XP Won't Start

If you have the original XP cd (The MS one with the pretty holograms) then you can boot to that. It will ask you initially if you would like the Automated System Recovery and that is the one you do not want. After it boots, and all of the drivers have loaded it will notice that you have an existing XP install, and then it will ask you if you would like to use the Recovery Console... that is the selection you want. You MUST have the local administrator password to do this... NO user accounts that were created will function.

From here it will allow you to access the HDD and possibly repair the os.

start your pc and hit F8. Select Last Known Good Configuration then enter. If doesn't work, start your pc in safe mode and use system restore. If still doesn't work, try recovery console. To use the Recovery Console, restart the computer with the installation CD for the operating system in the CD drive. When prompted during text-mode setup, press R to start the Recovery Console. From the Recovery Console, you can access the drives on your computer. You can then make any of the following changesso that you can start your computer:
Enable or disable device drivers or services.
Copy files from the installation CD for the operating system, or copy files from other removable media. For example, you can copy an essential file that had been deleted.
Create a new boot sector and new master boot record (MBR). You might need to do this if there are problems starting from the existing boot sector.
After all these attempts fail to recover your pc, then try use the automatic system recovery but you need to have a backup created by the automatic system recovery wizard and it's not available in XP home version. The last option you can do is reinstall your operating system then restore your data from a backup.

It is likely that you do not have a microsoft original disk as HP are a microsoft partner and as such distribute their own media. However on the HP machines with XP installed that I have dealt with there is a diagnostic utility built in to the hardware which is activated by pressing a function key at start up. This accesses a hidden partition which stores the original setup from hp and you should be able to use the options available to repair the install without losing all data.

Hi again sorry the info did not work I have used this before to restore a system without the error you describe. I do not know for sure what the cause is however i would speculate that there might be a hardware problem, whether this is related to the virus would be unlikely but not impossible as some strains of virus attack the bios and hidden sectors to specifically upset systems such as yours. Most microsoft partners have to protect the software that they distribute so that it is locked to the system, usually this is done by some kind of tag file that is stored in the hidden sector and in the bios, if this becomes damaged then it must be put back in order for the recovery routine to work, I have worked with nec/packard bell systems that use a similar restore method and this sometimes is what causes the user not to be able to restore the machine as the recovery routine thinks it is being run on the wrong spec machine. If your hdd hidden sector is damaged then you may need to get an HP engineer to reset it as the software tools to do this are rarely available to the public. Hope this helps!!!

Thanks to all for your help! I found out that the compressed NTLDR appears to be an error on HP's part. I can change status to non-compressed and it continues past that point. Other problems arise then, but I surmounted them too to access XP and data files. Unfortunately, some important files were lost and the apparent capacity of the HD was halved. Had to reformat the drive and restore from the restoration sector. Later found a fix from F-Secure, but it arrived too late.

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