XP floppyBoot-fixes NTFS.SYS Error 0x00000024

[RRLedford]

If you crash badly enough that on reboot the NTFS.SYS driver gives a BlueScreen stop, you are likely to find yourself faced with ==> Safe boot=BlueScreen, Command Boot=Bluescreen, CD-ROM boot=BlueScreen. All these BlueScreens indicate that CHKDSK /R (R for repair??) needs to be run on your NTFS boot partition.
So, how do you run it if every boot option gives BlueScreen? Well M-S now has the XP-Home & XP-Pro utility to make the 6-floppy disk boot set. Their TechNote says that the key to fixing my Hdisk (if fixable) blocking the NTFS.SYS load & running then using CHKDSK tool still work on the NTFS partition, even with no .SYS driver loaded.
To do this you must edit the Disk1 file TXTSETUP.SIF to disable the line where NTFS.SYS loading is managed. This all sounds easy - except, the tool that M-S uses to image the floppies drops the TXTSETUP.SIF file on disk one as a compressed 40K file - TXTSETUP.SI_ and it can't be edited! On top of this there is more than enough room for the expanded (400K+) file, unless the extra room is needed for temp files. So, just expand it, do the edit, and name it back to what the boot script wants to see, right?
No! The boot process fails if the TXTSETUP.SI_ is not a compressed file. So, just run COMPRESS to get it back to what's needed right?
No! There is no COMPRESS.EXE unless you have access to a Developer's WinXP Resource Kit!!
My last option is to install WInXP to a FAT32 drive & edit the file to disabel NTFS.SYS loading. Then connect drive with NTFS problems. Then boot to command prompt & run the CHKDSK tool
***WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!! WHO THOUGHT UP THIS SCHEME ? ***

[tomatoeboy]

A sea urchin?

[RRLedford]

A sea urchin?

Yes, whose spawn works for M-S support via email and sends me this:
___________________________________________________________
Dear Richard,
Greetings! Thank you for contacting Microsoft Windows Online Support. My name is Seaver and I will be assisting you with this case.
-As we understand, you cannot edit the Txtsetup.sl_ file.

The Txtsetup.sif file contains information that is used for device detection and installation during text-mode Setup.I suggest the following steps:
a. Please copy the original Txtsetup.si_ file to one floppy disk.
b. Insert the disk into one computer running Windows 98 or Windows XP normally, copy the file to its desktop.
c. Rename it from Txtsetup.si_ to Txtsetup.sif, and then use Notepad to open it.
d. After the modifcation has been finished, save the change, and then save the file to the floppy disk.
e. Insert the disk into original XP computer, copy it back to the boot disk.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RRLedford (me) then replies with:
I CAN'T BELIVE YOU SAID THIS! Do you honestly think that notepad can edit a file made with the COMPRESS.EXE program (FILENAME.xx_)??? Do you think that merely renaming it will convert all the scrambled characters into Human Readable form (only thing I can edit). Perhaps there is some magic that takes place when I do all this on the Windows desktop! Your instructions never say that I must rename the file back to TXTSETUP.SI_. I already told you the boot disk crashes out when the file is named TXTSETUP.SIF! Why dont you try doing the steps you so cavalierly give out to me and see just how far you get with this process. Eagerly awaiting your reply. Rich

[Derek]

RRLedford on the offensive!

[RRLedford]

Finally the NTFS.SYS BSOD problem is resolved!!
Not with the XP floppy boot disk set - never got the answer as to how to properly edit the TXTSETUP.SI_ file of disk #1 so NTFS.SYS wouldn't load on boot. The clowns at Microsoft were clueless and most unhelpful.
Ended up having to use an old FAT32 hdisk & install XP-Pro to it.
Then renamed all instances of NTFS.SYS to NTFS.SAV.
Plugged in the flakey 40G drive & no more Blue screen.
Ran CHKDSK /F on the problem partition & all is good.
Remove the FAT32 drive & make the 40G partition the active boot.
System comes back to life with all files & setups remaining.
How many normal people do the "OS architects" at M-S think would go through this nightmare to just get CHKDSK to run a 2 minute fix job?