Cannot boot into Windows XP

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James D - 25 Sep 2003 06:39 GMT

I recently upgraded the hard disk in my computer. I
partitioned, formatted and made the new disk active with
the Disk Management utility in Windows XP.
Then I cloned the old drive to the new one with Norton
Ghost. After that operation completed, I disconnected the
old drive and made the new drive a single master on the
Primary IDE. Booted the computer up to the Windows XP cd
and ran the "repair console" choosing the FIXBOOT option.
I rebooted and am at the point now where the computer
just "hangs" at the light blue Windows XP screen.

It appears that "most" of the files were copied. The
reason I say most is because when I did a comparison of
the old and new drives (used space) there appeared to be a
difference in total bytes of around 31,172,239. Was
something of importance not copied over?

Also, I didn't mention that I have 4 separate user
profiles on this hard drive. Would having separate user
profiles make a difference in the way it boots up?

I have been on this for about 2 weeks and really would
like to complete this project. Can someone PLEASE offer
assistance on this?

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Kent W. England [MVP] - 27 Sep 2003 19:35 GMT

Without any additional error messages to narrow the scope, I think at
this point you need to do a repair install. Boot the CD, choose
"install" and then choose to "repair" the current installation.

Signature

Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows

> I recently upgraded the hard disk in my computer. I
> partitioned, formatted and made the new disk active with
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> like to complete this project. Can someone PLEASE offer
> assistance on this?

Reply to this Message

James D - 29 Sep 2003 07:28 GMT

Thanks Kent, your are the only the SECOND to come up with this suggestion.
Which I did do and FINALLY got the system to boot as it used to. Only
problem now is some of the settings are wacky (not able to set .JPG files as
desktop background, folder icons NOT showing in Windows explorer and my
favorite, unable to access the internet. I'm getting an error when using the
IPCONFIG command that there is a file missing.) It was a quick fix to get me
back into windows, but alas, I think it is time for a "fresh" install.

Any suggestions on how to copy the complete settings over after a new
install?

> Without any additional error messages to narrow the scope, I think at
> this point you need to do a repair install. Boot the CD, choose
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> > like to complete this project. Can someone PLEASE offer
> > assistance on this?

Reply to this Message

Kent W. England [MVP] - 30 Sep 2003 05:58 GMT

That's odd, because I am the only reply I see, so how can I be SECOND?

:-)

Be sure to run "sfc /scannow" before you start over.

Run the FAST wizard on your current install and save the resulting big
file somewhere where you can access it after you fresh install. Then run
the FAST wizard again on the new system and import your files and
settings.

Then reinstall all your apps.

Signature

Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows

> Thanks Kent, your are the only the SECOND to come up with this suggestion.
> Which I did do and FINALLY got the system to boot as it used to. Only
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
> > > like to complete this project. Can someone PLEASE offer
> > > assistance on this?

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