I apologize if I confused you. The reason you would be putting the SATA drivers on a floppy is so that you can have the Windows XP CD recognize the hard drive.
Once the drivers have been loaded you should be able access the drive in the recovery console. Once you can do that just follow my first post about the check disk.
Give me a little bit and I will do tests with those drivers on one of my systems to see if there is an easier way, perhaps just a CD with the drivers on it will work too.
I am sorry things are taking so long to get resolved I will do the test as soon as possible and post back here. This way I can give you a complete step by step guide.
This option will move all Hard Disk contents to the "c:\MyBackup" directory and install a new copy of windows. This option preserves your existing data files, however all applications and settings will need to be reinstalled. This options requires 4GB of free hard disk space for the new OS'
This option should work assuming your harddrive didn't get corrupted, which it shouldn't be given that you could read it through linux.
Just do this you'll have a clean install and all of your exiting contents will be safely moved to that backup folder.
This option should work assuming your harddrive didn't get corrupted, which it shouldn't be given that you could read it through linux.
Just do this you'll have a clean install and all of your exiting contents will be safely moved to that backup folder.
I don't see why you guys are insisting on wiping the hard drive that is not the solution here. The file system got corrupt during the defrag or at another stage and is not a big deal to fix, a check disk will do the trick.
Okay in order to get this to work it shouldn't be to hard I tested it out on my system and you will need to go out and buy a USB floppy drive. Follow my previous guide, also posted below.
I don't think that your laptop comes with a floppy drive so run down to the local hard drive store and pick up a USB floppy drive (don't forget floppies to go with it).
Format the floppy on another computer and do the following
View the read me it will tell you to go to C:\cabs\*DriverFileName*
In that folder is an EXE run it to copy the drivers to the floppy disk
Once the drivers have been put on the floppy disk
Boot from the Windows XP CD
When it says Press any key to boot from CD... start pressing F6 repeatedly
You will see down at the bottom it will say press F6 to load additional drivers, keep pressing f6 until it passes that. It will not look like it did anything but just wait a few minutes and you will be brought to a screen that suggests you install drivers.
Press the S key from there to locate drivers on the floppy
From this point I hope it is self explanatory because I didn't have my USB floppy to test.
If you have any questions feel free to ask and I once again sincerely apologize for how long this has taken to get resolved.
I don't see why you guys are insisting on wiping the hard drive that is not the solution here. The file system got corrupt during the defrag or at another stage and is not a big deal to fix, a check disk will do the trick.
First of all he doesn't have a floppy drive which means he can't use the F6 method to use the sata drivers.
Secondly a chkdsk will fix broken indexs, parentless children and those sorts of problems. If the system file gets corrupted or various other key OS files chkdsk won't fix them. Since his system trashed during a defrag it's more likely that he's got file level corruption then just the simple issues that chkdsk will fix. If chkdsk can fix them then he just needs a WinPE cd, which has chkdsk on it and can clean it up.
No floppy, means anything he wants to do with the windows cd has to have the SATA drivers on it, which means it has to be slipstreamed. Additionally we don't know why defrag crashed - which likely means something else is buggered because a defrag will actually let you know if your harddrive is having issues during the defrag process.
First of all he doesn't have a floppy drive which means he can't use the F6 method to use the sata drivers.
Secondly a chkdsk will fix broken indexs, parentless children and those sorts of problems. If the system file gets corrupted or various other key OS files chkdsk won't fix them. Since his system trashed during a defrag it's more likely that he's got file level corruption then just the simple issues that chkdsk will fix. If chkdsk can fix them then he just needs a WinPE cd, which has chkdsk on it and can clean it up.
No floppy, means anything he wants to do with the windows cd has to have the SATA drivers on it, which means it has to be slipstreamed. Additionally we don't know why defrag crashed - which likely means something else is buggered because a defrag will actually let you know if your hard drive is having issues during the defrag process.
Thats why I suggested he run down to the hardware store and pick up a floppy drive considering gateway has drivers set up specifically for this. As for the crash in situations like this it very well could fix it with a check disk. This is not a major issue like if the drive where physically corrupt or damaged from ESD or something. I would put money on it that a check disk would work.
I'd like to point out one of my previous posts. CHKDSK can repair the drive in many different senarios and is often the easiest and most efficient resource. http://icrontic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71326
WinPE is not a bad suggestion though I had never heard of it before.
So I went out and found a USB floppy drive for 40bucks...I tried to do everything that I was told to do but still something is not right...I will explain.
I conntected the USB drive to my laptop, I hit any key to start the xp cd...then pressed F6, then press S, and then the following shows up on the next screen:
'You have chosen to configure a SCSI Adapter for use with windows using a device support disk provided by an adapter manufacture. Select SCSI Adapter from list:
-Intel(r) 82801GR/GH SATA RAID Controller (Desktop ICH7R/ DH)
-Intel(r) 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH7R/ DH)
-Intel(r) 82801GBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH7M)
-Intel(r) 82801FR SATA RAID Controller (Desktop ICH6R)
***After chosing one, the floppy drive turns on and copies over the file that is on the floppy disk. When its done, the next screen says...
'Setup will load support for the following mass storage devices (it shows the one you chosen) and then the screen says press S to install additional SCSI or press ENTER if you dont have any device support.
**** I didnt know which one to choose, so I selected the first one on the list...when it was done loading the files (iaStor.sys), I pressed enter which then loads the XP setup menu. The two options of press enter to install or press R to repair BOTH didnt work. They both gave me the same error message...Setup didnt find any hard disk drives installed in your computer.
I figured maybe I choose the wrong adapter from the list of SCSI Adapters. So, I went thru the whole process again and this time choose the 2nd adapter and still had the same problem...I kept doing this until I tried each adapter and nothing worked.
I'm sorry for writing alot...I didnt know the best way to explain the whole thing. Please let me know what I could try next...keep in mind I have Knoppix LIVE and also miniPE, if there is anything on these programs you might want me to try, let me know.
***I just want to also explain...the main reason for all this, is to hopefully keep all my programs and their key codes, some of which I will never find again if I do a wipe clean. So...what I dont understand, would either method lead me the same result? Meaning, if I go the whole installing the SATA drives and then using the XP to repair, to fix the HD, to help keep my programs in working conditions....be the SAME thing as using that 'gateway recovery DVD' that I mentioned in my May14 post??? Would either method bring me to the same result or does doing the SATA install give me a better chance of having working programs???
Again...thanks so much for all the help, it truly means alot to me.
I understand now what you are saying...I agree on trying it this way first...its what my goal would be if it was to work.
ok...i will try again to install the driver with the one you said I should use...then after that, I will run the miniPE and choose check disk...then I will try to use the install xp disk and see if I get that same old error message.
will let you know what happens hopefully tonight if not, then by tomorow. Again, I want to thank you for all your time and efforts.
I just ran the check disk and there was a problem. When running the check disk in MiniPE the first option it asked if I want to fix errors on the disk and locate bad sectors enter y or no...I choose yes and then it started to run the check disk but then stopped and gave the following error:
The type of the file system is RAW.
Cannot lock current drive.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.
CHKDSK.CMD: Check disk done...
Press any key to continue
********
And that was it...I'm sorry that things keep going wrong...I know you must be busy and have your own things to do. I really appreciate everything and hope you will have another idea or etc that I can try.
Your partition table is trashed. There are other tools on MiniPE that can fix the partition tables. Just look through the system tools and then the harddrive tools. Try everyone and you may get lucky. Some tools work better then others in some cases so it's just a matter of trying the different tools and hoping one works.
Try partition table doctor. It looks like your partition got corrupt or deleted as a RAW table is one with no file system.
EDIT: since you have linux try using gparted and tell us what file system it says. I am unsure if your distro of linux has it installed or not but you can install it easily.
I want to thank you all again for still trying to help me fix this and hanging in there. I truly do appreicata the help and efforts made...so thank you so much! I'm also leanring alot more about the system as we go thru all this.
I put in the cd Knoppix and tried to run GParted, but it asked me for a password. It has been awhile since I used this pc and forgot it. I tried to enter in what I thought was is but it still does not work. Maybe there is another program I can run that will give you the info you need, just let me know which one to open up. Sorry it did not work
I then put in the cd MiniPE and opened up Partition Magic 8 and this is the info I was able to findout.
The first row of info reads...
RECOVERY (C) Type:FAT32 SizeMB:7,004.9 UsedMB:2,291.3 Status:Active Pri/Log:Primary
The Second row of info reads...
Local Disk (D) Type:NTFS SizeMB:69,303.8 UsedMB:48,708.2 Status:None Pri/Log:Primary
There is a Third row and I dont know why but the info reads...
(*) Type:Unallocated SizeMB:7.8 UsedMB:0.0 Status:None Pri/Log:Primary
There also was a few tools to run but was not sure what they did, however I did run one that was simple to understand. I highlighted 'RECOVERY (C)' and ran 'check partition for errors' and it found 0 errors...BUT when I try to run it on the 'Local Disk (D)' it begin to work and the status bar get almost to the end but then it just stops and I cant move the mouse.
I'm hoping some of the info I listed above might be usefull. There are alot of things on the Knoppix cd and the MiniPE but not sure what or how some to run. If there is a different cd you want me to download and try or anything else, please let me know.
I know this post is going on for a long time and I dont know that much about computers but I feel like my laptop is not that far gone, that it cannot be fixed. If I was not able to see my partitions or files then I would think it is cooked...but I dont think it is that bad and just feel it needs to have some things put back in order for it to run again...I know some of you have still come by to help out and hope you will still try and work with me to fix this....again I thank you soooo much!!!
Keep in mind that when running winPE your harddrive is almost always your D: drive in the various applications as the C: Drive is the ramdrive that winPE creates at boot time.
jcortes...any ideas on what to do next. I tried to provide you with some info that you might need. If there is something else you want me to try out, please just let me know.
Ahhh....Well while I was waiting to hear back from Jcortes...I went into Knoppix again, I found this tool on it that would allow me to create another password which I did. Then I tried to open GParted again and this time entered the pass I just created and it worked!!!
So...Im able to open the program but am not sure what info or things you might want me to run with GParted. Here is the following info I'm able to see...
Under the word 'Partition' it shows two...'/dev/sda1' and '/dev/sda2'
It also shows a small 'lock' icon next to each partition. sda1 is a fat32 and sda2 is a ntfs. Under the word 'Mountpoint' it says '/media/sda1' and '/media/sda2'.
