A disk read error occurred; Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

<dynamicbliss.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1170617020.024196.77160@a34g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Ever since the last time I restarted my Windows XP PC, I get the
> following error:
>
>
> A disk read error occurred
> Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart
>
> This has happened before, and my solution was to backup all the data,
> reformat the drive, and then put all the data back again. This is
> very time-consuming, and a pain in the ___! The drive appears OK when
> connected as a slave, and I even ran Norton Disk Doctor on it and no
> errors are found.
>
> I'd like to find out #1, why this problem has happened and seems to re-
> occur from time to time, and #2, if there is a better way of fixing it
> short of keeping a spare drive on hand to do a data-transfer,
> reformat, date-transfer-back, which is a major hassle and takes a long
> time to do. Even after that, some applications need to be
> reinstalled, because something about this procedure makes them lose
> their registered status.


------------------

Another user had the same problem recently, here's what
they found:

---------------------

<ETdoFresh.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1170555962.812852.280590@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
> This has been my experience before I got this working.
>
> So, I got the infamous error everyone seemed to be getting:
>
> A disk read error occurred
> Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart
>
> I'm not going to bore you, and tell you how I probably got here. But I
> knew one thing: I didn't want to lose my data on my drive!
>
> I've tried the following (and didn't work), but these are still
> strongly recommended if you are having this problem:
> - Reset your BIOS to Default Settings
> - Put in an 2K/XP/2K3 CD and enter recovery mode and run the
> following:
> - FIXMBR
> - FIXBOOT
> - CHKDSK /R /P
>
> Now, X hours of my weekend of free time, and still no luck. But I was
> determined, and this was the answer to my problem...
>
> BIOS! My Hard Drive was set to Auto Detect. I can however,set my hard
> drive to different modes. It was on Auto, so I changed it to LBA. I
> restarted my computer, and BAM! It continued to load passed the BIOS.
> I restarted a few times (just to check) and I was rolling! So
> hopefully, this will help about 1% of the people who have this
> problem. Good luck to y'all!
>

Might want to change your CMOS battery.
That setting shouldn't have changed by itself...

>

My system is still down. I bought an identical Maxtor 200GB ATA/100
hard drive. By using another hard disk to boot the system, I used
Partition Magic to copy the "Disk Read Error" drive to the brand new
one. And guess what? The brand new drive boots up "Disk Read Error"
too! I tried resetting the BIOS, using manual settings for the drive
in BIOS, running the XP Recovery Mode Console and doing FIXMBR,
FIXBOOT, CHKDSK /R /P - and none of these fix the problem.

When I boot my MaxBlast 4 CD, the "Ontrack Disk Manager BIOS Checker
1.00.03 finds "Int 13 IO to drive 80", but then totally hangs at the
"ATA Level Communications" part, when it indicates "Attempting PM ATA
Identify - SN [spade character]< - Invalid Response" ...the next line
reads "Attempting PS ATA Identify _" where the "_" is a flashing
cursor, but no keyboard input is accepted (bar ctrl-alt-del).

I'm going to try getting support on this from Maxtor, and if I find a
solution I'll be sure to share it here.


On Feb 4, 11:54 am, "Rock" <r....RemoveThis@nospam.net> wrote:
> <dynamicbl....RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote
>
>
>
>
>
> > Ever since the last time I restarted my Windows XP PC, I get the
> > followingerror:
>
> > Adiskreaderroroccurred
> > PressCtrl+Alt+Delto restart
>
> > This has happened before, and my solution was to backup all the data,
> > reformat the drive, and then put all the data back again. This is
> > very time-consuming, and a pain in the ___! The drive appears OK when
> > connected as a slave, and I even ran NortonDiskDoctor on it and no
> > errors are found.
>
> > I'd like to find out #1, why this problem has happened and seems to re-
> > occur from time to time, and #2, if there is a better way of fixing it
> > short of keeping a spare drive on hand to do a data-transfer,
> > reformat, date-transfer-back, which is a major hassle and takes a long
> > time to do. Even after that, some applications need to be
> > reinstalled, because something about this procedure makes them lose
> > their registered status.
>
> This could be a hard drive problem, a driver cabling problem, a controller
> problem or maybe even a power supply problem. Start by downloading a drive
> diagnostic utility from the hard drive manufacturer's web site. This will
> create a bootable CD or floppy. Boot from that and run the diagnostics on
> the drive. (As an aside IMO you can do without Norton DD or any of the
> Norton home products. You are better off without them.)
>
> Second issue, you state the solution is to backup of all your data and...
> Well by that time it's too late to be backing up your data. You should
> always have a full and complete backup of important data.
>
> I suggest you invest in a drive imaging program such as Acronis True Image
> (ATI). Use this to create compressed images of the hard drive and store
> these on an external USB connected hard drive (consider burning a copy to
> DVD for redundancy). ATI can also do file backups. This takes care of two
> issues, backup up the data and giving you a means to quickly recover the
> system in case of disaster. The most recent image can be restored quickly.
> --
> Rock [MVP - User/Shell]- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Currently Seeking Maxtor Support.

