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The Windows Recovery Console is a fantastically useful tool if you find yourself with a PC that will not boot Windows. There are many useful Windows startup tools such as Last Known Good Configuration and the many different flavours of Safe Mode but all of these rely on a bootable Windows system. System Restore is completely useless in this scenario since it relies on one being in Windows to use it. The kinds of things that could couse an unbootable Windows system could be: Corrupted boot files - e.g. NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM Corrputed Windows system files - NTOSKRNL.EXE, HAL.DLL The Recovery Console allows you to boot into an environment "underneath" that of your Windows installation (by using the Windows CD or by choosing it at boot time if you pre-installed it) and so you can perform major low level repairs to your Windows installation. Follow the link below to find out how to use the Recovery Console: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058/

In rare cases, you may be unable to determine which third-party driver is causing a startup error. To troubleshoot this issue, move all third-party driver files from the Windows\System32\Drivers folder to a different location. To do this, follow these steps: Use the Recovery Console to start the computer, or start the computer from a different installation of Windows if you have performed a parallel Windows installation. Move all files from the Windows\System32\Drivers folder that do not have a creation date for Windows XP of 8/13/2001. If the computer relies on a third-party IDE or SCSI controller driver for correct operation, you must identify those driver files, and then leave them in the Windows\System32\Drivers folder. Restart the computer. Continue the Windows Setup program. For more information about how to disable a service that prevents Windows from starting, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: http://support.microsoft.com/kb

To troubleshoot potential environmental issues (i.e. Driver/Hardware related), first restart your computer in Safe mode or in Safe mode with networking support. If the issue is with a program that does not depend on network connectivity, Safe mode is appropriate. If the issue is with a network program, and you are using a network adapter to connect to a network, Safe mode with networking support may permit you to test the networking program, including browser issues. Note: You cannot use Safe mode with networking support when you use a modem or a PC Card connection to a network because modem drivers and PC Card drivers do not load in Safe mode or in Safe mode with networking support. If you start the computer in Safe mode or in Safe mode with networking support, and you can perform an operation that you previously experienced problems with, the issue is most likely environmental. Note: In Windows XP, you can perform a clean-boot by using the System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.

All the drivers that are included with Windows XP use digital signatures to verify that they have been tested by the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). Many third-party programs are written for Windows XP must install additional drivers that have not been tested by WHQL. Therefore, they do not receive a digital signature. Note: Some third-party vendors have tools that they can use to generate a valid digital signature even if these products were not tested by WHQL. The following procedure cannot be used to determine whether these drivers are installed. Windows XP includes the File Signature Verification tool (Sigverif.exe). You can use this tool to find all files on your computer that are not digitally signed. For the purposes of Windows XP clean-boot troubleshooting, you have to test only the files in the %Windir%\System32\Drivers folder. Note: %Windir% and %systemroot% are variables which point to the Windows XP folder - this is normally c:\windows but may not always be, hence