BSOD-Unmountable & others

antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message

If your CD drive already has a higher priority than your hard drive
in the BIOS settings for boot order, then there is no need to press
*anything* when you boot up. That is, if you turn the PC on, does it
boot off the CD? If you are running off the XP installation CD, you
should see this screen:
http://www.pcxmedics.com/blog/images...stall-xp-1.jpg

Do you?

What is the make and model of your motherboard?

Boot order in Bios is floppy, HDD then CD Rom. The order in that
small coloured window which I get with F8 at the IDE scan is in no
particular order - its just there to select.
I have put the ISO disc in and started the boot - I get no 'press any
key to boot from CD.....'
But if I pick CD from that coloured window, I do get that prompt.
I also get the same result with the WIN XP disc in the computer. The
only variance is at the end of the Rec. Con activity - as to what I
can/cannot enter in the command line.
So I would conclude that of course the CD does not have a higher
priority boot in the bios - as I believe they are the default
settings as I mentioned above.

I think you are getting too hung up on this F8 IDE scan.

You need to simplify this process!

Just place the CD ahead of the hard drive in the boot order. If there is
no CD in the drive, then it will boot off the hard drive anyway.
Furthermore, you can always undo the change. It is simple and safe (as
long as you don't purposefully change other settings).

Oh, nearly forgot - yes I can also use DEL at the first screen to
enter setup - then I go to BOOT in the menu.

This is what you need to do! Then make the CD-ROM drive the first (or
second) priority (as long as it precedes the HDD).

But I do not like going
to places where I have no idea what I am doing - bit like the
registry.

This is basic. If it really bothers you that much, you should find a
tech to do this for you. But if you reconsider, simply jot down all the
BIOS settings. This is way you have a record of them in case you ever
need to reset them.

To me it appears that it matters not what disc is in there - they
booth require CD boot to be selected and both behave erratically in
the Rec. Con. Hope that answers all your question.

The erratic behavior should disappear once you act upon my suggestion.
:-)

MB is an Asus P5LD2.

When I have more time, I will look into this motherboard and the F8 IDE
scan you mention.

Finally, there is no such thing as an ISO disc. Perhaps you mean the
bootable RC disc you created based on an .iso file you downloaded? If
this is the case, it is imperative that you burn it the correct way with
the correct software. Many people make the common mistake of simply
burning (i.e., copying) the file onto the CD. Which method and software
did you use?

Replies are intertwined - the computer crashed out about an hour ago - since
then I have not been able to revive it.
Rgds
Antioch

"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message

If your CD drive already has a higher priority than your hard drive
in the BIOS settings for boot order, then there is no need to press
*anything* when you boot up. That is, if you turn the PC on, does it
boot off the CD? If you are running off the XP installation CD, you
should see this screen:
http://www.pcxmedics.com/blog/images...stall-xp-1.jpg

Do you?

What is the make and model of your motherboard?

Boot order in Bios is floppy, HDD then CD Rom. The order in that
small coloured window which I get with F8 at the IDE scan is in no
particular order - its just there to select.
I have put the ISO disc in and started the boot - I get no 'press any
key to boot from CD.....'
But if I pick CD from that coloured window, I do get that prompt.
I also get the same result with the WIN XP disc in the computer. The
only variance is at the end of the Rec. Con activity - as to what I
can/cannot enter in the command line.
So I would conclude that of course the CD does not have a higher
priority boot in the bios - as I believe they are the default
settings as I mentioned above.

I think you are getting too hung up on this F8 IDE scan.

"I am not getting hung up on anything to do with the F8 button - that's what
I do to boot from a CD - The time I pick is when it needs to be done - the
IDE scan is so fast you can hardly read it. I don't have to keep going into
the Bios - easy and simple."

You need to simplify this process!

Just place the CD ahead of the hard drive in the boot order. If there is
no CD in the drive, then it will boot off the hard drive anyway.
Furthermore, you can always undo the change. It is simple and safe (as
long as you don't purposefully change other settings).

"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as follows -
1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter chkdsk /r -
got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual there were
one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the little train
had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted error.
Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only the second time
it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it got to
the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete to restart'.
On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load to the welcome
screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or corrupt.

Previous to this new approach with the boot order altered in the Bios, on
one of many attempts to get the system up and running I got another error
code - \SYSTEM ROOT\SYSTEM32\ntdl.dll missing. I had that ntdl at the
beginning of all this.

I am currently on the third run - it has been 20 minutes on 25% completed -
the active light is on continual - no flickering."


Oh, nearly forgot - yes I can also use DEL at the first screen to
enter setup - then I go to BOOT in the menu.

This is what you need to do! Then make the CD-ROM drive the first (or
second) priority (as long as it precedes the HDD).

But I do not like going
to places where I have no idea what I am doing - bit like the
registry.

This is basic. If it really bothers you that much, you should find a tech
to do this for you. But if you reconsider, simply jot down all the BIOS
settings. This is way you have a record of them in case you ever need to
reset them.

To me it appears that it matters not what disc is in there - they
booth require CD boot to be selected and both behave erratically in
the Rec. Con. Hope that answers all your question.

The erratic behavior should disappear once you act upon my suggestion. :-)

It has not :-( as yet.

MB is an Asus P5LD2.

When I have more time, I will look into this motherboard and the F8 IDE
scan you mention.

Finally, there is no such thing as an ISO disc. Perhaps you mean the
bootable RC disc you created based on an .iso file you downloaded? If this
is the case, it is imperative that you burn it the correct way with the
correct software. Many people make the common mistake of simply burning
(i.e., copying) the file onto the CD. Which method and software did you
use?

"As per Jose's links - bleeping and their free burner. No, I did not 'copy
it"
It has been over an hour now and its time to retire - will get it going
again in the morning.
As I was typing this last bit, I cancelled the chkdsk, the machine rebooted
and went straight into the desktop without as much as a whimper - this is
getting more and more ridiculous.

Rgds
Antioch

Replies are intertwined - the computer crashed out about an hour ago - since
then I have not been able to revive it.
Rgds
Antioch

"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message

If your CD drive already has a higher priority than your hard drive
in the BIOS settings for boot order, then there is no need to press
*anything* when you boot up. That is, if you turn the PC on, does it
boot off the CD? If you are running off the XP installation CD, you
should see this screen:
http://www.pcxmedics.com/blog/images...stall-xp-1.jpg

Do you?

What is the make and model of your motherboard?

Boot order in Bios is floppy, HDD then CD Rom. The order in that
small coloured window which I get with F8 at the IDE scan is in no
particular order - its just there to select.
I have put the ISO disc in and started the boot - I get no 'press any
key to boot from CD.....'
But if I pick CD from that coloured window, I do get that prompt.
I also get the same result with the WIN XP disc in the computer. The
only variance is at the end of the Rec. Con activity - as to what I
can/cannot enter in the command line.
So I would conclude that of course the CD does not have a higher
priority boot in the bios - as I believe they are the default
settings as I mentioned above.

I think you are getting too hung up on this F8 IDE scan.

"I am not getting hung up on anything to do with the F8 button - that's what
I do to boot from a CD - The time I pick is when it needs to be done - the
IDE scan is so fast you can hardly read it. I don't have to keep going into
the Bios - easy and simple."

You need to simplify this process!

Just place the CD ahead of the hard drive in the boot order. If there is
no CD in the drive, then it will boot off the hard drive anyway.
Furthermore, you can always undo the change. It is simple and safe (as
long as you don't purposefully change other settings).

"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as follows -
1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter chkdsk /r -
got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual there were
one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the little train
had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted error.
Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only the second time
it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it got to
the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete to restart'.
On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load to the welcome
screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or corrupt.

Previous to this new approach with the boot order altered in the Bios, on
one of many attempts to get the system up and running I got another error
code - \SYSTEM ROOT\SYSTEM32\ntdl.dll missing. I had that ntdl at the
beginning of all this.

I am currently on the third run - it has been 20 minutes on 25% completed -
the active light is on continual - no flickering."


Oh, nearly forgot - yes I can also use DEL at the first screen to
enter setup - then I go to BOOT in the menu.

This is what you need to do! Then make the CD-ROM drive the first (or
second) priority (as long as it precedes the HDD).

But I do not like going
to places where I have no idea what I am doing - bit like the
registry.

This is basic. If it really bothers you that much, you should find a tech
to do this for you. But if you reconsider, simply jot down all the BIOS
settings. This is way you have a record of them in case you ever need to
reset them.

To me it appears that it matters not what disc is in there - they
booth require CD boot to be selected and both behave erratically in
the Rec. Con. Hope that answers all your question.

The erratic behavior should disappear once you act upon my suggestion. :-)

It has not :-( as yet.

