Laptop help - no boot into XP (NTFS)
Hey gang,
Here is the situation I have a friend on in a remote location. They have a laptop that won't boot. Safe-mode / last known good doesn't boot. The drive is NTFS partition. OS is XP.
They don't have a XP startup disk just a Windows ME. I know that I can't boot from the ME start-up disk. They just have their restore cdrom.
Toshiba Satellite 1905
Do we have any options?
The restore cdrom doesn't have the XP files in another format.
I know I can just put the restore cdrom back in and they would be back up and running, but I would like to avoid this at all costs.
*Also they don't have a network at home.
Thanks
Does the computer boot at all?
Does the laptop boot at all - By this I mean through the POST...
Do you get to the Windows XP splash screen? If you do, does it lock up (freeze on the splash screen) or re-boot?
If it re-boots at the splash screen the computer could be configured to re-boot automatically after an unexpected error...
Post a little more info .... Had this problem with one a few days ago and it turned out the registry was corrupted.
Couple of things to try:
Windows XP Logon Screen does not appear and the computer continually restarts
How to Recover from a corrupt registry that prevents Windows XP from starting
In my case, I couldnt use the recovery console because the user couldnt remember the admin password(!!) so I had to pull the drive out of the non-working machine and install it as a slave in a Working XP machine in order to access the NTFS partition. This would be tricky with a laptop unless you have an standard/ laptop IDE converter. Hopefully this wont be necessary in your case.
When you've finished being rude !
Quote:
Originally posted by mrl1te
Actually, I believe he is saying he doesn't have an XP "Boot" disk. There is no reference to the OEM install CD. If he has that, he is indeed in good shape. However, I believe he may have just left this information out and the case is as you implied, that he only has a restore CD.
Jeez, aren't we anal?!?
FFS ... That's entirely the problem ! He has no Boot disks ! No system disks ! So I said 'post' him some since he has no other way of 'making' one ! ....
Read the flipping thread & don't be rude to people when you are being stupid ! The original questioner quite clearly says all this ...
Quote:
They don't have a XP startup disk just a Windows ME. I know that I can't boot from the ME start-up disk. They just have their restore cdrom.
There was me 'gently' pointing out to you that you'd mis-read the thread & you accuse me of being Anal ! :rolleyes: :mad: