Archived: Windows XP Pro won't boot, safe mode boot hangs at agp440.sys

 

Daavee

If you see hard drive activity while the PC APPEARS to be stuck on agp440.sys, this is a GOOD thing since it means Windows XP is conducting chkdsk in the background. Let it finish, even if it takes all night. Just check it in the morning.

If that is not the issue, you will need to create your own bootable Windows XP Recovery Console CD, configure your PC's BIOS to boot from it, then actually boot from it, and then run the chkdsk command with the /r switch. Complete instructions may be found in ElderL's post from this thread:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-system/my-computer-cant-boot-from-cd-even-if-its-bootable/7ec53eb2-c239-4553-842b-f4f87356dcdf?msgId=e330a41e-31ac-4aef-95a3-5c0f96cce7d7

For simplicity, here they are:

Power failures are notorious for corrupting your NT File System (NTFS), so you need to boot into the XP Recovery Console and run chkdsk  /r  until it reports no errors (that may take more than one pass).  You are on the right track though.

If after burning your CD as indicated below, you do NOT see the message:

Press any key to boot from CD...

Then you need to get into the BIOS in your system of unspecified make and model and adjust the device boot order to put the CD Drive as the first boot device.

If you see the same missing or corrupt message instead something is not right and you need to look at things more closely.  Sometimes there is an option on the screen when the system reboots to press a key to select a boot device (mine is F11) and then you can just choose the CD/DVD drive as the boot device.

If anybody wants to recreate these sorts of problems for practice, just pull the plug on your running XP system 4 or 5 times and you will all the message we know and love.

Here are my standard suggestions:

You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file and burning it to a CD.

The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

xp_rec_con.iso 

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

Use a new CD and this free and easy program to burn your ISO file and create your bootable CD:

http://www.imgburn.com/

When installing ImgBurn, DO NOT install the Ask toolbar.

Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk.  These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load.  If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.

When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

Press any key to boot from CD...

The Windows Setup... will proceed.

Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

Select the installation you want to access (usually  1: C:\WINDOWS)

You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder.  This is the same as the 

C:\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

The Recovery Console allows basic file commands like: copy, rename, replace, delete, cd, chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

For a list of Recovery Console commands, enter help at the prompt or read about the XP Recovery Console here:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/recovery_console_cmds.mspx?mfr=true

A good idea before starting things is to first verify the integrity of your file system using the chkdsk command.

From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the afflicted drive.

Running chkdsk is fine even if it doesn't find any problems.  It will not hurt anything to run it.

Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:

chkdsk C: /r

Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find.  

It may take a long time for chkdsk to complete or it may appear to be 'stuck'.  Be patient.  If the HDD light is still flashing, chkdsk is doing something.  Keep an eye on the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.  It may even appear to go backwards sometimes.

You should run chkdsk /r again until it finds no errors to correct.

Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the computer.

You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the CD will not be present.