blue screen of death

[munky]

Had a problem with the laptop yesterday - it would load up XP but then no apps would run - well they would load and appear as a process in task manager, but remained invisible. Even add/remove programs wouldn't work - it would just sit there with an empty box not displaying installed programs. End task was not working either on apps that I'd tried to start e.g. iexplore.exe. Tried a system restore but to no avail. Then tried disabling startup items with msconfig. Same problem. Then tried disabling system processes or whatever it's called.. and that seemed to fix the problem with apps failing to run, but of course now with no essential processes running I could open IE but with no connection! So, some system process or other was preventing apps from opening properly. Getting fed up by this point and not relishing the idea of enabling each system process one at a time and rebooting, I uninstalled SP2 and rebooted, thinking I'll download and reinstall it. Bad move - upon rebooting, XP won't load at all. Blue screen fatal system error type message. Nothing works now, not safe mode, not anything.

So, what else can I do other than reinstall XP (difficult as it didn't come with a windows CD, I'm waiting for Samsung to call me back about it). THere's also no recovery partition that some PCs have. Is that my only option and if so, am I right in saying that I will lose my applications but my data should remain intact? Final question - is there anything I can do if for some reason Samsung won't provide me with an installation CD? Short of actually buying a new copy of XP that is - I'd rather buy a new machine and have done with it but that will all take time..

I'm so fed up with PCs (well, Windows), it may be time to look at Macs. Or perhaps just a different OS.

thanks

[Pot Bellied Fool]

munky said:

am I right in saying that I will lose my applications but my data should remain intact?

Nope, if you do an 'in-place reinstall', an overlay if you like, then all the settings & apps will remain ok so long as there's no underlying damage that's trashed the registry or damage from a HD that's on the way out for example.

I reckon an inplace reinstall works about 90% of the time although it's then a good idea to use a diagnostic to tidy up the registry damage. It usually fails if there's underlying data loss from the HD.

Make sure you do a repair install though & don't create a brand new copy on Windows.

[munky]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

munky said:

am I right in saying that I will lose my applications but my data should remain intact?

Nope, if you do an 'in-place reinstall', an overlay if you like, then all the settings & apps will remain ok so long as there's no underlying damage that's trashed the registry or damage from a HD that's on the way out for example.

I reckon an inplace reinstall works about 90% of the time although it's then a good idea to use a diagnostic to tidy up the registry damage. It usually fails if there's underlying data loss from the HD.

Make sure you do a repair install though & don't create a brand new copy on Windows.

Ok that's good - thanks. Samsung referred me to their spares supplier who are sending me a recovery CD for £40! So I'll try to do a repair rather than a full re-install. The only thing is they said I'd also have to download all the relevant drivers again from samsung website, however it could be tricky getting internet access without the drivers..

[Pot Bellied Fool]

The only possible problem is if it's one of the dreaded 'recovery only' CDs which rather than containing a proper copy of XP, contained a hard drive image and promptly overwrote everything - but that's hopefully not the case.

Do you have a Windows authentication sticker on the machine with the activation code on? If so, if push came to shove, borrow an XP CD but put your own activation code in when prompted.

Anyway, this is how to do it...

---

To reinstall Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP CD, follow these steps:
1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.
2. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message appears on the screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

Note Your computer must be configured to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. For more information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, see your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer.
3. You receive the following message on the Welcome to Setup screen that appears:
This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
Press ENTER to set up Windows XP.
4. On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
5. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.
6. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to reinstall Windows XP. After you repair Windows XP, you may have to reactivate your copy of Windows XP.

---

Point 5 is the important one, the Windows install should spot the existing damaged copy and give you the option to repair it - this is the inplace reinstall.

If you get any sort of message from the CD saying auto recovery or anything that looks like it's going to simply dump a Samsung image on the drive ten stop & post back for help.

The problem you have isn't a biggie, get a few machines a week into the workshop needing this treatment.

Cheers - Dunc.

