XP crash - is recovery possible?

I have a rather old XP box that started acting squirrelly yesterday morning. When I booted up, ZoneAlarm and AVG icons did not appear in the system tray, even though the processes were running. I rebooted, and ZoneAlarm seemed OK, but still no AVG. One of my kids tried to play a non-internet educational game and it would not run, said missing files. So I ran Malware Bytes and Spybot. Malware Bytes came back clean, Spybot fixed a few things, then said it needed to reboot to remove a final piece of spyware. When I rebooted, it was stuck on the Welcome screen, then got the STOP bsod. Booted into safe mode and tried to do a system restore, but it didn't respond when I clicked "Next" after selecting the date to restore to. Rebooted again, and now cannot even get into safe mode. It says: "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM". Used my XP CD to try and repair, but it says it cannot find Windows on the hard drive… never a good sign. Found a Microsoft Support article for the exact boot error I get, telling me to backup files and delete them after booting off the CD and going into the C: prompt through the recovery console, but even when I just do a "dir" at the C:\ prompt, I get "There is no floppy disk or CD in the drive." It's like my system doesn't recognize the hard drive. I tried looking around in BIOS, but it all seemed to point to the hard drive. BIOS is my weakness. :-s Is there any hope here or is recovery of any data beyond the realm of possibility? It seems like the computer lost my hard drive, but I don't know how to tell it how to find it, or if it is possible.

Hi laborday95,
Welcome to the WTT forums, Sorry to hear of the problems with your Win XP machine.
If you can't get into Windows at all, and trying safe mode or safe mode with command prompt or last good configuration doesn't help, then a further step would be to consider doing a repair install…. However you have tried that and it looks as though your computer is not recognizing your hard drive….. This could be bad news….
Here's some suggestions for you:

1 If there is any data that is important to you on the computer… stuff that your wouldn't want to lose, and you find that your back up is not working or does not include some important data files then it might be wise before you do anything else to try and copy the files off to removable media.
2 To do this you could remove the hard drive and either by utilising a caddy (USB) or coupling up the hard drive to another working machine as a "slave" see if you can copy off the files using the other working computer.(post back if you need detailed instructions on how to do that) but do please remember you must take all personal safety and ESD (antistatic) precautions when working on your computer…post back if you are in any doubt and require specific directions….
3 as an alternative you could run a live distro of Linux on the XP machine and see if Linux can mount your hard drive….if Puppy doesn't allow you to access your hard drive then its definitely not looking too good …but you can move to Step 5 and check/repair your hard drive (some faults are repairable, whilst others, alas are not…however the disc checking utilities linked to in step 5 will do their best!)
4 If you are not too familiar with live distros of Linux here's some notes that gives you the steps you need to take.

A) Linux Puppy Now, here's the detailed instructions on how to do it:
B.) Download Linux Puppy from here:
ftp://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/puppy-4.3.1/
It's a download of only just over 100MB, (110,043,136) and the version I recommend you to use is:
pup-431.iso
A broadband connection is advisable for the download… Puppy is an alternative operating system….. it does not need Windows to run, and the licence to use it is free of charge and comes included automatically. It is different in its interface from Windows, but sufficiently intuitive for most folks to use it successfully without problem.
C.) Burn the iso (that you have downloaded) to CD ROM as an "image"…it must be as an image, a copy will not work!……..Imgburn is good for this, available from here:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
D.) Switch on your "original" computer and Set Bios to Boot from CD as first priority…on most Dells it's F2 to enter the Bios (set up) otherwise try F12, Esc or Del.NOTE you will need to press the appropriate key (to enter the Bios) immediately after power on.
Your hard drive should be next in priority followed by USB/network if the settings provide these options. Remember to save your altered settings in the Bios before exiting
E.) With your external back up media plugged in to a USB port I.E. External USB hard drive, flash drive etc and the Linux Puppy CD ROM inserted into the CD drive, close down your machine and:
F.) Boot from the CD, you may get a message to "press any key to continue booting from CD" so allow this, Now follow the on-screen Linux Puppy prompts (remember don't install it) let it run in memory, it will be quite happy doing so, and will allow you access to your Hard drive so you can copy off to your external media anything you need. You will soon get used to Puppy and you'll find that you will be able to use the Internet and do most things that you want to do. However as you need to back up your files, I suggest you concentrate on copying off your important stuff first.

5 Once you have got all your important stuff safely copied off to removable media (a USB external hard drive is ideal but an ordinary flash drive (memory stick) will do if the capacity is enough for your material) then you can try and see if there is anyway you can get your hard drive working properly…. here's how:
HARD DRIVE CHECK
It may be wise to check your hard drive with the manufacturer's disc checking utility available from here:
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
Burn the CD (bootable) using imgBurn as set out in para C above and boot from ithe CD you have createdt ….first run the short test and if this OK then the long test…..

Hopefully there will be no errors found,,, but if there are and the hard drive utility can't repair them, then it probably means your hard drive is beginning to fail ( or has actually failed) so in that case its best to just fit a new one (they are very cheap and easy to fit, reinstall Windows and your applications and copy across your important stuff from your copies/back ups.

Regards
paws

Wow, that's a lot to digest!! Thanks so much. I do not know how to mount the hard drive to another computer (we have several computers) with a USB caddy to make it a slave. Do I need to buy hardware or a cable to do that? Instructions for that would be helpful. Also, can I do the hard drive check first using the tack tech utility, or is it better to try and get the data off of it through Linux or making it a slave drive first? Thanks for this helpful information!

