Startup help

[Gary Richardson]

As Ken says, your problem can be caused by a corrupted MBR (Master Boot Record) on your Hard Drive. Don't know about Command.com causing this problem, that's a new one on me.

Corrupted MBRs used to be caused by Boot Sector viruses, but they haven't really been common for quite some time. They used to be installed when exchanging files by means of floppy disks was common practice. Since that practice is no longer common, it's unlikely you've been infected. Besides disk boot sectors are now much more protected than they used to be, so BS viruses have pretty much died out.

Course there can be other reasons your MBR got corrupted.

Corrupted MBRs can sometimes be fixed using Recovery Console on your Windows Install disk. This is not without risk, and you could bork your system by doing it.

It is not something I have any personal experience of doing, which is why I directed you towards PC Pitstop, where you will be directed by people with greater expertise than me.

Instructions for it are as follows.

Boot with the XP installation CD.

When prompted, press R to repair a Windows XP installation.

If repairing a host with multiple operating systems, select the appropriate one (XP) from the menu. If you have only one operating system, enter 1 to select it.

Enter the administrator password if prompted.

To fix the MBR, use the following command:

fixmbr

This assumes that your installation is on the C:\ drive. You will be presented with several scary warning lines the reading of which will make you want to say no. Microsoft is exceptionally vague regarding the conditions under which fixmbr can cause problems although they are clear about the consequences (losing all data on the hard drive), so use this at your own risk.

Type y and ENTER to fix the MBR.

Type exit to leave the recovery console and reboot.

As you have a 2 partition disk, the above instructions may not be completely right and I don't know enough about this to help you if things go horribly wrong from using them, I still recommend you to contact PC Pitstop.


Ken, the reason your Boot.ini is different to skydog's is that your disk is not partitioned, his is. It's also XP Pro his is XP Home.

[Cameraken]

Hi Skydog.

And here
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000715.htm

Are the instructions to replace Command.com.

But, as Gary mentioned, these steps are not without risk.
It would be sensible to have a backup of your data before attempting either of these repairs. And it may be worth waiting for a response at PCPitstop before attempting them.

Good Luck.
Let us know if you find the problem.

Ken.

[skydog]

Okay...off to pitstop

The day the problem started I downloaded a new upgrade to itunes 7.3 (I did not reboot after this installation) and at another time during the day I lost power (my computer was idle). Since then, I've had the problem.

[Gary Richardson]

An uncontrolled stop (as caused by a power outage) could conceivably have caused disk damage, though modern disks are not as prone to head/disk contact as they once were.

Can't see that an iTunes update would be suspect, as long as it's from a legit update source.

[skydog]

Yesterday was Friday the 13th wasn't it.
I took my computer to a knowledgeable computer friend yesterday and he suggested an XP repair - the repair ended up as an XP installation which wiped out the everything I had on my hard drive -programs, favorites, fonts, plugins, you name it (fortunately, I didn't lose my photos - these are on an external drive). I guess you can imagine how I am going to spend my weekend and I feel I can get it all back. It's just those little freebees I've picked up over the years that I may not be able to find again).

So...after the installation and the wipe out the computer still would not boot and we still could not understand...then we looked. I have a closed partition on my computer that has an old floppy drive. It seems my son was recently home and installed the floppy and never removed it. When my power when off last week and the computer tried to restard when the power came back on it got hung up on this floppy. If I had only looked in this drive I could have avoided this whole @#$!@ problem. I haven't used that drive in years and I forgot it was even there.

Gary and others...thanks for the help...sometimes it's just those little things...

[Gary Richardson]

I did say check your floppy drives . However I can see how you might have overlooked it (bet you check them all next time ).

A hard lesson to learn though. Might I suggest a cattle prod is the most painful way to admonish your son. .

[skydog]

Thanks Gary...no I have a good kid...just stupid errors all around. I totally forgot about that drive. As mentioned, it is at the bottom of my tower behind a flip down panel...I never go there. Today is painful trying to reload and remember all that was lost. I've been wanting to clean up my hard drive!

[Cameraken]

Hi Skydog

A tough and time consuming lesson.

An 'expert' should have spotted this straight away.