MB is an Asus P5LD2.

When I have more time, I will look into this motherboard and the F8 IDE
scan you mention.

Finally, there is no such thing as an ISO disc. Perhaps you mean the
bootable RC disc you created based on an .iso file you downloaded? If this
is the case, it is imperative that you burn it the correct way with the
correct software. Many people make the common mistake of simply burning
(i.e., copying) the file onto the CD. Which method and software did you
use?

"As per Jose's links - bleeping and their free burner. No, I did not 'copy
it"
It has been over an hour now and its time to retire - will get it going
again in the morning.
As I was typing this last bit, I cancelled the chkdsk, the machine rebooted
and went straight into the desktop without as much as a whimper - this is
getting more and more ridiculous.

Rgds
Antioch

antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual there
were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only the
second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it
got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete
to restart'. On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load
to the welcome screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or
corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being valid? Is
autochk.exe referenced?

antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual there
were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only the
second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it
got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete
to restart'. On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load
to the welcome screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or
corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being valid? Is
autochk.exe referenced?

"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual there
were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only the
second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it
got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete
to restart'. On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load
to the welcome screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or
corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being valid? Is
autochk.exe referenced?

As expected, the computer did not start - got the 'unmountable' error.
I have just the C drive - no partition - confirmed as I only get offered 1.
C:\WINDOWS
and underneath I am told I can type exit
1st run - This morning, as soon as I type chkdsk after the 1. option, it
tells me immediately that 'the volume appears to contain one or more
unrecoverable problems. Nothing new there except it has told me this after
it has done a chkdsk.
typing in autochk produces the usual 'The command is not recognised. Type
help for list. It is not in the list of commands.
All the 'boot cfg' options tell me 'Failed to successfully scan disks for
Windows Installations. This error may be caused by a corrupt file system,
which would prevent bootcfg from scanning. Use chkdsk to detect any disk
errors.'
As a result I cannot add/rebuild etc.
At the moment, if I type anything else in the command line I get 'this
command is not recognised - type help for list'
2nd run - at the REC Con window the entry is slightly different - there is
the informative bit is the same, but I then have -
The path or file specified is not valid.
C:\
If I add chkdsk I get 'The specified path is not valid or there is no disk
in the drive'
If I add any of the boot choices I am again told that it cannot perform due
to corrupt system - as before. The same for autochk.
Rgds
Antioch

"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual there
were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only the
second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it
got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete
to restart'. On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load
to the welcome screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or
corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being valid? Is
autochk.exe referenced?

As expected, the computer did not start - got the 'unmountable' error.
I have just the C drive - no partition - confirmed as I only get offered 1.
C:\WINDOWS
and underneath I am told I can type exit
1st run - This morning, as soon as I type chkdsk after the 1. option, it
tells me immediately that 'the volume appears to contain one or more
unrecoverable problems. Nothing new there except it has told me this after
it has done a chkdsk.
typing in autochk produces the usual 'The command is not recognised. Type
help for list. It is not in the list of commands.
All the 'boot cfg' options tell me 'Failed to successfully scan disks for
Windows Installations. This error may be caused by a corrupt file system,
which would prevent bootcfg from scanning. Use chkdsk to detect any disk
errors.'
As a result I cannot add/rebuild etc.
At the moment, if I type anything else in the command line I get 'this
command is not recognised - type help for list'
2nd run - at the REC Con window the entry is slightly different - there is
the informative bit is the same, but I then have -
The path or file specified is not valid.
C:\
If I add chkdsk I get 'The specified path is not valid or there is no disk
in the drive'
If I add any of the boot choices I am again told that it cannot perform due
to corrupt system - as before. The same for autochk.
Rgds
Antioch

antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual
there were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only
the second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it
got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete
to restart'. On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load
to the welcome screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or
corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being valid?
Is autochk.exe referenced?

