Windows XP will not start

purpleck

Hi, I have a major problem and am wondering if anyone can help inform me
on any of these things. Thank you very much in advance!!

I have Windows XP the home version, on a Gateway desktop computer,
probably at least 6 or 7 years old. For a few weeks or more, it was
acting up and would start to shut down on me suddenly, then say that it
"recovered from a serious error."

Then Windows stopped starting up completely, and I started to get this
message instead when I turned on my computer:
winlogon.exe
"This application has failed to start because ODBC32.dll was not found.
Re-installing the application may fix this problem."
Then if you close that window, I eventually get another error message
saying:
"User Interface Failure - The logon user interface DLL msgina.dll
failed to load. Replace the DLL, or restore the original DLL."

I tried running repair installations of Windows XP, but it would say
that it couldn't copy many of the necessary files, including the
ODBC32.dll, so it was never successful, and I keep getting the same
error messages. I also have tried to get into the recovery console to
run a chkdisk or other commands, but it will not let me in, because I
cannot get any administrator password to work. I have tried to recover
the password, but no success. I even tried a trick of getting into a
security hole during repair and accessing NUSRMGR.CPL and trying to
change the password, but it did not work, probably because the Windows
XP repair installation didn't complete properly, due to not being able
to copy the needed files.

I am getting another desktop computer that has Windows XP on it in a
week, and it is only a few years old and in good condition. I will no
longer need this old computer, but I am in desperate need of the files
that are on it, for taxes/financial info etc. I am poor and can't
afford to hire someone to try to recover it for me, but I need the files
as soon as possible.

I read that I can disconnect the hard drive from the computer, and I
looked up in the manual that came with the computer, and though I have
never opened up a computer before, I think I could probably follow that
and do it.

My main question is, is there any way to then hook up that damaged/bad
hard drive to the new computer and access the files, even though windows
won't start on the old/damaged hard drive? Like would I be able to
access just the files, similar to the way you normally can, by accessing
"My Computer", then "C:" etc? I read on another site about something
called a "slave drive" or something like that? Is there a site that
would explain how to do that? My computer knowledge is very limited,
but I am somewhat intelligent, so am hoping that I can somehow find a
way to retrieve the files from this hard disk. I am not sure if this is
even possible. Thank you for any help or pointers!

Malke

purpleck wrote:

(snippage)

> My main question is, is there any way to then hook up that damaged/bad
> hard drive to the new computer and access the files, even though windows
> won't start on the old/damaged hard drive?

Yes. Assuming that the hard drive is physically sound (which is an
assumption that I wouldn't make based on your description of the issues but
it's certainly worth a try), you can get data off the drive.

1. Pull the drive and slave it in a computer running a working install of
XP/Vista. Depending on the target drive's characteristics, you may need a
drive adapter; i.e., laptop-to-IDE or a SATA controller card, etc. A
usb/firewire external drive enclosure works very well, too. Use the working
Windows Explorer to copy the data to the rescue system's hard drive and
then burn the data to cd or dvd.

2. Often XP/Vista will not boot with a slaved drive that has a damaged file
system. In that case, boot the target computer with either a Bart's PE or a
Linux live cd such as Knoppix and retrieve the data that way. Here is
general information on using Knoppix for this:

You will need a computer with two cd drives, one of which is a cd/dvd-rw OR
a usb thumb drive with enough capacity to hold your data OR an external
usb/firewire hard drive formatted FAT32 (not NTFS)*. To get Knoppix, you
need a computer with a fast Internet connection and third-party burning
software. Download the Knoppix .iso and create your bootable cd (burn as an
image, not as a data cd). Then boot with it and it will be able to see the
Windows files. If you are using the usb thumb drive or the external hard
drive, right-click on its icon (on the Desktop) to get its properties and
uncheck the box that says "Read Only". Then click on it to open it. Note
that the default mouse action in the window manager used by Knoppix (KDE)
is a single click to open instead of the traditional MS Windows'
double-click. If you want to burn CD/DVDs, use the K3b program.

*My understanding is that you can now write to an NTFS partition from Linux.
If you wish to do this, Google for instructions.


