Here's my problem:
When I try to boot up, it goes through the normal screens, and then it shows a few lines of text beginning with "PPL-" then varying in what it says after that. Each line preceeds a number. The last one says "PPL-ROM-FFC" and then starts with a "1_" and blinks about three times till it changes to "2_" and continues till "5_".
After that screen, it goes to a screen that says "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but Windows did not boot up successfully..." It gives me a few options to boot up in: Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking (I think?), Safe Mode with Command Prompt, Last Known Good Boot Up Settings, and Start Windows. I have tried all of them, and they all give me the same result: It starts to go to the loading screen and then the computer automatically restarts and goes through the same process. Any ideas? Please Help!

Windows XP Home Edition (Service Pack 1)
Custom 2.4 Ghz, two hard drives, Nvidia video card
How you got to your problem (what did you do to create the problem?)
I don't know how I got the problem. If I knew, I probably would know how to fix it.
I don't know how I got the problem
Does the problem occur every time? Is it intermittant
Yes, everytime.

Try booting to the XP CD and when you get to the SECOND DOS prompt type this command. CHKDSK /R I hope this helps you.

I can't get to a DOS Prompt. I tried booting up on the CD, and it sends me to a Windows XP set up screen. It gives me a couple of options. The first is to Set up Windows XP. I have not tried that option - I am a little hesitant to do that because I don't want to lose all my files and such. The second option is something along the lines with repairing. I tried that, but it seems to hang up. The status bar reads "Examing 76294 MB Disk 0 at Id 1 on bus 0 on atapi..." I think that isn't the right hard drive though, because my hard drive which has XP loaded on it is only 40 GB.
Is it safe to try the set up option? Are there any consequences of that option? Thanks

Did you let the repair process run for a while before assuming that it hung? The disk examination phase can take a long time.

It had to have been at least 30 minutes... maybe closer to an hour.

Ok- sounds like it really is hung.

- Does your BIOS correctly identify the hard drive?

- The PPL/RPL messages are from the BIOS as it searches for bootable devices. In your BIOS setup, temporarily set the system to boot from the hard drive first, and, if possible, disable options to boot from other sources (CD-ROM, network boot, etc.). Does doing so change the symptoms of the problem at all?

- Any chance of installing the drive in another computer just to see if it boots there?

- Some people have apparently resolved issues which seemed similar to yours by resetting or flashing the BIOS, or replacing the CMOS battery. I'm not saying that would work for your particular problem, but I thought I'd put it out here anyway.

Nothing else seems to work... How do I reset or flash the BIOS? And replacing the CMOS battery... I figure that is the one on the motherboard that looks like a watch battery. Can I just get a replacement and put it in? Are they hard to get? Do I need to do anything special when I replace it? And will it cause any problems?

When I boot up on the XP CD, what will happen if I choose to set up Windows XP? Will everything be erased?

Resetting the BIOS: motherboards usually have a reset jumper on them to do this; you'd need to check the documentation for your particular motherboard for the exact procedure.

Flashing the BIOS: Upgrading/restoring the BIOS' firmware. This is done by downloading a flash upgrade utility from the website of your BIOS, motherboard, or computer manufacturer's support site. Flashing the BIOS can be dangerous though- if you apply the wrong version of BIOS software or make a mistake in the procedure, you can severely hose your computer.

The CMOS battery: yes, it's the watch-type battery (usually type CR2032) on the motherboard. They're very easy to come by (I get mine at the local drugstore) and only cost a couple of dollars. Basically you just pop out the old one and install the new, although it's a good idea to:

1. Go into your BIOS and write down your current configuration settings.

2. Unplug the computer's power before removing the battery and wait 30 minutes or more before installing the new battery. This lets any residual charge dissipate from the system, which essentially is the same as a BIOS reset- the BIOS is restored to factory default settings.

After installing the new CMOS battery, you will probably have to go into the BIOS setup and tweak some of the settings (such as date and time).


As far as the XP setup goes: if the install CD does detect the installation on your hard drive it will give you the option of upgrading that installation (which will leave your data intact), or performing a fresh install (which will reformat the partition, erasing everything). You might want to try the upgrade; it could replace damaged files in your current install with fresh ones, but mileage does vary.