1st thing I discovered is that Maxtor has been acquired by Seagate.
Their Website is really SLOW, too! Not easy to find support, either.
No clear online-chat-help, or phone numbers to call. In fact, the
experience looking for help or solutions was so frustrating, I am now
going to look on SARC

I did get linked over to Microsoft's Knowledgebase (from the Seagate
site) and this was the closest solution:

Problems Installing Windows 2000 on HP NetServer LH3 with NetRAID
View products that this article applies to.
Article ID : 216645
Last Review : October 30, 2006
Revision : 3.1
This article was previously published under Q216645
SYMPTOMS
When you install Windows 2000 on a Hewlett-Packard (HP) NetServer LH3
with a system partition larger than one gigabyte (GB) in size, you
receive the following error message when the computer restarts:
DISK READ ERROR CTRL+ALT+DEL TO REBOOT
Back to the top

CAUSE
Windows 2000 does not include a driver for the HP NetRAID adapter.
When you attempt to use the HP driver for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0,
the same problem can occur.
Back to the top

RESOLUTION
To work around this problem, create a partition that is smaller than 1
GB in size during the Text-mode portion of Setup. This allows the
installation process to continue. 1. Upgrade the system BIOS to
4.06.43 PL or higher.
2. Upgrade the NetRAID firmware to D.03.02 or higher.
3. Restart your computer to continue Setup.



It doesn't seem logical to me that it is any kind of BIOS problem,
with either the Motherboard BIOS - but possibly the Maxtor 'firmware'
- but that doesn't make sense, either, because the drive can be
reformatted and reinstalled and works fine at that point. I'm
beginning to think this is some kind of virus.

Here's some info I've found and will pursue:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
see if knoppix will boot into it.

http://knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html

>From there you can repair your other operating system. (actually
writing on a windows nt file system is still experimental), it's worth
a shot though, try mounting it with the latest ntfs driver.

BTW- If your HDD ide connector came unplugged from the PCB due to a
jolt or if there is something bad preventing the info from being bus'd
you will have to repair that.

BUT knoppix will let you boot in from the CD drive and at least mount -
t ntfs /dev/hda1 /mnt/dir your HDD to see if there really is an IO
error, or if it's windows that's messed up.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Symptom: "NTLDR is missing" ; "A disk read error occurred" ; System
hangs after BIOS POST finishes
Probable Cause: Boot sector is corrupt due to hard disk errors or
virus infection
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Problem/Symptom Tool(s) to Use

Corrupt master boot record Recovery Console (fixmbr)

Corrupt boot sector Recovery Console
(fixboot)

Corrupt or missing boot.ini Recovery Console (bootcfg /
rebuild) * New / Not yet tried *

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Disinfecting boot sector viruses. Boot sector repair is best
accomplished by the use of antivirus software. Because some boot
sector viruses encrypt the MBR, improper removal can result in a drive
that is inaccessible. However, if you are certain the virus has only
affected the boot sector and is not an encrypting virus, the DOS SYS
command can be used to restore the first sector. Additionally, the DOS
LABEL command can be used to restore a damaged volume label and FDISK /
MBR will replace the MBR. None of these methods is recommended,
however. Antivirus software remains the best tool for cleanly and
accuarately removing boot sector viruses with minimal threat to data
and files.

Creating a system disk. When disinfecting a boot sector virus, the
system should always be booted from a known clean system disk. On a
DOS-based PC, a bootable system disk can be created on a clean system
running the exact same version of DOS as the infected PC. From a DOS
prompt, type:

SYS C:\ A:\
and press enter. This will copy the system files from the local hard
drive (C:\) to the floppy drive (A:\).

