My laptop runs on Windows XP and it's not starting up. I get the message: We
apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully. A
recent hardware or software change might have caused this.

I've clicked on every option given and the same thing happens every time.
The windows startup begins, a blue screen flashes--too quickly to be able to
read the text, then the screen with the boot up options appears; immediately
afterwards it goes back to the original screen with the "apology" quoted
above.

I read the article: The Automatic Recovery Screen Is Not Displayed If the
Bootstat.dat File Is Compressed found in
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309481, but I didn't get it. If windows
doesn't start, how do I "access the Bootstat.dat file, and then click
Properties" ... etc?

I saw a posting in this forum touching this subject saying that if windows
doesn't start, press F8 and start in safe mode with command prompt. I tried
that too but it just lead me to the "apology" again. When from the original
screen I enter "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" it lists a bunch of commands,
but gives me no prompt. It then goes into the sequence of events already
described above.

So now what? I do have my Operating System CD (Microsoft Windows XP Home
SP1a), but first I'm not sure how to use it, and worse I'm concerned about
losing any data that I haven't recently backed up (about 2 weeks but
unrecoverable). I'm hoping that would be my last resort.

Unlike other similar posts that I've seen, XP is my original OS, not an
upgrade, and no other problems occurred prior to this.

Any help would be fantastic.

Thanks,
Maria

"Maria" <Maria@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4017A178-2712-46C5-8197-684563587EA3@microsoft.com...
> My laptop runs on Windows XP and it's not starting up. I get the message:
We
> apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully. A
> recent hardware or software change might have caused this.
>
> I've clicked on every option given and the same thing happens every time.
> The windows startup begins, a blue screen flashes--too quickly to be able
to
> read the text, then the screen with the boot up options appears;
immediately
> afterwards it goes back to the original screen with the "apology" quoted
> above.
>
> I read the article: The Automatic Recovery Screen Is Not Displayed If the
> Bootstat.dat File Is Compressed found in
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309481, but I didn't get it. If windows
> doesn't start, how do I "access the Bootstat.dat file, and then click
> Properties" ... etc?
>
> I saw a posting in this forum touching this subject saying that if windows
> doesn't start, press F8 and start in safe mode with command prompt. I
tried
> that too but it just lead me to the "apology" again. When from the
original
> screen I enter "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" it lists a bunch of
commands,
> but gives me no prompt. It then goes into the sequence of events already
> described above.
>
> So now what? I do have my Operating System CD (Microsoft Windows XP Home
> SP1a), but first I'm not sure how to use it, and worse I'm concerned about
> losing any data that I haven't recently backed up (about 2 weeks but
> unrecoverable). I'm hoping that would be my last resort.
>
> Unlike other similar posts that I've seen, XP is my original OS, not an
> upgrade, and no other problems occurred prior to this.
>
> Any help would be fantastic.
>
> Thanks,
> Maria

Sigh . . . today seems to be the day for not backing up files.
I'm still thinking about the OP of the parallel thread who
sounded really, really, REALLY desperate but who appears
to be so centred on his own problems that he does not deem
it necessary share his solution with the rest of the world.

This link might solve your problem:
http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?id=310396

If it does not then you need to get your important files
off your laptop. There are several ways of doing it safely,
and several to do it unsafely. Reloading WinXP is not a
safe way - if you select the wrong option then you might
lose the lot.

Post again if you need more details, and let other readers
know if the above link works!

Thanks for your response. I too was discouraged that someone had a similar
problem, resolved it, and didn't come back to say how.

Anyway, I did try your suggestion and followed the instructions in the link.
I inserted the Windows XP CD, pressed enter when asked if I wanted to start
using CD, and waited to be prompted to press R for repair. Then got the
command prompt. When entering cd system32, the response back was: The path
or file specified is not valid; when entering ren kernel32.dll kernel32.old,
the response was: The rename operation failed; when entering expand
d:\i386\kernel32.dl_, the response was: Unable to create file Kernel 32.dll 0
file(s) expanded. So I typed in exit, and the loop began again. No change.

Any ideas about the messages I received? Should I have done something
differently? Anything else I can try?

Thanks,
Maria

"Maria" <Maria@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:45756FB3-C606-4237-83A7-2FFE7D82FF30@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for your response. I too was discouraged that someone had a
similar
> problem, resolved it, and didn't come back to say how.
>
> Anyway, I did try your suggestion and followed the instructions in the
link.
> I inserted the Windows XP CD, pressed enter when asked if I wanted to
start
> using CD, and waited to be prompted to press R for repair. Then got the
> command prompt. When entering cd system32, the response back was: The
path
> or file specified is not valid; when entering ren kernel32.dll
kernel32.old,
> the response was: The rename operation failed; when entering expand
> d:\i386\kernel32.dl_, the response was: Unable to create file Kernel
32.dll 0
> file(s) expanded. So I typed in exit, and the loop began again. No
change.
>
> Any ideas about the messages I received? Should I have done something
> differently? Anything else I can try?
>
> Thanks,
> Maria

It seems that you are unfamiliar with directory navigation commands.
Here is a 60 seconds crash course.
1. Go to the "root" directory of your partition:
cd \
2. Find out what folders you have:
dir or
dir win*
3. Go to the Windows directory:
cd windows or
cd winnt (if that's where Windows is installed)
4. Go to the system32 subdirectory:
cd system32

If you still don't get anywhere then you can use one of
these approaches:

a) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (www.bootdisk.com).
It gives you a Windows-like environment that lets you examine your
disk in detail.

b) Temporarily run the disk as a slave disk in some WinXP/2000
desktop.

