XP Pro not bootable - Black Screen ctrl+alt+del ????

[mrteacher]

This is something I just ran into on my Dell 2.4 Desktop.

This past weekend I rebooted the PC after having it off during the week. It came up with the error in subject line.

I put in the Win XP Pro CD to find way into PC. I can see the hard drive. I can not reload windows because Win XP is telling me that there is not enough room on Drive __ (yes) with 32MB FAT of space. The other drive has over 140MB of space on the NFTS (sp) "C" drive. I am not sure what to do.

I have made a big mistake in not backing up some of the data on the drive - therefore I do not want to erase the drive and start over.

It seems that from I have found on Microsoft's web site that I need to go to msconfig to do things - however I cannot get into windows. Furthermore I have done checkdisk /r a few times already -- obviously not helping.

The drive sounds fine -- it was not nor is it whinning or making any other strange noises.

I need some step by step hand holding to make sure I do not miss something and wipe out the drive.

Please help...

Steve

 

[linney]

Are you confusing MB with GB, because 32MB or 140MB is nothing to write home about? Is it Megabyte or Gigabyte?

What is the exact error message when Windows tries to Boot?

Try starting it via the F8 (Safe Mode) option and use the "Last known good configuration option".

 

[mrteacher]

Hi Linney -
Yes I am confusing the 2 and yes I have tried using last known - that doesn't work because it is saying I did not have a last known -- even though it is "was" turned on???

 

[ChrisOz]

Hi
First priority I suggest you make acopy of your drive using ghost or other image program before you go any further. Atleast if worst comes to worst you can restore all data.

 

[linney]

What is the exact error message when Windows tries to Boot?

It is hard to guess what the actual problem is until we know the error.

You can try these in the meantime.

Booting process.

http://www.winntmag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?IssueID=62&ArticleID=3952

You can use the recovery console from the install CD to fix the boot sector (fixboot command and fixmbr) - if that's the problem. You can also create a 'boot floppy' - copy ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini to a formatted floppy to boot your XP installation.

HOW TO: Install and Use the Recovery Console for Windows XP (Q307654)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q307/6/54.asp

HOW TO: Edit the Boot.ini File in Windows XP (Q289022)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q289/0/22.asp

How to Use System Files to Create a Boot Disk to Guard Against Being Unable to Start Windows XP (Q314079)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q314/0/79.asp

Q305595 - HOW TO: Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q305/5/95.asp

If you are at the data recovery stage rather than a repair stage let us know.

 

[mrteacher]

The error messages I am getting are:

If I just let the system boot right through...

On a BLACK screeb "A Disk Read Error occurred Press Ctrl+Alt+Del"

Then if I put in the Win XP Pro CD and get to Win Setup I get the following:

-: Partition1 [FAT] 31 MB <26 MB Free>
C: Partition2 [NFTS] 114408 MB ,93119 MB Free>

if I select "C:" then I get the error
"Win XP cannot recognize the partition you selected"

I do not have an "A" drive on my laptop that I can make a floppy disk.

I can use the Windows 98 disk on the desktop and I can see windows and the directory - is it best to try to copy the files to the disk and then edit them for a bootable WinXP disk?

Which partition am I suppose to be looking at FAT or NTFS?

Steve

 

[linney]

This might give you a few ideas to try.

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/19004/?o=60

http://www.google.com/search?source...+Disk+Read+Error+occurred+Press+Ctrl+Alt+Del"

http://groups-beta.google.com/group...+Disk+Read+Error+occurred+Press+Ctrl+Alt+Del"