Error Messages Prior To Windows

Dealing with a PC that seems to be starting up but stops and coughs up an error message before it can load Windows is one of the more frustrating situations a computer user can experience. Fortunately, these messages do have a rhyme and reason. Often (but not always), they indicate a minor problem.

Easy fixes. If an error message offers Last Known Good Configuration or Safe Mode, the error has something to do with Windows’ startup. Selecting the former option can solve a world of unknown ills. The latter is a good choice if you’ve recently added new hardware. Make sure there isn’t any removable media, including floppy diskettes, CDs, and thumb drives, in any drive. If you see an error message regarding keyboards, it’s most likely the cable has come loose. Barring that, make sure none of the keys are stuck and that all of the pins in the connectors are straight. If it’s still malfunctioning, try a new keyboard—most models are quite inexpensive.

Memory and parity errors. These error messages indicate problems with your PC’s memory modules. Remove memory modules and carefully reseat them in another slot. If the computer restarts properly, the slot is likely to blame; if it doesn’t, it’s likely the memory itself is the problem.

Unexpected Interrupt In Protected

Mode. This is indicative of an incompatible change to your BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). Enter your BIOS setup menu and look for an option to reset the BIOS to its defaults.

NTLDR missing. NTLDR (think NT Loader) is the first file that executes during the boot process; it can get moved, accidentally deleted, or corrupted. Restore NTLDR from the Windows XP Setup CD via the Recovery Console. At the command prompt, type cd.. and press ENTER. Enter the letter of your CD-ROM drive (probably D:, unless you have multiple drives) and press ENTER.

Type cd i386 and press ENTER. Type

copy ntldr c: and press ENTER. Type

copy ntdetect.com c: and press ENTER. (Ntdetect.com is another boot file that, when missing, can generate the NTLDR error.)

After the copy process completes,

type Exit and press ENTER. Your computer will restart.