XP Pro - How to recover system

[JCH]

I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the whole
thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the drive, can't
do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the "R"ecovery option
doesn't
do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the drive.
I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my options? Is there
a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me to recover my files? I
can't boot the system. Should I reformat and install XP Pro again? Will I be
able to recover my files, programs, and data?? Help!

[Jim]

Is this a retail version of XP or OEM (w/ recovery CD)?

Jim

"JCH" > wrote in message
. ..
> I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the
whole
> thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the drive,
can't
> do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the "R"ecovery option
> doesn't
> do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the
drive.
> I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my options? Is
there
> a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me to recover my files? I
> can't boot the system. Should I reformat and install XP Pro again? Will I
be
> able to recover my files, programs, and data?? Help!
>
>
>

[Will Denny]

Hi

When you come to the option to use the 'R'ecovery Console, press enter - =
the Setup program will start. After you have pressed F8 to accept the =
License Agreement, the program will search for any Windows installations =
on your system. When that has finished, at the next screen, select your =
XP installation from the list and press 'R' to start the Repair of your =
system.

If there is critical Registry or disk corruption you may well have to =
reformat and reinstall XP via a 'clean' install.

Will

"JCH" > wrote in message =
. ..
> I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the =
whole
> thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the drive, =
can't
> do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the "R"ecovery option
> doesn't
> do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the =
drive.
> I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my options? Is =
there
> a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me to recover my =
files? I
> can't boot the system. Should I reformat and install XP Pro again? =
Will I be
> able to recover my files, programs, and data?? Help!
>=20
>=20
>=20


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.493 / Virus Database: 292 - Release Date: 25/06/2003

[Will Denny]

I should have added - if you have an OEM version, you can only perform a =
'clean' install with it. I'm not sure what options are available with a =
'Recovery' CD provided by your PC supplier.

Will

"JCH" > wrote in message =
. ..
> I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the =
whole
> thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the drive, =
can't
> do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the "R"ecovery option
> doesn't
> do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the =
drive.
> I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my options? Is =
there
> a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me to recover my =
files? I
> can't boot the system. Should I reformat and install XP Pro again? =
Will I be
> able to recover my files, programs, and data?? Help!
>=20
>=20
>=20


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.493 / Virus Database: 292 - Release Date: 25/06/2003

[Michael Stevens]

JCH wrote:
> I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the
> whole thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the
> drive, can't do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the
> "R"ecovery option doesn't
> do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the
> drive. I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my
> options? Is there a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me
> to recover my files? I can't boot the system. Should I reformat and
> install XP Pro again? Will I be able to recover my files, programs,
> and data?? Help!

You sound like you only have the option to reinstall which will cause you to
lose most of your data. If the information is very important, I would remove
the hard drive with the information and replace it with a hard drive with
enough space to install a clean XP. After installing XP on the replacement
hard drive, you can jumper the old drive with XP as a slave or secondary
master to retrieve the important data.
Check the link below to make sure you have no other options to repair your
current installation. The warnings links have an article by Charlie White
you can try.
For step by step on repair install.
Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address box
if using the web based newsgroup.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP

http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

[JCH]

"Michael Stevens" > wrote in message
...
> JCH wrote:
> > I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the
> > whole thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the
> > drive, can't do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the
> > "R"ecovery option doesn't
> > do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the
> > drive. I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my
> > options? Is there a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me
> > to recover my files? I can't boot the system. Should I reformat and
> > install XP Pro again? Will I be able to recover my files, programs,
> > and data?? Help!
>
> You sound like you only have the option to reinstall which will cause you
to
> lose most of your data. If the information is very important, I would
remove
> the hard drive with the information and replace it with a hard drive with
> enough space to install a clean XP. After installing XP on the replacement
> hard drive, you can jumper the old drive with XP as a slave or secondary
> master to retrieve the important data.
> Check the link below to make sure you have no other options to repair your
> current installation. The warnings links have an article by Charlie White
> you can try.
> For step by step on repair install.
> Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address box
> if using the web based newsgroup.
> http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
> --
>
> Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
>
> http://michaelstevenstech.com
> For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
> http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

Thanks. I have the retail version of XP Pro btw. It does appear as though
the only option presented is to reinstall. I need to save my data and files
on the HD but I can not access those files to copy them. I haven't tried
yet but I don't think I'd be able to access those files if I move the HD to
a slave and install XP on a new HD. Are there any recommendations for 3rd
party software that can recover data?? Any other options? Thanks. One thing
I did which I wished I hadn't: I ran "FIXBOOT" from the XP recovery module
in an effort to improve the situation. What happened was that now I can't
even DIR the drive. All I get is "BOOTEX.LOG".

