On turning on my PC I am presented with a list of options, one of which is to start in safe mode. No matter which one I select I am quickly returned to the same list - it just goes round in a loop. having looked at the directory structure most of them have "gone" - including windows. I have sent the log file using the link above.

Can I do anything and is so how do I do it?

Thanks,

Ian

Product you are using: DiskPatch

Operating system / Service Pack: XP Home SP1

Size of subject harddisk: 4 GByte

Hello,

At first glance, partition tables and boot sectors look valid.

Can you remember the volume label name for the NTFS drive? Did it indeed start with 'Desktop Dri(ve)'? If so, then this is more proof that the boot sector for this NTFS partition is intact and that DiskPatch could locate the start of the $MFT.

How did you look at the directory strutcure, you used NTFS4DOS or similar? If so, then if the volume label was indeed 'Desktop Dri(ve) and using NTFS4DOS does reveals a corrupt structure, the damage to the partition is internal (index structures, $MFT). These are issues you can not fix using DiskPatch. Due to the complex nature of NTFS we advise even trying to repair such issues, instead it is safer to salvage files/folders using software like iRecover. After you have verified the salvaged data you could reformat the partition and reinstall Windows.

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Kind regards,
Joep