"We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully"

I'm trying to recover some vitally important files from my Dad's computer. He passed away last year and I really need these files. I was searching and saving files when everything slowed waaaay down, so I did a disk cleanup and planned to Defrag. It didn't want to Defrag so I tried to restart and I got the following message. I'm pretty sure his computer has Windows XP Professional.

"We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this.

If your computer stopped responding, restarted unexpectedly, or was automatically shut down to protect your files and folders, choose Last Known Good Configuration to revert to the most recent settings that worked.

If a previous startup attempt was interrupted due to a power of failure or because the Power or Reset button was pressed, or if you aren’t sure what caused the problem, choose Start Windows Normally.

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked)
Start Windows Normally "


I've tried all of the options listed above, but each one will bring me back to the same screen with the above text. I've also tried to reboot and press F8 to go to safe mode. No luck. I've found several places online where people have had the same problem and of course there are many different suggestions for correcting this. Most say it is not the hard drive itself, but the Windows installation. However, one site scared me with the comment that if the files on the hard drive are important..."In data recovery it is NEVER a good idea to install, copy, surf the Internet, reboot the machine, or do ANYTHING on the hard drive you are now trying to recover the data from. I often tell customer they need to Slave the hard disk to another computer."

If I can find his XP Pro disk (I have XP Home Edition on my computer), do you think it is safe to try booting from it or reinstalling it or do I need professional help? I REALLY need to save those files! ...and what if I can't find his disk?

Thanks for your help,
Patti in AL

 

I will go to my Mom's house soon (tomorrow I hope) and try to find the disk. What exactly is a "repair install"?

If I have to slave the drive to a different computer, I'll probably have to find a professional. I'm not sure I'm ready for that!

Thanks,
Patti

 

I'm reading the pages suggested and found the following comment on that site that concerns me...

"Nice, informative and very clear instructions.

However, there should be a MAJOR warning/caution to all potential users that this will not work for all XP CDs.

Why not?

If you have an XP CD that was supplied by an OEM (came with your branded Compaq/Dell/Acer/Toshiba etc PC) then this XP CD has been customised by the OEM so that it AUTOMATICALLY runs the XP setup procedure, choosing certain options in certain screens for you, which definitely prevent you from going the non-destructive repair route.

ie booting from these OEM CDs, the ONLY option you have is a complete wipe - as several people here have found..."

Have you found this to be the case? I'm pretty sure this would be an OEM installed XP.

Patti

 

same thing happened to me,i used the less wordy info that just happens to be on this page on the similar threads applet below http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=145431
but i also used freds advice as a detailed guide.

 

Thanks for all the help so far. All comments are welcomed. 4:30 comes early, so I'm off for now but will check back in tomorrow...hopefully with the original disk he received with the computer. Thanks again and please let me know if you think of anything else that might help. I'm normally not quite so timid to try things, but it is very important that I get these files.

Patti in AL

 

If your not comfortable with slaving the drive in another machine you could try getting yourself a external USB case.

This is remarkably easy to do, you will just need to know if the hard drive is
IDE or SATA
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/4/1988714/sata3large.jpg
the one on the left is IDE the other is SATA.
There are plenty of folks on this forum who will help you if you have hassles with any of this.
Then just connect it to a working machine via it's USB port running an NT based OS like XP.

Just a suggestion

 

Have you thought about removing the hard drive and installing it as a slave in a working computer? That should enable you to recover the files.

 

Thank you all so much for your help. I decided to call an old trustworthy friend to see if he could help. I took it to his house last night and he's having problems recovering the files. He tried everything he knew to do, but is taking it to work with him today to get his boss (a formally trained IT Specialist) to offer suggestions. He thinks all may be lost, but he's not giving up on it yet. I will let you know how it turns out. Thank again for all your help. I learn something new every time I come to this site.

Patti in AL