Can't boot up to windows. Need some help.

[patislesfan]

Ok here's my problem in a nut shell. I can't boot up to winXP from the Hard Drive or the winXP CD.

Here's the situation. I had updated my BIOS at work rather easily so I thought I could do it at home. Why I needed to update my BIOS beats me. I didn't have to do it but I just have this infatuation with keeping things current and having the latest versions.

So I have the Asus A7N8X Deluxe MOBO. I used the Asus Probe program that came with the board to upgrade the BIOS. What happened next is a little fuzzy. First it didn't read my CPU normally and the FSB was not what I had it set at. So I tried to fix that and eventually I couldn't get back into winXP.

Is the BIOS file kept on the MOBO or the Hard Drive? I'm thinking the MOBO but i'm not sure.

So now when I try to boot from the Hard Drive it says that the file \system32\ntoskrnl.exe is missing or corrupt. And it says I can boot from the CD and type 'r' (repair) when the menu screen pops up. So I swich in the BIOS to boot from CD but when I boot from the CD nothing comes up.

So i'm stuck and need some help. I did some research on the BIOS and I thought of fixing that but that still doesn't help me getting into windows.

So if anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

Pat

[doctorgonzo]

Can you get into the BIOS?

If so, have you set the CD to be the first boot device? It needs to be (or at least it needs to be before the HD) for you to be able to boot from the CD.

The BIOS is stored in an EEPROM on the mobo. In general, you shouldn't flash a BIOS unless you need to do so to fix a specific problem.

[patislesfan]

I can get into the BIOS just fine.

I had it set to boot up from the CD and thats when I got that problem.

I guess I shouldn't have flashed the BIOS at all. I know there is a saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." but there's also a saying "If it ain't broke, open it up and find out why."

[doctorgonzo]

Can you try another CD drive? Another XP CD? Do you have any other bootable CDs to test?

[Panama Red]

1) Asus Probe is a monitoring program, not a bios updating program. Think you probably mean Asus Update which is a Windows program that allows you to update BIOS (flash) while your os is up and running. I've used it on several machines without a problem. Just remember to ALWAYS shut down your Anti Virus program before you do the Update.

2.) What CD are you trying to boot from? If you are running XP Home or Pro, you should be able to boot from your XP CD and do a repair. Don't use the repair console tho, use the install/repair. After the repair has run, you'll have to go to Windows Update to reinstall all the Updates to XP.

[patislesfan]

I don't really have any spare parts. I only have one XP CD and I don't have other bootable CDs to test.

I guess i'm not much help.

Right now i'm at work so I can't do much with the computer now but I wanted to get my question/concern out there. I'll be home later tonight when I can work on the computer.

[patislesfan]

I'm running XP Home edition. And yes Panama Red you are correct that it was the Asus Update. I didn't shut down my Anti Virus program though (PC Cillian).

I can't even get to the menu when I boot from the CD. I don't know why this would happen.

[Panama Red]

Keep us posted on tonite's progress. Perhaps someone else has some ideas, too. Good luck.

[patislesfan]

Thanks Panama Red. I'll see what I can do tonite. Would you advise the I refix the BIOS? I can download a copy at work here and put it on a floppy.

[Cricket]

BadFlash.com

Cricket

[patislesfan]

Thanks for the advice Cricket but I don't know if it's the BIOS. I can get into that but I can't even boot from the CD to run Windows Setup. It won't let me go through that process cause a file is missing.

I'm sorry really tired right now and not happy about this. I'm just affraid that I might lose all my data on my hard drive. Someone reassure me that I won't. Thanks.

[patislesfan]

Ok I've tried installing two different Linux versions and both of them won't go through the install process so that leads me to believe that it has something to do with the BIOS. Maybe you were right Cricket.

Anyone have any advice besides BadFlash.com?

Thanks.

[Cricket]

Before you do anything else, try removing one stick of RAM at a time before you try to install the OS.

And replace the IDE cables. I've had a bunch of 80 wire IDE cables go bad on me recently.

Cricket

[patislesfan]

Hey Cricket thanks for the advice once again. I just got some advice from a friend of mine to try to boot up in safe mode. I couldn't think of the key the other night be figured it out to be F8. I'll try that out tonight and let you all know what happens. If anyone else has any other thoughts on this issue all comments are welcome and appreciated. Thanks so much.

Kudos to Cricket and his new avatar.