Ch05

A+ Guide to Software, 4e

Chapter 5

Troubleshooting Windows 2000/XP Startup


What Happens When Windows 2000/XP Starts Up

• The procedure applies to an Intel-based PC

• Programs involved in the initial steps– Startup BIOS (firmware) – MBR program– Boot sector program– Ntldr

• Table 5-1 describes the steps in detail

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Table 5-1 Steps in the Windows 2000/XP boot process for systems with Intel-based processors

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Table 5-1 Steps in the Windows 2000/XP boot process for systems with Intel-based processors (continued)

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Table 5-2 Files needed to boot Windows 2000/XP successfully

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Table 5-2 Files needed to boot Windows 2000/XP successfully (continued)

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Important Folders Used in the Startup Process

• List of key folders used by Windows 2000/XP:– C:\Windows: the Windows XP installation – C:\Windows\System32: core system files and subfolders– C:\Windows\System32\config: registry hives– C:\Windows\System32\drivers: device driver files– C:\Documents and Settings: user account information– C:\Program Files: installed applications

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Figure 5-2 A sample Windows XP Boot.ini file

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Figure 5-4 You can access startup and recovery options from the System Properties dialog box

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Troubleshooting Tools to Solve Startup Problems

• Sources of information about troubleshooting tools:– Microsoft Knowledge Base at support.microsoft.com– Microsoft Windows XP Professional Resource Kit

Documentation (a book)– Table 5-3 in the text – Help files for a command tool

• Examples of the many tools available:– Last Known Good Configuration– Safe Mode– System Information (Systeminfo.exe)

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Figure 5-7 The System Information window displays important information about the system’s hardware, software, and environment

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Advanced Options Menu

• Used to diagnose and fix boot-related problems

• Press F8 key to display Advanced Options menu

• A list of the options – Safe Mode: boots OS with minimal configuration – Safe Mode with Networking: includes network access– Safe Mode with Command Prompt: text-based only– Enable Boot Logging: records files used during boot– Enable VGA Mode: substitute for regular display – Last Known Good Configuration: stored in the registry

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Advanced Options Menu (continued)

• A list of the options (continued) – Directory services restore mode: for domain controllers– Debugging mode: for moving system logs to another PC– Disable automatic restart on system failure: stops reboot

• Blue screen of death (BSOD)– Also called a stop error or system failure

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Recovery Console

• A command-driven OS for serious troubleshooting

• Functions performed with the Recovery Console– Repair a damaged registry, system files, or file system – Enable or disable a service or device driver– Repair master boot program on hard drive – Repair boot sector on the system partition – Repair a damaged Boot.ini file– Recover data when the Windows OS is beyond repair

• Recovery Console is protected from illegal access

• Table 5-4 (partially reproduced) lists commands

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Table 5-4 Commands available from the Recovery Console

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Recovery Console (continued)

• Use the recovery console to fix hard drive problems– Fixmbr: restores the master boot program in the MBR– Fixboot: repairs the OS boot record– Diskpart: used to view, create, and delete partitions – Chkdsk: repairs file system and recovers data

• Restore the registry following steps in Table 5-5

• Disabling a service or device driver – Listsvc: lists all services currently installed– Disable: disables a service– Enable: shows current status or reinstates a service

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Table 5-5 Steps to restore the Windows 2000/XP registry

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• Use the Recovery Console to restore system files– Map: displays the current drive letters– Systemroot: sets Windows directory as default directory– Delete: deletes a file– CD: changes directory– Copy: makes a backup of the current Ntldr file– Bootcfg: lets you view and edit the Boot.ini file– Expand: extracts files compressed in cabinet (.cab) files

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• Use the recovery console to recover data– First step: change some Recovery Console settings– Second step: copy data from hard drive to other media

• Optional installation of the Recovery Console– Open a command window– Navigate to \i386 folder on Windows 2000/XP CD– Enter the command winnt32 /cmdcons

