Topic awaiting preservation: Windows XP Problem

My computer is currently running Win98 & Windows Xp. This configeration has always worked for me in the past untill this morning.

After defraging the drive and Uninstalling a few programs I rebooted. Thats about as far as i got. Within the first 30 seconds of Starting I got An error saying "I/O Operation could not initialize" I have had this problem before but a reboot usual fixes it.

This time it didn't. now everytime I start the computer I just comes up with that error and shuts down. It will not start in SAFE Mode, Last Good Configeration and I cannot restor it to a different point in time.

I cannot reformat as I have files that are not backed up. I need to get into the drive, does anyone have any Idea of what i can do, without reformatting?

Have you done a defrag with this configuration before?

I just had a shuddering flashback from long ago when I had a dual boot with win 3.11 & NT4 and idiotically did a defrag from 3.11 and promptly destroyed all support for long filenames...

Might just be the bootloader that's shot, or not...
I think I'll stop here before I make a total fool out of myself...

But, to get access to the drive, try mounting it in another PC as slave and try there, if that works its probably "only" the possibillity to boot from it that's shot.

/Dan

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Yep I have done defrags from this configeration before.. this is the only working (not working) computer I have.. it's good advice though

I've not tried it before, but if you can't find another computer to put it into, (like a friends PC) then mayeb you'll be able to use the XP install disk to repair your XP installation, that may work, failing that perhaps you can create a new partition and install XP/98 again just so taht you can access your files and perhaps start from scratch.

How old is the hardisk? Is it possible that this has failed? I/O error sounds a bit ominous.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

to get the files off I may suggest trying Knoppix. There have been some instances around here of similar situations where Knoppix came in handy to get files off of an almost dead drive.

Is this the only hard drive in the computer? What about other hardware? I have had times where I get and I/O error and there was some other piece of hardware that was actually causing a hard drive not to boot.

Later,

C:\

I have managed to solve the problem, thank you for your help... It turns out that it was a conflicting harware problem

good deal. i had this same problem just the other day. i have three hard drives and one of them is a slave off of the CDROM. The CDROM went out and I was getting the same error (I/O error that is).

Good to know you got it working........now backup them files

Later,

C:\