Stuck in reboot loop, windows xp pro?

Question

I just upgraded my sisters computer. I changed everything except the hard drive. When I restart, I get to a black screen that asks if I want to start Windows normally. No matter which one I choose, a blue screen flashes and it restarts.

I went into the recovery console on the XP disc and did chkdsk, fixboot, and fixmbr. None of these helped.

I can reinstall Windows, but I need the documents on the drive. If this problem can't be fixed, how can I save the files?

Answer 1

It can probably be that there is a hardware incompatibility on the Computer.  If you want to format the disk, try puttingg it on another PC that is working fine and make it as a slave disk so that you can recover files that are important.

Answer 2

i think they all answer complex remedies, you can use your win xp installation disc to re install os and fix it (os) there are option in win xp cd to repair the os. or you can boot to safe mode and install drivers. its up to you which choice you want.  

Answer 3

Use different Hard drive and install windows on it.  Set the original HD as a secondary and recover your files that way.

Answer 4

You can save your files for the most part, but there's a chance your old programs won't be installed.

What you need: A floppy disk, a working computer, a non-slipstreamed (if you don't know what this means, you'll be fine) Windows XP disc.

Now, depending on what version your XP disc is (Original release, Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2), download the boot disk .exe that applies to you from this link:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994

Run that little program and follow the prompts. It says you need six floppies, but you can just re-use the one floppy disc (ie. use it, then have the working computer turn it into the next boot disk, repeat).

Put it into your malfunctioning computer, Open the BIOS and change the primary boot device to the floppy disc (arrange it so it's at number one), save & exit and then reboot your computer. It should come up with simple-to-follow steps that will eventually lead to an option screen. Make sure you select "To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER," and not option two, the repair install.

It will look for existing installations of XP; select yours and then tell it to repair the current one. If the repair option isn't there, you're going to have to bail out otherwise you'll end up losing your files.

If that's the case, the only other option I can think of is to remove your sisters' hard drive and set it up in your computer as a slave drive and pray that it isn't corrupted.

Answer 5

you can install a second operating system like Ubuntu (linux) on a second partition and access the windows partition and save the files to the Ubuntu partition then save the files to an external hard drive, CD, DVD, or flash drive. You can also try Ultimate Boot Disk to see if you can fix your current windows operating system.

Answer 6

find a way to get a friend to burn you an UBUNTU live cd to get the files and store them on a thumb drive.  You HAVE to re-install windows after replacing the motherboard or processor.

Answer 7

you will need to install the operating system, but to backup, you need to physically take her hard drive, set the jumper to slave, and connect it to a working computer that has a operating system in it. When you boot up, the computer will display the current hard drive and your sis hard drive, Then just open, copy, and paste.