Windows fails to Load.

[Tezz]

Hi all, appreciate it if anyone here can help fix my PC

Here's the error i get when i try load windows xp.

" We apologize for the incovenience but, Windows did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this...."

It then gives me 5 options how to start windows

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Last Know Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked)

Start Windows Normally


The default is at "Start Windows Normally" and at the bottom it says "Seconds untill Windows starts: 25"

The 25 will count down. But will eventually load the normal Startup Page which Says Microsoft Windows Xp Professional and has the progress bar at the bottom. Then it took me to a blue screen saying 'error this computer has a uncomplete installed- then the computer instantly turns off, without giving me time to actually read the error on the blue screen. I've tried every choice at that menu and it did the same thing everytime.

Thanks alot CTH.

note- I'm using windows xp pro S2.
note2- The last thing i can remember doing on the pc was a full defragment with VoptXP.

[Billy_Black]

The default is at "Start Windows Normally"

Wrong choice as obviously it's not working.

Try 'Safe Mode', if that gets you there all is not lost.

Reboot and use the arrow keys to highlight Last Known Good Configuration, and then press ENTER. See if that helps.

Also note that the need to defrag NTFS drives is way over rated, that's a hold over from FAT32 days. I'd stick to XP's native defragger and only rarely defrag as there is really no measurable performance gains from the fancy defraggers or defragging in general, but there is always the chance for file corruption.

[Miz]

Since you've tried all the options on the boot menu....

If you have an XP installation CD, boot the computer with the XP disk in the CD drive. If your computer didn't come with any disks, please post back in this thread with the make and model of your computer (Example: Dell Dimension, Compaq Presario, etc.)

If it ignores the CD and goes back to the boot menu, you will need to get into the BIOS (also called Setup) and move the CD drive up to first in the boot device order.

Once you've got it booting to the CD, choose the option to Repair the first time it's offered.

After loading a bunch of stuff, it will end up in the Recovery Console which looks somewhat like DOS.

Once in the Recovery Console, type "chkdsk /r" (without the quotes, with the space before the slash), press the Enter key on the keyboard.

The scan can take quite a while so be patient. It may appear to start over one or more times. Be patient.

When the scan has finished, type "exit" (without the quotes) and press the Enter key.

Hopefully, chkdsk found and repaired the errors and it'll boot on into Windows.