As expected, the computer did not start - got the 'unmountable' error.
I have just the C drive - no partition - confirmed as I only get
offered 1. C:\WINDOWS
and underneath I am told I can type exit
1st run - This morning, as soon as I type chkdsk after the 1. option,
it tells me immediately that 'the volume appears to contain one or
more unrecoverable problems. Nothing new there except it has told me
this after it has done a chkdsk.
typing in autochk produces the usual 'The command is not recognised.
Type help for list. It is not in the list of commands.
All the 'boot cfg' options tell me 'Failed to successfully scan disks
for Windows Installations. This error may be caused by a corrupt
file system, which would prevent bootcfg from scanning. Use chkdsk
to detect any disk errors.'
As a result I cannot add/rebuild etc.
At the moment, if I type anything else in the command line I get 'this
command is not recognised - type help for list'
2nd run - at the REC Con window the entry is slightly different -
there is the informative bit is the same, but I then have -
The path or file specified is not valid.
C:\
If I add chkdsk I get 'The specified path is not valid or there is no
disk in the drive'
If I add any of the boot choices I am again told that it cannot
perform due to corrupt system - as before. The same for autochk.
Rgds
Antioch

When you had reported that SeaTools for DOS indicated your hard drive
was healthy, I assumed the hard drive was healthy. But it seems those
results were very inaccurate! You most likely will need to purchase a
new drive. Sorry that it has to be this way!

You could always use another PC (a healthy one!) to scan the hard drive
if you want to be 100% positive. Or there are certain CDs you can use
(like UBCD4Win) that contain drive diagnostics.

I don't believe you specifically identified the make and model of this
HDD. I will verify that you used the correct utility.

antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual
there were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only
the second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it
got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete
to restart'. On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load
to the welcome screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or
corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being valid?
Is autochk.exe referenced?

As expected, the computer did not start - got the 'unmountable' error.
I have just the C drive - no partition - confirmed as I only get
offered 1. C:\WINDOWS
and underneath I am told I can type exit
1st run - This morning, as soon as I type chkdsk after the 1. option,
it tells me immediately that 'the volume appears to contain one or
more unrecoverable problems. Nothing new there except it has told me
this after it has done a chkdsk.
typing in autochk produces the usual 'The command is not recognised.
Type help for list. It is not in the list of commands.
All the 'boot cfg' options tell me 'Failed to successfully scan disks
for Windows Installations. This error may be caused by a corrupt
file system, which would prevent bootcfg from scanning. Use chkdsk
to detect any disk errors.'
As a result I cannot add/rebuild etc.
At the moment, if I type anything else in the command line I get 'this
command is not recognised - type help for list'
2nd run - at the REC Con window the entry is slightly different -
there is the informative bit is the same, but I then have -
The path or file specified is not valid.
C:\
If I add chkdsk I get 'The specified path is not valid or there is no
disk in the drive'
If I add any of the boot choices I am again told that it cannot
perform due to corrupt system - as before. The same for autochk.
Rgds
Antioch

When you had reported that SeaTools for DOS indicated your hard drive
was healthy, I assumed the hard drive was healthy. But it seems those
results were very inaccurate! You most likely will need to purchase a
new drive. Sorry that it has to be this way!

You could always use another PC (a healthy one!) to scan the hard drive
if you want to be 100% positive. Or there are certain CDs you can use
(like UBCD4Win) that contain drive diagnostics.

I don't believe you specifically identified the make and model of this
HDD. I will verify that you used the correct utility.

"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual
there were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only
the second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it
got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete
to restart'. On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load
to the welcome screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or
corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being valid?
Is autochk.exe referenced?

As expected, the computer did not start - got the 'unmountable' error.
I have just the C drive - no partition - confirmed as I only get
offered 1. C:\WINDOWS
and underneath I am told I can type exit
1st run - This morning, as soon as I type chkdsk after the 1. option,
it tells me immediately that 'the volume appears to contain one or
more unrecoverable problems. Nothing new there except it has told me
this after it has done a chkdsk.
typing in autochk produces the usual 'The command is not recognised. Type
help for list. It is not in the list of commands.
All the 'boot cfg' options tell me 'Failed to successfully scan disks
for Windows Installations. This error may be caused by a corrupt
file system, which would prevent bootcfg from scanning. Use chkdsk
to detect any disk errors.'
As a result I cannot add/rebuild etc.
At the moment, if I type anything else in the command line I get 'this
command is not recognised - type help for list'
2nd run - at the REC Con window the entry is slightly different -
there is the informative bit is the same, but I then have -
The path or file specified is not valid.
C:\
If I add chkdsk I get 'The specified path is not valid or there is no
disk in the drive'
If I add any of the boot choices I am again told that it cannot
perform due to corrupt system - as before. The same for autochk.
Rgds
Antioch

When you had reported that SeaTools for DOS indicated your hard drive was
healthy, I assumed the hard drive was healthy. But it seems those results
were very inaccurate! You most likely will need to purchase a new drive.
Sorry that it has to be this way!

