I can't get my computer to boot Windows.

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Magicks

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Hey, I've been running Windows XP SP2 without incident up until this point. However, one day about a week ago, I was using the computer, left, and then came back in a few hours. The computer had powered itself down, and ever since then, Windows has failed to boot everytime. On each attempted boot, I see only a blue screen with a STOP error of 0x00000024. I've gone through as much stuff as I can think of (safe mode, diagnostics, recovery consule, dell support, google, repair OS), but none of them have been succesful. I know that I can solve the problem by simply reinstalling the OS, but I have school files I really can't afford to lose. So my question to you all is if there is a way to back up the data or restore the OS. I don't have a bootable USB drive, so that won't work for me either. Any help would be appreciated, I'm not looking forward to losing 3-4 years of school work. :)
 
If it cant boot then i think before the screen goes the the windows XP loader screen u clikc i think it was f8 and it goes to a screen and has some options. choose the one with "restore to last known successful boot up" i think that is it or something close to that
srry for the scarce details :(
 
I've had that happen. You've got a corrupt file in your registry or something like that. You have to use the repair disk, go to the c: drive and replace the files with the repair disk files. Then you can boot up and restore to a previous point. Big PITA. Google Search endless windows XP boot loop should pull up exact directions as I don't recall.
 
Now, I don't know if this is easy for you, but see if you can take out your hard drive, find another computer to hook it up to, see if you can access the school files, take them out and put them, temporarily, on to the other computer. Then do a fresh OS install, and then transfer the files back. I don't know if the whole hard drive is corrupt or not.



Also, see if you can get to system restore and try that. It worked for me, although it was not that same problem, I still had issues booting.
 
bigwilly said:
I've had that happen. You've got a corrupt file in your registry or something like that. You have to use the repair disk, go to the c: drive and replace the files with the repair disk files. Then you can boot up and restore to a previous point. Big PITA. Google Search endless windows XP boot loop should pull up exact directions as I don't recall.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of questions about this. First, my computer isn't in a boot loop, it simply fails to boot and then stays on the BSoD. Will the methods for the endless boot loop still be effective? And also, most sources I have checked say to use the Recovery Console. However, when I try to use that, I can only select my E:\ drive, which is Dell Media Direct. My C;\ drive does not appear in the console as a choice. Is there a way to fix this so the recovery console will recognize the C;\ drive?
 
Ugh no c: drive, you're problem sounds bad. Could be your hard drive has gone bad. How old is it? Could be corrupted NTFS. Check here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/228888

That is for Windows 2000, but the problem sounds eerily similar. Look halfway down the page.
 
have you updated your driver cards?:)

i have the same problem and i update my drivers and i not have that problem anymore :D
 
As for the stuff on the windows link...it seems that all of them require you to be able to get into the OS at least via safe mood, which isn't an option. And as for drivers, how would I update them if I can't boot windows?

As far as my harddrive itself is concerned, it is only a little over a year old and it passed the Diagnostics, so I don't think there's any problem there.
 
You'll have to boot from a CD. Try this: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

It's a free download that creates a bootable CD. It should allow you to boot into Windows from a CD and go from there. It comes with some good HD diagnostic tools as well. My brother used this method with success. Useful for editing registries.
 
Well, I ended up taking a live linux cd, and backing up all my important files to another hard drive and reformatted my main drive, hopefully this will solve my problem. Thanks a lot for all the suggestions.
 
I think you need see if you Have a Windows Disc?

I would just reinstall the operating system but make sure you have a Windows XP or Vista disc so you can install it but install the OS that was on there. Do not put XP if it was really vista and if it vista do not install XP. Make sure it is the right edition of your operating system.
 
Did a reformat fix it? BSODs on boot can be caused by many things. When exactly did the machine BSOD? Was it right before loading the main UI? Was it even before the Windows loading screen with the scroll bar?

If a reformat doesn't work, you may want to try checking that all your peripherals are properly seated inside your case, as loose connections can cause problems. You may also want to swap your RAM to different DIMM slots, or swap out RAM altogether.
 
Tell me if your idea worked man. Same thing happened to my friends comp.
 
i would have suggested running a check disc from your windows disc that may have fix the errors.
 
Magicks, Smart using a live CD. There is also a Vista Live CD too. But for anyone who has a computer, it is crucial to ensure you do backups. At the least, go and buy an adapter that will allow you to plug in a 3.5, 2.5 Sata, eSata drive to USB. I have one of these for the times that peeps don't want to lose their data. The best $20 bucks you will spend on your computer in case "Windows" happens 8D
 
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