[Jim]

1) Visit http://www.bootitng.com and download BootIt NG. Unzip the file,
execute BOOTITNG.EXE to create the floppy, and boot the floppy.

2) When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, select Cancel, and follow the
prompts to the partition manager.

3) Select the bootable partition, hit Resize, and downsize as much as
possible (beware the reported minimum size is often wrong, it may require a
few MBs more).

4) Select the resized, bootable partition, hit Slide, specify ZERO MBs of
freespace AFTER the partition, and hit OK. Your partition will be moved to
the end of the HD.

5) Select the freespace preceding the just slid partition, hit Create, File
System Type = FAT32, Size = (maximum available is fine), check Format, and
hit OK. Your new partition will be created, checked for surface errors (you
can skip this step w/ Cancel if you feel it unnecessary, it will still be
created), and formatted.

6) Select the new C: partition, hit Resize, but this time, check "Align for
NTFS". The resizing options will be disabled, just hit OK. This will cause
the FAT32 partition to be "aligned" for later NTFS conversion. If you don't
do this, then if you convert your FAT32 partition to NTFS once XP is
installed, you will be stuck w/ much less efficient 512 byte sectors,
instead of the much more desireable 4K sectors. SO DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!

7) Hit View MBR. You will see two entries in the MBR, one for your new
partition (the first entry) and the other for the old XP parition (the
second entry). The second entry will probably have it's Active indicator
set, we need to disable it so the XP install will NOT consider it a bootable
partition and add it to the dual boot menu. Select the second MBR entry,
hold down the Shift key, and hit Set Active. This will REMOVE the Active
indicator from that MBR entry. All that should be listed in the MBR are the
entries for your new and old partitions, NO active partitions.

8) Hit Close, remove the floppy, insert your bootable XP CD, and hit Reboot
(may require a temporary BIOS boot sequence change to boot CD first). When
the XP CD loads and eventually exposes its own partition manager, you don't
need to repartition, just tell it to install in the new C: partition we just
created w/ BootIt NG! XP install will not disturb your D: (data) partition!
Continue the XP install as normal.
8) Once XP boots, you can convert the partition to NTFS (if you like) using
the following command:

convert c: /fs:ntfs

This will require a reboot to free the C: resource for conversion. Once
converted and rebooted, go to a command line, issue a CHKDSK command, and
verify you indeed have 4K sectors (allocation units).

What you should have as a result of these operations is a new C: partition
to which you will install the OS anew, and a D: (data) partition constructed
from your old OS installation. Once XP is installed, you can copy any old
files (documents, config settings, mp3's, etc.) from D: to C:. Granted, it
won't help recover your programs, you'll need to reinstall those, but you
will recover the most important and irreplaceable items, your DATA!

HTH

Jim


"JCH" > wrote in message
. ..
> I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the
whole
> thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the drive,
can't
> do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the "R"ecovery option
> doesn't
> do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the
drive.
> I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my options? Is
there
> a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me to recover my files? I
> can't boot the system. Should I reformat and install XP Pro again? Will I
be
> able to recover my files, programs, and data?? Help!
>
>
>

[JCH]

Thank You! This doesn't work however. My HD is system files are in such
shape that the BOOTITNG program will not recognize the partition. I also
have Partition Magic and it doesn't help either. What I guess I need is a
utility which will fix/repair the partition table (and other system files)
on my HD. Any suggestions?