You could always use another PC (a healthy one!) to scan the hard drive if
you want to be 100% positive. Or there are certain CDs you can use (like
UBCD4Win) that contain drive diagnostics.

I don't believe you specifically identified the make and model of this
HDD. I will verify that you used the correct utility.

Hello Daave
After my last post to you, I rebooted three times and on the third try the
computer started - so I did the in-house chkdsk to start at next boot up as
I had to go out.
When I returned, I took the panels off just to check the cable/leads were
all well fixed - I keep the box dusted regularly and always check the cables
when finished.
I started up - the chkdsk took over - moved this and that, deleted, loads of
things. When it finished the computer fired up again as if nothing was
wrong.
For 6 hours it has been running well - I have done a bit of research and
tried another scanner - HDDScan 3 for windows - seems very popular and
accurate.
A full SMART scan only popped up one problem - a yellow marker for 'UltraDMA
CRC Error count'
Not too sure what it means, but judging by what I have read in various
forums, it aint good - most suggest a new HDD. I was surprised though to
not get some 'RED' markers as others have, where they have been getting
BSODs and no help with Rec Con and inability to boot.
I can confirm that even in the Seagate Forums, the Seagate scanners are
treated with ridicule.
I did mention the make/model in another post - its a Maxtor. It is auto
recognised when you run the software. There is no other utility on their
site - this was the one I was told to use via email reply.
They used to do one for Maxtor, but they are one company now.
Would you perhaps have any suggestion as to a different make of HDD.
For the moment I think I might do a full install of XP and see if there
still problems booting.
I have plenty of help - michael stevens, s ramesh, kb313348 for
format/partition/full install, which I may consider if I get a larger HDD.

Many thanks to you and all who gave me support - once again it has been much
appreciated.
I cannot say 'long live the newsgroups' as they will soon be R.I.P - though
some seem to think that they may still carry on but a different 'body'.
Using forums as I have done this past week has confirmed to some degree, my
dislike for them.
I have had a look at UBCD4Win and see that it is a collection of
tools/software and is Beta-I try and avoid betaware - have had bad
experiences in the past so tend to keep away/avoid them - but there does
appear to be some nice bits in it.

Rgds
Antioch

"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual
there were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only
the second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot it
got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro - 'ctrl-alt-delete
to restart'. On restart I got a notification after XP tried to load
to the welcome screen, error win root system32\hal.dll missing or
corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being valid?
Is autochk.exe referenced?

As expected, the computer did not start - got the 'unmountable' error.
I have just the C drive - no partition - confirmed as I only get
offered 1. C:\WINDOWS
and underneath I am told I can type exit
1st run - This morning, as soon as I type chkdsk after the 1. option,
it tells me immediately that 'the volume appears to contain one or
more unrecoverable problems. Nothing new there except it has told me
this after it has done a chkdsk.
typing in autochk produces the usual 'The command is not recognised. Type
help for list. It is not in the list of commands.
All the 'boot cfg' options tell me 'Failed to successfully scan disks
for Windows Installations. This error may be caused by a corrupt
file system, which would prevent bootcfg from scanning. Use chkdsk
to detect any disk errors.'
As a result I cannot add/rebuild etc.
At the moment, if I type anything else in the command line I get 'this
command is not recognised - type help for list'
2nd run - at the REC Con window the entry is slightly different -
there is the informative bit is the same, but I then have -
The path or file specified is not valid.
C:\
If I add chkdsk I get 'The specified path is not valid or there is no
disk in the drive'
If I add any of the boot choices I am again told that it cannot
perform due to corrupt system - as before. The same for autochk.
Rgds
Antioch

When you had reported that SeaTools for DOS indicated your hard drive was
healthy, I assumed the hard drive was healthy. But it seems those results
were very inaccurate! You most likely will need to purchase a new drive.
Sorry that it has to be this way!

You could always use another PC (a healthy one!) to scan the hard drive if
you want to be 100% positive. Or there are certain CDs you can use (like
UBCD4Win) that contain drive diagnostics.

I don't believe you specifically identified the make and model of this
HDD. I will verify that you used the correct utility.

