"Keith Russell" <dtov-hb8l@xemaps.com> wrote in message
news:oain841elgsm7o3tt79ta5l2oj43n3ldem@4ax.com...[color=blue]
>I hope someone can help me before I give up on Microsoft and HP
> forever....
>
> For the third time since I bought my 64-bit Vista Ultimate HP
> laptop last October, it is refusing to boot. I get a message
> saying "Windows failed to start," indicating that there might be
> a hardware or software incompatibility and giving me the
> following two choices:
>
> "Launch Startup Repair (recommended)
> Start Windows normally"
>
> Trying to start Windows normally just puts me in a loop.
> Launching Startup Repair gives me the following:
>
> "Windows failed to start.... To fix the problem:
>
> 1. Insert your Windows installation disc
> 2. Choose your language settings, and then click "Next".
> 3. Click "Repair your computer".
>
> Status: 0xc000000f
> Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is
> inaccessible."
>
> The cause of the problem this time (but not the previous two) is
> that Windows was shut down abnormally. (I thought I was
> hibernating, when, if fact, I was turning it completely off. :-(
> ) It's unlikely that there is really a compatibility problem.
>
> The problem is that I do not have a Windows installation disc.
> All I have is HP's System Destruction DVD (They call it a System
> Recovery DVD). I have been partitioning my hard drive for years
> to protect my data in a separate logical partition. On several
> previous systems, I have been able to reinstall
> Windows--sometimes using a repair option--with minor impact on my
> system, and without affecting my data partition. However, HP only
> allows me to reformat my entire hard drive and "recover" the OS
> and HP's applications. Twice now, I have lost all my data as well
> as my application settings. (I do do backups, which I have been
> able to restore, but it seems that it's always several weeks
> after my last backup when the system decides to crash.) Since the
> last time this happened, I have not even had a chance to
> reinstall all my applications.
>
> Today I actually headed over to the local university to buy a
> "real" Vista disc so that I could run a Startup Repair. (I
> qualify for an academic discount.) Unfortunately, they sell only
> Vista Business (not Ultimate) in an academic version. Other
> college bookstores in the area are closed today, so I'm in
> waiting mode. Also, after talking to the bookstore employees, I'm
> not sure this will work even if I'm able to find an Ultimate
> upgrade disc.
>
> Can anyone answer the following questions for me?
>
> 1. Is there any way I can repair my installation using HP's
> system recovery disc, without losing all my data? (This would be
> the preferred option if it will work, of course.)
>
> 2. Will I be able to reinstall (preferably a repair reinstall) to
> an OEM system using an upgrade disc with a difference license?
>
> 3. Would it be possible to buy the Vista Business upgrade and use
> it to recover my system files on my existing Vista Ultimate
> system?
>
> Any additional suggestions, of course, would be very gladly
> accepted. Thanks very much in advance.
>
> --
> Keith
> --
> Keith[/color]

On start up, immediately press F11. This will allow the reinstallation of
the system from the D: Recovery partition if it hasn't been corrupted.
Otherwise, use the System Recovery disks that you burned to DVD when you
first started up the computer. You did do that didn't you? If not, HP will
be glad to sell you as set, which I have heard costs $10 each.

You shouldn't lose all of your data, but if you have a handy friend that can
remove the hard drive and connect it to another computer to remove the
files, I would advise that.

Not a different license.