Also I dont know if this info is important or not...but in the menu bar whre it reads 'GParted'...if you click on it, it opens with a list of options to choose...'Refresh devices' , 'Devices' , 'Features' , 'Quit'. When I clicked on 'Devices' it shows a list. The first one in that list reads '/dev/cloop0 1.90GiB' , the second one reads '/devcloop1 0.00 B' , the last one reads '/dev/sda 74.53GiB'
Then there is a section to view HD info...which reads the following...DiskLabelType:msdos , Heads:255 , Sectors/Track:63 , Cylinders:9729 , Total Sectors:156296385 ....and thats it for the program GParted.
Please let me know if this info is helpful or if there is something else....thanks again sooo much for everything.
I'm going to try to recap the things that have been tried/done so far:
1) You booted into Knoppix and backed up all your important files to removable media.
2) You booted the XP CD, hit F5 during setup, and loaded the ICH7 Mobile SATA driver; but Windows couldn't find your hard drive.
3) You booted into MiniPE and attempted to run CHKDSK on the hard drive, which failed.
I agree with jcortes that a successful chkdsk run will probably fix your problem. I've had machines crash while defragging and a good chkdsk was all that was necessary. What I'm concerned with is why Windows can't seem to find your hard drive even though you loaded all the SATA drivers. Your partition table is in good shape if GParted can read it; MiniPE might not properly support some aspect of your hardware causing its chkdsk to fail to detect the proper filesystem types.
By the way, both of the partitions shown by MiniPE and GParted are real and exist on your hard drive; the FAT32 "RECOVERY" partition is a hidden diagnostic/rescue partition that can be accessed by pressing a special key sequence while the machine is booting. Most OEMs like Gateway put these partitions on your hard drive instead of giving you proper Windows install disks; its only use is to format the rest of your hard drive and return your system to its factory state. The NTFS partition is, as you discovered, the partition with Windows and all your stuff on it.
Let's try to figure out what kind of SATA controller you really have since the Gateway drivers aren't working. From inside Knoppix, try to find the System Tool that allows you to launch a Root Terminal. You will be asked for a password like when you ran GParted so you will need to set one first.
Aside: Knoppix defaults to a random root password for security reasons and expects you to set one you can remember using their tool if you need administrator access. This password has no relation to anything on your hard drive and Knoppix won't remember it between sessions.
A window will pop up with a command-line interface. Type lspci and hit enter, then post everything that comes out here.
Wow....Its people like you and the few that helped me that are truly amazing. I was about to throw my hands up and give up because no one was posting any ideas...I wish I had better words to use to express how thankful I am for you taking out the time and trying to help me out. You certainly know your stuff because everything you explained with Knoppix was dead on...I was able to set the password and get the info you needed.
And that was all the info that was shown. If there is anything...and I mean anything else you want me to try please let me know. If there is a different program, like knoppix or etc that you want me to download and run, just let me know.
Again, I want to stress how much it means to me that you are willing to spend the time to write such a helpful post and still try and get this fixed. You really are a GREAT person...thanks so much!!!
The drivers for your SATA controller are not in the Gateway download.
Go download this, and read section 5.3 of this, following the instructions there. Boot your Windows CD, hit F6 during when prompted, and load only the driver for the "Intel(R) 82801FBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH6M)" from the driver floppy you just made.
From there, try jcortes's instructions on repairing the Windows XP install using the recovery console, specifically this.
However there is a problem. I will try to explain but if it does not make sense please let me know and I will write it again but better.
First I read the 'read me file and its very confusing on what to do to extract the files to the floppy. I downloaded the file just fine and in the read me file at section 5.3 it says to extract all files refer to section 7.2...which gives three commands...
BUT...the file downloaded is not called any of the three...
iata70_enu.exe
So...I tried that anyways...and when I did it load
the install screen so I thought it would work just fine...BUT
when it got to the end of me clicking 'NEXT' a small window
popped up with the title ERROR and said the following...
This computer does not meet the minium requirements for
installing this software setup will exit...press ok
I press ok and the whole install closed. I thought maybe I
did something wrong...so this time instead of trying to extract
them to the floppy I tired to just install it to this computer
and it went thru the whole process of clicking next but then at
the very end...the same window popped up with that error.
I'm sorry that there is a proble with this...I dont know why
its not working. I still want to try and fix this I feel like
we are soooo close to fixing it. Please let me know
what to do next
It's going to extract a lot of files and is much larger than a floppy, so try making a directory at C:\driver, then try
C:\iata70_enu.exe -A -PC:\driver
or
C:\iata70_enu.exe -A -P C:\driver
You'll need to copy the files mentioned in 5.3 to a floppy from the driver directory.
I feel horrible that its not working because you have been so nice enough to stick around and try to help me...I'm really trying to understand all this and make it work. And appriecate the effort you are making to help.
This is the problem now...
The command you gave me to use...worked great. I created a folder in c:\ called driver and it extracted three folders into it. They were called 'Docs' 'Driver' 'Driver64'.
Not knowing which one was the correct folder to copy over to the floppy...I decided NOT to use the driver64 but instead copied the files from the driver folder to the floppy. There were 6 files in there that I copied over.
The problem is that on the screen where I have to select the SCSI Adapter...the one you said I need to choose...Intel(R) 82801FBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH6M)...was not on the list.
