Trying to burn a cd with XP Recovery Console on it.

That was a lo-o-o-n-g time ago but I put the file on my OneDrive and you can download it from here:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlzCDddLSsKogRN1Yfa0IPKxJI5N

The thing about making the Recovery Console CD is that it might work fine on some systems some of the time but if you instead make a Hiren's Boot CD it will work on all systems all the time so I recommend you do that instead (or you could do both).  If you hit a snag with the Recovery Console CD you will end up making a Hiren's Boot CD anyway so why not just do that first.

Plus you can put the Hiren's on a bootable thumb drive in case your system has no CD/DVD drive (can't do that with xp_rec_con.iso).  If you need to make a bootable USB thumb drive I have instructions for that too (using rufus)

Here's how:

Make yourself a Hiren's Boot CD which you can download from here:

http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/

The ZIP file is large, so the download will probably take a little while to complete bit it is worth it.  Then unzip the download to extract the Hirens.BootCD.ISO file that will be used to create your new bootable CD.

Creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file is not the same as just copying the .ISO file to a blank CD.  You have to use software that understands how to burn a .ISO file to a CD to create a bootable CD.

In the Hiren's ZIP file are the BurnToCD.cmd file that you can double click to launch it, but I have never used it and prefer to use ImgBurn.

If you need a free and easy CD burning software package, here is a popular free program:

http://www.imgburn.com/

Like many third party programs you might install, the ImgBurn installation defaults to installing things you probably don't want installed on your system in the form of extra Internet browser toolbars or may make other adjustments to your browser.  You don't want to install any of that so you have to pay attention during the installation.

When clicking through the installation screens be sure to pay attention to the screens and always choose a Custom install and UNcheck the following (or any other things like it):

UNcheck:

Install the AVG toolbar and set AVG Secure Search as my default search provider

Set AVG Secure Search as my homepage and newly opened tabs

Choose custom installation again and UNcheck the following:

Uncheck:

Install QuickShare

There could be other things too.

Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

It would be a good idea to test your new bootable CD on a computer that is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. 

These adjustments are  made before Windows tries to load.  If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.

When booting on the Hiren's CD you will see a menu of options.  Choose the Mini XP option.  Then it will appear that Windows is being loaded and you will be presented with a desktop that has the look and feel of the Windows Explorer interface you are already used to using.

Remember:  You did not boot on your hard disk - you booted into the Hiren's desktop.

One way to check the disk for errors is to open My Computer and right click your afflicted drive and choose Properties, Tools, Error-checking, Check Now... put a check mark in both the boxes and then Start.

Sometimes that doesn't work, so you can also click Start, Run and in the box enter:

cmd

Click OK to open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command (assuming XP is installed on your C drive)

chkdsk  c:  /r

This disk checking can take a long time (perhaps several to many hours) depending on the size of the volume, the amount of data on the volume and what the disk checking finds to do.

Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. 

Depending on the the speed of your system, the size of the volume, the amount of data on the volume and what chkdsk finds to do, it may take a long time for chkdsk with error correction to complete (several to many hours) or it may appear to be 'stuck'.  Be patient.  If the HDD light is still flashing, chkdsk is doing something so don't interrupt it.  It will finish eventually one way or the other.  Keep an eye on the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress.  It may even appear to go backwards sometimes.

You may have to run the chkdsk  /r  it more than once.

When the chkdsk runs clean, remove the CD and restart your system.

If you have no bootable XP media (or are not sure what you have) create a bootable XP Recovery Console CD and be sure (no XP media required).

This is not the same as any recovery disks that might have come with a store bought system.  

You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file and burning it to a CD.

The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

xp_rec_con.iso 

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

Use a new CD and this free and easy program to burn your ISO file and create your bootable CD (do not install UniBlue or the Ask Toolbar - ever!):

http://www.imgburn.com/

Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk.  These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load.  If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.

When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

Press any key to boot from CD...

The Windows Setup... will proceed.

Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

Select the installation you want to access (usually  1: C:\WINDOWS)

You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder.  This is the same as the 

C:\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

The Recovery Console allows basic file commands like: copy, rename, replace, delete, cd, chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

For a list of Recovery Console commands, enter help at the prompt or read about the XP Recovery Console here:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/recovery_console_cmds.mspx?mfr=true

The link for the ISO file xp_rec_con.iso leads me to a website that says the file was taken down by Microsoft because of a Terms of service violation. Is there another way to get the file?

Good job!

Take the rest of the day off.

Thanks JoseIbarra for your reply. It took me 5 cds to get one that works.The "Trick" is not to ask the burner to make a boot disk. I used my limited copy of Nero, choosing the "Backup" tab, then "Burn Image File".