Dr. Gonzo--
I think you can fix XP and make it intact without formatting it.
I just want to add to Colin's always excellent advice. SFC is a great first
move with your XP boot--the symptom "circus" can mean a lot of things but
Colin and I have seen a lot of situations where people were itchy on the
format trigger finger, but SFC was the appropriate move.
To give you some quick backdrop--SFC is a utility that is part of Windows
File Protection and it scans file signatures and when it detects bad ones,
it replaces them with good ones from a storage place called DLL Cache in the
system 32 folder. You can go look at it, but to see all files you need to
put control folders in run box and show hidden windows files.
SFC can fix IE, XP and OE much of the time depending on the problem and has
been around in most OS's since Win 98.
SFC in XP has the inherent glitch MSFT never got around to fixing that is
acknowledge in MSKBs (articles on fixing and getting things done by MSFT)
that it will often ask for CD. Here's a screenshot article of a good way to
run SFC, and also a way to point it to your HD so it will scan the files of
the latest service pack for XP which is probably SP2 for you.
When you run SFC, you're not going to get an "attaboy" on the desktop, and
to see that it's run correctly type eventvwr.msc in run box and under system
use the down arrows to go to the category "Windows File Protection."
http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html
-----------
If SFC doesn't set things right then follow this proceedure:
1) I'd use the F8 options including the 3 safe modes (I'm omitting VGA for
this purpose) to try to system restore and I would use Last Known Good if
they don't work. I say 3 because sometimes one works when another will not.
If you use safe mode command, the command for system restore is:
%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
2) If you have the XP CD you can go to bios setup and put booting from CD in
#1 position and then try a repair install with the CD. That's a lot faster
and has a lot more success than using the Recovery Console and any of its
commands and yep, MSKBs sometimes mis-recommend the Recovery Console. The
corrupted registry KB is one of the most notable for this.
A repair install offers you the way to get your XP back intact after
watching a 35 minute banal Microsoft commercial in setup.
Repair Install
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...ps/doug92.mspx
The MSKB that is a model for my approach is this one:
Resources for troubleshooting startup problems in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp
Good luck,
CH
"Dr. Gonzo" <> wrote in message
news:9CA0957A-D05C-4183-AA1D-...
> Here's my scenario, I run vista on one side of my hard drive, and XP on
> the
> other side. XP has been like a circus and I want to wipe it out and just
> put
> XP back on. Vista is working great and I dont want to go through the time
> and
> effort of installation until another build is available. If I did wipe out
> XP; would it overwrite my boot sector and use the old boot.ini? Thus
> leaving
> vista unaccessible, and I dont want that. If so is there a way to just
> reload
> the vista boot loader and be back in business with both OS'es.
> --
> My cobra went crazy because I play the wrong tune and it hit me in the eye
> with it''s teeth.
>
> P4-530 3.0 Ghz
> 1GB RAM
> Nvidia GeForce 6600GT
> ASUS P5 P-800
> ATI TV-Wonder Elite
> Motorola L7 SLVR
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