If the disk has not been formatted, the use of FORMAT /S will format
the disk and transfer the necessary system files. On Windows 3.1x
systems, the disk should be created as described above for DOS-based
PC's. On Windows 95/98/NT systems, click Start | Settings | Control
Panel | Add/Remove Programs and choose the Startup Disk tab. Then
click on "Create Disk". Windows 2000 users should insert the Windows
2000 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, click Start | Run and type the name
of the drive followed by bootdisk\makeboot a: and then click OK. For
example:

d:\bootdisk\makeboot a:
Follow the screen prompts to finish creating the bootable system disk.
In all cases, after the creation of the bootable system disk, the disk
should be write protected to avoid infection.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Read this too: http://forum.paragon.ag/customer/viewtopic.php?
t=1299&highlight=mbr


>From the online manual:


13 Hard Disk Management
13.1 Update MBR
The program allows the user to overwrite the current bootable code in
the MBR (Master Boot Record) by the standard bootstrap code. This
feature can repair corrupted bootable code on a hard disk as a result
of boot virus attacks or malfunction in the boot managing software.

In order to start the operation the user should take the following
steps:

1. Select a hard disk on the Disk Map.
2. There are several ways to run the operation:
-Select in the Main menu: Hard Disk > Update MBR.
-Call the popup menu for the selected hard disk (right click of the
mouse button) then select the menu item: Update MBR.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have a professional edition of Paragon's Partion Manager, there
is a Boot Corrector utility that allows you assign drive letter to
system partition, change BOOT.INI file etc. If you don't have this
utility ask for this from support team guys, they do provide it in
case of problems. Use the Boot Corrector to correct the drive letter
of your boot partition.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

....if problem persists, MB is corrupt

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

*Note: This is a work-in-progress. I'm kinda blogging my experience
with this problem and my path toward a solution, in hope that it may
be referenced and helpful to others who might encounter a similar
problem.

++++++++++++++++++
Sunday, Feb 18 Update
++++++++++++++++++

This has got to be one of the most frustrating problems I have ever
come across. I can't tell you how many times I've installed Windows
XP clean, low-level formatted the hard disk, only to arbitrarily start
running into hard-disk errors. This morning, I was just going to
backup my progress (things seemed to be working good on my clean
install). I installed Acronis True Image, and upon reboot, would get
a blue-screen. I was able to boot into my "Last Known Good"
configuration. At that point, I attempted a system-restore, after
which my system is crippled once again, this time with the following
message:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or
corrupt:
WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

At least my Apple PowerBook G4 is working fine (so is my Sony VAIO,
but this problem is really souring my taste for Microsoft and
Windows).


