Windows XP will not load

tomjames · #1 08-29-2004, 06:48 AM

Please can someone help.

I cannot completely load xp up.

It says that i can start it in safemode or normal but when i do either of them it just goes to a blank screen.

I am using a pakard bell pc with xp home edition.

Please, can anyone give me some adivce.

Tom

Overclocked Doc · #2 08-29-2004, 01:01 PM

Can you be a little more specific? Have you recently made any changes or additions to the system?

Miz · #3 08-29-2004, 01:13 PM

If the computer came with a Packard-Bell Restore or Recovery (or something similar) CD, try booting with it in the CD drive. If it doesn't boot to the CD drive, read the third paragraph. Once it boots to the CD, see what options it gives you. Most manufacturer's CD give only one choice...wipe everything off the drive and reinstall what was on the computer when it was shipped from the factory. If you choose that option, you will lose all your data and any software you have installed. If it gives you other choices, choose either the one that will get you into the "Recovery Console" or, if that's not available, the one that will do a repair install of Windows.

If you have a retail XP CD the first thing to try is running Checkdisk. To do that, start the computer to get power to the CD drive, insert the XP CD and restart the computer. If it boots to the CD, great...skip the next paragraph.

If it doesn't boot to the CD, you'll need to get into the BIOS (also called "setup") to set the CD drive first in the boot order. How to get into the BIOS depends on the kind of BIOS your computer has. If a screen appears early during the boot process that has a line "Press X (where X indicates a key on the keyboard) to enter setup" or something similiar, press that key. If you don't get that screen, refer to the manual that came with your computer. If you don't have the manual or it doesn't tell you, it'll be a matter of trial and error. The Del, F1, F2 and F10 keys are commonly used. Once you access the BIOS, search it for something referring to "Boot" or "Boot Order" or something similar. Then move the CD drive to first in the boot order. Use the "Exit Saving Changes" option to get out of the BIOS and resume the boot process.

Once it boots to the CD, choose the option "To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R." Once in the Recovery Console, type "chkdsk /r" (without the quotes, with the space after "chkdsk") and press Enter. It can't take quite a while, so be patient.

Once it finishes, remove the CD from the CD drive and reboot. Hopefully, that will have fixed the problem.

radspanner · #4 08-29-2004, 02:58 PM

is this of any use to you at all

http://www.packardbell.co.uk/special...0/01xpmt10.htm

tomjames · #5 08-29-2004, 02:59 PM

Thanks very much for your advice. Would I had got a 'master cd 1' with the pc. I ask this because i have a red floody recovery disc and I put that in at the start and it loads up then i asks me for the master cd 1. Any clues????

tomjames · #6 08-29-2004, 03:04 PM

Thanks radspanner for your advice. By the looks of that link it only tells you how to do a system restore if your computer loads right up, whice mine dosn't. Any more advice for yourself would be greatfully accepted. Tom

Overclocked Doc · #7 08-29-2004, 03:12 PM

What is the exact model of your machine and when did you purchase it?

tomjames · #8 08-29-2004, 03:17 PM

model is: i connect 4044. purchased from Currys in Jan 03

Overclocked Doc · #9 08-29-2004, 03:53 PM

Well I hate to come foth bearing bad news but after reading several pages of info I believe that the disk you have will only be of help to you if you had already done a system wide "backup". It appears that while some machines do in fact come with a "Master CD" others (such as yours) don't. It appears that in your case you were expected to create your own "Master CD" before any problems arose. probably the best bet at this point is to call your retailer and explain the situation ......that you do not have a "m/cd" and cannot reboot your machine. They should be able to provide one for you.

tomjames · #10 08-29-2004, 04:03 PM

Thanks Overclocked Doc. I will give that ago.

radspanner · #11 08-29-2004, 04:06 PM

we also have the same red floppy disc as yourself,and once had to do a restore to factory settings using it.

however perhaps one of the experts on here could advise you if its possible to get into safe mode then use it.when i did my back to factory settings i never had to use any master cds just the floppy...some of the guys on here are so clued up, whatever they tell you do will be good advice im sure

radspanner · #12 08-29-2004, 04:23 PM

found the following on the packard bell discussion forum look about 3/4 of the way down the page...it seems key F11 has something to do with it all...

http://forum.packardbell.com/en/viewtopic.php?t=18010

Sinclmak · #13 04-14-2005, 11:41 AM

Guy's there is an important lesson to be learnt here! Don't buy Packard Bell computers or Packard Bell (PB) anything else for that matter. If you have purchased your PB in the last couple of years than you will probably have a single "red floppy disk" used for the restoring process as oppossed to the "Master CD". This is made possible because the PB has partitioned the HDD drive into 2 seperate drives of which one is hidden AKA "the smartdrive". The red disk merely runs a boot operation program to restore the computer from the hidden partitioned drive. Here lies the problem...........If the main C drive gets corrupted for one reason or another than it is quite possible for the hidden partition drive to get corrupted. You can try calling the PB technical support line for £0.75 a minute but they won't be able help you. Although they will keep you on the line for 10 minutes and get you to run scandisk, fdisk etc and then when all various scans have been exhausted they will then, advise you to call PB. And so here is the con.........you can purchase the recovery CDs for windows XP for £30.34 including postage and packaging from our dear friends at PB. CD's of which, they should have provided you with in the first place.

1badtech · #14 04-15-2005, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinclmak

Guy's there is an important lesson to be learnt here! Don't buy Packard Bell computers or Packard Bell (PB) anything else for that matter. If you have purchased your PB in the last couple of years than you will probably have a single "red floppy disk" used for the restoring process as oppossed to the "Master CD". This is made possible because the PB has partitioned the HDD drive into 2 seperate drives of which one is hidden AKA "the smartdrive". The red disk merely runs a boot operation program to restore the computer from the hidden partitioned drive. Here lies the problem...........If the main C drive gets corrupted for one reason or another than it is quite possible for the hidden partition drive to get corrupted. You can try calling the PB technical support line for £0.75 a minute but they won't be able help you. Although they will keep you on the line for 10 minutes and get you to run scandisk, fdisk etc and then when all various scans have been exhausted they will then, advise you to call PB. And so here is the con.........you can purchase the recovery CDs for windows XP for £30.34 including postage and packaging from our dear friends at PB. CD's of which, they should have provided you with in the first place.

I didn't even know that packard bell was still around. I thought they went out of business a long time ago.

princessariane · #15 06-07-2005, 09:49 AM

my windows xp dell that is one year old has the same problem
this is the third time it's happened- it just started last week- and windows won't load with "starting windows normally", or with "last known good configuration". the only way i can get anything to happen is to restore it- but if i restore it to the day before, it still doesn't work, so i have to go a couple days before.
it says a new hardware or software may have caused windows not to start, but i haven't installed anything in at least 2 weeks.
i'm on a network and worried that it may be a virus (though i have norton 05) or that dell installed something for when my one year warrenty is up

any ideas on making it stop doing this every three days???