Anna
Sun Jul 20 10:44:01 PDT 2008
"Freddie" <cadams1962@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Freddie.3cuazz@no-mx.tabletquestions.com...
> ::Hello.::
> ::I use Windows XP home edition (Version 5.1 Service pack 3).::
> ::When I switch my PC on I see the XP logo and the bar at the bottom
> showing the program is loading.::
> ::But the welcome screen does not appear, I get a blank screen.::
> ::I held the restart button down and the programme reloaded and gave me
> a choice of safe mode options.::
> ::In safe mode I did a system restore to a date about a week ago when I
> had no problems.::
> ::I then restarted the PC hoping the problem would be solved but again
> XP started to load but the welcome page did not appear just a blank
> screen. I held down restart and the safe mode options screen
> appeared.::
> ::In safe mode I changed the start up to diagnostic start up. But again
> the XP screen appeared and loaded then just a blank screen.::
> ::I am using the net and all the programs as normal in safe mode but I
> can start up as normal.::
> ::[A little knowledge is a dangerous thing ,but looking at error logs I
> think the registry might have become corrupted but that is just a
> guess]::
> --
> Freddie
Freddie:
Assuming you have a non-OEM-branded XP installation CD at your disposal and
not merely an OEM recovery CD or recovery partition situation, you might
consider running a Repair install of the XP OS at this point in time in view
of your other futile attempts to get the system up & running.
I assume you've never done this before so here's some general info on the
process...
Undertaking a Repair install of the OS is a relatively straightforward
process. It would be roughly akin to making a fresh install of the OS, but
in nearly every case your existing programs & user-created data would be
retained. Notice I said "nearly". While it would be a rather rare situation
where data would be lost or corrupted as a result of the Repair install, and
as unlikely as it may be, it *could* happen.
So if there are any programs and/or other data on your present drive that
are absolutely crucial to you and you could not tolerate their loss, then I
would strongly suggest that before undertaking this Repair install operation
that you first either make a "clone" of your existing HDD (using a disk
imaging program) or, if that's not practical, install the HDD in another
machine as a secondary HDD so that you can pull off whatever data you want
onto some removable media, e.g., flash drive, CD, etc.
Again, while it's a relatively rare event that a loss or corruption of data
will
occur even when the Repair install is unsuccessful, it *can* happen. So
I want you to be aware of this.
There are a number of websites that contain step-by-step instructions for
undertaking a Repair install. Let me assure you that it's not a difficult
process and not terribly time-consuming. It's roughly similar to making a
fresh install of the XP OS. If you do a Google search on "XP repair
install", you'll be pointed to many of these sites. Here are a few...
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winxppro/installxpcdrepair/indexfullpage.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341
Assuming the Repair install is successful, you should use your A-V program
to immediately check out your PC for any virus infestation. Also, you will
need to download/install *all* the MS critical updates since SP3. (I'm
assuming that if you undertake this Repair install of the XP OS, you will be
doing so with a XP installation CD that contains SP3). That, of course, is
one of the downsides re undertaking a Repair install in that it's usually an
onerous task to download all the Critical Updates from MS especially if you
have a dialup phone connection rather than broadband. However, if you're
using an XP installation CD that contains SP3 to undertake the Repair
install
that shouldn't be a problem because the number of critical updates since SP3
was released is minimal.
Anyway, give this some thought if you can't get your system back to a
functional state any other way.
(NOTE: There have been a number of reports, including one from Microsoft,
see (
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917964), that there could be a
problem
undertaking the Repair install should the user have previously installed
Internet
Explorer 7. Our experience has been that when the Repair install is
successful the
system simply reverts to IE6. Obviously the user can then reinstall IE7
should he
or she wish).
Just one other thing...
It's conceivable that you're dealing with some hardware-type problem here
and not just a corruption of the OS. Where a hardware-type problem is the
culprit in cases like the one you describe, it's usually the HDD that's
defective although it's entirely possible some other major component of your
system may be at the root of the problem you're experiencing. In any event,
it's possible that you may be dealing with a defective HDD so it probably
would be wise at this point to check out the HDD with a HDD diagnostic
utility you can (usually) download from the website of the disk's
manufacturer. It's very easy to use - the downloaded program allows you to
create either as a bootable floppy disk or bootable CD containing the HDD
diagnostic program. So give that some consideration.
Anna