XP disc
-Once it gives you 3 options, (install=ENTER, Recovery console=R, or Exit=F3), press R
-choose the windows dir as specified and put in your password if you have any
-Type chkdsk /R
-Wait (probably 1 hour minimum, depending on the size of the HDD and how much data is on it)
-Then try booting up again.

Hope it helps

[Slimshaedy]

Boot up with last known configuration.or boot up in safe mode and troubleshoot from there.
Surely in your bios your hdd is still set as first boot device? I don't see how it could change by itself but check anyway

[madmind]

Hey Riddick.

Have you tried "System Restore" Via "Safe Mode"? Maybe a recent system update is causing your problem...
What exactly were you doing when is hung the first time?
Was your HDD activity light flashing when you restarted it?

madmind

[rustypup]

:/... is this thread like some sort of experimental necro bait?

@madmind: ignoring the prior necros, this thread died in April of 2009... if he hasn't resolved this by now, it's only because he was beaten to death and eaten by pixies...

[Stuart]

Um, ja, what 8.ta said. Unless I receive a desperate plea from Riddick urging me to unlock this thread because he still can't boot up properly, let's consider the problem resolved and the thread therefore locked.