On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 14:48:45 -0400, William B. Lurie wrote:

Sharon, thank you for the link to the Micro site on RC.
That told a lot, maybe more than we realize. Maybe my
system doesn't act right because some files that ought
to be there, aren't. Like, I can't remove what isn't
there, but who knows what else ought to be there, that
could be halting my XP initializing and loading all
the way? But I scanned the Master, which does boot okay,
and I can't find cmdcons folder or cmldr file. I suppose
they're all on the Installation CD, but I wouldn't know
what to look for, or how to get it repaired via Repair
Install.
I'm enjoying the process of getting educated, even though
it's obvious that my frustration can be misinterpreted.

If you don't have the file and folder, you don't have them. There's nothing
to delete and the boot path in boot.ini has been removed. Makes one wonder
where you would have ended up if you had elected to boot with the Recovery
Console though.

I think that all you've accomplished so far is to eliminate the presence of
a second boot option as the cause for the boot failure. You'll need to look
elsewhere for it. I see Michael has made some good suggestions for you
about trying a logged boot. Sounds like a worthwhile plan.

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows XP Shell/User