• The Recovery Console is installed at this step

– Restart your computer• Recovery Console should be on the boot loader menu

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Strategies for Troubleshooting Windows 2000/XP Startup

• Topics to cover– General guidelines for troubleshooting– How to respond to startup errors– How to clean up a sluggish startup– How to restore system files– Methods to use as a last resort

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Guidelines for Troubleshooting Boot Problems

• Ask the user what happened before problem started

• Back up data before trying to solve an OS problem

• Determine what point in boot the system fails

• Check the simple things first; e.g., loose cables

• Boot to Advanced Options, select Last Known Good Configuration

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Respond to Any Startup Errors (continued)

• Errors that occur before the windows load begins– Startup BIOS is still in control – All core startup components must work for success – Essential hardware: CPU, boot device, power supply– Example: BIOS cannot find a hard drive

• Stop error– Drastic error that causes Windows to hang or lock up– Search Microsoft support site for help with problem– Example: a bad USB device causes BSOD to appear

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Respond to Any Startup Errors (continued)

• Program not found error– Entry in the registry or a startup folder, but no program – Cause: uninstall routine leaves entry behind– You can use Msconfig to identify orphan entry – If the entry is in registry, delete entry to eliminate error

• Errors from when a device or service has failed to start– Use Device Manager to update the driver– Uninstall and reinstall the device– Boot from Last Known Good Configuration– Try Safe Mode, System Restore, Recovery Console

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Cleaning Up Startup

• Locations to check for cleanup– Startup folders for startup processes – Unwanted scheduled tasks– Group Policy startup entries– Installed fonts

• Msconfig: used to find other startup entries

• Services Console: used to disable unwanted services

• Check startup folders– Move unwanted programs or shortcuts to another folder

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Cleaning Up Startup (continued)

• Look for unwanted scheduled tasks– Tasks launched at startup are in C:\Windows\Tasks– Inspect folder for unwanted or malicious tasks

• Check Group Policy for unwanted startup events– Group Policy scripts are placed in one of four folders– Malicious software is sometimes placed in these folders

• Check for too many installed fonts– Fonts stored in C:\Windows\Fonts folder– Install or uninstall a font: move font into or out of folder– Make sure folder does not hold more than 260 files

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Cleaning Up Startup (continued)

• Use Windows XP Msconfig to limit startup events– To access utility, enter Msconfig in the Run dialog box– Click Services tab to view all services set to start– Click Startup tab to view/edit list of startup programs– Deselecting a startup item is not a permanent solution

• Check for corrupted or unneeded files– Service: support program running the background – Identify services from the Services Console– Investigate the service on the Internet

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Restore System Files

• Return to a previous Windows XP restore point– Try Driver Rollback before System Restore– If using System Restore, select a close restore point– Accessing System Restore when Windows GUI is down

• Try booting into Safe Mode

• Use Windows 2000/XP boot disk to verify boot files– If OS boots from disk, problem is in root folder of C drive– To create boot disk, copy boot files from PC or setup CD– A repair suggestion: replace Ntldr, Ntdetect.com, Boot.ini

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Recover or Repair the Windows 2000/XP Installation

• Recovery partitions and recovery CDs– If provided, use a recovery CD instead of a setup CD

• Recovery CD has drivers specific to system and OS build

– Hidden partition may also be used for recovery

• Windows XP Automated System Recovery (ASR)– Recovers system from time of last full backup of drive C– Access ASR backup from setup CD (press F2)– Follow directions onscreen to restore drive C

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Recover or Repair the Windows 2000/XP Installation (continued)

• The Windows 2000 Emergency Repair Process – Method of last resort (all changes to system are lost)– Process uses Emergency Repair Disk (ERD)

• In-place upgrade of Windows 2000/XP– Software/hardware are reinstalled, user data preserved– Use repair utility on Windows 2000/XP setup CD

• Clean installation of Windows 2000/XP– First step: copy data files to a safe place– Destroy current Windows 2000/XP installation– Reinstall the OS from the Windows 2000/XP setup CD

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Date post:	20-May-2015
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Ch05

Education