Dean writes in with a troubleshooting question
Q. I performed a system recovery but now my computer won't start up. The message on the black screen says: NTLDR is compressed, Press CTRL ALT DEL. I do that but it doesn't start...it brings me back to the same screen and instructions over and over...help please!
A. This should be fixable using the Windows XP Recovery console. You will need a Windows XP CD to do this procedure. It’s a more advanced repair to do but it shouldn't be too hard.
Insert your Windows XP CD into the computer and restart the computer. You may have to adjust your BIOS to have the computer boot from the CD.
When it says press any key to boot from CD, immediately press a key on the keyboard.
When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console. Then select the option to repair Windows using the Microsoft Recovery Console.
Enter the appropriate number for your Windows installation. You should only have one and it should be numbered with a 1 so press 1 and enter.
If prompted, enter your Administrator password and press Enter. If you don't use a password, just press Enter.
Now you should have a C:\Windows prompt
At the prompt, type:
attrib -c ntldr and then press Enter
At the prompt, type: exit
Press the Enter key and immediately remove all discs or diskettes from the computer to allow the computer to restart.
If you want to see some screenshots of the Recovery Console process check out this link.
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/wxprcons.html