Hi laborday95,

"Mounting" the hard drive is something Puppy Linux does. It's a form of "recognizing" the hard drive, not a cable attachment technique.
Puppy Linux installs into your RAM, not your hard drive. After booting-up it needs to "mount" the partition (or hard drive) with XP on it, so it can recognize it and transfer you personal data folders to a USB flash or hard drive.

As you have a few computers, the best choice of action from the several Paws suggested, would be to remove the hard drive from the crashed PC and install it into one of your other computers as a 2nd hard drive. It then becomes a "slave" hard drive. When, you boot that PC up you will notice a 2nd drive if you click on Start / My computer. You should be able to access your important data folders like my documents, music, my pictures, mail, bookmarks etc. Copy or move them to the good computer's hard drive.

Be very careful working inside a computer case. Make sure it is turned off and the power cord is unplugged. Also make sure you earth yourself by keeping one hand in contact with the metal case somewhere to avoid static electricity build up.

Cheers,
Lee

Hi laborday95, To follow up, Yes you can run the hard drive check first if you wish…… the downside is that if its on the verge of failing then the harddrive check/repair might just push it over the edge,so this is why I recommend getting any important data copied off as no 1 priority…however as always its your call… If Puppy cant "See" your hard drive or you can't get another Windows machine to be able to access your hard drive then you don't really have too much choice… In these circumstances if using a caddy or slaving the drive using a known good working computer its always worth running chkdsk /r x from a command prompt…… when x is the drive letter of the slave drive (substitute its actual drive letter for x), but do make sure that the spaces are correct …they need to be there! Best of luck Regards paws

Thank you both for the valuable information. I am excited to report Linux Puppy was able to see my drive, and I am in the process of copying my data off onto an extra external drive I have. No idea why Windows can't see the drive, but hey, that's Microsoft. While in LInux Puppy (before I backed up my data), I tried to copy some corrupted files from the c:\repair directory per instructions on a Microsoft KB article, which allowed me to at least get to a Windows boot menu, but when I tried to boot into safe mode, I got the BSOD. Tried to boot off my XP CD and let windows do a repair, but again, still does not recognize I have a drive with Windows on it. It wants to do a clean install. After all my data gets backed up, I'm going to boot off the Seagate hard drive diagnostic/repair tools CD I got from Paws' link and let it try to repair my Seagate ATA drive. If that doesn't work, I will just take the least enjoyable option of reinstalling Windows, all my software, and restoring the data from my backup. Better than having to buy a new hard drive! Thank you both! Linus Puppy was just what I needed. Eternally grateful!

One more question… Linux saw the drive fine, I ran Seagate's diagnostic tool, both the short and long test, and they both said the drive was fine. Is there anything else I can do to get Windows running again without reinstalling from scratch?

Hi laborday95,
That's good to hear that at least Puppy has enabled you to save some of your important stuff
Well done!

Try the Segate utility once you are happy all your important stuff is safe….you may need to run it twice with a restart in between….
however if there is still no joy with Windows then there's not a lot you can do if your computer can't see your hard drive is present but here are some steps you might like to consider:

1 Enter the BIOS on your computer make a written note of all the settings so you could put them all back to how they are if necessary and note particularly if the hard drive is shown as being present…if so reset your BIOS to "default" or "conservative" and save the changes Exit and reboot (wording may differ slightly according to your BIOS…) if you hard drive is not being shown in the BIOS then post back and we can make further suggestions…..
2 Please advise if your hard drive is connected SATA or IDE…… your computer's specs or data sheets will tell you, as will the hard drive checking utility you used earlier (Seatools)
3 Try the steps here:

In these circumstances if using a caddy or slaving the drive using a known good working computer its always worth running
chkdsk /r x
from a command prompt……

chkdsk can often save the day in these sort of situations.
4 Try to borrow another XP installation disc from a chum, (make sure its the correct version (Home, Pro or Media Centre) and an original genuine Microsoft one…..and of the correct or near similar level of Service Pack (the service pack level can be overcome if necessary …but it's more work for you..!) Try this dics as it may enable you to boot into Windows safe mode or a command prompt….. let us know how things go.

5 Otherwise then its probably quicker to do a reinstall………. check to see if you have a Recovery Partition on your hard drive it will be just a few Gb in size and almost full….. it will probably be labelled in d: but may be hidden…. however Puppy should be able to sniff it out……

Some computers allow this Recovery Partition to abe accessed by a particular key stroke Dell for example may be F2 or Acer may be Alt+F10 etc..there are more key combinations to access the Recovery Partition than you can shake astick at so it pays to check your handbood or owners manual…
Regards
paws

I tried to do a repair from my Windows XP cd, and it says the partition is either too large or damaged and it wants to format it. :-O Then when I rebooted, all I got was a blank black screen with a blinking cursor in the top left corner. I booted from the cd again and went to recovery console, and typed chkdsk /r x, but it did not like the x parameter. So I just did chkdsk /r and it cam back with: "The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems." Do I need to worry about the recovery partition? Or just format the whole thing and move on? Windows install didn't seem to find any partitions. Even if Puppy finds it, what do I do with it? Sorry to be so dense. :-s Oh, forgot to add, made marginal progress by changing the BIOS setting for my SATA drive from AHCI to Combination. My final question is, should I even reinstall windows to this drive? Will formatting and reinstalling work, or is the drive itself bad and in need of replacement? Thanks again Paws!

During install, delete all existing partitions, create one single partition spanning the whole disk, format it and try the install again. If it doesn't work replace the hard drive.