Massive Problem

albertross_2

Probably, I use Erd or caddies for this type of problem, so haven't bothered with the linux route yet.

If the op can wait till tomorrow, I'll dig out some of my Linux live CD's and have a play..

seanbrown86

so would this sort of thing work?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=45440&criteria=2.5%20Laptop%20IDE%20Cable%20&doy=20m9

seanbrown86

also is it a pretty easy thing to do, to get my data off it? i only want the word files and pictures. i don't care about the 10gig or so of music

albertross_2

yes, there are some cheaper ones at maplin:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Home.aspx

Also if you have a local side street pc shop, you could probably get it cheaper.

But, if you can wait until tomorrow, and get hold of an XP disk, we may be able to work around it without spending.

albertross_2

Do you have a DVD writer built-in, and some blank DVD's and CD's?

seanbrown86

i do have both a dvd burner ad dvds, and cds

i can probably get xp tomorrow. fingers crossed.

i don't wanna risk wiping my drive tho

Browntoa

this may well fix the problem if you have the XP disk tomorrow and will not overwrite or erase any data..repair the boot sector

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm#How%20to%20Repair%20the%20Boot%20Sector:

How to Repair the Boot Sector:
If XP won't start it may be due to a damaged boot sector or a missing or corrupt ntldr or ntdetect.com files.
To replace damaged ntldr and ntdetect.com you can copy fresh files from the XP CD using the COPY command. Boot with the XP CD and enter the Recovery Console (as above). At the Command Prompt type the following (where "X" is your CD-Rom drive letter) allowing the files to overwrite the old files
COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C:
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:

To repair a damaged Boot Sector at the command prompt type FIXBOOT and press Enter. Then answer "Y"

to do the above you need to access the recovery console as follows


How to access the Recovery Console: - take this link for more informationThe Recovery Console is a set of tools which run from a Command prompt. If your system is formatted as NTFS then these tools can help you manage the partition. You can learn more about the Recovery Console through Help and Support or
Click here for information about the different commands and their functions .
To run the Recovery Console from CD boot with the Windows XP CD (or with the optional 6 floppy disk set) and select "R" at the Welcome Screen.

The screen will switch to black and you will be asked which installation to log on to. If you only have one installation you will press "1". Remember that numlock is off at this time.

Next you'll be prompted to enter your Admin password. By default it is created blank so just press Enter.

At the C:\Windows command prompt type "Help" for a list of commands you can use.

marleyboy

I had this problem a while back, it turned out it was using an alternative bootscreen that was causing the problem, i think it was windowblinds, it worked for so long i forgot i had it installed and got used to having a personal boot up screen, i got rounf it by re-installing windows on my slave drive, then repiaring the original one from there, i now have two options of xp to boot up from, should one corrupt itself.

albertross_2

If you have 6 floppies available you could try downloading the floppies in Browntoa's link. It sounds to me like the NT loaders are ok because it gets past that point, so I'd try a chkdsk first to rule out any logical drive corruption.

seanbrown86

how do i do the disc check if i can't get into the command prompt screen?

sorry if i sound stupid, i'm tired and not very good at this sort of thing.

The best option might be to do the usb thing, i can pick and choose files off it? nand is it like a usb key in the way it'll operate and work if i connect it a computer thats running XP?