Odd problem of My Own Making

but need to recover info on hard drive

[old_expat]

I tried to do a windows XP SP1 update after getting a blue screen "bad_pool_caller" and now the thing is stuck in an update/bluescreen loop. Update will not allow a "Safe Mode" reboot.

I'm wondering if I hookup that drive .. as say, an F: drive .. in a second computer, will I be able to copy data from F: to C:, then delete the windows files and reformat the drive?

[moishe]

I see no reason why you couldn't as long as the PC you connect to is also running NTFS (IE XP box). When I bought my new laptop, I took the drive out of the old one, dropped it into an external case and hooked it up via firewire to copy lots of files over then nuked it before putting it back in the old laptop and running the restore CD.

Effect should be the same.

M

[old_expat]

Thanks, moishe!:)

[TXGodzilla]

Just curious ...

Did you try pressing the F8 key at startup to launch the boot menu?

Once that comes up, select "Last Known Good Configuration"

Windows will then attempt to reboot using the configuration from the last complete startup.

You should open your case and make sure your cpu fan is spinning. This is also a common error that is related to an overheated cpu.

Since you are still running SP1, (depending on your media cd) you can also boot off your Windows cdrom and run a Repair Install. It won't affect any installed programs or data and will generally replace any corrupted files.

Or, if you just want to make sure you have a nice clean installation, Moishe's suggestion is great. After all the software I test, I tend to want a nice clean installation after about a year. Once you have your clean install all patched & updated, run a Microsoft backup & save it to an external disk so you won't have to repeat this process again.

[old_expat]

Did you try pressing the F8 key at startup to launch the boot menu?

Yes .. tried LOTS of stuff!;)

MS does not allow a "Safe Mode" boot during "Setup".