windows won't boot anymore

[AirKirby]

My computer was working fine, had no problems and no viruses, then one day i rebooted it and a message came up saying it failed to boot from disk, please insert windows cd. Now it forces me to re-install windows. It seems to me that the windows system files have been tampered with somehow and now windows can't start because of that. I was wondering if anyone knew how to fix this problem, perhaps by repairing windows somehow.

[Vickip]

kirby...what version of windows do you have?

Have you updated anything lately? (especially windows update) Downloaded/installed any new software before your last boot?

[AirKirby]

win xp professional

[Urban_Squrill]

Welcome to TechIMO.
And does it say insert winddows cd or system disk?

[AirKirby]

disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter

now it's messed, i inserted the xp professional cd, pressed enter and it still has that message, with or without the cd.

[Vickip]

Kirby...have you tried the system restore yet?

Using System Restore to Restore Windows XP

If Windows XP Does Not Start
If Windows does not start, restart Windows by using the Last Known Good Configuration feature:
Start the computer and then press the F8 key when Windows begins to start. The Windows Advanced Options menu appears.
Use the ARROW keys to select Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked), and then press ENTER.
If a boot menu appears, use the ARROW keys to select Microsoft Windows XP, and then press ENTER. Windows XP restores the computer to the most recent restore point.


I dont know if this addresses your problem...but you have to start somewhere, right??

[AirKirby]

hehe yup, I've tried that, and safe mode and everything but still nothing.

[MitaDC]

Yo have u messed with IDE cables or changed jumper settings on your hard drive. Had that happen to me and I had to mess with the IDE cables and make sure that u have the hard drive on Primary Master and also jumper is on master....thats only if u have screwed with inside your case. Don't know what else to tell yah...good luck

[Vickip]

yikes...disk boot failure...have you ran a test on the hdd to see if it has failed?

[AirKirby]

nope, havent messed with the cables. Now i can't even get to the screen for advanced startup options because when it's verifying DMI pool data it immediately goes to disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter again.