On Feb 7, 1:53 pm, dynamicbl....RemoveThis@gmail.com wrote:
> Currently Seeking Maxtor Support.
>
> 1st thing I discovered is that Maxtor has been acquired by Seagate.
> Their Website is really SLOW, too! Not easy to find support, either.
> No clear online-chat-help, or phone numbers to call. In fact, the
> experience looking for help or solutions was so frustrating, I am now
> going to look on SARC
>
> I did get linked over to Microsoft's Knowledgebase (from the Seagate
> site) and this was the closest solution:
>
> Problems Installing Windows 2000 on HP NetServer LH3 with NetRAID
> View products that this article applies to.
> Article ID : 216645
> Last Review : October 30, 2006
> Revision : 3.1
> This article was previously published under Q216645
> SYMPTOMS
> When you install Windows 2000 on a Hewlett-Packard (HP) NetServer LH3
> with a system partition larger than one gigabyte (GB) in size, you
> receive the followingerrormessage when the computer restarts:DISKREADERRORCTRL+ALT+DELTO REBOOT
> Back to the top
>
> CAUSE
> Windows 2000 does not include a driver for the HP NetRAID adapter.
> When you attempt to use the HP driver for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0,
> the same problem can occur.
> Back to the top
>
> RESOLUTION
> To work around this problem, create a partition that is smaller than 1
> GB in size during the Text-mode portion of Setup. This allows the
> installation process to continue. 1. Upgrade the system BIOS to
> 4.06.43 PL or higher.
> 2. Upgrade the NetRAID firmware to D.03.02 or higher.
> 3. Restart your computer to continue Setup.
>
> It doesn't seem logical to me that it is any kind of BIOS problem,
> with either the Motherboard BIOS - but possibly the Maxtor 'firmware'
> - but that doesn't make sense, either, because the drive can be
> reformatted and reinstalled and works fine at that point. I'm
> beginning to think this is some kind of virus.
>
> Here's some info I've found and will pursue:
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> see if knoppix will boot into it.
>
> http://knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html
>
> >From there you can repair your other operating system. (actually
>
> writing on a windows nt file system is still experimental), it's worth
> a shot though, try mounting it with the latest ntfs driver.
>
> BTW- If your HDD ide connector came unplugged from the PCB due to a
> jolt or if there is something bad preventing the info from being bus'd
> you will have to repair that.
>
> BUT knoppix will let you boot in from the CD drive and at least mount -
> t ntfs /dev/hda1 /mnt/dir your HDD to see if there really is an IOerror, or if it's windows that's messed up.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Symptom: "NTLDR is missing" ; "Adiskreaderroroccurred" ; System
> hangs after BIOS POST finishes
> Probable Cause: Boot sector is corrupt due to harddiskerrors or
> virus infection
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Problem/Symptom Tool(s) to Use
>
> Corrupt master boot record Recovery Console (fixmbr)
>
> Corrupt boot sector Recovery Console
> (fixboot)
>
> Corrupt or missing boot.ini Recovery Console (bootcfg /
> rebuild) * New / Not yet tried *
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Disinfecting boot sector viruses. Boot sector repair is best
> accomplished by the use of antivirus software. Because some boot
> sector viruses encrypt the MBR, improper removal can result in a drive
> that is inaccessible. However, if you are certain the virus has only
> affected the boot sector and is not an encrypting virus, the DOS SYS
> command can be used to restore the first sector. Additionally, the DOS
> LABEL command can be used to restore a damaged volume label and FDISK /
> MBR will replace the MBR. None of these methods is recommended,
> however. Antivirus software remains the best tool for cleanly and
> accuarately removing boot sector viruses with minimal threat to data
> and files.
>
> Creating a systemdisk. When disinfecting a boot sector virus, the
> system should always be booted from a known clean systemdisk. On a
> DOS-based PC, a bootable systemdiskcan be created on a clean system
> running the exact same version of DOS as the infected PC. From a DOS
> prompt, type:
>
> SYS C:\ A:\
> and press enter. This will copy the system files from the local hard
> drive (C:\) to the floppy drive (A:\).
>
> If thediskhas not been formatted, the use of FORMAT /S will format
> thediskand transfer the necessary system files. On Windows 3.1x
> systems, thediskshould be created as described above for DOS-based
> PC's. On Windows 95/98/NT systems, click Start | Settings | Control
> Panel | Add/Remove Programs and choose the StartupDisktab. Then
> click on "CreateDisk". Windows 2000 users should insert the Windows
> 2000 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, click Start | Run and type the name
> of the drive followed by bootdisk\makeboot a: and then click OK. For
> example:
>
> d:\bootdisk\makeboot a:
> Follow the screen prompts to finish creating the bootable systemdisk.
> In all cases, after the creation of the bootable systemdisk, thedisk
> should be write protected to avoid infection.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Readthis too:http://forum.paragon.ag/customer/viewtopic.php?
> t=1299&highlight=mbr
>
> >From the online manual:
>
> 13 HardDiskManagement
> 13.1 Update MBR
> The program allows the user to overwrite the current bootable code in
> the MBR (Master Boot Record) by the standard bootstrap code. This
> feature can repair corrupted bootable code on a harddiskas a result
> of boot virus attacks or malfunction in the boot managing software.
>
> In order to start the operation the user should take the following
> steps:
>
> 1. Select a harddiskon theDiskMap.
> 2. There are several ways to run the operation:
> -Select in the Main menu: HardDisk> Update MBR.
> -Call the popup menu for the selected harddisk(right click of the
> mouse button) then select the menu item: Update MBR.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> If you have a professional edition of Paragon's Partion Manager, there
> is a Boot Corrector utility that allows you assign drive letter to
> system partition, change BOOT.INI file etc. If you don't have this
> utility ask for this from support team guys, they do provide it in
> case of problems. Use the Boot Corrector to correct the drive letter
> of your boot partition.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ...if problem persists, MB is corrupt
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *Note: This is a work-in-progress. I'm kinda blogging my experience
> with this problem and my path toward a solution, in hope that it may
> be referenced and helpful to others who might encounter a similar
> problem.