"Jim" > wrote in message
news:kTCKa.75414$Dr3.29997@fed1read02...
> 1) Visit http://www.bootitng.com and download BootIt NG. Unzip the file,
> execute BOOTITNG.EXE to create the floppy, and boot the floppy.
>
> 2) When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, select Cancel, and follow the
> prompts to the partition manager.
>
> 3) Select the bootable partition, hit Resize, and downsize as much as
> possible (beware the reported minimum size is often wrong, it may require
a
> few MBs more).
>
> 4) Select the resized, bootable partition, hit Slide, specify ZERO MBs of
> freespace AFTER the partition, and hit OK. Your partition will be moved
to
> the end of the HD.
>
> 5) Select the freespace preceding the just slid partition, hit Create,
File
> System Type = FAT32, Size = (maximum available is fine), check Format, and
> hit OK. Your new partition will be created, checked for surface errors
(you
> can skip this step w/ Cancel if you feel it unnecessary, it will still be
> created), and formatted.
>
> 6) Select the new C: partition, hit Resize, but this time, check "Align
for
> NTFS". The resizing options will be disabled, just hit OK. This will
cause
> the FAT32 partition to be "aligned" for later NTFS conversion. If you
don't
> do this, then if you convert your FAT32 partition to NTFS once XP is
> installed, you will be stuck w/ much less efficient 512 byte sectors,
> instead of the much more desireable 4K sectors. SO DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!
>
> 7) Hit View MBR. You will see two entries in the MBR, one for your new
> partition (the first entry) and the other for the old XP parition (the
> second entry). The second entry will probably have it's Active indicator
> set, we need to disable it so the XP install will NOT consider it a
bootable
> partition and add it to the dual boot menu. Select the second MBR entry,
> hold down the Shift key, and hit Set Active. This will REMOVE the Active
> indicator from that MBR entry. All that should be listed in the MBR are
the
> entries for your new and old partitions, NO active partitions.
>
> 8) Hit Close, remove the floppy, insert your bootable XP CD, and hit
Reboot
> (may require a temporary BIOS boot sequence change to boot CD first).
When
> the XP CD loads and eventually exposes its own partition manager, you
don't
> need to repartition, just tell it to install in the new C: partition we
just
> created w/ BootIt NG! XP install will not disturb your D: (data)
partition!
> Continue the XP install as normal.
> 8) Once XP boots, you can convert the partition to NTFS (if you like)
using
> the following command:
>
> convert c: /fs:ntfs
>
> This will require a reboot to free the C: resource for conversion. Once
> converted and rebooted, go to a command line, issue a CHKDSK command, and
> verify you indeed have 4K sectors (allocation units).
>
> What you should have as a result of these operations is a new C: partition
> to which you will install the OS anew, and a D: (data) partition
constructed
> from your old OS installation. Once XP is installed, you can copy any old
> files (documents, config settings, mp3's, etc.) from D: to C:. Granted,
it
> won't help recover your programs, you'll need to reinstall those, but you
> will recover the most important and irreplaceable items, your DATA!
>
> HTH
>
> Jim
>
>
> "JCH" > wrote in message
> . ..
> > I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the
> whole
> > thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the drive,
> can't
> > do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the "R"ecovery option
> > doesn't
> > do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the
> drive.
> > I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my options? Is
> there
> > a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me to recover my files?
I
> > can't boot the system. Should I reformat and install XP Pro again? Will
I
> be
> > able to recover my files, programs, and data?? Help!
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[Kent W. England [MVP]]

Wait a sec! You might have a boot sector virus. Running fixboot and
fixmbr from the Recovery Console could recover access to your partition
if you aren't running a third-party boot manager (in that event, they
have instructions for recovery). You ran fixboot, but you didn't run
fixmbr. Worth a shot.

Did you have someone else's floppy in your drive when you started or
shutdown? That's a common way to get a boot sector virus.

--
Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows



"JCH" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Michael Stevens" > wrote in message
> ...
> > JCH wrote:
> > > I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan
the
> > > whole thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR
the
> > > drive, can't do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the
> > > "R"ecovery option doesn't
> > > do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat
the
> > > drive. I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my
> > > options? Is there a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow
me
> > > to recover my files? I can't boot the system. Should I reformat
and
> > > install XP Pro again? Will I be able to recover my files,
programs,
> > > and data?? Help!
> >
> > You sound like you only have the option to reinstall which will
cause you
> to
> > lose most of your data. If the information is very important, I
would
> remove
> > the hard drive with the information and replace it with a hard drive
with
> > enough space to install a clean XP. After installing XP on the
replacement
> > hard drive, you can jumper the old drive with XP as a slave or
secondary
> > master to retrieve the important data.
> > Check the link below to make sure you have no other options to
repair your
> > current installation. The warnings links have an article by Charlie
White
> > you can try.
> > For step by step on repair install.
> > Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address
box
> > if using the web based newsgroup.
> > http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
> > --
> >
> > Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
> >
> > http://michaelstevenstech.com
> > For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
> > http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm
>
> Thanks. I have the retail version of XP Pro btw. It does appear as
though
> the only option presented is to reinstall. I need to save my data and
files
> on the HD but I can not access those files to copy them. I haven't
tried
> yet but I don't think I'd be able to access those files if I move the
HD to
> a slave and install XP on a new HD. Are there any recommendations for
3rd
> party software that can recover data?? Any other options? Thanks. One
thing
> I did which I wished I hadn't: I ran "FIXBOOT" from the XP recovery
module
> in an effort to improve the situation. What happened was that now I
can't
> even DIR the drive. All I get is "BOOTEX.LOG".
>
>
>

[Jim]

Hmm..., that's an important little detail (i.e., the fact your partition
table is corrupted) that would have been helpful to have known from the
beginning!, because if true, then obviously I can see why PM or BootIt NG
can't see the partition. BootIt NG does have an Undelete option, it scans
the HD looking for telltale signs of previously deleted partitions, so
there's a *chance* it might be able to recover it, worth a shot. There
other partition recovery tools as well, of course, (
http://www.webattack.com/get/apartition.shtml ).

