How to troubleshoot Windows XP startup failures

1. Use Windows Startup Disk

If the startup problem is caused by a corrupted boot record for the active partition or the file being used by the operating system startup, the boot disk can resolve the problem. The specific methods are as follows:

Create a Windows Startup disk, find a similar, working Windows XP machine, open My Computer, click the right mouse button to select the disk icon, and then select Format in subsequent menus. When the Format dialog box appears, leave all default settings, and then click the Start button. When the format operation is complete, close the Format dialog box to my Computer, double-click the icon for the C: drive, access the root directory, and copy boot.ini, NTLDR, ntdetect.com three files to disk. After you have created the Windows Startup disk, plug it into the drive on the failed system and restart the computer by [Ctrl][alt][delete].

2. Use the Last Known Good Configuration

You can also try to start the operating system with the last known Good configuration. This feature allows you to cancel any modifications made to the registry CurrentControlSet key that define hardware and drive settings. Known Good Configuration function replaces the current key value with the CurrentControlSet key value of the system's last normal boot. The specific methods are as follows:

First press the [Ctrl][alt][delete] key to restart the computer. The Windows Advanced Options menu appears on the screen when you see "Please select the operating system to start" on the screen or hear a beep from the computer and press [F8]. Select the "Last Known good Configuration" option from the menu, and then press the [Enter] key. Remember, you only have one chance to use the Last Known Good Configuration feature.

3. Perform system Recovery

Another tool that can help resolve the Windows XP startup problem is System recovery. System recovery runs in the background as a service and continuously monitors for changes in critical system components. When it finds a change about to occur, system recovery immediately precedes the change by making a backup copy of these important components named recovery points, and the default setting for system recovery is to create recovery points every 24 hours. The specific methods are as follows:

First press the [Ctrl][alt][delete] key to restart the computer. The Windows Advanced Options menu appears on the screen when you see "Please select the operating system to start" on the screen or hear a beep from the computer and press [F8]. Now select Safe Mode from the menu, and then press [Enter]. When Windows XP enters Safe mode, click the Start button, select all Program attachment System Tools menu, select System Restore. Click Next, select a recovery point, and start the recovery program.

4. Using the recovery Console

If the Windows XP startup problem is more serious. You can use the Windows XP CD to boot the system and then use a tool called the Recovery Console. The following are specific practices:

Insert the Windows XP CD in the failed computer's CD-ROM drive, and then press [Ctrl][alt][delete] to restart the computer. Once the system is booted from a CD, it is easy to load the basic files needed to start up when prompted. When you see the Welcome to Setup interface, press R to enter recovery Console. Then you'll see the Recovery Console menu. It displays the folder that contains the operating system files and prompts you to select the operating system you intend to log on to. You need to enter the serial number on the keyboard, and then you will be prompted to enter the administrator password, and you will go to the main Recovery Console prompt page.

5. Repair of damaged Boot.ini

As the Windows XP operating system loads, the NTLDR program points to the Boot.ini file to determine where the operating system files are located and which startup options to choose. So if the Boot.ini file is out of the question, the Windows XP system will not start. You can use the Recovery Console special version of the bootcfg tool to fix it. Of course, you must first reboot the system with the Windows XP CD, and follow the instructions in #4 to open the recovery Console. You can call the bootcfg tool this way: After recovery the console command prompt, enter Bootcfg/parameter here/parameter is one of these required parameters:

/ADD: Scans all Windows installations to help you add any new content to the Boot.ini file.

/scan: Search for all Windows installations.

/list: Lists all the entries for the Boot.ini file.

/default: Set the default operating system as the primary boot portal.

/rebuild: Completely recreate the Boot.ini file. The user must confirm each step.

/redirect: Allows the operating system to use the headless administration function, the startup operation can be redefined to a specific port. The redefinition includes two parameters: [Port baudrate] [usebiossettings].

/disableredirect: Disable redirection.

6. Repair the damaged partition boot record

The partition boot sector is a small part of the hard disk partition that contains information about the file system in the operating system and a small machine language program, which is critical to help the operating system start. If you suspect that the Windows XP system startup problem is caused by the partition boot sector, you can fix it by using a tool called fixboot in the Recovery Console. First, start the system with the Windows XP CD and open the recovery Console as described in #4. You can call the Fixboot tool like this: After recovery the console command prompt, enter fixboot [drive]: [drive] represents the partition where you want the newly created partition boot sector to be located.

7. Repair the damaged primary boot sector

The primary boot sector occupies the first sector of the hard disk and is responsible for the window startup program. The primary boot sector contains a disk partition table and a small program called the primary boot code that locates activity 0, bootable disks, and partitions in the partitioned table. Once it is compromised, partition boot sector will take over and start loading Windows. If the primary boot sector is corrupted, partition boot sector cannot do this, and Windows cannot start.

If you suspect that the startup problem with the Windows XP system is caused by a corrupted primary boot sector, you can use the Fixmbr tool in the Recovery Console to fix it. First, start the system with the Windows XP CD and open the recovery Console as described in #4. You can call the Fixmbr tool this way: After recovery the console command prompt, enter fixmbr [Device_name]:[device_name] is the pathname of the device where you want the new primary boot sector to reside. For example, the command for the device pathname to be formatted according to the standard bootable drive C disk is this: DeviceHardDisk0.

8. Disable automatic restart

If Windows XP encounters a fatal error, the default setting for handling this error is to automatically reboot the system. If the error occurred during the Windows XP startup process, the operating system would fall into a restarted dead loop-restarting repeatedly and not returning to normal. In this case, you need to disable the automatic restart feature. When Windows XP starts, when you see "Please select the operating system to start" or hear a beep, press [F8] to open the Windows Advanced Options menu. Then, choose to disable automatic restart when the system fails, and then press [Enter]. Now that Windows XP hangs when it encounters a problem, it gives a stop message that you can use to diagnose the problem.

9. Restore Backup

If you can't fix a Windows XP system with startup failures, but with the most recent backup, you can restore the system from the backup media. The method used to recover the system depends on the backup tool you are using, so you need to restore the system according to the instructions of the Backup tool.

10. Perform in-place upgrades

If you can't fix a Windows XP system that has a startup problem, and you don't have a backup recently, you can do a in-place upgrade. Reinstall the operating system in the same folder as if you were upgrading from one version of Windows to another version of Windows. In-place upgrades can at least solve the vast majority of problems if they do not solve all of the Windows startup problems. Concrete procedure into the following:

Insert the Windows XP CD into the drive and restart your system from the CD. After the initial preparation is complete, you will see the Windows XP installation screen. Press [Enter] to enter the Windows XP installer. Soon you will see the License Agreement page and then press [F8] to confirm that you agree with the agreement. The installer then searches the hard drive for Windows XP that was previously installed. When it finds a previously installed Windows XP, you will see a second Windows XP installation interface appearing on the screen. The interface prompts you to press R to repair, or you can reinstall Windows XP by pressing the [ESC] key. In this case, the repair system is the same as the In-place upgrade, so you can fix it by pressing the R key. After you choose, the installer checks the disk on which the system resides and then starts performing the In-place upgrade. After In-place upgrade or repair the system, you must reinstall all the Windows7 updates.