Oh no, XP isn't booting!
I have a ThinkPad SL400 laptop, and when I turn it on, I see the ThinkPad splash, then a few lines about hardware etc., and then nothing. It just sticks on a black screen.
Mashing various F keys got me to the screen where you can choose Safe Mode, Last Known Good Configuration, and the rest of those; but none of them seems to make any difference.
I'm almost certain I've lost the Windows CD, and I don't currently have any external HDD except for an 8GB flash drive.
Ideally I'd love to be able to get Windows to work (obviously) and failing that there's a few files on there I'd like to retrieve, although they're not essential.
So, r/techsupport, help me please!
Posted Jul 19, 2010, 4:41 AM UTC
111
Quick! Get a Ubuntu Live CD!
[deleted]
OK, will get on this tomorrow morning. Will this help with the fixing Windows or the getting files back?
It will allow you to back up you stuff UNetbootin will put Ubuntu on your flash drive for you. Make sure it's empty first.
I only have one flash drive, if I'm running Linux off it, will I be able to save files on it as well?
Sure. I don't know how much you need save, but if you need all 8 gigs, you can make a CD and use it to save the files. Or, you can connect the laptop to another computer using a network cable and backup the files to another hard drive. Or, if you have a wireless network running, you can use that.
Boot from the CD and select the 'try ubuntu' option. Add a removable drive or USB stick and you will then be able to copy your "Documents and Settings<your username>" folder plus any other stuff you need to safety.
Once that's copied: reboot, hold F8 to get the menu that you saw earlier from which you can select "safe mode" or "last known good configuration" to see if XP can recover itself.
OK, excellent. Do you reckon running Ubuntu off the CD and fiddling around a bit will help its chances of booting successfully?
Maybe, probably not though. Use Ubuntu to back up the files you want. Then you can't lose your valuable data.
If you can get to a "safe mode with command prompt", try: chkdsk c: /f Then see if it will boot. Also try last known good conf.