Hello Daave
After my last post to you, I rebooted three times and on the third try the
computer started - so I did the in-house chkdsk to start at next boot up as
I had to go out.
When I returned, I took the panels off just to check the cable/leads were
all well fixed - I keep the box dusted regularly and always check the cables
when finished.
I started up - the chkdsk took over - moved this and that, deleted, loads of
things. When it finished the computer fired up again as if nothing was
wrong.
For 6 hours it has been running well - I have done a bit of research and
tried another scanner - HDDScan 3 for windows - seems very popular and
accurate.
A full SMART scan only popped up one problem - a yellow marker for 'UltraDMA
CRC Error count'
Not too sure what it means, but judging by what I have read in various
forums, it aint good - most suggest a new HDD. I was surprised though to
not get some 'RED' markers as others have, where they have been getting
BSODs and no help with Rec Con and inability to boot.
I can confirm that even in the Seagate Forums, the Seagate scanners are
treated with ridicule.
I did mention the make/model in another post - its a Maxtor. It is auto
recognised when you run the software. There is no other utility on their
site - this was the one I was told to use via email reply.
They used to do one for Maxtor, but they are one company now.
Would you perhaps have any suggestion as to a different make of HDD.
For the moment I think I might do a full install of XP and see if there
still problems booting.
I have plenty of help - michael stevens, s ramesh, kb313348 for
format/partition/full install, which I may consider if I get a larger HDD.

Many thanks to you and all who gave me support - once again it has been much
appreciated.
I cannot say 'long live the newsgroups' as they will soon be R.I.P - though
some seem to think that they may still carry on but a different 'body'.
Using forums as I have done this past week has confirmed to some degree, my
dislike for them.
I have had a look at UBCD4Win and see that it is a collection of
tools/software and is Beta-I try and avoid betaware - have had bad
experiences in the past so tend to keep away/avoid them - but there does
appear to be some nice bits in it.

Rgds
Antioch

antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual
there were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only
the second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot
it got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro -
'ctrl-alt-delete to restart'. On restart I got a notification
after XP tried to load to the welcome screen, error win root
system32\hal.dll missing or corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being
valid? Is autochk.exe referenced?

As expected, the computer did not start - got the 'unmountable'
error. I have just the C drive - no partition - confirmed as I only
get
offered 1. C:\WINDOWS
and underneath I am told I can type exit
1st run - This morning, as soon as I type chkdsk after the 1.
option, it tells me immediately that 'the volume appears to contain
one or
more unrecoverable problems. Nothing new there except it has told
me this after it has done a chkdsk.
typing in autochk produces the usual 'The command is not
recognised. Type help for list. It is not in the list of commands.
All the 'boot cfg' options tell me 'Failed to successfully scan
disks for Windows Installations. This error may be caused by a
corrupt file system, which would prevent bootcfg from scanning. Use
chkdsk
to detect any disk errors.'
As a result I cannot add/rebuild etc.
At the moment, if I type anything else in the command line I get
'this command is not recognised - type help for list'
2nd run - at the REC Con window the entry is slightly different -
there is the informative bit is the same, but I then have -
The path or file specified is not valid.
C:\
If I add chkdsk I get 'The specified path is not valid or there is
no disk in the drive'
If I add any of the boot choices I am again told that it cannot
perform due to corrupt system - as before. The same for autochk.
Rgds
Antioch

When you had reported that SeaTools for DOS indicated your hard
drive was healthy, I assumed the hard drive was healthy. But it
seems those results were very inaccurate! You most likely will need
to purchase a new drive. Sorry that it has to be this way!

You could always use another PC (a healthy one!) to scan the hard
drive if you want to be 100% positive. Or there are certain CDs you
can use (like UBCD4Win) that contain drive diagnostics.

I don't believe you specifically identified the make and model of
this HDD. I will verify that you used the correct utility.

