Help! PC keeps rebooting

bobdauilda

I ran a system chkdsk command whilst in safe mode etc on windows XP . It started to do this on rebooting but then halted halfway and stopped. Now the damn thing wont start again- it gets to the windows home page for about 5seconds and then reboots continuously. It wont even start in safe mode or go back to the good config.....any ideas? I dont want to lose all the data on my c drive as theres loads of letters/cv/photos etc on there .....Is my only option a drive reformat with reinstall of xp?

bingo_bango

No......do that and you will almost certainly have a few problems reclaiming files. It'll be much easier to get your hands on a Linux boot CD and use the apps on it to find out what the problem is and resolve it.
Insert is a live Linux http://www.inside-security.de/insert_en.html (runs from the CD) which has disk tools on it. Alternatively you could also get UltimateBoot CD, pretty much the same thing. http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

bobdauilda

I have a windows OS not Linux though....or will it work for xp too?

bingo_bango

The Linux OS will run from the CD, and therefore doesn't require any version of Windows. It's an OS in it's own right. It's totally independent of Windows, and therefore doesn't require it. Basically, when you start your PC, it will load the Linux OS from the CD, and run it from your RAM (Insert takes about 45Mb of RAM to run). There will then be a list of Disk Tools available for you to use, and normally there will be one to recover 'lost' partitions. These should resolve whatever issue is affecting your windows boot sequence.

bobdauilda

thanks bingo- i am using the first one you recommended but it looks v complex! Havent a clue how to restore my system from its utilities but i will keep looking! fingers xed

bobdauilda

sorted now thanks.