XP Won’t Boot 🙁
Repair Series Part 4: Recovery Console and Other Tools
DISCLAIMER: These examples use techniques that I actually employ in the real world to deal with real problems. They might be wrong or dangerous. They might be inefficient. If you try them yourself, it might cause damage or irreparable loss. I take no responsibility for anything you do based on my examples or the information that I provide here.
These are the tools that I almost always use to repair unbootable Windows XP computers. If you have your XP CD or access to a working XP computer, they are all free.
Windows XP Recovery Console
Boot your computer from the Windows XP CD (see the manual for your computer for instructions on booting from a CD)
When the ‘Welcome to Setup’ screen appears, press the R button on your keyboard to start the Recovery Console.
The Recovery Console will start. If you have multiple Windows installations, it will list them, and you enter the number associated with the installation you want to work on and press enter. If you have just one Windows installation, type 1 and press enter.
You will then be prompted for the Administrator’s password. If there is no password, press enter. Otherwise type in the password and then press enter.
You will now see a
C:\Windows>
prompt and you can start using the Recovery Console.
You can find information on the available commands here…
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058
Windows XP Recovery Console without a Windows XP CD
Automated Recovery CD Creator (ARCDC)
http://artellos.com/arcdc-page
PartedMagic
http://partedmagic.com/
PartedMagic Common Tools for XP Boot Repairs
TestDisk
Gparted
PhotoRec
chntpw
ddrescue
hexedit
MBR VBR analyzer
Nate’s MBR and Boot Sector Analyzer
http://www.aqfire.com/boot/
In depth information about the MBR and VBR
http://thestarman.pcministry.com/asm/mbr/Win2kmbr.htm
http://thestarman.pcministry.com/asm/mbr/NTFSBR.htm
Boot Disk for Virus/Malware scanning
Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10
http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/rescuedisk
Has an update-able virus/malware scanner
File Manager
Registry Editor
Part 2: Bootloader to Logon Issues
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