Tina Norris Fields
tinanfields at torchlake.com
Sun Jan 16 13:55:51 CST 2011
Me again, Did a little searching and found some information about using the Recovery Console. Started a chkdsk without switches, which got stuck at about 50%. Restarted the whole shebang, and this time when I got to the Recovery Console, the two installations of Windows were listed - they had not been listed in any of the previous visits to this console. I logged in to the first Windows installation and am now running chkdsk /r - we'll see how that goes. Still looking for any great ideas you guys have. T Tina Norris Fields wrote: > Hi Guys, > > Maybe you can help me bring a computer back to life. It's a dual boot > setup – Win 2000 Pro and Win XP Home. It began its life as a Win 2000 > Pro, and was updated with the second operating system added on a > couple of years later. The Win 2000 Pro was kept because of a game > that wouldn't play on Win XP. > > This computer belongs to our kids, Cheryl Lynn and Brad, and their > family. It's sitting here in my office until they finish putting > together their library and study area in their house. The girls often > use it to do homework and to visit online with their friends. Three > days ago, I saw it had the awful blue screen of almost death – the one > that says if this is the first time you've seen this screen, reboot, > otherwise go get professional help or call the undertaker because your > computer is dead – or something to that effect. > > I rebooted. It reached the point where Win XP should start and > stopped. It displayed this message: > > "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or > corrupt: system32\DRIVERS\pci.sys > You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using > the original Setup CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start > repair." > > I thought I'd try the other operating system. When Win 2000 tried to > start, it displayed this message: > > "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or > corrupt: > <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll > Please re-install a copy of the above file." > > I had to find my way into the BIOS to switch the boot sequence – by > guess and by golly to find which function key it needed (I think it > ended up being F2, but I'm not sure), because it was A:, C:, D: - and > I needed D: to come before C: Got that done, and put in the Setup > CD-ROM and booted. > > Setup went through a process of loading lots of files, then came to > the first screen. I selected the 'r' choice. It brought me to what > looked like a DOS screen with the following message: > > "Microsoft Windows XP(TM) Recovery Console. > The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality. > Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer. > C:>" and a blinking cursor > > There were no other instructions on the screen and I am not familiar > with this Recovery Console. First, I thought that perhaps some > recovery and repair functions had happened in the background and it > was time to EXIT. So, I typed EXIT and pressed ENTER and the machine > began trying to restart – of course, I still had the CD in, so we went > back around. I removed the CD and rebooted, with precisely the same > results as before. > > I have run Spin-Rite on this computer at three different levels, 2, 4, > and 5. There is a consistent uncorrectable error reported in the same > section of the partition. In the technical report screen, it is at the > far right of the screen, and it says "01." > > When the computer goes through the boot sequence, the POST sound is > fine, but when the operating system selection is made, there is a sort > of "squishy" sound that reminds me of the noise made by that failing > hard drive I worked on last year – a sort of high-pitched little > squishy peep. I think maybe the drive has a really bad spot right > where some critical operating system files are. > > I don't know what commands to use in the Recovery Console. If I did, I > would certainly give that a GO. Does anybody on this list have any > good advice – in addition to getting a new hard drive, or new computer > altogether? > > I did try to let Windows install itself, but it came back with the > message that the partition was too full or sick or something and would > have to be formatted before installation could proceed. And, no, my > kids do not have their stuff backed up from this computer, so I did > not move ahead. > > Thanks for any ideas, > > T > > _______________________________________________ > dba-Tech mailing list > dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com >