Win XP Boot Error

Hey everyone!

I'm having an odd problem with my PC.

I've had it once in the past about a year ago. My hard drive was making odd sounds and I turned the PC off. I started it again and windows just loads and reloads at the windows logo and action bars area.

So I decided to run a scandisk to repair the drive, however when I put in my XP cd to boot, it shows me an error. Usually if I put in my XP cd, it will boot and allow me to run the recovery console, but this time it just shows an error, when I click any key after it says boot from cd.

The error is

TRAP 000000011 cr2= cr3=

etc.. etc.. I didn;t copy i.

I did a search on google and it "seems" it could be a hardware issue.

Heads up, I haven't used the PC in 2 months. I've been away on a trip and the PC worked fine for 1-2 weeks and now is having issues.

I checked the CPU area and it's FULL of dust along with the fan.

I'm thinking of cleaning up the dust and trying to move the ram in different slots.

Possibly also using safe mode for settings within the bios.

Anything else that I could do?

 

Cleaning out the system is a good idea, I'm not sure if you need to move the memory around just yet but if you decide to do so make sure the contacts are clean also (use a pencil eraser and rub down the contacts not across). Whilst spring cleaning D it's winter here) clear dust from your PSU outlet. Use a can of compressed air not a vacuum cleaner (electronics don't like static).

After this I'd restart the system and post results

 

I cleaned the PC.. still nothing.

So I disconnected my 2nd HD and 2nd Cd Drive.

So I have the bare minimal 1 HD and 1 CD drives running.

I was able to boot with the XP cd this time. I ran the recovery console and did a chkdsk on my C:

It ran it smoothly and DID find errors. I then exited the console and loaded windows normally. It loaded fine and all, but now I have a small issue....

I just noticed I have no start/taskbar near the bottom of the screen? Even the start button on the keyboard doesn't do anything???

eg. I can't shutdown properly.

other than that, right now the PC is running fine without the extra cd drive and 2nd HD.

I'm starting to wonder if I have a corrupt system file?

 

the "explorer" process is running? if not press CTRL+ALT+DEL and in File put Explorer.exe and hit Ok

if the explorer is present, try to close it using task manager , and restart it

 

Have you tried doing a repair install using the XP CD?

 

DId that and it didn't do anything....

WILDFIRE: I haven't done a repair install yet.. I'm thinking of doing that right now.

I just ran the System File Checker and it didn't seem to find any corrupt files.

 

Well I re-ran CHKDSK and it found a bunch of bad clusters and fixed them.

I started windows and the same issue... no taskbar.

Other than that everything seems to be working fine.

So, I'm not sure what to do at this point.

EDIT: Another thing I noticed. I can't seem to copy and paste..?

I guess I have no choice but to boot the XP cd up and run the repair cycle.

 

First things first - Backup all your critical files to separate media since your HD may be failing.

 

Well windows works fine, but with the same problem.

I have NO taskbar. I can't copy/paste and I can't even drag files to back them up on my spare HD.

I'm not sure what would be causing this issue? I've searched on google and found no real solutions.

 

I would recommend using an imaging software such as Acronis True Image or Ghost. That would allow retrieving any files from the image at a later time.

Another method is to make and use a BartPE and copy any critical files to a flash drive.

Still another method, use a Ubuntu CD disk in the same way as the BartPE.

The imaging software costs about $30 while the others are free.

I'd go with Acronis since I've had very good service from all of the versions.

A Repair Install might fix your problem but to do it without any backups would be working without a net.

 

I've used Acronis before and did try to backup earlier, but the program won't run.

I did a repair now, but I'm a bit confused. Once it does the repair and restarts the PC, it says boot cd. I ignored it and was hoping it would load windows.. Instead it loaded an installation page and is asking for my product key...

Is this last part of the repair? or is it installing XP all over again?

 

Generally that's the last item to complete the repair install. Give it the key code and go for it.

I'm surprised you couldn't run Acronis from a boot media. Perhaps you only tried running it from Windows?

 

I ran Acronis from WIndows. I don't have a boot disk for it? Unless you can boot another way?

Now I let the PC finish the repair installation and It's loaded the Windows logo and has been saying "please wait" for about 15 mins. Is that normal? I hear the HD running, but the HD light isn't going off.

 

One of the features of Acronis is to make a boot disk for emergencies such as this. You can also borrow one from someone else who has the software or make one on another computer that you have it installed on. The boot disk will contain the whole program and have all the features necessary to either create an image or restore one from an archive. It wouldn't be much of a backup system without that feature.

Now your options are to wait and hope.

 

thanks for the info, I'll try it if needed. I'll try to keep a boot disk.

As for windows now, I'm wondering if the system has stalled? It still says please wait, but the HD light isn't going off? Does it normally tell you to wait for 20-30 mins for windows to load?

 

No, it wouldn't take that long. It's recommended that you remove the Cd and reboot.

Another tip is to shut down and disconnect all perhiperals such as scanner, printer, camera or whatever and try booting without them.

 

well I reboot and it "seems" like the repair cycle worked. I am installing new windows updates right now, but overall it seems to have fixed everything. I can copy and paste now and my taskbar is showing up.

"crosses his fingers" I think things look good so far.

 

One parting shot before I leave you. Use your Acronis software to create a backup image so that next time you won't have to go through the trauma of a system repair or new install and all the associated grief of installing the service packs.

A current backup image is a beautiful thing.

All the best,

Dude

 

Thanks Mate.

Last time I had this issue, I had used Acronis and created a Image. Then bought a new HD and used it. So, that saved me a bunch of hassles.

I need a new drive and that way, I can backup on a weekly or monthly basis.

Thanks for your help.

Appreciate it.