Dell XPS Reps

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For the moment I cannot boot into any flavor of Windows safe mode. Whenever I try I encounter BSODs. I can however boot up into normal mode. The boot sector is either infected or corrupted neither of which is desirable. In an attempt to access/fix safe mode I went into msconfig, boot.ini, and checked /SAFEBOOT with minimal. It went from bad to worse. After restart BSODs appeared under any option. I was pushing 2-3 hours trying to figure out how to undo /SAFEBOOT.

Desperate I called Dell support to see if they could help me find a solution. I was told to perform a half-hour long hardware diagnostic. The lady told me she would have to let me go and would call back in an hour. She didn't. I called back an hour later. The next tech was nice but I spent 5-10 minutes bringing him up to speed with what I did. He wanted me to put in my Dell Recovery disc. I asked him if this disc formats the drive and reinstalls Windows. He said yes. I told him I'd like to explore other options. So we tried different stuff. He explained a long complicated process of removing the HDD and placing it into an enclosure, installing a new drive, install Windows to the new drive, and finally access all the files off the old HDD… yeah That’s not what I wanted. I wanted a simple solution. He told me after reviewing what happened with his boss the only solutions were either the new drive/old HDD enclosure or format and reinstall Windows. When I asked about new drives he was very eager to discuss the prices for memory, HDD, extended service plan (1 year for $200) and so forth... all the while I told him to hurry up because the battery on my phone was virtually gone.

After sitting there in complete confusion, almost at peace with a formatting/reinstall, this solution came to me:

1. Pulled my old computer out of the garage.
2. Plugged in my keyboard, mouse, and screen.
3. Plugged in a USB drive and copied the boot.ini from the C:\. You have to copy it to the USB drive’s root folder; I’ll explain why in a moment. I changed the partition information from "(1)" to "(2)".
4. Removed and plugged the USB drive into the new system.
5. Placed my Windows setup disc in the drive.
6. Booted from the Windows setup disc.
7. After Setup loaded its files I selected Windows Recovery Console (The Console doesn't give you permission to access folders so that's why the boot.ini was copied to the root of the USB drive)
8. At the command prompt I change to the root (CD ..)
9. Type this command: ren boot.ini boot.ini.bak
10. Changed to the USB drive.
11. Type this command: copy boot.ini c:\
12. exit the Windows Recovery Console

Skadoosh! Windows booted up fine. Yay me!

I want to share this as a complaint against Dell Support, but also a tip in case anyone encounters a situation where their boot.ini is messed up and they need a fix. Hope this helps!