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XP will not start up

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by bodechek

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I have been doing a lot of searching, but was not successful in finding an answer. I have a Windows XP pro PC. Before this happened, I had Internet Explorer crash and wanted to send an error report. Since then when I try to boot into Windows, it keeps restarting. The Windows XP logo screen does not come on before reboot. It will not start up in regular windows, safe mode or safe mode command prompt. I have tried to boot using the windows xp cd to try and repair but get the error "File i386\ntkrnlmp.exe could not be loaded. Error code 4".

9 replies

by rajeev_rsd

HELLO THERE CAN B TWO OPTIONS FOR U
1.) U CAN BACKUP UR DATA (USING ANY PRE-BOOT ENVIRONMENT CD LIKE LIVE-CD'S) & ACTIVATION & THEN FORMAT UR SYSTEM & RE-INSTALL XP (USING UR CD). OR U CAN
2.)OR IF THE SAME ERROR OCCURS AGAIN THEN IT MEANS U NEED TO BUY A NEW WINDOWS XP CD. AS THAT CD WAS BEING SCRATCHED & NOW NOT READABLE/USABLE.

HOPE THIS WILL HELP
BYE

by bodechek

I already know about backing up data, I was hoping to fix the problem. As for the CD, it is a valid copy I really don't want to pay for another one.

by bodechek

Thanks, but I already know about backing up data I was hoping to be able to repair the problem. As for the XP CD, it is a valid copy.

by hal 9000

The first thing to do would be to test the HDD with the makers testing utility and see if it's working correctly. It sounds as if the HDD has gone bad and that is the most likely solution to your problem.

If the HDD is OK then try using the Ultimate Boot CD to test the rest of the unit for technical problems

http://tinyurl.com/3jnpy

If the unit passes all tests then the most likely thing is that the MBR's have become corrupt and you'll need to reformat the drive and perform a complete install to correct the problem.

Col

by queryeverything

System probably keeps rebooting because you have the property "On System Failure automatically reboot" ticked (System Properties -> Advanced tab -> Startup & Recovery). A bit of "after the horse has bolted here but it's worthy of note - I always ensure this is not selected.

Suspect that you are getting an internal kernel catastrophic error during the boot period.

The bit about ntkrnlmp.exe could be; file on CD corrupt (Try copying it on another PC), CD driver corruption or .... and here's where it all seems to fit together ... memory device error as the PME is attempting to load it into a memory partition.

Suggest you get a hold of the Ultimate Boot CD as mentioned by HAL 9000 and run memTest.

When was the last time you cleaned out all the dust etc from the PC? Many motherboards have an air path that blows across the memory devices to cool them down. Unfortunately this all means that the devices sticking up into the airflow also act as traps for dust and fluff. Dust can drop down into the device connector. Give the system a good clean out and remove memory, blow out the connectors, clean the device pins and reseat them.

By the way, you haven't mentioned whether you attempted to use the Recovery Console to investigate things and use its utilities.

by xt john

At the safe mode menu, is there an option to NOT reboot on error? I just saw this on a machine yesterday, which allowed me to have the machine pause at the BSOD. The message was a corrupt windows file. I wound up replacing the hard drive for the user as a just in case, because the XP repair wouldn't work. It kept getting stuck halfway through the install.

by wlbowers

Follow the directions here:

http://tinyurl.com/2zgk

This will reload the windows operating system. It will maintain all of your programs and user settings.

You will have to reinstall all of the updates.

Lee

by bodechek

The problem turned out to be bad memory. I won't be able to try your solution yet since the problem is hardware related.

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