- Bart's PE Builder

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers

Don't Panic!

purpleck

Thank you very much for taking the time to share all of that good info.
I have printed it out. I am planning on possibly getting a USB hard
drive enclosure, and then try it. Someone from Gateway told me that I
would have to do a clean install of Windows XP on the damaged hard
drive, then try to use data recovery software on it after that. But it
sounds like you are saying that I may be able to get to the files on it
without doing that. If I am understanding properly, I may be able to
just access the files on the slaved drive right away, or if not, I can
try the Knoppix route instead, correct? That sounds better than trying
the data recovery software route. Especially if Knoppix is free. Thank
you so much; I appreciate it. Hopefully I can figure this all out.
When you say boot the target computer with Knoppix, you mean to book the
good hard drive with it, not the slaved drive, right? Thank you.

jamcez

purpleck;704122 Wrote:
> Hi, I have a major problem and am wondering if anyone can help inform me
> on any of these things. Thank you very much in advance!!
>
> I have Windows XP the home version, on a Gateway desktop computer,
> probably at least 6 or 7 years old. For a few weeks or more, it was
> acting up and would start to shut down on me suddenly, then say that it
> "recovered from a serious error."
>
> Then Windows stopped starting up completely, and I started to get this
> message instead when I turned on my computer:
> winlogon.exe
> "This application has failed to start because ODBC32.dll was not found.
> Re-installing the application may fix this problem."
> Then if you close that window, I eventually get another error message
> saying:
> "User Interface Failure - The logon user interface DLL msgina.dll
> failed to load. Replace the DLL, or restore the original DLL."
>
> I tried running repair installations of Windows XP, but it would say
> that it couldn't copy many of the necessary files, including the
> ODBC32.dll, so it was never successful, and I keep getting the same
> error messages. I also have tried to get into the recovery console to
> run a chkdisk or other commands, but it will not let me in, because I
> cannot get any administrator password to work. I have tried to recover
> the password, but no success. I even tried a trick of getting into a
> security hole during repair and accessing NUSRMGR.CPL and trying to
> change the password, but it did not work, probably because the Windows
> XP repair installation didn't complete properly, due to not being able
> to copy the needed files.
>
> I am getting another desktop computer that has Windows XP on it in a
> week, and it is only a few years old and in good condition. I will no
> longer need this old computer, but I am in desperate need of the files
> that are on it, for taxes/financial info etc. I am poor and can't
> afford to hire someone to try to recover it for me, but I need the files
> as soon as possible.
>
> I read that I can disconnect the hard drive from the computer, and I
> looked up in the manual that came with the computer, and though I have
> never opened up a computer before, I think I could probably follow that
> and do it.
>
> My main question is, is there any way to then hook up that damaged/bad
> hard drive to the new computer and access the files, even though windows
> won't start on the old/damaged hard drive? Like would I be able to
> access just the files, similar to the way you normally can, by accessing
> "My Computer", then "C:" etc? I read on another site about something
> called a "slave drive" or something like that? Is there a site that
> would explain how to do that? My computer knowledge is very limited,
> but I am somewhat intelligent, so am hoping that I can somehow find a
> way to retrieve the files from this hard disk. I am not sure if this is
> even possible. Thank you for any help or pointers!
If you still having trouble and still not getting your files out of
that old pc. I would be please to offer my assistance to you. I can
directly assist you on how to transfer the old files to your new pc with
voice chat or simple chat. You can reach through my email at
or . You can also visit this
site for more info. 'DriverNeeds - Powered by CO.CC'
()

Malke

purpleck wrote:

>
> Thank you very much for taking the time to share all of that good info.
> I have printed it out. I am planning on possibly getting a USB hard
> drive enclosure, and then try it. Someone from Gateway told me that I
> would have to do a clean install of Windows XP on the damaged hard
> drive, then try to use data recovery software on it after that. But it
> sounds like you are saying that I may be able to get to the files on it
> without doing that. If I am understanding properly, I may be able to
> just access the files on the slaved drive right away, or if not, I can
> try the Knoppix route instead, correct? That sounds better than trying
> the data recovery software route. Especially if Knoppix is free. Thank
> you so much; I appreciate it. Hopefully I can figure this all out.
> When you say boot the target computer with Knoppix, you mean to book the
> good hard drive with it, not the slaved drive, right? Thank you.

The information that you got from the "someone from Gateway" is dead wrong
and almost guaranteed to completely destroy your data.

Yes, you may be able to directly access the files from a working computer by
attaching the target hard drive to it, either from a USB drive enclosure or
by internally attaching it temporarily. An easy way to internally attach it
in the working computer is to put it where the master optical drive is
(assuming you have a SATA/PATA match). Then you don't need to mess about
with jumpers (PATA only of course).

If Windows will not boot when the target drive is connected internally, you
can try:

1. Connect the target drive in a USB drive enclosure instead.
2. Boot the good computer with Knoppix with the target drive attached or
connected.

If none of the above works - the system freezes or the drive isn't seen, the
drive has probably died. Which is what I suspect may have happened anyway,
but it can't hurt to try.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers

Don't Panic!