I’ve been experiencing a severe problem with Windows XP not loading. I found some instructions on doing a Repair / Recovery Console by using the original Win XP disk. I did a boot by cd-rom and then press F-7 to install the storage drivers.

I am then taken to the “Windows XP Home ED. Setup Welcome to Setup screen.

The screen reads….

This portion of the setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer.

. To Set Up Windows XP now Press ENTER

. To Repair A Windows XP Installation Using Recovery Console, Press R

. To Quit without installation press F-3


I selected R and then # 1 to log onto C:\WINDOWS. I then did the following commands as directed by an article I found on Digitalwebcast.com

md tmp
copy C:\windows\system32\config\system C:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy C:\windows\system32\config\software C:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy C:\windows\system32\config\sam C:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy C:\windows\system32\config\security C:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy C:\windows\system32\config\default C:\windows\tmp\default.bak
delete C:\windows\system32\config\system
delete C:\windows\system32\config\software
delete C:\windows\system32\config\Sam
delete C:\windows\system32\config\security
delete C:\windows\system32\config\default
copy C:\windows\repair\system C:\windows\system32\config\system
copy C:\windows\repair\software C:\windows\system32\config\software
copy C:\windows\repair\sam C:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy C:\windows\repair\security C:\windows\system32\config\security
copy C:\windows\repair\default C:\windows\system32\config\default

At the end, I was told to hit EXIT and watch your computer restart Windows XP. That did not happen.

HERE ARE MY 2 QUESTIONS…

DID I MISS A STEP IN THIS PROCESS?

IF I PRESS “ENTER WHEN I HAVE THE OPTION TO . “To Set Up Windows XP now Press ENTER. WILL I LOSE EVERYTHING THAT WAS ON MY COMPUTER BEFORE ENCOUNTERING THIS PROBLEM? i.e. Photos, email in Outlook Express, WORD doc’s, etc.

I will follow these instructions and do the install tonight when I get home from work. Hopefully this works so I can stop messing with it every night and get back to a "normal" life.

Thanks for your hep!

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