Windows XP operating system does not load.

How to Reload Windows XP Without Removing Files Deleting system files, modifying the registry and installing incompatible drivers to Windows XP can damage the integrity of the operating system, rendering it inoperable. Virus infections are often responsible for making the aforementioned changes to a system, but employees who have administrative access to the workstation can make deleterious modifications to the OS as well. Reinstalling Windows XP can repair the OS, but if work-related files are stored to the system partition, all of the data will be erased during the installation process. To reload Windows XP without losing files, you can perform an in-place upgrade, also known as a repair installation.

Step 1 Insert the Windows XP CD into the optical drive and then press "Ctrl-Alt-Del" to restart the computer. Step 2Press any key when prompted to load the contents of the disc. Press "Enter" on the Welcome to Setup screen.
Step 3 Read the license agreement, pressing "PgDn" to scroll down the page. Press "F8" to agree to the terms. The CD will search for previous installations of Windows XP. Step 4
Press "R" to repair the selected operating system. The disc will begin reinstalling the operating system to the hard drive without affecting personal files. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the repair installation. Step 5
Log in to Windows XP and sign on to the Internet when installation completes. Click "Start," "All Programs" and then "Windows Update." Step 6
Click "Scan for Updates" to search for applicable service packs and hotfixes to reinstall to the OS. Step 7
Click "Install Now" to bring the in-place upgrade up-to-date.
Things Needed

• Windows XP CD

Tip

• Make sure you have your Windows XP product key (found on the CD cover or on the computer case) available prior to reinstallation.

Warnings

• If possible, back up your files previous to the installation in case something goes awry during the process.
• You will need to reinstall all non-native programs and removable devices after performing an in-place upgrade.

Which operating system ?


some operating systems have part of there operating system stored in partitions which are protected other operating systems like Vista have partitions which have there recovery back up and also are protected



Sometimes there's no better way to repair a damaged Windows XP install than to start from scratch and reinstall the whole thing. It's a drastic move, but it is almost guaranteed to work. (Only serious hardware issues or incorrectly installed files can cause errors in this case.) If all other options have been exhausted, and your computer still won't function correctly, fear not: After a reinstall it should be running as good as new.

Locate an XP install disk, preferably the one that came with the computer, and any other software packages and drivers. Most of the time these will come packaged with the computer at the time of purchase. To save your data, copy information in your "My Documents" folder and any other important data you might have stored on the hard drive to a flash drive, CD or an external hard drive. Insert the XP install disk into the computer's CD drive and reboot the computer. The computer should automatically boot from the disk, loading the blue Windows XP Setup screen. On some computers, you may need to press a button when prompted to boot from the disk. After the Windows XP Setup has finished loading files, press "Enter" as prompted on the screen to set up Windows XP, and then accept the Licensing Agreement on the next screen by pressing "F8." Navigate the partition menu to find the partition on which Windows XP had previously been installed (likely, there will only be one) and press "D" to delete it. Verify that you want to delete the partition on the screens that follow. Set up a new partition, press "C," set the desired for the partition and press "Enter" to create it. The new partition will now be listed on the previous partition menu. Select the newly partitioned space, and press "Enter" to set up Windows XP on it. The Windows XP Setup program will format the new partition and continue with the graphical user interface portion of the installation process after the computer reboots. Navigate through the set-up menus that follow. The setup program will reboot the computer and load Windows after it has finished installing files. Reinstall any drivers and software that may previously have been installed on the computer by inserting their disks and going through their installation processes. Download Windows updates from Microsoft's website. (See Link Below.)

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/default.mspx

The Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB for short) is a program developed by the GNU software foundation. This program allows your Windows machine to load a number of different operating systems by presenting the user with a choice when the machine boots. This allows you, for example, to have both Linux and Windows XP installed on the same machine. If you find that you need to restore your XP system to a previous state and want to remove GRUB from your Windows XP, the process can be done in just a few minutes.

Ensure that your computer can boot from the CD/DVD drive. Start your computer and watch the startup screen. It will flash the key combination you need to press to enter BIOS. Enter this key combination and go into the system BIOS. Look under "Boot Options" or "Boot Order". Select "Boot from CD/DVD Drive" and make sure that it is listed as the first in the boot order. Save your changes before you exit the BIOS. Open the CD/DVD drive and insert your Windows XP install DVD. Reboot your system. Press "R" for "Recovery Console" when the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears. Enter the administrator password. At the prompt, type the following command: fixmbr Allow the XP system to recover the boot sector. When finished, it will return you to the command prompt. Type:exit Reboot your XP system. Hope this helps.