Hello Daave
After my last post to you, I rebooted three times and on the third
try the computer started - so I did the in-house chkdsk to start at
next boot up as I had to go out.
When I returned, I took the panels off just to check the cable/leads
were all well fixed - I keep the box dusted regularly and always
check the cables when finished.
I started up - the chkdsk took over - moved this and that, deleted,
loads of things. When it finished the computer fired up again as if
nothing was wrong.
For 6 hours it has been running well - I have done a bit of research
and tried another scanner - HDDScan 3 for windows - seems very
popular and accurate.
A full SMART scan only popped up one problem - a yellow marker for
'UltraDMA CRC Error count'
Not too sure what it means, but judging by what I have read in various
forums, it aint good - most suggest a new HDD. I was surprised
though to not get some 'RED' markers as others have, where they have
been getting BSODs and no help with Rec Con and inability to boot.
I can confirm that even in the Seagate Forums, the Seagate scanners
are treated with ridicule.
I did mention the make/model in another post - its a Maxtor. It is
auto recognised when you run the software. There is no other utility
on their site - this was the one I was told to use via email reply.
They used to do one for Maxtor, but they are one company now.
Would you perhaps have any suggestion as to a different make of HDD.
For the moment I think I might do a full install of XP and see if
there still problems booting.
I have plenty of help - michael stevens, s ramesh, kb313348 for
format/partition/full install, which I may consider if I get a larger
HDD.
Many thanks to you and all who gave me support - once again it has
been much appreciated.
I cannot say 'long live the newsgroups' as they will soon be R.I.P -
though some seem to think that they may still carry on but a
different 'body'. Using forums as I have done this past week has
confirmed to some degree, my dislike for them.
I have had a look at UBCD4Win and see that it is a collection of
tools/software and is Beta-I try and avoid betaware - have had bad
experiences in the past so tend to keep away/avoid them - but there
does appear to be some nice bits in it.

Rgds
Antioch

It sounds like your hard drive is slowly but surely on its way out. If
so, a Clean Install is not indicated! As long as all your data is
safegarded and if you have extra time on your hands and you'd like to do
it out of curiosity, I suppose you have nothing to lose. If so and if
you want the learning experience, you might want to try these first:

http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp/

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

But if I were you, I'd just pop in a new hard drive! It should could
come with cloning software. You *might* be able to get away with cloning
your current drive to the new one. If it works, cool. Otherwise, Clean
Install!

You should reconsider avoiding UBCD4Win. Beta, schmeta! It's a bootable
CD, so it is as safe as milk. ;-) It's a great tool to have and can
certainly help get you out of a jam (that is, if your PC is otherwise
unbootable and you need at the very least to copy your data). Also, it's
a great way to determine if your PC's problems are hardware-related.

Good luck, Antioch!

antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:
"Previously to this post I had already tried the below.
I have gone into the Bios and have moved the CD drive to show as
follows - 1st Boot Device [PM-ATAPI iHAP322 9]
Rebooted and all went OK until I got to the bit where you enter
chkdsk /r - got file path not valid.
Tried chkdsk - went through quite quickly and reported as usual
there were one or more errors.
exit out - auto reboot - windows welcome did show but after the
little train had passed through about 20 times, got the unmounted
error. Tried a second time - this time the chksk /r worked - only
the second
time it has - five minutes later at 1%
it reported that there were unrecoverable errors etc - on reboot
it got to the start to dll XP up came disc read erro -
'ctrl-alt-delete to restart'. On restart I got a notification
after XP tried to load to the welcome screen, error win root
system32\hal.dll missing or corrupt.

How is your hard drive partitioned? Is Windows on C:?

What is the *exact* message with regard to the path not being
valid? Is autochk.exe referenced?

As expected, the computer did not start - got the 'unmountable'
error. I have just the C drive - no partition - confirmed as I only
get
offered 1. C:\WINDOWS
and underneath I am told I can type exit
1st run - This morning, as soon as I type chkdsk after the 1.
option, it tells me immediately that 'the volume appears to contain
one or
more unrecoverable problems. Nothing new there except it has told
me this after it has done a chkdsk.
typing in autochk produces the usual 'The command is not
recognised. Type help for list. It is not in the list of commands.
All the 'boot cfg' options tell me 'Failed to successfully scan
disks for Windows Installations. This error may be caused by a
corrupt file system, which would prevent bootcfg from scanning. Use
chkdsk
to detect any disk errors.'
As a result I cannot add/rebuild etc.
At the moment, if I type anything else in the command line I get
'this command is not recognised - type help for list'
2nd run - at the REC Con window the entry is slightly different -
there is the informative bit is the same, but I then have -
The path or file specified is not valid.
C:\
If I add chkdsk I get 'The specified path is not valid or there is
no disk in the drive'
If I add any of the boot choices I am again told that it cannot
perform due to corrupt system - as before. The same for autochk.
Rgds
Antioch

When you had reported that SeaTools for DOS indicated your hard
drive was healthy, I assumed the hard drive was healthy. But it
seems those results were very inaccurate! You most likely will need
to purchase a new drive. Sorry that it has to be this way!

