Tried to change XP Pro boot screen, now won't boot

Sysjack

Sysjack

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 6, 2003
Messages
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I thought it would be cool to have a custom boot screen for my XP Pro with SP1 PC so I downloaded a few programs and themes. I used LoginUI Boot Randomizer and everything looked like it should work.

Well, when I rebooted it got to where it should have shown a boot screen, any boot screen, and froze. I rebooted and tried to go into safe mode, same problem. I cannot access a command prompt, or get into safe mode. I went into the XP Recovery console and replaced the ntoskrnl.exe with a backup, even though the program guide says it doesn't modify it. Well, I now see that I should have put the program and all the files with it in my windows directory, but it's a little late for that.

I have another HD with a bootable 98 install, but I have no drivers on that. It's from before I completely rebuilt my computer and I don't even get USB support. I have the keyboard, but it doesn't see my XP hard drive when I swapped them around.

In the XP Recovery console I can't run the bootbak.bat file that the boot screen program made in the event of a problem. I should just need to run that to make everything better, but I can't run programs in the console. I think if I could get into a command prompt or into safe mode, or anything, I could fix this, but I'd really like to avoid having to reformat either drive.

Any suggestions?
 
try the "safe mode with command prompt" option instead of regular safe mode.

if that doesnt work, you will have to find out what the program has
changed and undo it by hand.
 
I can't get into any safe mode. Basically none of the options that come up for a failed startup or when you hold down F8 work. I think it changed the boot.ini but I'm not sure. The program had a .bat file to run in case it messed stuff up, but you have to be able to access the command prompt to use it. The recovery console only lets you move files around in root and windows.
 
i did the same thing to my computer excpet instead of booting all i got was a black screen.... the only thing i could do to fix it was re-install windows
 
Yeah, that's what I just ended up doing. Moved the important stuff over to my other drive and now I'm reformatting. Not what I wanted to do today... Ah well, my system performance had dropped a bit from the fresh install.
 
the problem with getting the version from the cd is that you hopefully had sp1 installed, but it is possible the cd is a pre-sp1 version. there is a different version of ntoskrnl.exe for nonsp1 and sp1

btw safe mode with command prompt is exactly the same as safe mode, it just starts a giant command prompt on boot, same as using normal safe mode and then running cmd.exe
 
If you get an error about NTOSKRNL:

Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of
Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Change to the drive that has the CD ROM.
CD i386
expand ntkrnlmp.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe
If WindowsXP is installed in a different location, just make the necessary change
to C:\Windows
Take out the CD ROM and type exit

I've had to do this before. :)
 
Depending on whether or not you have SP1 installed or not this is what you would have to do.

If you you do not have SP1 installed then go ahead and boot off of your original windows XP CD. Go into recovery console.

Go into the i386 folder and find a file called NTOSKRNL.EX_

copy that file to your windows/system32 directory

then rename that file to NTOSKRNL.EXE

exit and reboot

If you have SP1 installed and you happen to have a XP CD with SP1 slipstreamed, the above should work the same way.

If you do not have a XP/SP1 CD, then find a working copy of NTOSKRNL.EXE that is compatible with SP1 and copy it to a cd or disk or something and go through recovery console and copy it to your system32 dir.
That should fix it.
 
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