Dell Optiplex 740 Crashed(Mission Computer)

Discussions around the setup, operation, replacement, and disposal of clerk computers, not to include using MLS
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gmjohnson
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Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 1:03 pm
Location: Cuernavaca, Mexico

Dell Optiplex 740 Crashed(Mission Computer)

#1

Post by gmjohnson »

We have a Dell Optiplex 740 here serving as the executive secretary computer(mission mexico cuernavaca) that was recently kicked and then fell over. After the fall, windows would not boot. The system starts fine, but when the Windows OS starts(XP service pack 2) it will simply stay at the loading screen forever. When booted in safe mode, it loads the .sys files up to a certain one, and then cannot find the next system files. It cannot boot at all in windows, and refuses to boot from the CD we have here of Windows XP Service Pack 2.

I booted from an Ubuntu Live CD and the system worked fine. It appears to me that the master boot record has become corrupted... How can we fix this?

Church technical support doesn't work today supposedly, which is why I'm putting this here. We need to fix this as soon as possible... We need programs like excel, which ubuntu obviously doesn't run.
jdlessley
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Location: USA, TX

#2

Post by jdlessley »

GMJohnson wrote:The system starts fine, but when the Windows OS starts(XP service pack 2) it will simply stay at the loading screen forever. When booted in safe mode, it loads the .sys files up to a certain one, and then cannot find the next system files.
With what you describe a likely scenario is that part of the hard drive has been damaged by the read/write heads crashing into the platter(s). The part of the hard drive that may be damaged could have been the location for a critical Windows system file or files. If you are not familiar with the methods of using the Windows Recovery Console or how to determine the corrupted system files to replace, then the best course of action is to have the help desk walk you through the process.

For this situation, however, if you have backup copies of MLS and other working files then the quickest way to recover the system is to reinstall the operating system from the Windows XP distribution disc.
GMJohnson wrote:It cannot boot at all in windows, and refuses to boot from the CD we have here of Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Make sure that the bios is set to boot from a CD/DVD and that the CD/DVD is set as the first boot device in the boot priority sequence.
GMJohnson wrote:I booted from an Ubuntu Live CD and the system worked fine. It appears to me that the master boot record has become corrupted... How can we fix this?
The computer is running the Linux operating system when you boot from the Ubuntu CD and will not indicate the health of the Windows system. Linux will not read the Windows NTFS partition unless it has been compiled with NTFS support or the ntfs-3g driver is installed. The master boot record is probably not the problem. Windows would not even start to load if both copies of the MBR were corrupt or missing.
JD Lessley
Have you tried finding your answer on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org Help Center or Tech Wiki?
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