You could always use another PC (a healthy one!) to scan the hard
drive if you want to be 100% positive. Or there are certain CDs you
can use (like UBCD4Win) that contain drive diagnostics.

I don't believe you specifically identified the make and model of
this HDD. I will verify that you used the correct utility.

Hello Daave
After my last post to you, I rebooted three times and on the third
try the computer started - so I did the in-house chkdsk to start at
next boot up as I had to go out.
When I returned, I took the panels off just to check the cable/leads
were all well fixed - I keep the box dusted regularly and always
check the cables when finished.
I started up - the chkdsk took over - moved this and that, deleted,
loads of things. When it finished the computer fired up again as if
nothing was wrong.
For 6 hours it has been running well - I have done a bit of research
and tried another scanner - HDDScan 3 for windows - seems very
popular and accurate.
A full SMART scan only popped up one problem - a yellow marker for
'UltraDMA CRC Error count'
Not too sure what it means, but judging by what I have read in various
forums, it aint good - most suggest a new HDD. I was surprised
though to not get some 'RED' markers as others have, where they have
been getting BSODs and no help with Rec Con and inability to boot.
I can confirm that even in the Seagate Forums, the Seagate scanners
are treated with ridicule.
I did mention the make/model in another post - its a Maxtor. It is
auto recognised when you run the software. There is no other utility
on their site - this was the one I was told to use via email reply.
They used to do one for Maxtor, but they are one company now.
Would you perhaps have any suggestion as to a different make of HDD.
For the moment I think I might do a full install of XP and see if
there still problems booting.
I have plenty of help - michael stevens, s ramesh, kb313348 for
format/partition/full install, which I may consider if I get a larger
HDD.
Many thanks to you and all who gave me support - once again it has
been much appreciated.
I cannot say 'long live the newsgroups' as they will soon be R.I.P -
though some seem to think that they may still carry on but a
different 'body'. Using forums as I have done this past week has
confirmed to some degree, my dislike for them.
I have had a look at UBCD4Win and see that it is a collection of
tools/software and is Beta-I try and avoid betaware - have had bad
experiences in the past so tend to keep away/avoid them - but there
does appear to be some nice bits in it.

Rgds
Antioch

It sounds like your hard drive is slowly but surely on its way out. If
so, a Clean Install is not indicated! As long as all your data is
safegarded and if you have extra time on your hands and you'd like to do
it out of curiosity, I suppose you have nothing to lose. If so and if
you want the learning experience, you might want to try these first:

http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp/

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

But if I were you, I'd just pop in a new hard drive! It should could
come with cloning software. You *might* be able to get away with cloning
your current drive to the new one. If it works, cool. Otherwise, Clean
Install!

You should reconsider avoiding UBCD4Win. Beta, schmeta! It's a bootable
CD, so it is as safe as milk. ;-) It's a great tool to have and can
certainly help get you out of a jam (that is, if your PC is otherwise
unbootable and you need at the very least to copy your data). Also, it's
a great way to determine if your PC's problems are hardware-related.

Good luck, Antioch!

antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:

Another quick update - I did that old trick - unplug - left it off
for 30 mins - came back - switched on and Windows has fired up in
double quick time.
But I know from previously, if I switch off[not unplug] it will not
start.

What are your power settings set for? Do you use Hiberbnation or
System Standby? Which method do you use to "switch off?"

I do not know what the power settings are - are they in Bios - if so
will get them later.
Never use Hibernation or standby - I exit via Start/Turn off.
I will be away from the computer for a while.

No, not the BIOS settings. I was referring to the Windows XP settings,
accessible by:

(right-clicking on an unused area on the desktop)

Display Properties | Screen Saver | Power

(and then later, the Advanced tab)

antioch wrote:
"Daave" wrote in message
...
antioch wrote:

Another quick update - I did that old trick - unplug - left it off
for 30 mins - came back - switched on and Windows has fired up in
double quick time.
But I know from previously, if I switch off[not unplug] it will not
start.

What are your power settings set for? Do you use Hiberbnation or
System Standby? Which method do you use to "switch off?"

I do not know what the power settings are - are they in Bios - if so
will get them later.
Never use Hibernation or standby - I exit via Start/Turn off.
I will be away from the computer for a while.

No, not the BIOS settings. I was referring to the Windows XP settings,
accessible by:

(right-clicking on an unused area on the desktop)

Display Properties | Screen Saver | Power

(and then later, the Advanced tab)