System restore without Windows?

Question

I have a Dimension 5100 with XP Home edition OS.  It generally runs slower than I think it should, but I've otherwise had no major problems with it...until yesterday.  Yesterday, I turned it on and the black screen with the blue header that says dell.com showed up as usual, but then it just went blank...all black.  A minute or so later, it says on the screen:    'Windows cound not restart because the following file is missing or corrupt: \system32
toskrnl.exe Please install a copy of the above file.'   I know this file is part of the old NT operating system file that XP was built on, and I know it's about 2.1 Mb, as I have found the file on my work computer.   1.  Can I copy this file from my work computer to a CD and insert the CD at home to load it onto my comp by booting to the CD drive? (can't do it to a floppy and boot to the floppy, because the floppy doesn't have enough space.) OR 2.  Can I just do a system restore back to a few days ago, so I don't lose all my data and applications, if windows doesn't work?  (I noticed everywhere the forums show how to do a system restore, it tells you how to do it from the Start menu...I'm not getting ANY windows activity, much less a Start button.)   Good help would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!!  ~Kim

RoHe · Answer

The file on the other pc would have to be exactly the right version of the .exe for that to work. There are 5 versions with different creation dates on my PC with XPpro SP2, so probably each came from a different Microsoft update.

Reboot and press F12 before XP starts to load. Go to Utilities partition and run the extended hard drive tests. Copy down any error messages.

Then boot from your XP CD and press R to start Recovery Console
At C: prompt, type in:
chkdsk c: /p /r
Press Enter
Take a nap while this runs. ;)

Then remove XP CD and reboot from hard drive. Press F8 before XP tries to load. Select Last Known Good. If that gets you to desktop, shut down nomrally and reboot normally. And then back up your files to CD just to be safe.

Ron

Message Edited by RoHe on 02-07-2008 11:49 AM

kims-quilts.com · Answer

Thanks for the help. I have an XP cd on the way...it didn't come with my comp order.  When it gets here, I'll give this a shot....thanks again!  Looking forward to that nap...lol

RoHe · Answer

zzzz....zzzzz....

AnotherNewGuy · Answer

Forgive me, but I just have to ask if there's a floppy in the floppy drive ;o)

kims-quilts.com · Answer

Thanks again for your help RoHe. I did the diagnostics you mentioned and found there are 2 blocks in my HD that are corrupt.

I mentioned what was going on to a friend and he talked me through some of what I needed to do. (I wasn't aware he knew as much about this stuff as he does. What a nice surprise!) He loaned me an external HD set-up so I could get the machine going. All is well now...I have a few more details to work out, but I've avoided losing any data, so I'm happy! I do need to put the new HD in the right spot so I can close the box up again.

So thanks and have a great day!! ~Kim

kims-quilts.com · Answer

The floppy drive is external.  In fact, I've never used it.  There were no disks in the CD or DVD drives either.

RoHe · Answer

Glad you identified the problem and were able to back up your files. Sorry 'bout the hard drive. :( Ron

link2c · Answer

Hey Ron,

I'm having the same issue except that I don't have a restore cd. I've done it in the past by going to system tools and then restoring to an earlier date. When I've tried it lately due to slower performance and small but various issues, it won't let me click on any dates other than the highlighted date that I started noticing problems. Like something has locked it down to keep whatever it was that loaded onto my pc (i think its adware). Any solutions?

Thanks,

Rob

RoHe · Answer

@link2c wrote:

Hey Ron,

I'm having the same issue except that I don't have a restore cd. I've done it in the past by going to system tools and then restoring to an earlier date. When I've tried it lately due to slower performance and small but various issues, it won't let me click on any dates other than the highlighted date that I started noticing problems. Like something has locked it down to keep whatever it was that loaded onto my pc (i think its adware). Any solutions?

Thanks,

Rob

Always include model of PC and version of Windows in your posts. :(

What "same issue"? Please be specifc.

Sounds like your System Restore database is corrupted. But that can be handled after you fix whatever is your real problem.

If you need the XP Reintallation CD (it's not the same as a Restore CD), start here, but don't reinstall XP until all else fails. ;)

Ron

Windows General

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