The list only had the following to select:
Intel(R) 82801HEM SATA RAID Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E)
Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E/M)
Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO SATA RAID Controller (Desktop ICH8R)
Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH8R)
I dont know what is wrong...I dont understand why this is not working correctly.
I also dont know if this has anything to do with but in the READ ME notes which are a little bit confusing...in section 7.3 it says to insert some command lines into a file called 'UNATTEND.TXT'...BUT when I extracted the files into the driver folder, that file was not there...so is this something that I need to have...I dont understand?
I'm very sorry this is not working...I'm trying to follow the direction. As for the why the correct driver is not showing up in the list...I dont know. I clicked on the link you provided and there was only one thing I could download, so I dont see how I could have downloaded the wrong files...please let me know what you think I should do next.
John
PS: Again, I'm really sorry this is not going as easy...and greatly appriecate your time.
Don't sweat it, Intel SATA has ruined my week before.
Copying from "Drivers" was the correct choice; Drivers64 is for 64-bit Windows OSes (Windows XP x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, Windows Vista 64 et al.)
I'll try to explain what's happening, but let me know if you don't understand something and want some clarification.
Every device you plug into your computer's internal buses these days has a unique identifying string that whatever OS you're running can look up in a table of known ID's and figure out what kind of hardware you have. This is what allows Windows to find drivers on Windows Update and let Linux distributions like Knoppix load the correct drivers for your hardware. Some manufacturers do silly things like assigning unique ID's (not in the lookup table of common devices) to common hardware in order to prevent you from loading the generic driver for those devices. The logic as to why they do this continues to escape me.
Intel has, in my experience, been particularly bad about this when it comes to their SATA controllers. It is the reason why my HTPC uses legacy IDE mode for SATA instead of AHCI, even though both the chipset (G35/ICH8M) and OS (XP x64) support it. Unfortunately for you, legacy IDE isn't an option because we previously established your laptop's BIOS doesn't support it.
I've only got four solutions left, and you're not going to like the last one.
1) Maybe it just works. Pick the entry for the Mobile ICH8 and hope the driver works properly. Intel's storage driver is unified, meaning that one driver supports a wide variety of hardware, and there's a chance that the driver can configure itself to properly support your hardware despite receiving a bad configuration from the MS XP Setup environment.
2) Give up on attempting to run CHKDSK on the laptop itself. Buy yourself a "everything to USB adapter" like this one that I use, pull the hard drive out of your laptop, connect it to the adapter, and plug it into the USB port on a computer with a working Windows XP install. Have that run CHKDSK on the drive by right-clicking the disk when it shows up in My Computer, selecting Properties, then Disk Tools, and Check This Disk For Errors. Check the box for "Automatically fix filesystem errors". I might not have gotten the names quite right, but it should be intuitive. Run passes until the utility reports that it didn't find any errors.
3) Make new entries in TXTSETUP.OEM that include the ID corresponding to your hardware and load the appropriate driver options. This step is pretty complicated so I'd rather not have to walk you through it if we can avoid it. Also, my success rate is only 1 in 5 with this technique.
4) Count your blessings that you got your valuable data off the drive and look up Gateway's key sequence to activate the Rescue & Recovery partition. Let it do it's thing: format your hard drive and reinstall the OS.
Repeat the floppy procedure that Drasnor described with this file instead of the one he had you download. The Intel ICH6M uses the 82801FBM AHCI disk controller, and it has support for it in this driver package as seen by this line:
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2653&CC_0106.DeviceDesc = "Intel(R) 82801FBM SATA AHCI Controller"
And on a side note, Intel is by far the best at providing SATA/AHCI drivers.
Ok...I just wanted to post a quick thanks and let you know that I will try some of the ideas. I didnt want to wait until I tried all of them and then post.
It really is a big deal that you are willing to help a complete stranger, thru this whole mess.
I will try #1 first and then try #2...will try to find that USB thing local but if not then will order it. If both fail, then I will just skip to #4. You have been very helpful thus far and I dont want to drag this out with having to try #3.
You mentioned about trying the Mobile ICH8 and maybe it would work but there were two to choose from...ICH8M-E and ICH8M-E/M....please let me know which one is best.
I will write back as soon as I finish with #2...it shouldnt take that long. By the way do you know the reason why the driver didnt show up in the list...did I mess up the download or something?
Thanks again so much for hanging in there and trying to help out.
John
The driver Thrax linked is the same one I pointed you to earlier. I believe the driver does not show up in the list because the device ID your SATA controller reports is not the one that corresponds to the ICH6M in the driver INF file and TXTSETUP.OEM. The driver displays a list of generic profiles when your device ID doesn't match one of the ones it knows about.
Try the AHCI ICH8M-E/M profile, the other one corresponds to a RAID profile.
Linux is pretty good about recognizing oddball hardware because the developers are enthusiastic about supporting anything and everything capable of running the OS. I'm more inclined to trust what Knoppix tells me about your system configuration than what little we've been able to glean from trying to guess what Windows is doing. As an aside, Linux is my operating system of choice.
Thrax...thanks for the info but the link you provided is the same one that drasnor gave me. When I click to download it, it says that the file is called iata70_enu.exe....which is the same one from drasnor.
I want to thank you for taking out the time...and if I'm wrong about what I said please let me know.
