The Automatic Recovery screen is not displayed if the Bootstat.dat file is compressed (309481)

SYMPTOMS

When you restart your computer after an unsuccessful attempt to start the computeror after a registry recovery, the Windows XP Automatic Recovery screen may not appear.

CAUSE

This issue can occur if the Windows\Bootstat.dat file is compressed on an NTFS partition.

If this is the case, the Automatic Recovery screen does not appear because Ntldr cannot write the Automatic Recovery flags to the Bootstat.dat file when it is compressed.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, decompress the Bootstat.dat file in the Windows folder. To do so:

Right-click the Bootstat.dat file, and then click Properties.
Click to clear the Compress contents to save disk space check box, and then click OK.

After you decompress the Bootstat.dat file, the automatic recovery feature works, even if the NTFS partition is still compressed.

Note If the issue still exists, rename Bootstat.dat to Bootstat.old, and then restart the computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

When you restart your computer after a failed startup attempt or after a registry recovery, the computer displays the Automatic Recovery screen. This screen includes the following error message and the Windows Advanced Options menu:

We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this.

The Windows Advanced Options menu includes the following troubleshooting modes:

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Last Known Good Configuration
Start Windows Normally