I was going to end this series at Part 3; but having thought further about it, I feel that the Windows Recovery Console is worth a mention: -

First; what exactly is the Windows Recovery Console?

It’s a pre-boot repair tool that allows you to recover from and repair system issues that affect the machine’s ability to boot up.

It’s very powerful and is certainly not to be sniffed at. I encourage users to only use the Recovery Console as a last resort: In fact in some cases a repair reinstallation may be just as, if not more, effective. It has diagnostic as well as repair uses though; so it might be a useful commodity at times.

So how do I access the Windows Recovery Console?

To access the Recovery Console you have to boot from the XP CD. Having done so you’ll eventually arrive at a screen that looks like this: -

Press “R”, as per the instruction on screen, and the Recovery Console starts.

The Recovery Console will check for Windows installations, and list any that are on the hard-drive. Unless the computer has been set up to multi-boot, there will only be one.

Select the operating system you want to repair and press Enter. Windows will then ask you for the administrator password: -

Enter the administrator password, et voila; you’re into the Recovery Console.

It’s a glorified Windows Command Prompt which allows access to the root folder (%systemroot%) and the Windows folder + its respective tree. Once you’ve done the major repair you can boot into Windows, (Safe Mode or normally.) and continue any repair work needed.

Details of how to use fully, and also the commands available for use within the Recovery Console, are available within the following Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: –

Article ID: 314058 – Last Review: September 22, 2008 – Revision: 5.2

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console for advanced users

You can access this article by clicking here.

I think I’ve just about touched on everything in this and the other three articles. If your Windows XP installation ever screws up at boot in future; I hope that these articles will give you some ideas as to what to do and how to resolve the issue.

If you’d like to comment then the comment forms are open for around six months from the date of writing.

Enjoy XP; even of you’re soon moving on to Windows Seven. (You could actually run Windows XP inside a virtual environment within Windows Seven…That’s an idea for another article perhaps?)

Warning: The Recovery Console is a powerful tool; and if used incorrectly can further screw up your installation just as much as it can repair it; so use it with extreme care.