Windows XP crash

[Nickster]

Did you try doing a Repair booting from the XP CD? It's an Option during the XP Installation.

[Brent55043]

When I get to the recovery console instead of selecting recover should I select the Install option? If I do that will it ask me for a repair? If I do this will I lose my files that are currently on the computer?

[Nickster]

There should be an option to repair the installation while doing a setup, not the recovery console option. After you accept the license agreement it should scan for current windows installations and give you the option to repair the existing one. If that option doesn't appear simply don't continue with the installation process, just choose End Setup.

It's been too long since I last ran through the recovery console and installation options and I can't find my XP CD at current, must of hid it from myself real good.

Anyhow, if you can get to the prompt using the Recovery Console, c:>\windows\, then try the command BOOTCFG /Rebuild . This will start a diagnostic process that will check files, rebuild registry hive, etc.

Nick

P.S. Try a BOOTCFG /LIST to check to see that you have the right installation selected, I suspect you only have one installation though.

[Brent55043]

There is no option to repair the existing installation. If I install Windows XP again on the same partition will I lose all of the programs that I had on it before the problem?

[Nickster]

Edit: Guess what I found and umm, yeah, messed up my own computer for a moment (XP Install CD).

OK, it didn't offer to repair my installation while I was running through setup but it did manage to corrupt my file system (Could be because I was using the Pro version instead of the Home version) Forgot that this computer didn't have Pro on it, it came loaded with the Home version.

Anyhow, the only choice you have is to figure out or reset the Admin password, load the Recovery Console and use the Bootcfg /rebuild command, trust me, it works, just fixed my corrupted file system.

Well, there is another option but it's not pretty, delete or format partition and start from scratch.

If you follow all the way though the installation process without formating, it will most likely create a Windows.000 folder and install a fesh copy of windows XP, your programs won't appear in Windows and more than likely won't work if you explore to their folder and try to launch them.

The only other thing it may do is install a fresh copy of Windows over the existing one, same result though, files will be there but none of them will work because they aren't installed properly.

Nick

[Brent55043]

How can I reset the admin password without being logged in and in safe mode?

[Nickster]

That's a good question, I've never had to use one on XP before. Prior to that passwords were cake to strip/reset.

There are lots of tool out there that can "supposidly" do it, most of them want you to pay (one way or the other) $40 or wait 3 days after you send the encrypted password file to them.

Don't know about you but I wouldn't use the second one. No telling what all they may be collecting from your computer.

I take the it the Offline Tool linked in an earlier post didn't work?

Did you try using Admin or Administrator as the password? Is a common thing to do if someone else setup the computer for you.

Reset Admin Password XP - Google Search here's a search list if you feel like browsing, read all the way down cause lots of them have catches that get you 95% of the way interested then tell you they want money.

Good Luck,
Nick

[Nickster]

How to reset administrator password on Windows using EBCD | Linglom's Blog

Your post has me interested in finding a viable tool for password recovery. EBCD looks promising, it's free, u create a CD and this page has step by step instructions with Pictures of the computer screen.

Just a suggestion, I am by no means saying it will or won't work,
Nick

[Brent55043]

I have tried that. When I use that program it tells me the administrator password is Blank. I have looked at Microsoft and it said something about about the way windows XP was installed.
This error message may occur even though you typed the correct password. If you start Windows XP, successfully log on by using the same password, change the local administrator's password, and restart the computer to Recovery Console, you receive the same error message. This issue may occur if Windows XP was originally installed from a Sysprep image or if Sysprep 2.0 was run on the computer at one time. Sysprep.exe makes changes to the way that password keys are stored in the registry. These changes are incompatible with the Recovery Console logon routine.

[Nickster]

Oh boy, sounds like your really scrooged. Nothing more I can suggest, there are other pages out there claiming there are other ways around. Heres one such example, follow the notes: Read Warning X it will suggest what to try next in such case.

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install

Up to you with how far you are willing to go to get the data back.