Screwed Windows XP boot - urgent!

squirrel

squirrel

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Hi guys

I was fixing someones dial up (yes.. dial up) and decided to be nice and upgrade them to SP3. It gave an error 'Service Pack 3 Setup cannot update a checked (debug) system with a free (retail) version of Service Pack 3 and vica versa' and after googling the issue I STUPIDLY changed the "CurrentVersion" in the registry which allowed me to install SP3 as some people recommended but after restarting it's giving BSOD at boot! The STOP message is 0x0000007E (0x80000003, 0x80ACB755, 0xF88E4830, 0xF88E452C)

Please, I'm in a bit of a panic here as I have to give the laptop back today. Safe Mode does not work (gets stuck on agpCPQ.sys).

I'm out of options here :(
 
Firstly take the hard drive out, put it in a hard drive enclosure, backup all documents/music/videos ect and then put the hard drive back in and attempt a windows repair installation.

I'm pretty sure the windows is too messed up to find a quick fix, the windows must be repaired via Windows XP disc.

You could attempt to revert the windows back to sp2, but I'm not sure how you will be able to do that seeing that you can't get into the windows in the first place.


How To Perform a Windows XP Repair Install (Part 1 of 2)

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
 
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I don't have a hard drive enclosure that will work with this old IDE drive. I've got Ubuntu and Hiren's BootCD would this be of any help? Need to sort this out today.. possibly change back the CurrentVersion in the registry somehow or delete the SP3 files??
 
I tried putting in a Windows XP version I had however it never asked to repair any of the partitions. The laptop has OEM version I believe, that's why I initially had problems installing SP3
 
As it's OEM and you don't have the disk you're quite effed

To fix this you'd have to create a slipstream SP3 disk from the OEM disk and install that at which point it would proffer to repair the install

This an XP pro or Home?
 
squirrel said:
I don't have a hard drive enclosure that will work with this old IDE drive. I've got Ubuntu and Hiren's BootCD would this be of any help? Need to sort this out today.. possibly change back the CurrentVersion in the registry somehow or delete the SP3 files??
Click to expand...

Then I don't know of any other way to fix your problem, Ubuntu and Hirens won't be able to fix the problem, you can not edit the registry if you can not get into Windows or safe mode afaik.


squirrel said:
I tried putting in a Windows XP version I had however it never asked to repair any of the partitions. The laptop has OEM version I believe, that's why I initially had problems installing SP3
Click to expand...

Try to use the recovery console to fix the boot.

Or disable the file that is preventing you to get into safe mode:

To resolve this issue, follow these steps to disable the agpcpq.sys service.

Important You must know the administrator password to complete the following procedure. If you do not know the administrator password, contact your system administrator. After you complete this procedure, any video adapter driver you have installed will be disabled, and Windows XP will use default VGA drivers.

Insert your Windows XP CD-ROM into the computer CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer from the CD-ROM.

Note Some computers may require that you modify the basic input/output system (BIOS) settings before you can start the computer from a CD-ROM. For information about how to modify the BIOS, see your computer documentation.
At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to start the Recovery Console.
Press the number key that corresponds to the installation that you want to repair, and then press ENTER.
Type the password for the administrator account of that installation, and then press ENTER. You receive a drive:WINDOWS> prompt, where drive is the drive on which Windows XP is installed.
Type listsvc, and then press ENTER.
Make sure that the agpcpq service is listed, and that the startup type is set to "Boot".
Press ESC.
Type disable agpcpq, and then press ENTER.
You receive a message that the registry setting for this service was found, and that its current startup state is "service_disabled".
Type exit, and then press ENTER.
If you are prompted to start in Safe mode or Normal mode, start in Normal mode.
Log on to your computer.

Windows XP includes default video drivers that make it possible for your monitor to work. However, some features may not work as you expect with these default drivers. Update your motherboard chipset video drivers periodically. To do so, visit your computer manufacturer's Web site, and download the most recent drivers for your video adapter.

Modified source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324764


If this works for you. Please update the your graphics card drivers.
Click to expand...

XP startup crashing on agpcpq.sys

Good luck.
 
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Download yourself a copy of XP from ... places. Burn it and run it... then get it to fix the installation. That MIIIGHHHT help.
 
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. On a pc still running dial up I would not even update the drivers..

squirrel said:
I tried putting in a Windows XP version I had however it never asked to repair any of the partitions. The laptop has OEM version I believe, that's why I initially had problems installing SP3
Click to expand...

Thats cos there is nothing wrong with the partition. the problem is with the windows install.
Do you have an external?

I would suggest booting from hirens or ubuntu and moving all the documents onto another device asap, before you do anymore to the machine.

[-]Then you can try booting from the xp disk you have and try a repair install. that's a slim chance tho. [/-]

I have done some googling and my best guess is that the bios of the laptop is not compatible with SP3.

Post the make, model ect.. of the laptop, maybe a bios upgrade will sort you out.
 
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NomNom said:
It will take OP 2, 3 hours to download given that the laptop needs to be finished by today it's unfortunately not an option, good find though bookmarked.
Click to expand...

The download is minimal as you "build" the disc from a existing Windows CD. So I don't see why it won't work.

Edit: Full Version 3.60 is: 269MB
 
NomNom said:
Firstly take the hard drive out, put it in a hard drive enclosure, backup all documents/music/videos ect and then put the hard drive back in and attempt a windows repair installation.
Click to expand...

And don;t forget the email which usually lives in a different location. You'll be amazed at how many people forget to backup the mail in situations like these :D
 
teraside said:
The download is minimal as you "build" the disc from a existing Windows CD. So I don't see why it won't work.

Edit: Full Version 3.60 is: 269MB
Click to expand...

Madman88 said:
its 270 mg! :wtf:
Click to expand...

According to OP's sig he is on a 384kbps line. 2, 3 hours download for 269mb :p

ponder said:
And don;t forget the email which usually lives in a different location. You'll be amazed at how many people forget to backup the mail in situations like these :D
Click to expand...

Ohya good point, email and browser bookmarks :D Email is the most irritating as I personally don't have a program that does it automatically for Outlook, there's Mozbackup for Thunderbird however.
 
NomNom said:
According to OP's sig he is on a 384kbps line. 2, 3 hours download for 269mb :p



Ohya good point, email and browser bookmarks :D Email is the most irritating as I personally don't have a program that does it automatically for Outlook, there's Mozbackup for Thunderbird however.
Click to expand...

er... wow. guess the lappie is going to be late...
 
I'm doing this for my mom's friend. She was wiling to pay and the dial up problem took quick so took the initiative to update software and SP3. Stupid mistake! The laptop is an Acer 3682WXCi. I want to avoid reinstalling Windows :(
 
It's not CRITICAL she gets the laptop today, I just want to avoid reinstalling Windows at all costs..
 
squirrel said:
It's not CRITICAL she gets the laptop today, I just want to avoid reinstalling Windows at all costs..
Click to expand...

Then follow my advice regarding UBCD4WIN. Take it slow and fix your problem.
 
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