What to do when Windows XP won’t boot?

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Windows XP is among the most commonly used operating system even after the release of newer versions. A XP user can have to face several issues while OS startup, installing, re-installing, migrating, loading or working with the OS.

I am going to discuss the case when the Windows XP OS turns unbootable.

There can be various malefactors that can lead to an unbootable Windows XP. Some common factors among them are: corrupt start up record of active partition, OS startup file corruption, misconfigured hardware and driver settings , issues with the hardware and driver settings, any impending change to the system-critical components, corrupt/damaged Boot.ini file, corrupt partition boot sector or issues with the master boot record.
  
What to do when Windows XP won’t boot?

Solution 1:
Troubleshoot the issue by restoring the system from recent backup:

If you have back up your system using some backup utility then you can perform a restore by using the restore instructions of the tool.

Solution 2:
Troubleshoot the issue by using system restore:

To use the System Restore feature:

• Press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] to restart the system.
• Select OS to start
• Or press F8 to go to Advanced Options.
• Select safe mode and hit Enter to run windows in safe mode
• Now, Go to Start>All Programs> Accessories> System Tools menu> System Restore.
• Select the option ‘Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time’. Next to continue further with restore process. 

Solution 3:
Troubleshoot the issue by booting the OS with the Last Known Good Configuration feature:

To boot the OS with Last Known Good Configuration:

• Press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] to restart the system.
• Press F8 to open the Advanced Options.
• From the menu, choose the Last Known Good Configuration
• Hit Enter

Solution 4:
Troubleshoot the issue by booting from the Windows XP CD:

You can use the recovery console feature to fix the issue, to do so:

• Insert the XP CD. Reboot the system by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][Delete].
• Load all basic Setup files.
• At the ‘Welcome To Setup screen’ press R.
• This will start the Recovery Console.
• When you are prompted for, select the desired OS.
• To open recovery console select from desired option from the menu number
• Fill the login credentials. The recovery Console will prompt, continue with the recovery process.

Solution 5:
Troubleshoot the issue using a Windows startup disk:

To create a Windows startup disk:

• Insert a floppy drive into another XP computer (that has same configurations as your problem system)
• After inserting the disk, Go to: My Computer> right-click the floppy disk icon> Format command. This will open the format dialog box. Click Start.
• Once the format is done close all open windows. Go to C drive and copy the Boot.ini, NTLDR and Ntdetect.com file to the floppy drive
• Insert the floppy drive to the problem system. Reboot the system using [Ctrl+Alt+Delete] command. Boot the OS from Windows startup disk to start Windows normally

Solution 6:
Troubleshoot the issue by using Bootcfg tool:

Use Bootcfg tool to fix a corrupt Boot.ini:

• Boot the system using the Windows XP CD
• Open the Recovery Console.
• Open the Recovery Console command prompt
• Run the command: Bootcfg /parameter

Where /parameter can be one of the following:

• /Add--Checks for all OS installations on the disk. And let you add a new installation in the Boot.ini file.
• /Scan--Scans all Windows OS installations on the disk.
• /List—shows all the parameters listed in the Boot.ini file.
• /Default--Using this option you can set the default OS as the main boot entry.
• /Rebuild—Let you re-create the Boot.ini file.
• /Redirect— using this option (with tow parameters Port Baudrate] | [UseBiosSettings]) you can redirect the boot operation to a specific port under the Headless Administration feature.
• /Disableredirect--Disables the redirection.

Solution 7:
Troubleshoot the issue by using Fixboot Recovery Console tool

Fix a corrupt partition boot sector using Fixboot:

• Boot the system using the Windows XP CD
• Open the Recovery Console.
• Open the Recovery Console command prompt
• Run the command: Fixboot [drive]\

Here, [drive] is the drive letter where a new partition boot sector is to be written.

Solution 8:
Troubleshoot the issue by running the Fixmbr tool:

To run the Fixmbr tool:

• Boot the system using the Windows XP CD
• Open the Recovery Console.
• Open the Recovery Console command prompt
• Run the command: Fixmbr [device_name]

Here, [device_name] is the drive device pathname where a new master boot record is to be written. For example: DeviceHardDisk0

Solution 9:
Troubleshoot the issue by disabling automatic restart

To do so:

• At the Windows XP boot screen, Select the operating system to start or press [F8] (if hear beep and open Windows Advanced Options
• Choose the option to ‘Disable The Automatic Restart On System Failure item’
• Hit [Enter]. 

Solution 10:

Troubleshoot the issue by performing an in-place upgrade

To perform an in-place upgrade:

• Insert the Windows XP CD.
• Restart the system, Select to boot from the CD.
• The Windows XP Setup screen will open. Press Enter to continue.
• On the License Agreement page and press [F8] to agree and continue.
• First Setup will search the previous installation, after that you can see a Setup screen with two options.
• Option 1: repair the selected installation by pressing R
• Option 2: install a fresh copy of Windows XP by pressing ‘Esc’.
• To perform an in-place upgrade, press R.
• After the in-place upgrade is done, reinstall all the Windows updates.

I hope this article will prove helpful for those who are facing the unbootable Windows XP problem.