Option a) requires some three hours to manufacture the CD.
It's a very powerful tool to have.

Option b) requires a $5.00 adapter to connec the laptop
disk to a desktop's ribbon cable. There is a risk of connecting
the cable back to front in which case you will fry your laptop
disk. Be careful!

you have a hard disk error... some sectors are bad.... run hard disk recovery
from your manufacture hdd example: powermax if you have a maxtor hard drive,
drivefitness if you have an hitachi hdd ..... better if you try with
hddregenerator. I´m already see this fail and y fix it with hddregenerator...



"Pegasus (MVP)" escribió:

>
> "Maria" <Maria@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:45756FB3-C606-4237-83A7-2FFE7D82FF30@microsoft.com...
> > Thanks for your response. I too was discouraged that someone had a
> similar
> > problem, resolved it, and didn't come back to say how.
> >
> > Anyway, I did try your suggestion and followed the instructions in the
> link.
> > I inserted the Windows XP CD, pressed enter when asked if I wanted to
> start
> > using CD, and waited to be prompted to press R for repair. Then got the
> > command prompt. When entering cd system32, the response back was: The
> path
> > or file specified is not valid; when entering ren kernel32.dll
> kernel32.old,
> > the response was: The rename operation failed; when entering expand
> > d:\i386\kernel32.dl_, the response was: Unable to create file Kernel
> 32.dll 0
> > file(s) expanded. So I typed in exit, and the loop began again. No
> change.
> >
> > Any ideas about the messages I received? Should I have done something
> > differently? Anything else I can try?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Maria
>
> It seems that you are unfamiliar with directory navigation commands.
> Here is a 60 seconds crash course.
> 1. Go to the "root" directory of your partition:
> cd \
> 2. Find out what folders you have:
> dir or
> dir win*
> 3. Go to the Windows directory:
> cd windows or
> cd winnt (if that's where Windows is installed)
> 4. Go to the system32 subdirectory:
> cd system32
>
> If you still don't get anywhere then you can use one of
> these approaches:
>
> a) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (www.bootdisk.com).
> It gives you a Windows-like environment that lets you examine your
> disk in detail.
>
> b) Temporarily run the disk as a slave disk in some WinXP/2000
> desktop.
>
> Option a) requires some three hours to manufacture the CD.
> It's a very powerful tool to have.
>
> Option b) requires a $5.00 adapter to connec the laptop
> disk to a desktop's ribbon cable. There is a risk of connecting
> the cable back to front in which case you will fry your laptop
> disk. Be careful!
>
>
>

It is possible but by no means certain that the OP's
disk has a flaw. Running the manufacturer's diagnostic
program is a good idea - it certainly won't hurt.


"Juaco" <Juaco@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0DE381D8-8F77-4F64-AC89-74D43F66531C@microsoft.com...
> you have a hard disk error... some sectors are bad.... run hard disk
recovery
> from your manufacture hdd example: powermax if you have a maxtor hard
drive,
> drivefitness if you have an hitachi hdd ..... better if you try with
> hddregenerator. I´m already see this fail and y fix it with
hddregenerator...
>
>
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" escribió:
>
> >
> > "Maria" <Maria@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:45756FB3-C606-4237-83A7-2FFE7D82FF30@microsoft.com...
> > > Thanks for your response. I too was discouraged that someone had a
> > similar
> > > problem, resolved it, and didn't come back to say how.
> > >
> > > Anyway, I did try your suggestion and followed the instructions in the
> > link.
> > > I inserted the Windows XP CD, pressed enter when asked if I wanted to
> > start
> > > using CD, and waited to be prompted to press R for repair. Then got
the
> > > command prompt. When entering cd system32, the response back was: The
> > path
> > > or file specified is not valid; when entering ren kernel32.dll
> > kernel32.old,
> > > the response was: The rename operation failed; when entering expand
> > > d:\i386\kernel32.dl_, the response was: Unable to create file Kernel
> > 32.dll 0
> > > file(s) expanded. So I typed in exit, and the loop began again. No
> > change.
> > >
> > > Any ideas about the messages I received? Should I have done something
> > > differently? Anything else I can try?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Maria
> >
> > It seems that you are unfamiliar with directory navigation commands.
> > Here is a 60 seconds crash course.
> > 1. Go to the "root" directory of your partition:
> > cd \
> > 2. Find out what folders you have:
> > dir or
> > dir win*
> > 3. Go to the Windows directory:
> > cd windows or
> > cd winnt (if that's where Windows is installed)
> > 4. Go to the system32 subdirectory:
> > cd system32
> >
> > If you still don't get anywhere then you can use one of
> > these approaches:
> >
> > a) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (www.bootdisk.com).
> > It gives you a Windows-like environment that lets you examine your
> > disk in detail.
> >
> > b) Temporarily run the disk as a slave disk in some WinXP/2000
> > desktop.
> >
> > Option a) requires some three hours to manufacture the CD.
> > It's a very powerful tool to have.
> >
> > Option b) requires a $5.00 adapter to connec the laptop
> > disk to a desktop's ribbon cable. There is a risk of connecting
> > the cable back to front in which case you will fry your laptop
> > disk. Be careful!
> >
> >
> >

