Try booting XP into safe mode and see if you can still get to your files. Otherwise you may have to do one of the following:
Take out the hard drive and put it into another pc. If you are using a PATA drive (they use wide cables), set it to slave and stick it in there. OR
If another computer isn't avaliable to you, try getting a version of Knoppix. If you're lucky, one of your local libraries will have a linux book that contains a linux distro. I like Knoppix because the Windows partition is accessable on the desktop, however you may have to deal with what they have. Ubuntu should let you do the same thing and you can order cds from them (but you'll have to wait 6-8 weeks)
Now this is provided that the hard drive is still working. This may not be the proper way to detect hard drive failure, but take out the hard drive and see if the computer still randomly reboots. If it does, then the hard drive is not the problem.
more info: http://www.duxcw.com/dcforum/DCForumID3/461.html
Dell Dimension 4400, XPhome, 640 RAM, 120GB WD drive, 40GB Seagate, Lite CD-ROM+
On Father's Day, I had a kitchen fire. After I extinguished the flames, smoke poured out of the kitchen for 15 minutes. For a while, it was so dense that I could not see three feet in front of me. I was online, when the fire started. The computer was about 10ft. away from the fire. After the smoke died down, I went back to the computer. However, my screen was acting funny. I shut the system down for about a hour. When I turned it back on, all that happened was XP rebooting, then crashing, then rebooting, crashing, etc.
The next day I took my unit to my local computer shop. I got a call telling me that the inside of the case smelled of smoke--no kidding. When I picked up the computer, he said that I had multiple component failure. He could not perform all the tests he wanted, because of Dell using proprietery parts.
Now my HP AIO Laserjet was in the same room as the pc, but it doesn't seem to be damaged. My monitor seems to be ok.
When I turn on the pc, the system defaults to the Dell splash screen, then the black background XP screen, then it goes to CHKDSK and when through a quick flash of BSOD, then back to the Dell screen.
Is anything recoverable from my hard drives?
I can't ever remember reading anything about what to do when there is a fire. There are no scorch/smoke stains in the kitchen.
In the meantime, I'm depended on the public library for free use and my ex-wife. But since I have 50 online chess games going, the situation is less than satisfactory.
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