<dynamicbliss.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote

> ++++++++++++++++++
> Sunday, Feb 18 Update
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> This has got to be one of the most frustrating problems I have ever
> come across. I can't tell you how many times I've installed Windows
> XP clean, low-level formatted the hard disk, only to arbitrarily start
> running into hard-disk errors. This morning, I was just going to
> backup my progress (things seemed to be working good on my clean
> install). I installed Acronis True Image, and upon reboot, would get
> a blue-screen. I was able to boot into my "Last Known Good"
> configuration. At that point, I attempted a system-restore, after
> which my system is crippled once again, this time with the following
> message:
>
> Windows could not start because the following file is missing or
> corrupt:
> WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
>
> At least my Apple PowerBook G4 is working fine (so is my Sony VAIO,
> but this problem is really souring my taste for Microsoft and
> Windows).

<snip>

That indicates a problem with the registry.

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry that Prevents Windows XP from
Starting:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=307545

How to Troubleshoot Registry Corruption Issues
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=822705

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

FIXED!

After several weeks of troubleshooting and toiling with this, I
believe the problem has been resolved. Early on, my research on this
problem showed me that other cases, the issue was narrowed down to a
BIOS problem and resolved by using "Manual" BIOS settings, rather than
"AUTO." Well, the manual settings didn't do it for me, but flashing
the BIOS with a newer version DID THE TRICK!

This was really a very squirrely problem, though, because my system
was working fine with the "problem hard drive" in place as the boot
drive for a while. At some seemingly random point, my system decided
to stop booting and gave me the error:

A disk read error occurred
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

One big indication pointing to the BIOS or motherboard should have
been the fact that my MaxBlast CD wouldn't boot, and seemed to hang
when identifying the drive. It should show the drive model / SN, but
instead showed "PM ATA Identify - SN♠< < - Invalid
Response . . . Attempting PS ATA Identify _" and then would freeze.

The strange thing was that I could format the drive, set up Windows
XP, and install and run programs for a while, but then at that
seemingly random point, my system would decide to stop booting and
give me the error:

A disk read error occurred
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

I'm running an Intel Pentium 4 motherboard D850MV, and the "problem"
BIOS is MV85010A.86A.0005.P02. The problem was resolved by flashing
the most current version of Intel's BIOS using their Windows-based
utility, which was very easy, just download it, run it, and the system
restarts and updates the BIOS without the need for any floppy disks or
DOS commands.

Whew! Glad to be sharing this info with the world, I hope it can help
others who might be struggling with any relative problem(s).

~DB

Great, glad you resolved it, and thanks for posting back the resolution.
Note that updating the BIOS is one of the suggestions in one of the two
articles I gave a link to, "How to Troubleshoot Registry Corruption Issues"

<dynamicbliss.TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote

FIXED!

After several weeks of troubleshooting and toiling with this, I
believe the problem has been resolved. Early on, my research on this
problem showed me that other cases, the issue was narrowed down to a
BIOS problem and resolved by using "Manual" BIOS settings, rather than
"AUTO." Well, the manual settings didn't do it for me, but flashing
the BIOS with a newer version DID THE TRICK!

This was really a very squirrely problem, though, because my system
was working fine with the "problem hard drive" in place as the boot
drive for a while. At some seemingly random point, my system decided
to stop booting and gave me the error:

A disk read error occurred
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

One big indication pointing to the BIOS or motherboard should have
been the fact that my MaxBlast CD wouldn't boot, and seemed to hang
when identifying the drive. It should show the drive model / SN, but
instead showed "PM ATA Identify - SN♠< < - Invalid
Response . . . Attempting PS ATA Identify _" and then would freeze.

The strange thing was that I could format the drive, set up Windows
XP, and install and run programs for a while, but then at that
seemingly random point, my system would decide to stop booting and
give me the error:

A disk read error occurred
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

I'm running an Intel Pentium 4 motherboard D850MV, and the "problem"
BIOS is MV85010A.86A.0005.P02. The problem was resolved by flashing
the most current version of Intel's BIOS using their Windows-based
utility, which was very easy, just download it, run it, and the system
restarts and updates the BIOS without the need for any floppy disks or
DOS commands.

Whew! Glad to be sharing this info with the world, I hope it can help
others who might be struggling with any relative problem(s).

~DB




--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

This is not a good sign, I know. I'm also getting this error as of this
morning, and have a couple of questions about it.

