Laptop Info Today

Posts Tagged ‘Windows XP’

I recently a panic call from a friend stating that her laptop has a BSOD while booting up.

As you seen above, this is another case of a corrupted boot menu which is a very common thing on a Windows XP operating system.

How to solve it?

The recovery console , what better way…..

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Remember when there is a time when you start your laptop and it keeps on loading for a while and then it restarts. This contiues on and on …. again and again.

No matter how you try to overcome this ….. you end up in sheer frustration.

Well, if you’re using XP, you can always use the automatic repair function but what if the automatic repair function tell you that it is an “UNKNOWN” partition?

I have faced this problem a couple of times with my clients PCs and the fast way to overcome is NOT the F- word ( in a gentle manner re-formatting).

Using the command prompt recovery console is a good solution and once you are familiar with this one …. it’s a snap.

Firstly … boot up and proceed to your recover console environment.

• Next choose the drive…. by default it is 1 - which stands for your C drive.
• Type chkdsk to run a scan on your disk.
• After the chkdsk have ended, type fixboot C:
• Finally type BOOTCFG /rebuild to fix your boot up files.
  You might be prompted whether you want to attempt this operation. Just choose Yes or type Y and proceed

What it does it fix up your boot up files. For the UNKNOWN partition, once your boot up files is corrupted it messes your partition. And don’t worry, by doing this, your data will be untouched.

It is another Tuesday again and asyou all know it is Microsoft Windows Update day.

By default, Mirosoft Windows will send update patches to all its users (be it an operating systems patch, office patch or service packs) on Tuesdays -  most being the second Tuesday of each month. 

I have always learn a lot of my IT stuffs and skills from TechReublic which is a good source for some technical details be it in Linux, Windows or Mac.

Today, i’ll be bringing a series of Laptop Dojo - the first on how to:
Stop Windows XP from nagging you about updates you’ve already completed or don’t want.

It is a good tutorial and I think it will work for you and your Windows XP laptop.

I would like to end the final part of this series (Part 1 & Part 2 was covered some 2 weeks ago) which is quite overdue.

Anyway without further blabbering, let’s begin:-

In this part, you will need to delete the existing registry files and replacing it with the System Restore Registry files at the location C:\Windows\System32\Config folder.

To begin start the Recovery Console environment.
At the command promt type the following lines and press the enter key after each line.

• del c:\windows\system32\config\sam
• del c:\windows\system32\config\software
• del c:\windows\system32\config\default
• del c:\windows\system32\config\system
• copy c:\windows\tmp\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
• copy c:\windows\tmp\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
• copy c:\windows\tmp\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
• copy c:\windows\tmp\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
• copy c:\windows\tmp\default c:\windows\system32\config\default

Then type exit to quit the Recovery Console.

Once all is done, proceed to your normal Windows environment and click START >> All Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools >> System Restore.

Select Restore to a previous Restore Point to finalise the restoration .

I’ve covered the steps in of recovering Windows from a corrupted registry in the previous post and today I will be continuing on the next part of it.

One thing for sure, the Lsass.exe issue is a bit tedious to recover and the easiest bulk of it is to re-format the whole laptop or pc and start your installation of your  programs one by one.

However the recovery console brings you a bit of hope but the process must be carry out with caution ( one slight mistake and that’s it ).

Now let’s continue where I left off.

After you have completed Part 1 , begin by opening your Windows Explorer and follow the steps below ……

• On Tools, click folder options
• Click the View tab
• Under Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden files and folders
• Uncheck the Hide protected operating system files (Recomended) check box
• Click Yes to confirm
• Proceed to the drive where you store your Winidows XP ( in this case C:\System Volume Information\_restore{certain numbers based on individual machines}\RP1\Snapshot}
• Copy the following files to your C:\Windows\Tmp folder
  • _Registry_User_.Default
  • _Registry_Machine_Security
  • _Registry_Machine_Software
  • _Registry_Machine_System
  • _Registry_Machine_Sam
• In your C:\Windows\Tmp folder as follows
  • _Registry_User_.Default TO DEFAULT
  • _Registry_Machine_Security To SECURITY
  • _Registry_Machine_Software TO SOFTWARE
  • _Registry_Machine_System TO SYSTEM
  • _Registry_Machine_Sam TO SAM

This will set a new restore point on your machine and you will recover them from the windows folder.

That’s the end of Part 2 of this series … Part 3 will be out next.

Not too long ago, I’ve covered a post on using recovery console to repair your Win XP boot menus.

Note :- That post applied to the normal boot issues where the Windows Loading screen keeps on loading .. and loading …. and ….loading …. and …..loading ….

What I’ve encountered recently is far more challenging than that …

I’m able to pass through the loading menu but upon entering Windows, I was prompted “System error : Lsass.exe”. The system restarted upon me pressing the “OK” button ….. and it repeated itself ever since.

What do I do?

One thing I’ve discovered using the automatically repair for Windows XP function from the CD would not solved this problem, so I have to turn to a more backward approach : The Recovery Console again .

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If you are using Windows XP, you might be aware of the option “Repair Windows XP Using Recovery Console” at the setup of your Windows XP installation.

This is one of the most undertilised options that is being used by users when there is a crash in the Windows XP operating system.

I recently encountered this issue with my clients laptop as his laptop keeps on restarting.

When that happen, the only idea i will get is the boot up file (Boot.ini) is corrupted.

Normally the easiest way out is to use the “Automatic Repair” function, but in this case that option is unavailable on my client’s laptop.

Another way out is to “F” (which means format) the hard drive of the laptop but think about the valuable data you are going to erase .

Hence, I’m giving my shot using the “old-school” command prompt style which is the Recovery Console”.

Press R on your keyboard to enter the Recovery Console.

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With news looming on the next Windows Operating System, codenamed “Windows 7“, I’ll not banking on Microsoft to cash successfully in this one either.

Lets face it.

Windows Vista is still buggy and all new laptops purchases comes with the new Windows Vista Operating Systems ( whichever versions or editions that may be).

Anyway or anyhow more users are currently using this software while majority still resisting and choose to remain with the vulnerable Windows XP systems.

My Question…..

What make you think Windows 7 will be a success?

Even the release of the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is kept at a very low profile, unlike XP’s Service Pack 2 release.

With disadvantages aside, I still believe WIndows Vista is, nonetheless, a very good operating system.

It will still take time for people to adapt to the changes and hopefully this can happen sooner rather than later in the future.