Friday, February 27, 2009

Windows XP common errors and their fixes

1.Hal.dll missing or corrupt.

If you get an error regarding a missing or corrupt hal.dll file, it might simply be the BOOT.INI file on the root of the C: drive that is misconfigured
1.Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
2.At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3.Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
4.Type bootcfg /list to show the current entries in the BOOT.INI file
5.Type bootcfg /rebuild to repair it
6 Take out the CD ROM and type exit
OR
Better solution: This seems to always work
expand x:\i386\hal. dl_ y:\windows\system32 \ X= cd rom drive letter

2.Corrupt or missing WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ CONFIG

If you get the error:
Windows could not start because the following files is missing or corrupt
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ CONFIG\SYSTEM or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ CONFIG\SOFTWARE
1.Insert and boot from your Windows XP CD.
2.At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3.Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
4.Enter in the administrator password when requested
5.cd \windows\system32\ config
6.Depending on which section was corrupted:
ren software software.bad or ren system system.bad
7.Depending on which section was corrupted
copy \windows\repair\ system
copy \windows\repair\ software
8.Take out the CD ROM and type exit

3. NTOSKRNL not found
If you get an error that NTOSKRNL not found:
1.Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
2.At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3.Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
4.Change to the drive that has the CD ROM.
5.CD i386
6.expand ntkrnlmp.ex_ C:\Windows\System32 \ntoskrnl. exe
7.If WindowsXP is installed in a different location, just make the necessary change to C:\Windows
8Take out the CD ROM and type exit

4. NTLDR NOT FOUND DURING BOOTUP

If you have FAT32 partitions, it is much simpler than with NTFS. Just boot with a Win98 floppy and copy the NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM files from the i386 directory to the root of the C:\ drive.
For NTFS:
1.Insert and boot from your Windows XP CD.
2.At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3.Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1
4.Enter in the administrator password when requested
5.Enter in the following commands (X: is replaced by the actual drive letter that is assigned to the CD ROM drive)
COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\:
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT. COM C:\
6.Take out the CD and type exit


5. Isapnp.sys error message at startup:

To replace the Isapnp.sys file in Windows XP, follow these steps:1. Start the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
2. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to start Recovery Console.
3. If you have a dual-boot or a multiple-boot computer, type the number that corresponds to your Windows XP installation when you are prompted to select the Windows installation to log on to, and then press ENTER.
4. When you are prompted for the Administrator password, type the password, and then press ENTER.
Note If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
5. At the C:\Windows prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
ren c:\windows\system32 \drivers\ isapnp.sys isapnp.old
Note The steps in this article assume that you installed Windows XP to the C: drive. The actual location of your Windows installation may vary.
6. At the C:\Windows prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
expand cd-romdrive: \i386\isapnp. sy_ c:\windows\system32 \drivers\ isapnp.sys
For example, type:
expand d:\i386\isapnp. sy_ c:\windows\system32 \drivers
7. After the file is successfully expanded, type exit, and then press ENTER to exit Recovery Console.
8. Restart the computer.

6. ntfs.sys missing or corrupt error message:

To resolve this problem do the followings:-
1] Boot computer with the Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive.
2] To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
3] At the command prompt, type the following commands:-

cd \windows\system32\ drivers [Press the ENTER Key]
ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old [Press the ENTER Key]

If the ntfs.sys file is there and corrupt it will rename it. If it is not there then it was missing.

4]At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
copy X:\i386\ntfs. sys drive:\windows\ system32\ drivers [Where X=CD-ROM Drive]

5]Remove the Windows XP CD from CD-ROM drive, type quit, and then
press ENTER to quit the Recovery Console.

6. Restart the system.


7. Windows XP Will Not Start


System files may be corrupted.

1.Start the Operating System from the CD-ROM
When the computer starts from the CD, the system checks your hardware and then prompts you to select one of the following options:
2.To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER.
3.To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
4.Press ENTER.
5.Press F8 to accept the Licensing Agreement.
A box lists your current Windows XP installation, and then the system prompts you to select one of the following options:
6.To repair the selected Windows XP installation, press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing, press ESC.
7.Press R to start the automatic repair process.
Note: After repairing Windows XP, you may need re-download all updates.


8. Error message: Unmountable boot volume

When booting up to Windows XP you may get an error that reads: Unmountable Boot Volume.

This is probably because your boot.ini file is messed up. Here is a possible remedy:
1. Start Windows XP with the Windows XP CD in your CD/DVD drive.
Once you see the "Welcome to setup" message, press the letter 'R' on your keyboard to enter the Recovery Console.
2. Select the Windows installation to be repaired (you will need to know the administrator password.
3. You will then get a DOS prompt. from here, type: chkdsk /p [Enter]
4. When that is done type: fixboot [Enter]
5. Type: Y at the next prompt [Enter]
6. Then type: exit [Enter]
The system will now reboot into Windows.
If for some reason that didn't work, you can boot to the recovery console (example above).
Type: "chkdsk /r" [Enter]
When done type: exit [Enter].
This takes a bit longer, but the system should boot back into Windows.
If none of these work do a repair, follow the directions from previous solution.# 7

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