Jim

"JCH" > wrote in message
...
> Thank You! This doesn't work however. My HD is system files are in such
> shape that the BOOTITNG program will not recognize the partition. I also
> have Partition Magic and it doesn't help either. What I guess I need is a
> utility which will fix/repair the partition table (and other system files)
> on my HD. Any suggestions?
>
> "Jim" > wrote in message
> news:kTCKa.75414$Dr3.29997@fed1read02...
> > 1) Visit http://www.bootitng.com and download BootIt NG. Unzip the
file,
> > execute BOOTITNG.EXE to create the floppy, and boot the floppy.
> >
> > 2) When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, select Cancel, and follow
the
> > prompts to the partition manager.
> >
> > 3) Select the bootable partition, hit Resize, and downsize as much as
> > possible (beware the reported minimum size is often wrong, it may
require
> a
> > few MBs more).
> >
> > 4) Select the resized, bootable partition, hit Slide, specify ZERO MBs
of
> > freespace AFTER the partition, and hit OK. Your partition will be moved
> to
> > the end of the HD.
> >
> > 5) Select the freespace preceding the just slid partition, hit Create,
> File
> > System Type = FAT32, Size = (maximum available is fine), check Format,
and
> > hit OK. Your new partition will be created, checked for surface errors
> (you
> > can skip this step w/ Cancel if you feel it unnecessary, it will still
be
> > created), and formatted.
> >
> > 6) Select the new C: partition, hit Resize, but this time, check "Align
> for
> > NTFS". The resizing options will be disabled, just hit OK. This will
> cause
> > the FAT32 partition to be "aligned" for later NTFS conversion. If you
> don't
> > do this, then if you convert your FAT32 partition to NTFS once XP is
> > installed, you will be stuck w/ much less efficient 512 byte sectors,
> > instead of the much more desireable 4K sectors. SO DON'T SKIP THIS
STEP!
> >
> > 7) Hit View MBR. You will see two entries in the MBR, one for your new
> > partition (the first entry) and the other for the old XP parition (the
> > second entry). The second entry will probably have it's Active
indicator
> > set, we need to disable it so the XP install will NOT consider it a
> bootable
> > partition and add it to the dual boot menu. Select the second MBR
entry,
> > hold down the Shift key, and hit Set Active. This will REMOVE the
Active
> > indicator from that MBR entry. All that should be listed in the MBR are
> the
> > entries for your new and old partitions, NO active partitions.
> >
> > 8) Hit Close, remove the floppy, insert your bootable XP CD, and hit
> Reboot
> > (may require a temporary BIOS boot sequence change to boot CD first).
> When
> > the XP CD loads and eventually exposes its own partition manager, you
> don't
> > need to repartition, just tell it to install in the new C: partition we
> just
> > created w/ BootIt NG! XP install will not disturb your D: (data)
> partition!
> > Continue the XP install as normal.
> > 8) Once XP boots, you can convert the partition to NTFS (if you like)
> using
> > the following command:
> >
> > convert c: /fs:ntfs
> >
> > This will require a reboot to free the C: resource for conversion. Once
> > converted and rebooted, go to a command line, issue a CHKDSK command,
and
> > verify you indeed have 4K sectors (allocation units).
> >
> > What you should have as a result of these operations is a new C:
partition
> > to which you will install the OS anew, and a D: (data) partition
> constructed
> > from your old OS installation. Once XP is installed, you can copy any
old
> > files (documents, config settings, mp3's, etc.) from D: to C:. Granted,
> it
> > won't help recover your programs, you'll need to reinstall those, but
you
> > will recover the most important and irreplaceable items, your DATA!
> >
> > HTH
> >
> > Jim
> >
> >
> > "JCH" > wrote in message
> > . ..
> > > I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the
> > whole
> > > thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the drive,
> > can't
> > > do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the "R"ecovery option
> > > doesn't
> > > do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the
> > drive.
> > > I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my options? Is
> > there
> > > a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me to recover my
files?
> I
> > > can't boot the system. Should I reformat and install XP Pro again?
Will
> I
> > be
> > > able to recover my files, programs, and data?? Help!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
>

[JCH]

Thanks! But that didn't work. What seems to be the major issue at this
point is the HD appears to be one large partition with nothing on it. This
is a 40GB HD which was (is) about half full with files/programs/data. After
having foolishly done the fixboot command from the XP recovery module, I can
no longer DIR the HD or see any files. Prior to that I could not boot up or
run Windows due to a virus. Is there a program which will scan the drive and
restore the partition table, etc?

