PC won't boot - registry?? Help please

floyd77 · 13-03-2006, 12:01

My PC (running XP Pro) will not boot up. It goes only so far into the load sequence but stalls before windows is loaded. I can press F8 and ask it to load in safe mode but still nothing happens.

Last time it was used was to load AnyDVD and was re-starting the PC. I think it may have changed the registry.

Any ideas?

GabbleRatcht · 13-03-2006, 12:24

Does it boot to the bios and then stop or can you load windows to a certain point? If you can get to the 'safe mode' load option, I assume your hard drive is still working.

HotPhil · 13-03-2006, 13:01

Is anything at all displayed on the screen? How long have you left it to have a think?

floyd77 · 13-03-2006, 13:08

No windows at all - It scrolls through the usuall BIOS stuff, but then just stops with a blank screen.

I left it for a few hours while I went out but still nothing when I came back. Like I say, I can get it to ask me if I want to load in safe mode, but it wont actually do it!

To be a bit clearer - I was installing a program (AnyDVD) and had to re-boot the PC to complete the install. A message was displayed telling me that changes would be made to the registry before it shutdown. Can I undo this change without being able to get into windows?

HotPhil · 13-03-2006, 13:16

Difficult to know without actually seeing it, but if you can get to the option to start in Safe Mode and then it dies it might be a display res problem. Do you have another (higher-spec) monitor you can try it on? Then again, I would've thought the Safe Mode video settings should display OK. I fear it may be more serious than that.

xircon · 13-03-2006, 13:21

1>. Have you got system restore enabled? Can you go back to a recent system restore point?

2>. Have you got any USB devices plugged in - my XP pro m/c doesn't like my ipod or my thumb drive.

HTH

Steve

floyd77 · 13-03-2006, 13:33

I have nothing pluged into it that it has not been happy with before - I cant load anything on it, safe mode, last known good config etc.

Is there anything else to try, or is it dead?

xircon · 13-03-2006, 14:01

Boot up the computer press "f8" key a lot to get the menu where safe mode is.

Can't remember exact wording - something about last known good configuration
select this and follow it through.

Steve

HotPhil · 13-03-2006, 15:56

And regardless of if the peripherals have been attached OK before, unplug ALL of them except keyboard, mouse and screen.

floyd77 · 13-03-2006, 16:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by xircon

Boot up the computer press "f8" key a lot to get the menu where safe mode is.

Can't remember exact wording - something about last known good configuration
select this and follow it through.

Steve

See previous post.....

Quote:

I cant load anything on it, safe mode, last known good config etc.

Cheers for the suggestion though.

mega_monty · 13-03-2006, 16:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by floyd77

I have nothing pluged into it that it has not been happy with before - I cant load anything on it, safe mode, last known good config etc.

Is there anything else to try, or is it dead?

Had exactly the same thing myself about a month ago, XP failed to load, couldn't get it into safe mode, I also tried last known good config and recovery console but to no avail, all I could get was the XP logo then it would just stop. In the end I just thought sod it and reformatted and reinstalled XP, luckily I had backed up my pc so I hadn't lost any data, just a bit of a ball ache having to install everything again.

melthebell · 13-03-2006, 18:17

may have to try this (you may lose your desktop stuff and preferences etc tho)

How To Do A Repair Install Of Windows XP

* Make sure the BIOS is set to boot from the CD (put the CD above the HD in the boot order)
* Insert the XP CD and boot to it
* When you see " To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER", go ahead and press ENTER
* You will now see an option to repair Windows by pressing "R". Do not select this option - it will only take you to the Recovery Console which is not what we want to do. Instead, choose to continue the installation
* When you see the license agreement, press F8 to agree
* On the next screen make sure your current XP installation is selected and then press "R" to repair XP
* At this point XP will begin to install on top of itself, replacing damaged, missing or altered system files. Follow the instructions on the remaining screens to complete the Repair Install. It will look very much like a normal (new) OS installation.

If all goes well your repaired XP installation will remain intact, keeping your personalized settings and installed programs as they originally were.
You should also reinstall any Microsoft updates.

Remember, choose the second repair option, not the first!

floyd77 · 13-03-2006, 21:07

I have no XP disc.

Bummer.

Ann* · 13-03-2006, 21:14

This happened to me last year, and it turned out that my HD was full after having to do two recoveries in a relatively short space of time, and hadn't been able to delete all the unnecessary stuff in the meantime.

This meant that I couldn't another recovery using the first or second options, and had to do a clean install, which meant I lost of lot of documents that I hadn't backed-up to disk.

At least now I know that, if I ever have to do another recovery, I should delete all the unnecessary stuff straight away.

Savannah2 · 13-03-2006, 22:25

Quote:

This happened to me last year, and it turned out that my HD was full after having to do two recoveries in a relatively short space of time, and hadn't been able to delete all the unnecessary stuff in the meantime.

I would personally recommend using Acronis and either turning off or uninstalling system restore.
First i do a clean install of OS and then make a copy using Acronis and then another copy when all relevant updates and software are installed.
Also an advantage is if you have a virus, nasty piece of spyware or just want to ensure a clean uninstall of trial software....just use Acronis
Have done many restores including baremetal and works both on my Linux and Windoze machines.
A clean install on my C:drive{10gig) takes 2 min

daleam · 14-03-2006, 09:20

It could be the MBR thats gone bad. You should try rewriting it. But IIRC you need to be able to get to the recovery console to do it, and you can't because you havn't got an XP disc.
So i'll ... just shut up now

floyd77 · 28-03-2006, 18:29

Ok - got my PC back today, working fine (gave it to a man 'in the know' at work). He said he re-installed windows, and that fixed the problem, and it seems to have done the trick, as everything is back exactly the way it was before.

Can anyone guess as to how he did this?? How do I do this myself next time it goes wrong?? Can (how?) I create another disc to restore windows if it goes belly up again?

Cheers

GabbleRatcht · 28-03-2006, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by floyd77

Ok - got my PC back today, working fine (gave it to a man 'in the know' at work). He said he re-installed windows, and that fixed the problem, and it seems to have done the trick, as everything is back exactly the way it was before.

Cheers

?
Do you mean you still have all your data/programs, or just a working machine that's blank?

Savannah2 · 28-03-2006, 19:12

Quote:

How do I do this myself next time it goes wrong?? Can (how?) I create another disc to restore windows if it goes belly up again?

Yes...see my post Here last one on page.

floyd77 · 29-03-2006, 08:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by GabbleRatcht

?
Do you mean you still have all your data/programs, or just a working machine that's blank?

Yes, still have all my data / programs etc.

Quote:

Yes...see my post Here last one on page.

Doh! - Cheers!