Everything we've determined states that you have an ICH6M using the Intel 82801FBM controller. IATA70_ENU contains drivers for the ICH6M using the Intel 82801FBM controller. But that package does not work. So, one of two things is going on here:
You have a motherboard that is reporting the wrong information. This means that the manufacturer did something custom and wonky and it's not a typical configuration.
I understand that everyone here is trying to help me on this and I also understand that its very hard to fix something when its not in front of you.
I have tried to do everything asked of me, correctly so I could give the right information back. When I used knoppix to get the info drasnor asked for...I did it correct I believe or it would have not posted the info...so I must have had the right command.
The only thing that I'm a little unsure of is getting the drivers from that download and then saving them to the floppy....and then saving to my laptop...if I did it wrong...it would not work at all....right? I mean if I some how messed up the process of extracting the drivers, and then put the floppy into my laptop...it would not show the wrong files....it would just not work....right?
So...I must have extracted the files correctly because when I presses 'S' it gave me a list of adapters to choose....but none are the ones I need...I dont know why the one I need is not in the list but mistakes happen I guess.
I'm going to try and use the one drasnor suggested and then post what happends....if any ideas pop up in the mean time please let me know.
I'm all for fixing things and this is a great learning exercise. But if you can get it to boot up in knoppix why not just email the files you want to save to a gmail account then run your recovery cd's? Yes it will completely reset your computer back to factory so you'd have to re-install any software. But the original goal here was to recover data then worry about the rest.
I'm a realist and to put it bluntly we could have reinstalled this system from scratch 10 times over in the ammount of time it's taken to accomplish, nothing.
Comments
Once the drivers have been loaded you should be able access the drive in the recovery console. Once you can do that just follow my first post about the check disk.
Give me a little bit and I will do tests with those drivers on one of my systems to see if there is an easier way, perhaps just a CD with the drivers on it will work too.
I am sorry things are taking so long to get resolved I will do the test as soon as possible and post back here. This way I can give you a complete step by step guide.
Thank you for your patience,
John
This option should work assuming your harddrive didn't get corrupted, which it shouldn't be given that you could read it through linux.
Just do this you'll have a clean install and all of your exiting contents will be safely moved to that backup folder.
I don't see why you guys are insisting on wiping the hard drive that is not the solution here. The file system got corrupt during the defrag or at another stage and is not a big deal to fix, a check disk will do the trick.
Once the drivers have been put on the floppy disk
Boot from the Windows XP CD
When it says Press any key to boot from CD... start pressing F6 repeatedly
You will see down at the bottom it will say press F6 to load additional drivers, keep pressing f6 until it passes that. It will not look like it did anything but just wait a few minutes and you will be brought to a screen that suggests you install drivers.
Press the S key from there to locate drivers on the floppy
From this point I hope it is self explanatory because I didn't have my USB floppy to test.
If you have any questions feel free to ask and I once again sincerely apologize for how long this has taken to get resolved.
First of all he doesn't have a floppy drive which means he can't use the F6 method to use the sata drivers.
Secondly a chkdsk will fix broken indexs, parentless children and those sorts of problems. If the system file gets corrupted or various other key OS files chkdsk won't fix them. Since his system trashed during a defrag it's more likely that he's got file level corruption then just the simple issues that chkdsk will fix. If chkdsk can fix them then he just needs a WinPE cd, which has chkdsk on it and can clean it up.
No floppy, means anything he wants to do with the windows cd has to have the SATA drivers on it, which means it has to be slipstreamed. Additionally we don't know why defrag crashed - which likely means something else is buggered because a defrag will actually let you know if your harddrive is having issues during the defrag process.
Thats why I suggested he run down to the hardware store and pick up a floppy drive considering gateway has drivers set up specifically for this. As for the crash in situations like this it very well could fix it with a check disk. This is not a major issue like if the drive where physically corrupt or damaged from ESD or something. I would put money on it that a check disk would work.
I'd like to point out one of my previous posts. CHKDSK can repair the drive in many different senarios and is often the easiest and most efficient resource.
http://icrontic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71326
WinPE is not a bad suggestion though I had never heard of it before.
So I went out and found a USB floppy drive for 40bucks...I tried to do everything that I was told to do but still something is not right...I will explain.
I conntected the USB drive to my laptop, I hit any key to start the xp cd...then pressed F6, then press S, and then the following shows up on the next screen:
'You have chosen to configure a SCSI Adapter for use with windows using a device support disk provided by an adapter manufacture. Select SCSI Adapter from list:
-Intel(r) 82801GR/GH SATA RAID Controller (Desktop ICH7R/ DH)
-Intel(r) 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH7R/ DH)
-Intel(r) 82801GBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH7M)
-Intel(r) 82801FR SATA RAID Controller (Desktop ICH6R)
***After chosing one, the floppy drive turns on and copies over the file that is on the floppy disk. When its done, the next screen says...
'Setup will load support for the following mass storage devices (it shows the one you chosen) and then the screen says press S to install additional SCSI or press ENTER if you dont have any device support.
**** I didnt know which one to choose, so I selected the first one on the list...when it was done loading the files (iaStor.sys), I pressed enter which then loads the XP setup menu. The two options of press enter to install or press R to repair BOTH didnt work. They both gave me the same error message...Setup didnt find any hard disk drives installed in your computer.
I figured maybe I choose the wrong adapter from the list of SCSI Adapters. So, I went thru the whole process again and this time choose the 2nd adapter and still had the same problem...I kept doing this until I tried each adapter and nothing worked.