[fluffnik]

A Linux live CD such as ubuntu might be useful for recovering data before reinstalling.

...it also provides an alternative OS for free.

[munky]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

The only possible problem is if it's one of the dreaded 'recovery only' CDs which rather than containing a proper copy of XP, contained a hard drive image and promptly overwrote everything - but that's hopefully not the case.

Do you have a Windows authentication sticker on the machine with the activation code on? If so, if push came to shove, borrow an XP CD but put your own activation code in when prompted.

There's a sticker with the windows product key on it - is that what you mean? I was wondering if I could simply borrow someone else's CD rather than pay for a replacement, but the wondering bit came after the paying part!

thanks for all the info!

[munky]

fluffnik said:

A Linux live CD such as ubuntu might be useful for recovering data before reinstalling.

...it also provides an alternative OS for free.

ah that's interesting.. could I also use NTFS4DOS to copy a folder to my backup drive? I have NTFS4DOS lying around on a floppy somewhere from the last time something similar happened (but then it was a specific driver causing the problem so was easily fixed in DOS, this time I don't know the cause of the problem!)

[fluffnik]

munky said:

fluffnik said:

A Linux live CD such as ubuntu might be useful for recovering data before reinstalling.

...it also provides an alternative OS for free.

ah that's interesting.. could I also use NTFS4DOS to copy a folder to my backup drive? I have NTFS4DOS lying around on a floppy somewhere from the last time something similar happened (but then it was a specific driver causing the problem so was easily fixed in DOS, this time I don't know the cause of the problem!)

Don't know NTFS4DOS, but Linux has been able to read NTFS for yonks and a recent kernel + ntfs3g offers reliable writing too...

There's also the Trinity Rescue Kit which is a live CD specifically designed for repairing windowboxes, from Linux.

[munky]

Ok - please help!

I bought a Samsung XP recovery CD but here's the problem now - the laptop won't boot from the CD or I believe any CD - it seems that the BIOS just doesn't recognise the existence of the CD drive. Which may be because it isn't original - the CD-RW / DVD-ROM died a while ago and I replaced with an NEC CD/DVD-RW which after some jiggery pokery I got working perfectly in windows, but it seems still not in BIOS. So the CD and any CD is unusable. Similarly the BIOS won't recognise my external CD/DVD drive either.

It does however recognise the external floppy and the USB key. So, I tried copying the recovery CD onto the USB key. Now it won't boot from the USB key but from here (after booting into DOS from a floppy) I tried running WINNT.EXE in the I386 folder. At first it seemed to work - it chugged away copying files however I did realise the HDD light wasn't flashing - so I think the files were being copied from the USB key back onto itself and indeed on rebooting nothing happened - blank screen. Next I tried running WINNT from the HDD, this time it just got stuck at the first stage (reading DOSNET.INF). Then I tried running it from the USB key again but pointing it at the /windows/I386 folder on the HDD - this time the install does progress but with dozens of files that it says it can't copy (each one has to be manually acknowledged with the Esc key, so at 1am last night I gave up)

So - any suggestions how I get XP up and running again, without a bootable CD drive but with a floppy drive and a 4Gb USB key and a Samsung XP recovery CD? To recap, the PC does boot from the HDD and starts to load XP but then stops with the blue screen. HDD itself seems fine - a chkdsk revealed no problems. One very annoying thing though is that using NTFS4DOS, the copy command doesn't work so I can't retrieve any files from the HDD.

I guess the options are:
1 - recovery console from 6 floppies (tricky to build, as the work PC has no floppy drive) but if I did manage this, how do I use recovery console to find and fix the problem?
2 - somehow create a bootable recovery USB key - any ideas how?
3 - contine trying to install XP using WINNT.EXE and just sit there pressing the Esc key and hope that the files it can't copy are not essential ones
4 - somehow get the CD drive to boot, or get the BIOS to recognise the CD drive
5 - buy a new PC and a gizmo to link up the laptop HDD to the new PC as a slave

so - what's the best and/or easiest way to recover XP without a CD drive and preferably leave my documents folder intact?

thanks!!!!!