"Kent W. England [MVP]" > wrote in message
...
> Wait a sec! You might have a boot sector virus. Running fixboot and
> fixmbr from the Recovery Console could recover access to your partition
> if you aren't running a third-party boot manager (in that event, they
> have instructions for recovery). You ran fixboot, but you didn't run
> fixmbr. Worth a shot.
>
> Did you have someone else's floppy in your drive when you started or
> shutdown? That's a common way to get a boot sector virus.
>
> --
> Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows
>
>
>
> "JCH" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Michael Stevens" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > JCH wrote:
> > > > I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan
> the
> > > > whole thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR
> the
> > > > drive, can't do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the
> > > > "R"ecovery option doesn't
> > > > do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat
> the
> > > > drive. I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my
> > > > options? Is there a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow
> me
> > > > to recover my files? I can't boot the system. Should I reformat
> and
> > > > install XP Pro again? Will I be able to recover my files,
> programs,
> > > > and data?? Help!
> > >
> > > You sound like you only have the option to reinstall which will
> cause you
> > to
> > > lose most of your data. If the information is very important, I
> would
> > remove
> > > the hard drive with the information and replace it with a hard drive
> with
> > > enough space to install a clean XP. After installing XP on the
> replacement
> > > hard drive, you can jumper the old drive with XP as a slave or
> secondary
> > > master to retrieve the important data.
> > > Check the link below to make sure you have no other options to
> repair your
> > > current installation. The warnings links have an article by Charlie
> White
> > > you can try.
> > > For step by step on repair install.
> > > Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address
> box
> > > if using the web based newsgroup.
> > > http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
> > > --
> > >
> > > Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
> > >
> > > http://michaelstevenstech.com
> > > For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
> > > http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm
> >
> > Thanks. I have the retail version of XP Pro btw. It does appear as
> though
> > the only option presented is to reinstall. I need to save my data and
> files
> > on the HD but I can not access those files to copy them. I haven't
> tried
> > yet but I don't think I'd be able to access those files if I move the
> HD to
> > a slave and install XP on a new HD. Are there any recommendations for
> 3rd
> > party software that can recover data?? Any other options? Thanks. One
> thing
> > I did which I wished I hadn't: I ran "FIXBOOT" from the XP recovery
> module
> > in an effort to improve the situation. What happened was that now I
> can't
> > even DIR the drive. All I get is "BOOTEX.LOG".
> >
> >
> >
>

[Kent W. England [MVP]]

Terabyte Unlimited offers "MBRWORK" but that can be a dangerous tool if
you don't know how to use it. Booting to the CD, selecting the first
repair option should bring up the Recovery Console. I would run fixboot
and fixmbr (unless you use some other boot manager software) to try to
recover your boot sector. AFAIK, fixboot rewrites the boot sector code
(like the DOS fdisk /mbr command) but doesn't touch the master boot
record. fixmbr fixes the MBR, but doesn't rewrite the boot sector code.
The command "justfixit" doesn't exist in this version of RC. (But
perhaps it should ;-)

--
Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows



"JCH" > wrote in
message ...

> Thank You! This doesn't work however. My HD is system files are in
such
> shape that the BOOTITNG program will not recognize the partition. I
also
> have Partition Magic and it doesn't help either. What I guess I need
is a
> utility which will fix/repair the partition table (and other system
files)
> on my HD. Any suggestions?

[JCH]

Thanks to all who replied in an effort to help. Indeed I have recovered (I
believe) all of my data. I searched and found 3rd party recovery software
(www.getdataback.com) which worked! I took the "bad" drive out and put it
in another computer then ran the recovery software. It takes awhile as it
scans each sector and tries to put together the files and directories which
are discovered. Then I copied the newly found files to another drive. I
haven't put all the pieces back together again but I'm on the road to
recovery... :) Again, thanks to all.

"JCH" > wrote in message
. ..
> I had a virus notification and when I started a virus system scan the
whole
> thing went down. Now I can't boot into safe mode, can't DIR the drive,
can't
> do anything. I can boot from the XP Pro CD but the "R"ecovery option
> doesn't
> do anything. If I install XP Pro again then it wants to reformat the
drive.
> I DO NOT want to lose all my files and data. What are my options? Is
there
> a 3rd party software (Nortons?) which will allow me to recover my files? I
> can't boot the system. Should I reformat and install XP Pro again? Will I
be
> able to recover my files, programs, and data?? Help!
>
>
>