Boot to your XP Pro OS CD and hit enter to load OS. Hit f8 to accept agreement. Delete present partition and you'll get an option to format the C drive and load a fresh version of XP. If you don't want to load XP again- boot to the XP disk and go into the Recovery console - after logging in, type format at the C: prompt.

1. Insert the Microsoft Windows XP CD into the computer. Note: If you have a system recovery CD or restore CD (not a Microsoft CD) these steps will likely not work for your computer.
2. Reboot the computer with the CD and press any key when prompted to press any key to boot from the CD. Once in the Microsoft Setup menu press R to open the recovery console.
3. Select the operating system you wish to use; if you only have Windows XP on the computer you will only have one prompt.
4. Once prompted for the password enter the Admin password and press enter.
5. Once at the command prompt type bootcfg /rebuild to start the rebuild process.
6. The rebuild process will step you through a number of steps depending upon how many operating systems you have on the computer and how the computer is setup. Below is a listing of the common steps you are likely going to encounter.
   
   * Prompt for the identified versions of Windows installed. When you receive this prompt press Y if the bootcfg command properly identified each of the Windows operating systems installed on the computer. It is important to realize this command will only detect Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT installations.
   
   * Prompt to enter the load identifier. This is the name of the operating system for the boot.ini. For example, Microsoft Windows XP Home users would enter Microsoft Windows XP Home edition.
   
   * Prompt to Enter OS load options. When this prompt is received type /fastdetect to automatically detect the available options.
   
   
7. Once you have completed all the available options in the rebuild and are back at the prompt type exit to reboot the computer.

Write zeros to the hard drive using the software from the hard drive manufacturer. Then you will be able to format it and install your XP

Hi,
You may be right , the harddrive on the system may have gone bad.
You can run a diagnostics on the hardrive,shut down the computer, and then Press the Fn+ power button at the same time , it would initate the diagnostics.

Do post the results back

Thanks
proton

The first thing to check is your boot order.. do this when the pc starts up by pressing which ever key is indicated to enter 'setup' usually f2, f12, or delete. and look through for boot devices or boot sequence. make sure it's floppy, cdrom, hdd drive which may be listed or hard drive, internal drive, etc).

Do you have your windows disk? If so try this... put in the cd and restart the computer and when prompted to "pressany key to boot from cd' do so. Enter Windows XP Recovery Console by click on R. The Recovery Console is an advanced diagnostic mode of Windows XP with special tools that will allow you to restore the boot.ini file.

1. When you reach the command prompt type the following command and then press Enter.
   
2. bootcfg /rebuild
   The bootcfg utility will scan your hard drives for any Windows XP installations and then display the results. Follow the remaining steps to add your Windows XP installation to the boot.ini file.
   
3. The first prompt asks Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All).
   
4. Type Y in response to this question and press Enter.
   
5. The next prompt asks you to Enter Load Identifier:.
   
6. This is the name of the operating system. For example, type Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition and press Enter.
   
7. The final prompt asks you to Enter OS Load options:.
   
8. Type /Fastdetect here and press Enter.
   
9. Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.
   
10. Assuming that a missing or corrupt boot.ini file was your only issue, Windows XP should now start normally.
    

Well it depends on how severe is your start up problem, if the OS still loads lets say on Windows XP more or less you just have to repair the boot.ini, if you have your Windows XP CD load it to your computer(make sure that on the BIOS setup the intial boot devce must be your CD ROM) When the initialization finished press R to open the command prompt the type the following;

bootcfg /rebuild
The bootcfg utility will scan your hard drives for any Windows XP installations and then display the results. Follow the remaining steps to add your Windows XP installation to the boot.ini file.

The first prompt asks Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All).
Type Y in response to this question and press Enter.

The next prompt asks you to Enter Load Identifier:.
This is the name of the operating system. For example, type Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition and press Enter.

The final prompt asks you to Enter OS Load options:.
Type /Fastdetect here and press Enter.

Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.
Assuming that a missing or corrupt boot.ini file was your only issue, Windows XP should now start normally.