Edited by munky on Monday 10th December 12:08

[LordGrover]

I've never used it, but this sounds helpful: clicky.

Edited by LordGrover on Monday 10th December 12:13

[fluffnik]

munky said:

2 - somehow create a bootable recovery USB key - any ideas how?

You can install the Trinity Rescue Kit above on a USB stick.

Best of luck!

[munky]

LordGrover said:

I've never used it, but this sounds helpful: clicky.

Edited by LordGrover on Monday 10th December 12:13

thanks - does look handy, and I got hold the HP USB key formatting tool, however I can't use it as it insists there are no valid DOS system files on my work PC's hard drive, and although I have a boot floppy with me, the work PC has no floppy drive

it's a conspiracy I tell you!

[munky]

fluffnik said:

munky said:

2 - somehow create a bootable recovery USB key - any ideas how?

You can install the Trinity Rescue Kit above on a USB stick.

Best of luck!

I might give that a go - although assuming I get this up and running and learn all the relevant linux commands, what do I then do to discover what's wrong with my XP and fix it? Or will this give me access to my CD drive such that I can hopefully run the recovery disc?

Most ideal would be some way of forcing BIOS or DOS to recognise the CD drive - are there any entries one can put into config.sys or autoexec.bat to do this?

ta!

[fluffnik]

munky said:

fluffnik said:

munky said:

2 - somehow create a bootable recovery USB key - any ideas how?

You can install the Trinity Rescue Kit above on a USB stick.

Best of luck!

I might give that a go - although assuming I get this up and running and learn all the relevant linux commands, what do I then do to discover what's wrong with my XP and fix it? Or will this give me access to my CD drive such that I can hopefully run the recovery disc?

IIRC the TRK has some scripted "tasks" to fix common faults and seems to have acquired a live boot-loader since I last used it - perhaps it will be able to force a boot from the CD...

munky said:

Most ideal would be some way of forcing BIOS or DOS to recognise the CD drive - are there any entries one can put into config.sys or autoexec.bat to do this?

Does the CD drive have master/slave jumpers?

I have an IBM UltraBay fit Combo Drive that couldn't be booted from until reset from slave to master...

[munky]

No jumpers (none I can see anyway) as it's a laptop internal drive. I think there's a way of flashing the firmware to make it into a slave drive, which may make BIOS pick it up (seems to work for other people having issues with NEC CD/DVD drives) but I can't do that until I've got windows working.. or maybe I could within linux but I'd be in incredibly unfamiliar territory

For today I think I'll try making the USB key bootable and image the recovery CD onto it. If no joy I'll try TRK tomorrow.. or I'll borrow a laptop or bring the external floppy drive to work and attempt to create the 6 XP install floppies which apparently enable the CD drive..

Edited by munky on Monday 10th December 16:45

[munky]

fluffnik said:

A Linux live CD such as ubuntu might be useful for recovering data before reinstalling.

...it also provides an alternative OS for free.

Tried putting the ubuntu install on the USB key, however I get the dreaded "cannot run in DOS mode" when trying to run START.EXE

I'll try Trinity next, but there are no exe files to run from DOS? Not sure if the laptop will boot OK from the USB, it worked once with FreeDOS + NTFS4DOS (so much faster than rebooting from floppy each time!) but hasn't since.

Tried using NTFS4DOS and XCOPY to copy over all the WinXP install files from USB to the laptop but it fails as soon as it gets to a large file and helpfully displays something like "1064%" at the top of the screen and then hangs... either that or it returns an "opcode error"

it shouldn't be this hard!

I'll also try a BIOS update to see if that helps it recognise the CD drive.. failing all that I've ordered a 2.5" to 3.5" IDE converter to plug the laptop HDD into a desktop.

[_Lee_]

When I opened this thread I expected it to be about Leopard, as it seems Leopard has single handedly managed to snatch the blue screen of death title from windows