Hi Maria

Ok the important thing here is to save the data, the operating system is
perhaps not that important. So here go the instructions: By the way you will
need the original Windows CD-ROM to do this:

1) Boot the laptop and see if you can access the BIOS to change the boot
order to CD-ROM as the first boot device. This is usually achieved by hitting
the F2 or the F12 key depending on the laptop manufacturer

2) After setting CD-ROM as the first boot device, insert the XP CD and
reboot the laptop. During the reboot, you will be prompted to probably hit a
key to boot from CD.

3) Once Windows XP loads the text setup part of the installation, choose to
install the OS on the same partition as the previous instance of Windows. Now
here's the tricky part, if you choose to overwrite the previous installation
of Windows XP, you will certainly lose the data and settings that you want to
recover. So in order to avoid this, install Windows in a separate directory
on the same partition, for example the new install directory can have a name
such as WINDOWS 2 or WXP etc, use your imagination for directory naming.
Lastly, ensure that you do not format the partition else you'll lose
everything, just leave the "File System Intact".

4) Provided that the hard disk has not developed hardware faults or bad
sectors etc, a fresh install of Windows XP will greet you after the setup.
From here on, you can log in and rescue your data and other settings....

5) If you have any other questions, please ask. Good Luck!


--
The_JAT


"Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:

> It is possible but by no means certain that the OP's
> disk has a flaw. Running the manufacturer's diagnostic
> program is a good idea - it certainly won't hurt.
>
>
> "Juaco" <Juaco@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:0DE381D8-8F77-4F64-AC89-74D43F66531C@microsoft.com...
> > you have a hard disk error... some sectors are bad.... run hard disk
> recovery
> > from your manufacture hdd example: powermax if you have a maxtor hard
> drive,
> > drivefitness if you have an hitachi hdd ..... better if you try with
> > hddregenerator. I´m already see this fail and y fix it with
> hddregenerator...
> >
> >
> >
> > "Pegasus (MVP)" escribió:
> >
> > >
> > > "Maria" <Maria@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > > news:45756FB3-C606-4237-83A7-2FFE7D82FF30@microsoft.com...
> > > > Thanks for your response. I too was discouraged that someone had a
> > > similar
> > > > problem, resolved it, and didn't come back to say how.
> > > >
> > > > Anyway, I did try your suggestion and followed the instructions in the
> > > link.
> > > > I inserted the Windows XP CD, pressed enter when asked if I wanted to
> > > start
> > > > using CD, and waited to be prompted to press R for repair. Then got
> the
> > > > command prompt. When entering cd system32, the response back was: The
> > > path
> > > > or file specified is not valid; when entering ren kernel32.dll
> > > kernel32.old,
> > > > the response was: The rename operation failed; when entering expand
> > > > d:\i386\kernel32.dl_, the response was: Unable to create file Kernel
> > > 32.dll 0
> > > > file(s) expanded. So I typed in exit, and the loop began again. No
> > > change.
> > > >
> > > > Any ideas about the messages I received? Should I have done something
> > > > differently? Anything else I can try?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > > Maria
> > >
> > > It seems that you are unfamiliar with directory navigation commands.
> > > Here is a 60 seconds crash course.
> > > 1. Go to the "root" directory of your partition:
> > > cd \
> > > 2. Find out what folders you have:
> > > dir or
> > > dir win*
> > > 3. Go to the Windows directory:
> > > cd windows or
> > > cd winnt (if that's where Windows is installed)
> > > 4. Go to the system32 subdirectory:
> > > cd system32
> > >
> > > If you still don't get anywhere then you can use one of
> > > these approaches:
> > >
> > > a) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (www.bootdisk.com).
> > > It gives you a Windows-like environment that lets you examine your
> > > disk in detail.
> > >
> > > b) Temporarily run the disk as a slave disk in some WinXP/2000
> > > desktop.
> > >
> > > Option a) requires some three hours to manufacture the CD.
> > > It's a very powerful tool to have.
> > >
> > > Option b) requires a $5.00 adapter to connec the laptop
> > > disk to a desktop's ribbon cable. There is a risk of connecting
> > > the cable back to front in which case you will fry your laptop
> > > disk. Be careful!
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
>
>