??Unmountable boot volume??
I'm about ready to mount my boot into the machine... that'll give it some volume. :banghead:
Anyways onto the question.. I viewed the thread earlier about the boot volume question and most of it applies other then I don't have a friend who's savvy with computers to help me out. I tried scanning the internet a bit about the problem but mainly everyone says use the xp boot disk and get into the recovery console. It won't let me into the console.... everytime I try that I get a ntfs.sys-address f96cdbfl base at blah blah blah datestamp. Just more BSoD...
Is there anything else I can try? I have important files I need but if it needs to be erased I'm fine with it as long as it gets working again.
Intel (El Paso 2) Motherboard - 1.8-GHz
Maxtor 40-GB 7200-RPM Ultra ATA/133 Hard Disk Drive
Thanx for any help it's much appreciated.
Anyways onto the question.. I viewed the thread earlier about the boot volume question and most of it applies other then I don't have a friend who's savvy with computers to help me out. I tried scanning the internet a bit about the problem but mainly everyone says use the xp boot disk and get into the recovery console. It won't let me into the console.... everytime I try that I get a ntfs.sys-address f96cdbfl base at blah blah blah datestamp. Just more BSoD...
Is there anything else I can try? I have important files I need but if it needs to be erased I'm fine with it as long as it gets working again.
Intel (El Paso 2) Motherboard - 1.8-GHz
Maxtor 40-GB 7200-RPM Ultra ATA/133 Hard Disk Drive
Thanx for any help it's much appreciated.
0
Comments
and your data won't be erased.
HERE is what I would do:
First, I would go to maxtor's site and get into the downloads and get PowerMax. The archive will want a floppy, blank, to make a boot disk. Let it make it, run a quick test on drive.
Link here:
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/powermax.htm
What happens next is determined by what the diagnostic finds. IF it finds an error, about 25% of the time the drive itself is not alone at fault. BAD CABLE to drive, bad PSU can cause false test failures, so try replacing drive cable (the ATA cable, not the power cable with a white connector and four wires). Then rerun the quick test. If it then tests ok, then you can try rebooting without the floppy in, see if your BSOD vanishes. If not, reload-- BUT, in this case I would also get somethinjg else: the MaxBlast 3 ISO image, and burn a CD of it in ISO burn mode, DAO, on another computer with a CD-RW drive (aka burner). IF boht tests fail and the drive is under warranty, set up an RMA-- we can help you figure out how if that indeed happens.
Link to MaxBlast 3 page:
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/maxblast_3_cd_iso.htm
Here's why:
First, the CD you burned from the ISO has an install util for HDs (I'll explain that in a minute, quickly). Second, if you have a Flash player on the other computer, you can play the flash movie on the CD to see how to install with your other comnputer. Take notes if you want, they might come in handy.
The install util will help you prep the drive, but before you use it, I would fully erase (Zero-Pack) the HD with the diagnostics floppy you already have. Several reasons:
This could be a worm virus fubarring things, with a hybrid boot sector and\or MBR trashing component that has managed to trash the system pointer to rest of drive.
Could be a bad HD, and the zero-pack will fully check it though it will run a long time.
Could be windows has just corrupted itself, every once in a while it is good to run the defrag util and chkdsk from within windows adn make sure the file system is fixed if it is unstable.
Zero-Packing will tell you if this is pure hardware, if it fails you do have a hardware problem in the box. If it doesn't fail and instead completes successfully, probably was malware or Windows fubarring itself or an application that really was not intended to work with XP and replaced parts of XP that XP needs, PLUS a massive virus problem to get that BSOD.
Let's figure the Zero-Pack works-- if not, we are back to an RMA or replacing the HD after what has already been done. THEN you run the MaxBlast install util, tell ti what O\S you want. Make dang sure the XP install CD is clean, not dusty or scratched, a badly scratched or dusty CD is one heck of a good way to get a corrupt install right out of the installer, sometimes one where errors creep up on you and result in BSODs due to what I call GIGO (Garbage into Installer, Garbage comes Out of installer-- aka Garbage In=Garbage Out).
If after all this, you get a bad install, then you need the machine in a professional tech's hands, and I would say that the tech needs to validate RAM, CPU functions, and motherboard HD I\O and Power Supply voltages for starters. IF you want to check RAM yourself, there is a MemTest86 ISO image avilable freely one the web, you can do that yourself, but write down what you find to help the tech have data as to what you have checked and how-- 10 minutes of tech reading your notes might save hours of expensive work (I am a tech, know that what the customer does not say makes for big bills for customer, often, and fellow techs bring machines to me and have for years-- many, many of them).
John D.-- who says also that if you follow through this way successfully, you will learn about about your box for next time something wild and strange happens and have a better idea about what to look at than you do now. That will make recovery faster and smarter each time you have to do this, if you keep track of what is happening and what changes what things.
I can't use the powermax because it says that you have to use it from windows and not from boot... I can't get into windows on the comp with the BSoD.
Thnx for the info and replies though. Maybe I'm just not giving enough info. Anything else you might need to know?
If it finds errors and you have more than one stick of ram, run the test again using only one stick at a time.
If that doesn't work let us know. Good luck!
to set up windows xp now press enter
to repair a windows xp installation using recovery console. press R
to quit setup without installing windows xp press f3
the first two both come out to the ntfs.sys page_fault_in_nonpaged_area BSoD.
OH! Check RAM if you cannot do a repair install. Low RAM is not paged-- also possibly video card RAM, if first block of RAM on video card is bad.
John D.