I'm sorry for writing alot...I didnt know the best way to explain the whole thing. Please let me know what I could try next...keep in mind I have Knoppix LIVE and also miniPE, if there is anything on these programs you might want me to try, let me know.
***I just want to also explain...the main reason for all this, is to hopefully keep all my programs and their key codes, some of which I will never find again if I do a wipe clean. So...what I dont understand, would either method lead me the same result? Meaning, if I go the whole installing the SATA drives and then using the XP to repair, to fix the HD, to help keep my programs in working conditions....be the SAME thing as using that 'gateway recovery DVD' that I mentioned in my May14 post??? Would either method bring me to the same result or does doing the SATA install give me a better chance of having working programs???
Again...thanks so much for all the help, it truly means alot to me.
John
-Intel(r) 82801GBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH7M)
Try booting to your miniPE cd and going to "Start" -> Programs -> Hard Drive Tools -> Check Disk
You can see it in this image on the list
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/8510/minipe3nj.jpg
I am unsure if it is going to ask you for additional settings but if you have any questions please let us know.
If that option is not there just open a command prompt and run the chkdsk as described in my first post.
ok...i will try again to install the driver with the one you said I should use...then after that, I will run the miniPE and choose check disk...then I will try to use the install xp disk and see if I get that same old error message.
will let you know what happens hopefully tonight if not, then by tomorow. Again, I want to thank you for all your time and efforts.
John
The type of the file system is RAW.
Cannot lock current drive.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.
CHKDSK.CMD: Check disk done...
Press any key to continue
********
And that was it...I'm sorry that things keep going wrong...I know you must be busy and have your own things to do. I really appreciate everything and hope you will have another idea or etc that I can try.
John
EDIT: since you have linux try using gparted and tell us what file system it says. I am unsure if your distro of linux has it installed or not but you can install it easily.
I want to thank you all again for still trying to help me fix this and hanging in there. I truly do appreicata the help and efforts made...so thank you so much! I'm also leanring alot more about the system as we go thru all this.
I put in the cd Knoppix and tried to run GParted, but it asked me for a password. It has been awhile since I used this pc and forgot it. I tried to enter in what I thought was is but it still does not work. Maybe there is another program I can run that will give you the info you need, just let me know which one to open up. Sorry it did not work
I then put in the cd MiniPE and opened up Partition Magic 8 and this is the info I was able to findout.
The first row of info reads...
RECOVERY (C) Type:FAT32 SizeMB:7,004.9 UsedMB:2,291.3 Status:Active Pri/Log:Primary
The Second row of info reads...
Local Disk (D) Type:NTFS SizeMB:69,303.8 UsedMB:48,708.2 Status:None Pri/Log:Primary
There is a Third row and I dont know why but the info reads...
(*) Type:Unallocated SizeMB:7.8 UsedMB:0.0 Status:None Pri/Log:Primary
There also was a few tools to run but was not sure what they did, however I did run one that was simple to understand. I highlighted 'RECOVERY (C)' and ran 'check partition for errors' and it found 0 errors...BUT when I try to run it on the 'Local Disk (D)' it begin to work and the status bar get almost to the end but then it just stops and I cant move the mouse.
I'm hoping some of the info I listed above might be usefull. There are alot of things on the Knoppix cd and the MiniPE but not sure what or how some to run. If there is a different cd you want me to download and try or anything else, please let me know.
I know this post is going on for a long time and I dont know that much about computers but I feel like my laptop is not that far gone, that it cannot be fixed. If I was not able to see my partitions or files then I would think it is cooked...but I dont think it is that bad and just feel it needs to have some things put back in order for it to run again...I know some of you have still come by to help out and hope you will still try and work with me to fix this....again I thank you soooo much!!!
John
jcortes...any ideas on what to do next. I tried to provide you with some info that you might need. If there is something else you want me to try out, please just let me know.
Thanks
John
So...Im able to open the program but am not sure what info or things you might want me to run with GParted. Here is the following info I'm able to see...
Under the word 'Partition' it shows two...'/dev/sda1' and '/dev/sda2'
It also shows a small 'lock' icon next to each partition. sda1 is a fat32 and sda2 is a ntfs. Under the word 'Mountpoint' it says '/media/sda1' and '/media/sda2'.
Also I dont know if this info is important or not...but in the menu bar whre it reads 'GParted'...if you click on it, it opens with a list of options to choose...'Refresh devices' , 'Devices' , 'Features' , 'Quit'. When I clicked on 'Devices' it shows a list. The first one in that list reads '/dev/cloop0 1.90GiB' , the second one reads '/devcloop1 0.00 B' , the last one reads '/dev/sda 74.53GiB'
Then there is a section to view HD info...which reads the following...DiskLabelType:msdos , Heads:255 , Sectors/Track:63 , Cylinders:9729 , Total Sectors:156296385 ....and thats it for the program GParted.
Please let me know if this info is helpful or if there is something else....thanks again sooo much for everything.
John
1) You booted into Knoppix and backed up all your important files to removable media.
2) You booted the XP CD, hit F5 during setup, and loaded the ICH7 Mobile SATA driver; but Windows couldn't find your hard drive.
3) You booted into MiniPE and attempted to run CHKDSK on the hard drive, which failed.