On most PC's it is possible to switch off 'boot from floppy' in the bios to avoid this problem ever happening again. (It would also speed up the boot process and make your PC more secure)

You will need to check your computer's manual on the procedure to do so (as each computer is different), but typically you can either disable the A: drive's boot ability, or set the computer's boot sequence from A:-C: to C:-A, that is, boot from the hard disk first.

Or you may wish to wedge the cattle prod into the floppy drive slot

Hope this helps

Ken.

[Gary Richardson]

Originally Posted by skydog

Thanks Gary...no I have a good kid...just stupid errors all around. I totally forgot about that drive. As mentioned, it is at the bottom of my tower behind a flip down panel...I never go there. Today is painful trying to reload and remember all that was lost. I've been wanting to clean up my hard drive!

Only kidding about the cattle prod , don't suppose for a moment what happened was deliberate.

Been there with the reloading, it's always a pain and it's always amazing just how much stuff you forget you've got until you lose it.

Luckily I'm fanatically organised about keeping all my software installers, and backing up all the stuff I use regularly. I have stuff backed up to USB drives and secondary DVD backups just in case of problems with the USB drives.

All my personal files and pics are backed up to archive quality discs and I usually have hard copies of all the pics as well (or at least all the ones I'm bothered about).

At least you didn't lose your pics, so every cloud does have at least in some part a silver lining.

[skydog]

weekend nightmare...just had to share...

Points often discussed on formum
Always have a backup. - for my photos, fortunately, I keep two.
Always backup your favorites
Create a restoration DVD of you system
Keep a log of all your programs, plugins and serial keys
Keep organized copy of all programs and updates - you never know when a someone goes out of business.

Quick summary: 74 Windows upgrades and 63 Sony V10 computer upgrades for factory installed software...this took most of Friday and Sat morning.

After upgrades and restoration, I realized all the original software was not there. Upon search the web for the software (which is no longer available) I found that Sony had a probem with the restoration CD and a patch was available on the Sony website. I had to download the fix, create a new restoration CD (2 hours) restore and then download 74 window upgrades and 63 Sony V10 computer upgrades. On top of all this, I made another fatal error...I failed to unplug my external hard drive (backup) when I did the restore. The restore corrupted my external drive...my computer now wants to reformat my drive but I feel confident that the data is there, I just now have to figure out how to get it - again thankfully i have two backups...but I am missing some favorite music which is on the corrupted backup drive. That was basically my weekend...now on to uploading all the my software and plugins,etc.

I don't wish this experience on anyone...

On the positive side, I have clean internal drives and I'm now better organized!

[Gary Richardson]

Owwww!

I feel for you. Hope you had a fast connection for all your updates, it'd take me days with the wet string connection I've got.

It wouldn't really cos I'd use my brother in laws connection to DL them and then blow em to disk, he owes me for all the times I've fixed his box.

Painful news for your external drive though, always, always, always check the small details before hitting the go button (100% hindsight is a wonderful thing), but I bet you never need telling that in the future.

Still now you're organised any future mishaps won't seem so bad (lets hope you don't have any).

[skydog]

After two weeks I'm about 95% back. Another suggestion...save all upgrades of any software to a "backup program upgrade folder" and make sure the upgrade is clearly identified...trust me...it will save you a lot of time if you have this folder.

I made one other FATAL mistake. When I did a "system restore" which took my computer back to the state when it was first purchased, I failed to unplug my 500 GB external "backup" hard drive. When I restarted the computer, the hard drive was no longer acknowledged. The computer wanted to format it. This I didn't do!..I knew the data was still there. I just had to find a way to access it. I have gotten hold of a RECOVERY PROGRAM which has allowed me to retrive all my photos and mp3s. The downside is that nothing is organized or identified. Is any one alway of a RECOVERY PROGRAM that also identifies the item...like an mp3..I've lost the name of the song, the artist and the album.

[skydog]

http://www.cgsecurity.org/

If you know of something better let me know. This software was "free" and did find all recover all my files...however...nothing was identified or dated.

[smak]

>>>>> The computer wanted to format it. This I didn't do!..I knew the data was still there. I just had to find a way to access it.

The drive couldn't be treated as a new hardware addition? I've never added a hard drive to a system, but it must be a simple task.

[skydog]

My computer no longer acknowledges the data on the drive. I believe the drive's allocation table must be corrupt.