URGENT! HELP!! XP update screwed computer..

[mb26]

i clicked on windows update, as my ISP told me there was a crucial security update.

however the only thing in the critical or whatever section of windows update was sp1.

so anyway i clicked to install that.. and it started installing.. asked if i wanted to install it so that it could be uninstalled later.. pressed yes, it went V slowly backing up and then it said it had been unsuccessful or had an error.. it said do i want to un-do what it had done or leave it 1/2 updated, so i said to undo what it had done.. then after a wait i closed the box that said 'installing components' or something like that (the one where there is a bar for downloading and installing on it)
then the computer was going V slowly, and i tried to close IE and it had almost stopped responding.. evvventually it closed, and then sporadic 'copying' files boxes came up, flashing up copying some files (flashed up really quickly, several times)...
then the computer shut itself down and restarted.

then it gets through to the windows XP home picture with the bar going across, and after that it restarts itself again! (this happens whenever i turn it on)

i have tried 'last known working configuration' on the boot menu, aswell as safe mode.. neither of them work!

i do not have a XP home cd, but i have a Pro CD, would the repair feature work on this? what commands would i have to type in?


i am thinking that the chances of getting it working again (without wiping the HDD) are minimal.. there are a few files that are needed for business on there (about 25mb of word docs), so what could i use to get them off.. a boot disk with NTFS support and then take off the files (yes, i realise this will be PAINFULLY slow) .. or is there another way? - it is a laptop so taking out the HDD i imagine isn't possible.. is there a way to get the network connection to work or anything
i think i have a serial/parrallel port to s/p cable which may be able to transfer data.. any chance of that working?

another option i have considered is gettin a version of Linux which would work off CD. if i could burn the CD with it on and then run off that allowing me to access my files and send them onto my other (this) computer via the network.
could someone tell me if this is possible and advise me which version to use (as similar to windows/easy to use as possible!)

PLEASE HELP!

[EzyStvy]

I'd go back and try the update again and see if it'll complete this time...

[Miz]

If you can't borrow an XP Home CD, you can try this with the Pro CD. No guarantees it'll work, of course.

Boot the computer with the XP CD in the CD drive. Hopefully, it will boot from the CD. If so, choose the Revcovery Console option and when it's loaded, type "chkdsk /r" (without the quotes) and press the enter key. The chkdsk process can take a while so be patient.

If it won't boot to the CD, you'll need to reboot and look for a screen with a reference to "Press * to enter setup" where * is the name of a keyboard key. Once in setup (which is another name for BIOS) look around for a way to put the CD drive first in the boot order. Once that change is made, "Exit saving changes" and let it continue booting, then follow the instructions for running chkdsk.

Note: The problem you experienced with the update sure sounds like you had an anti-virus program running (Norton, perhaps?) during the update process. Next time, disable an AV software before updating...because you really do need that latest update.

[mb26]

i'm pretty sure i didn't have NAV installed (but there is a tinnny possibility i did) .. anyway, NOW since i reinstalled winXP.. i dont feel like updating so i willlll install NAV for some protection.. but just for info how do i disable it?

and EzyStvy.. i could not boot into XP so how the helll was i supposed to try the update again.

[EzyStvy]

Excuse the heck out me. Promise to never read any of your threads again.

[glc]

Be nice, both of you.

If there is a "next time", pull the hard drive out and hook it into an XP desktop as the only drive on the secondary IDE (disconnect all drives on that controller) using one of these adapters to copy your files off.

http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=HD-108

To disable Norton, all you need to do is right click on the systray icon and select Disable Auto-Protect.

You really need to put SP1 on and do all the other critical updates.

[mb26]

sorry EzyStvy i didn't mean to be offensive but u know how annoying computers can be when they go wrong

(edit: i think i disabled the tray icon but i'm sure i can sort that out i guess.. also is it easy to get a HDD out of a laptop cuz i dont wanna wreck it?)

[bailey]

thats a loaded question.
some laptops make it very easy to replace the hard drive, while others make it more difficult.