I agree with jcortes that a successful chkdsk run will probably fix your problem. I've had machines crash while defragging and a good chkdsk was all that was necessary. What I'm concerned with is why Windows can't seem to find your hard drive even though you loaded all the SATA drivers. Your partition table is in good shape if GParted can read it; MiniPE might not properly support some aspect of your hardware causing its chkdsk to fail to detect the proper filesystem types.
By the way, both of the partitions shown by MiniPE and GParted are real and exist on your hard drive; the FAT32 "RECOVERY" partition is a hidden diagnostic/rescue partition that can be accessed by pressing a special key sequence while the machine is booting. Most OEMs like Gateway put these partitions on your hard drive instead of giving you proper Windows install disks; its only use is to format the rest of your hard drive and return your system to its factory state. The NTFS partition is, as you discovered, the partition with Windows and all your stuff on it.
Let's try to figure out what kind of SATA controller you really have since the Gateway drivers aren't working. From inside Knoppix, try to find the System Tool that allows you to launch a Root Terminal. You will be asked for a password like when you ran GParted so you will need to set one first.
Aside: Knoppix defaults to a random root password for security reasons and expects you to set one you can remember using their tool if you need administrator access. This password has no relation to anything on your hard drive and Knoppix won't remember it between sessions.
A window will pop up with a command-line interface. Type lspci and hit enter, then post everything that comes out here.
-drasnor
Ok..here is ALL the info:
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corp Mobile 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller (rev 04)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corp Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Graphics controller (rev 04)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corp Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Graphics controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 04)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #1 (rev 04)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #2 (rev 04)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #3 (rev 04)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 04)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev d4)
00:1e.2 Multimedia audio controller: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1e.3 Modem: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel corp 82801FBM (ICH6M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 04)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) IDE Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel corp 82801FBM (ICH6M) SATA Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel corp 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 04)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom corp Netlink BCM5789 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 11)
06:04.0 Network controller: Intel corp PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection (rev 05)
06:09.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCIxx21/x515 Cardbus Controller
06:09.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments OHCI Complaint IEEE 1394 Host Controller
06:09.3 Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments PCIxx21 Intergrated FlashMedia Controller
06:09.4 Generic system peripheral [0805]: Texas Instruments PCI6411, PCI6421, PCI6611, PCI6621, PCI7411, PCI7421, PCI7611, PCI7621 Secure Digital (SD) Controller
And that was all the info that was shown. If there is anything...and I mean anything else you want me to try please let me know. If there is a different program, like knoppix or etc that you want me to download and run, just let me know.
Again, I want to stress how much it means to me that you are willing to spend the time to write such a helpful post and still try and get this fixed. You really are a GREAT person...thanks so much!!!
John
Go download this, and read section 5.3 of this, following the instructions there. Boot your Windows CD, hit F6 during when prompted, and load only the driver for the "Intel(R) 82801FBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH6M)" from the driver floppy you just made.
From there, try jcortes's instructions on repairing the Windows XP install using the recovery console, specifically this.
-drasnor
However there is a problem. I will try to explain but if it does not make sense please let me know and I will write it again but better.
First I read the 'read me file and its very confusing on what to do to extract the files to the floppy. I downloaded the file just fine and in the read me file at section 5.3 it says to extract all files refer to section 7.2...which gives three commands...
c:\iata_cd.exe -pc:\<path>
c:\iata_enu.exe -pc:\<path>
c:\setup.exe -pc:\<path>
BUT...the file downloaded is not called any of the three...
iata70_enu.exe
So...I tried that anyways...and when I did it load
the install screen so I thought it would work just fine...BUT
when it got to the end of me clicking 'NEXT' a small window
popped up with the title ERROR and said the following...
This computer does not meet the minium requirements for
installing this software setup will exit...press ok
I press ok and the whole install closed. I thought maybe I
did something wrong...so this time instead of trying to extract
them to the floppy I tired to just install it to this computer
and it went thru the whole process of clicking next but then at
the very end...the same window popped up with that error.
I'm sorry that there is a proble with this...I dont know why
its not working. I still want to try and fix this I feel like
we are soooo close to fixing it. Please let me know
what to do next
John
</pre>
C:\iata70_enu.exe -A -PC:\driver
or
C:\iata70_enu.exe -A -P C:\driver
You'll need to copy the files mentioned in 5.3 to a floppy from the driver directory.
-drasnor
This is the problem now...
The command you gave me to use...worked great. I created a folder in c:\ called driver and it extracted three folders into it. They were called 'Docs' 'Driver' 'Driver64'.
Not knowing which one was the correct folder to copy over to the floppy...I decided NOT to use the driver64 but instead copied the files from the driver folder to the floppy. There were 6 files in there that I copied over.
The problem is that on the screen where I have to select the SCSI Adapter...the one you said I need to choose...Intel(R) 82801FBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH6M)...was not on the list.
The list only had the following to select:
Intel(R) 82801HEM SATA RAID Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E)
Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E/M)
Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO SATA RAID Controller (Desktop ICH8R)
Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH8R)
I dont know what is wrong...I dont understand why this is not working correctly.
I also dont know if this has anything to do with but in the READ ME notes which are a little bit confusing...in section 7.3 it says to insert some command lines into a file called 'UNATTEND.TXT'...BUT when I extracted the files into the driver folder, that file was not there...so is this something that I need to have...I dont understand?
