Help! desktop won't load windows xp
-
A repair install (note: NOT reinstall) doesn't wipe your HDD AFAIK, just repairs a broken OS.
-
Oh dear.
I'd get professional help if I were you, just to be certain that you don't mess up with the info on there you want. 
So I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you to start looking into backup solutions to avoid future occurrences.
-
If you have (or can get access to) a CD burner and a copy of XP then go hhere and make yourself a copy of the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows. You can then boot your computer from the CD drive and run some diagnostics. At the very least you can back up all your data files before doing any dramatic restore.
Bob
PS If you can't get a copy of Win XP then there's also a DOS/Linux version that may help but doesn't carry so many Windows tools
-
-
Unfortunately you can't just download the CD because it uses parts of Windows and MS don't like that being downloadable. However if you can beg, borrow or steal a Windows install DVD it's not at all hard to create. Step by step instructions are here.
Bob
-
Hi James,
In case you have not solved your problem yet, here is another way to create your bootable CD:
- Download DOS 6.22 boot files from here. Instead of running the downloaded file, extract it using Winzip, etc.
- Follow the instructions in this site for writing bootable CD using Nero Burning ROM. Ignore the part about contents of the 'root' folder.
- In this boot CD include a copy of l_intl.nls file from your laptop.
If you have succeeded this far, you should (hopefully) be able to boot your desktop using this CD. If it does, let it load CD-ROM support and when it reaches command prompt, looking some thing like this C:>, type:
*copy D:\l_intl.nls C:\windows\system32* and press enter (assuming D is your assigned CD drive and the file is at the root of the CD).Hope this helps.
Guite
-
James,
Before you get a professional to "recover" the files from your harddrive, there's a very easy and much cheaper DIY way of recovering your files (I found this out the hard way after spending £40 on getting my files "recovered" from a corrupted HDD). Simply open your laptop HDD panel, find out if you have an IDE or SATA HDD, go to Maplins (or any computer components store) and buy a USB 2.5" HDD enclosure- insert your HDD into the enclosure and plug it into another PC and unless your HDD is totally stuffed you should be able to access all your files just like a normal external harddrive. Most PC repair guys charge at least £25 for each "recovery" when you can buy an enclosure for less than £20 which you can use as a 2.5" external HDD or incase you or anyone you know has a corrupted HDD again.
-
You cant get to the boot menu with the 'esc' key on all computers, some of them are F2, or f12 and there are probably a few more. It will tell you when you start up. If you just watch the screen, at some point it will have a little bit of text (usually in the top right corner) that will say 'F2= boot menu' or something similar, when you get this message press F2, or whichever key, untill you get the menu up.
-
If someone doesn't know how to get into the BIOS it generally isn't a good idea to have them change anything in there. I still say, rather get a professional, pay him his money and get it done right the first time around.
-
That is correct, you'll have to delete the partition, recreate it and reinstall the OS.
-
James, while your at it you might want to look at getting a second drive (portable one, preferrably) to store your documents and other files in, rather than on your c-drive.
Advertisement