Topic: Problem starting Windows Xp

[Dack]

Hi!

Just wondering what the stack message you are getting says.

I'd hazard a guess that something on the machine is not initialising correctly when you try and boot into normal XP. Waiting for the CD question to time out is giving it enough (and hence allowing XP to load).

Long shot: Have you tried powering up without any USB devices attached?

[firfirikos]

Just wondering what the stack message you are getting says.

It just stacks...it doesn't have any message...

[Rodders]

Hiya Firfirikos,

I think what Dack actually meant was, "What are the details in the message box that comes up, or on the Blue Screen Of Death?"  You know - all those whacky numbers and stuff.

It is my (somewhat limited) understanding that those numbers usually indicate what the memory stack is up to.

[Sandra]

I think that as good as firfirikos english is, I think maybe he means that it sticks, my greek is non existant apart from ouzo so hes way up on me there  

Did you have a look to see if the boot.ini showed the previous OS installation like the MS article said could cause that same fault ?

[joudi]

Hi Firfirikos,

Well, I have a very limited knoledge, but I think that it might give the techies some light on your problem if you go to:

Control Panel
System  -  Advance  -  booting and recuperation (Sorry, I'm trying to translate from french, so I think you'll understand what I mean), and click on "Parameter" which will open a new small window.
Can you tell us please, what it says litterally on the top as the default OS and the time fixed for booting?
after that if you press "Modify", it'll open  a note pad. Please "Copy - Past" what is in it.

Hope you understand me. And I think that this will be useful for others.

[firfirikos]

I also had winxp before the format.
boot.ini :
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect



but, i don't have any partitions....

[joudi]

Hi again

Well, I see that you are now on the forum. As you are present and techies are not here yet, I see that what you copied and pasted from that "note pad" is correct. But It might be useful too that you tell us the answer of my first question, which is in the window just before the "note pad". I asked that:

Can you tell us please, what it says litterally on the top as the default OS and the time fixed for booting?

So, try now to do it to see if there is a problem there. If not, then it's hard for me. It'll be techies' speciality.

[firfirikos]

Can you tell us please, what it says litterally on the top as the default OS and the time fixed for booting?

So, try now to do it to see if there is a problem there. If not, then it's hard for me. It'll be techies' speciality.

It says :"Microsoft WindowsXp Home Edition"/fastdetect
and time 30 sec...

[Clive]

Firfirkos, I think that we are still waiting for an answer to reply #18  before we can proceed with this.

[firfirikos]

Firfirkos, I think that we are still waiting for an answer to reply #18  before we can proceed with this.

My pc sticks...(it stops before windows bar loading) :brick:

[Sandra]

I think Clive was referring to this on post 15 that I again asked if you had checked it on post 18  

I have found this in microsofts knowledge base :

SYMPTOMS
After you install Windows XP, you may observe a "Previous Operating System on Drive Letter:" entry on the Boot menu.
CAUSE
This problem can occur if your hard-disk partition had been created and formatted before you installed Windows XP.
RESOLUTION
To work around this problem, modify the Boot.ini file to remove this entry.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I am fairly certain that there is an error in the boot.ini or similar stopping your pc from loading the windows system files.

I know that you arent getting any error message but if you follow the instructions in this article, after checking the boot.ini hasnt got the previous XP installation listed as suggested above, it may help to sort your problem out  

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;330184&Product=winxp

[Sandra]

If you want to try this and it boots into XP from the floppy then I would think a reinstall is necessary :

Create A XP Boot Disk from System Files
As a hedge against being unable to start XP, you can create a boot disk specifically for Windows XP that may allow you to boot the operating system. This can occur when the active partition boot record or other required files become corrupted.

Using Windows XP, place a blank floppy in drive A and format the disk. Navigate to the root folder of the system (in most cases this will be C:\) and copy the following files to the floppy disk.

Boot.ini
NTLDR
Ntdetect.com

If you can't see the files, click [Tools] and [Folder Options...] in the Menu Bar of Windows Explorer. Click the [View] tab and click the radio button next to [Show Hidden Files and Folders]. Remove the check mark next to [Hide Protected Operating System Files (Recommended)] then click [Apply] and [OK]. The files should now be visible in Windows Explorer. If the files still cannot be copied, right click each file, click [Properties] and remove the checkmark from the Read-Only attributes. Reset whatever attributes were unchecked after the copy procedure is completed.

In addition to the files listed above, check the same directory for bootsect.dos and ntbootdd.sys files. If they are present on your system, copy them to the same floppy diskette.

The disk is used as any other boot disk, inserting it into the floppy drive (A:\) and initiating a cold boot. Make sure the BIOS is set so that the A:\ drive is first in the boot sequence.

[Reno]

holy crap i didn't know you could do that HAHAHAH   where did u find this little tid-bit?

To the problem at hand. You may have stated this but is this a new installation or one that has important files to be saved? If it is a new installation make sure the winxp disk you used wasn't damaged. Don't take that comment as an insult ive known experianced techies to have had the same problem. Second question, did u repartician using a win98 bootdisk... completely delete all the particians...? because it could be a virus left on the hard drive hendering the installation. just a thought

Do u have a copy of norton system works? have you tried using this to see if the registry is damaged in any way? It never hurts to ask questions when trying to diagnose a problem.

Do u have a restore cd.. ?have you tried using it?  

[Sandra]

Its all out there on the web if you look hard enough Bob  

Take note though Bob that it says :

"you can create a boot disk specifically for Windows XP that may allow you to boot the operating system."

So it may not always work depending what other faults are present  

[firfirikos]

Some more information:
When i reboot my pc,it's  shutting down.like pressing the "shut down" key..
and i followed the instructions from http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;330184&Product=winxp but still remains the problem...
The cd of winXp is allmost new,i had checked the registry and the hard disk with norton utilities...