Won't boot after defrag [FIXED]

[FastGame]

Try this http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545 and maybe your HD is going bad ?

[roadster]

Try this http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545 and maybe your HD is going bad ?

I tried following those instructions but when I boot into the recovery console it doesn't ask me for the administrator password I just get

D:\WINDOWS>

and if I try

D:\WINDOWS>md tmp

as the first instruction says I get

The path or file specified is not valid

Can I just re-install XP?? or will that blow out all my data?

[roadster]

Try this http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545 and maybe your HD is going bad ?

Good guess, yes disk drive is shot.

Moved it into my other PC and tried to do a backup with Ghost but if failed quite quckly. Tried to copy some files over but again failed. I forget the exact wording but basically saying that it couldn't find the files.

Off to Maplins to get a new drive then I'll have to revert to my last good backup.

[roadster]

Phew!

Lost 3 days emails and nothing else important. Interestingly none of the suggested fixes worked, probably because the disk was on the way out and badly corrupted ??

Anyway, the moral of the story is....backup. I don't know what I would have done had I not got a recent backup. Lost everything I suppose, family pictures, really important emails (evidence in a Court case would you believe ) user names / passwords......doesn't bare thinking about it....