- I booted off my old winxp home DVD and did the fixmbr etc from repair
mode. When I go to run chkdsk things get interesting.
- chkdsk /r /p says,
The volume Serial Number is 0000-0000
The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems.
10344 kilobytes total disk space (etc etc)

When I do a directory listing in the root directory of the C: drive, I
get basically garbage, including a file with happy faces for a name
that's 80mb in size - surprising on a volume is says is 10mb in size.

Any ideas on what I can do, if anything? Not the end of the world, I
have plenty of space on other drives to install XP there... but I'd
rather not lose my 130gb boot drive.


--
airlik

airlik;761361 Wrote:
> This is not a good sign, I know. I'm also getting this error as of this
> morning, and have a couple of questions about it.
>
> - I booted off my old winxp home DVD and did the fixmbr etc from repair
> mode. When I go to run chkdsk things get interesting.
> - chkdsk /r /p says,
> The volume Serial Number is 0000-0000
> The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems.
> 10344 kilobytes total disk space (etc etc)
>
> When I do a directory listing in the root directory of the C: drive, I
> get basically garbage, including a file with happy faces for a name
> that's 80mb in size - surprising on a volume is says is 10mb in size.
>
> Any ideas on what I can do, if anything? Not the end of the world, I
> have plenty of space on other drives to install XP there... but I'd
> rather not lose my 130gb boot drive.

As a PS: The winxp home DVD is old... pre-SP1. Not sure if that
matters, except in making it a real pain to re-install from. Also, when
I see what happens when I ask it to install Windows, it lists the
following as drives:

Unknown Disk
(There is no disk in this drive.)
131070 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 at atapi [MBR]

D: Partition1 [FAT] 152625 MB ( 3 MB free)

131072 MB Disk 0 at Id0 on bus 0 on atapi [MBR]

C: Partition1 [Unknown] 131072 MB (131071 MB free)

131072 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on atapi [MBR]

E: Partition1 [Unknown] 131072 MB (131071 MB free)

This is all a little freaky. My actual configuration of drives is:

130 GB SATA (had been my boot drive)
500 GB SATA
500 GB SATA

- Why am I seeing such an odd list of drives? It's like it's listing
the same drive several times. I also would have sworn my boot drive was
using NTFS, not FAT ... I think either FIXMBR or FIXBOOT "guessed" FAT.


--
airlik

And even more... does this sound like a motherboard issue to anyone?
Now it will only stay on for about 2 minutes before it just powers down.
Maybe power issue? The BIOS correctly reports the drives and their
sizes, but Windows installer still thinks they're drastically off from
reality.


--
airlik

Overheating CPU?

airlik wrote:

> And even more... does this sound like a motherboard issue to anyone?
> Now it will only stay on for about 2 minutes before it just powers down.
> Maybe power issue? The BIOS correctly reports the drives and their
> sizes, but Windows installer still thinks they're drastically off from
> reality.
>
>

I'm guessing the CPU is not overheating, since I have a massive cooling
stack on it and a very large fan... the fins are all clean (no dust) to
make it overheat.

I have done a little more research on the hard drive size issue...
apparently I need an install disk with at least SP1, since the original
version doesn't support partitions larger than 137 GB even with NTFS. I
double-checked, and my boot partition is *160*GB, which makes this
install DVD totally useless for fixing anything. I found instructions
for slipstreaming my install CD with SP2, will try that on my laptop...
which doesn't have a DVD burner, so I'll have to see if I can somehow
run a network install over my LAN. Any tips?


--
airlik

If no one has any better ideas, I'm scrapping the drive (sob, just
finished importing all my music into iTunes since I finally bought an
iPod... artwork... the music is backed up but not those playlists... the
album artwork... was just waiting to finish before backing up again....)
and re-installing Windows. I smelled something like toasting plastic
when inspecting the guts and found the power supply fan was stopped.
Overheated power supply = erratic voltage levels = dead drive.

I slip-streamed my XP Home CD up to SP2 so it could handle my large
drives, but go figure - my laptop can't burn it... and it HAS to boot
off a CD to install. At this point it's rather amusing in a sick kind
of way. I have WinXP Pro from MSDN, so I can install that... then it'll
fail "genuine advantage" but hopefully I'll be able to burn my new CD,
then install XP home over it with my own license. Isn't PC/Windows
fun???


--
airlik