Member Avatar for usonian55077

Hi all. I did my due diligence and found threads with similar and related symptoms, but, they didn't point me in the right direction, so I'm creating this new thread.

I've got a Toshiba Tecra 8100 running XP. I somehow got infected with a Trojan Horse. Eventually I got rid of it using Avanquest's Fix-it Utilities 8.

I do NOT have the XP Install disks - I bought this thing used off of Craigslist.

After I uninstalled my wireless modem, I restarted it in Safe Mode and it just shut down.

Now, I get this endless loop where I power on, I get the "We are sorry for the inconvenience,but Windows did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this.

If your computer stopped responding, restarted unexpectedly, or was automatically shut down to protect your files and folders, chose Last Known Good Configuration to revert to the most recent settings that worked.

If a previous startup attempt was interrupted due to a power failure or because the power or reset button was pressed, or if you aren't sure what caused the problem, chose Start Windows Normally.

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Last Known Good Configuration(your most recent setting that worked)

Start Windows Normally

Use the up and down key to move the highlight of your choice.
Seconds until Windows Starts: 30" message.

No matter what I choose, it starts with the Windows loadup image, then it flashes a blue screen with something about a memory dump for a split second, then the loop starts over.

The Avanquest disk I have does have a rescue startup on it that I've used successfully on other computers. But, this laptop won't let itself start from a CD, even if I specify CD when I hit F2 upon startup.

What can I do?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Member #248785

Dani AI

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As reported, the laptop is stuck in a boot loop and the usual rescue disc route isn’t working; is right that repairing the disk/boot area can fix many of these symptoms. Because the machine refuses to boot your rescue media reliably, focus first on alternate ways to reach the disk and on hardware checks that can mimic a software failure.

Quick BIOS/boot checks to try before opening the case: use the one‑time boot menu key (Toshiba models commonly use F12 or Esc) rather than F2 (setup), set the optical drive as the first boot device, disable any “quick/fast boot” option, and try the rescue disc in a different external USB optical drive. If the disc boots on another PC but not this laptop, the internal burner may be failing.

If CD boot still fails, remove the hard drive and work on it from another machine. Attach it via a SATA-to-USB adapter or enclosure, immediately copy critical personal data, then run offline checks and repairs from that host Windows machine. Useful Repair commands (run from an elevated command prompt or the Windows Recovery Console when appropriate):

chkdsk /r X:
fixmbr
fixboot C:

Run chkdsk /r against the drive letter assigned on the working PC (replace X:). Use fixmbr/fixboot only from Recovery Console or a Windows PE environment against the original system drive.

Also test RAM and hardware: run Memtest86 (bootable) to rule out bad memory (memory errors often produce short blue‑screen dumps). If data is the priority and repairs look risky, back up and order vendor recovery media or borrow a working XP setup disc. Last resort after backups: swap the HDD and optical drive (or replace the drive), then rebuild the OS.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Member #248785

You need to get your hands on a Windows XP setup disk.

Here is an excerpt from Microsoft:

If you cannot start your computer, you can run the Recovery Console from the Microsoft Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD-ROM

Member Avatar for Member #248785

You need to run the console to run a CHKDSK on your local drive to find and fix the error that is causing this problem.

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