I'm very sorry this is not working...I'm trying to follow the direction. As for the why the correct driver is not showing up in the list...I dont know. I clicked on the link you provided and there was only one thing I could download, so I dont see how I could have downloaded the wrong files...please let me know what you think I should do next.
John
PS: Again, I'm really sorry this is not going as easy...and greatly appriecate your time.
Copying from "Drivers" was the correct choice; Drivers64 is for 64-bit Windows OSes (Windows XP x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, Windows Vista 64 et al.)
I'll try to explain what's happening, but let me know if you don't understand something and want some clarification.
Every device you plug into your computer's internal buses these days has a unique identifying string that whatever OS you're running can look up in a table of known ID's and figure out what kind of hardware you have. This is what allows Windows to find drivers on Windows Update and let Linux distributions like Knoppix load the correct drivers for your hardware. Some manufacturers do silly things like assigning unique ID's (not in the lookup table of common devices) to common hardware in order to prevent you from loading the generic driver for those devices. The logic as to why they do this continues to escape me.
Intel has, in my experience, been particularly bad about this when it comes to their SATA controllers. It is the reason why my HTPC uses legacy IDE mode for SATA instead of AHCI, even though both the chipset (G35/ICH8M) and OS (XP x64) support it. Unfortunately for you, legacy IDE isn't an option because we previously established your laptop's BIOS doesn't support it.
I've only got four solutions left, and you're not going to like the last one.
1) Maybe it just works. Pick the entry for the Mobile ICH8 and hope the driver works properly. Intel's storage driver is unified, meaning that one driver supports a wide variety of hardware, and there's a chance that the driver can configure itself to properly support your hardware despite receiving a bad configuration from the MS XP Setup environment.
2) Give up on attempting to run CHKDSK on the laptop itself. Buy yourself a "everything to USB adapter" like this one that I use, pull the hard drive out of your laptop, connect it to the adapter, and plug it into the USB port on a computer with a working Windows XP install. Have that run CHKDSK on the drive by right-clicking the disk when it shows up in My Computer, selecting Properties, then Disk Tools, and Check This Disk For Errors. Check the box for "Automatically fix filesystem errors". I might not have gotten the names quite right, but it should be intuitive. Run passes until the utility reports that it didn't find any errors.
3) Make new entries in TXTSETUP.OEM that include the ID corresponding to your hardware and load the appropriate driver options. This step is pretty complicated so I'd rather not have to walk you through it if we can avoid it. Also, my success rate is only 1 in 5 with this technique.
4) Count your blessings that you got your valuable data off the drive and look up Gateway's key sequence to activate the Rescue & Recovery partition. Let it do it's thing: format your hard drive and reinstall the OS.
-drasnor
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2653&CC_0106.DeviceDesc = "Intel(R) 82801FBM SATA AHCI Controller"
And on a side note, Intel is by far the best at providing SATA/AHCI drivers.
It really is a big deal that you are willing to help a complete stranger, thru this whole mess.
I will try #1 first and then try #2...will try to find that USB thing local but if not then will order it. If both fail, then I will just skip to #4. You have been very helpful thus far and I dont want to drag this out with having to try #3.
You mentioned about trying the Mobile ICH8 and maybe it would work but there were two to choose from...ICH8M-E and ICH8M-E/M....please let me know which one is best.
I will write back as soon as I finish with #2...it shouldnt take that long. By the way do you know the reason why the driver didnt show up in the list...did I mess up the download or something?
Thanks again so much for hanging in there and trying to help out.
John
Try the AHCI ICH8M-E/M profile, the other one corresponds to a RAID profile.
Linux is pretty good about recognizing oddball hardware because the developers are enthusiastic about supporting anything and everything capable of running the OS. I'm more inclined to trust what Knoppix tells me about your system configuration than what little we've been able to glean from trying to guess what Windows is doing. As an aside, Linux is my operating system of choice.
Welcome to Icrontic. We're all friends here.
-drasnor
I want to thank you for taking out the time...and if I'm wrong about what I said please let me know.
John
Everything we've determined states that you have an ICH6M using the Intel 82801FBM controller. IATA70_ENU contains drivers for the ICH6M using the Intel 82801FBM controller. But that package does not work. So, one of two things is going on here:
You have a motherboard that is reporting the wrong information. This means that the manufacturer did something custom and wonky and it's not a typical configuration.
or...
You've done something wrong somewhere.
I'm not sure which one is accurate at this point.
I have tried to do everything asked of me, correctly so I could give the right information back. When I used knoppix to get the info drasnor asked for...I did it correct I believe or it would have not posted the info...so I must have had the right command.
The only thing that I'm a little unsure of is getting the drivers from that download and then saving them to the floppy....and then saving to my laptop...if I did it wrong...it would not work at all....right? I mean if I some how messed up the process of extracting the drivers, and then put the floppy into my laptop...it would not show the wrong files....it would just not work....right?
So...I must have extracted the files correctly because when I presses 'S' it gave me a list of adapters to choose....but none are the ones I need...I dont know why the one I need is not in the list but mistakes happen I guess.
I'm going to try and use the one drasnor suggested and then post what happends....if any ideas pop up in the mean time please let me know.
John
I'm a realist and to put it bluntly we could have reinstalled this system from scratch 10 times over in the ammount of time it's taken to accomplish, nothing.