Member Avatar for wippy

Hi can someone help me. I am having problems with getting windows xp to start. When I restart my computer the fallowing message appears
We apologise for the inconvience, but windows did nto start successfully. A recent hardware or software change might have cause this.
I have tried all the options to restart the computer but the same message keeps on appearing. Please help as all my uni work is on there and I have not made a backed up copy.

  • 3 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 115 Views
  • 18 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Merlin33069

Dani AI

Generated

A practical triage plan before attempting repairs (priority: get your files off the disk)

and are right to suspect disk/boot problems and to look for an OEM recovery option, but the first step is to protect data. Do not run destructive repairs or reinstall Windows until personal files are backed up. The quickest non-destructive approach is to boot the laptop from a USB “live” system and copy your documents to an external drive.

How to copy files without Windows

  1. On another PC, download a current Ubuntu Desktop ISO and write it to a USB stick (tools such as Rufus make this easy).
  2. Boot the Sony from that USB (use the laptop’s boot-menu key — check the manual) and choose “Try Ubuntu” (no install).
  3. In the live desktop open the file manager, mount the Windows partition and copy your Documents, Desktop and any other folders to an external USB drive. Do not run repair tools from the live session until you have a backup.

Basic disk health checks (non-destructive)
Use a SMART utility from the live session to see if the hard drive is failing. The smartmontools/GSmartControl utilities show reallocated sectors, pending sectors and self-test results. A quick SMART read is often enough to decide whether to attempt repairs or go straight to data recovery.

If the drive is inaccessible or SMART shows failure
Power down and remove the drive (or have a shop do it). Connect it to another machine with a SATA-to-USB adapter/enclosure to attempt file copy or send the drive to a professional if the data is critical. Once data is safe, firmware/boot-file repairs, OEM recovery or a clean install can be considered.

Helpful docs:

If unsure about any step, a local technician can do a non-destructive rescue to avoid accidental data loss.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

hello,using the windows cd ,boot to the recovery console and d oa check disk , use this command when you get to the prompt..

chkdsk /r
The chkdsk command checks the specified drive and repairs or recovers the drive if the drive requires it. The command also marks any bad sectors and it recovers readable information.

check this ,
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000627.htm

Member Avatar for wippy

Hi Thankyou for responding, but unfortunately I do not have a CD as my windows xp came installed by the laptop manufactors Sony. Is there any other way to fix this problem without the CD.

Member Avatar for caperjack

Hi Thankyou for responding, but unfortunately I do not have a CD as my windows xp came installed by the laptop manufactors Sony. Is there any other way to fix this problem without the CD.

depending on the age of the laptop ,you should have been giving the option of creating a disk .
anyway check here to obtain bootable floppies,i know you don't have a floppy drive lol.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310994

Member Avatar for Merlin33069

can we get the exact make and model, if so it MIGHT have a built in recovery partition built into it, SOMETIMES these recovery partitions give you the option to repair without losing data, if not, you may be able to download and burn just recovery console, (tiny) onto a cd or copy to a flash, and do so that way

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.