Windows won't start up - Bad hard drive and/or Windows

[Rippera]

I just bought a WD 160 and did that yesterday... Thanks! I plan to get a notebook (probably a HP from Best buy) and use the external and laptop as my main hoster and my other one as a back up... I'm looking for a notebook with at least 1 gig Ram, 80 to 100 gig HD, ATI video card, 17 inch monitor, CD - DVD burner... Any suggestions? Hopefully around 800.00 if possible...

Ripper

[bobcox- with the Lord]

dell 9300 ebay ( in price range)

[George]

You haven't said how old a version of Hoster you've been using. Could possibly be that you need to download the XP service pack updates if you've never done so..

[bobcox- with the Lord]

i had this problem, once it was a new sound card (sonndblaster) had to remove card and drivers.
and once with a bad key on keyboard.
both times windows would not boot.

[billyo]

Originally Posted by bobcox

i had this problem, once it was a new sound card (sonndblaster) had to remove card and drivers.
and once with a bad key on keyboard.
both times windows would not boot.

i'm having the same problem now, windows would not open " a problem has been detected and windows have been shut down to prevent damage to your computer' " UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT-VOLUME "..trying to re-intall windows..i keep getting an error msg.. need help bad.....please !!!

[bobcox- with the Lord]

have you installed any cards or new drivers. if so remove them and see what happens, i am told you need to do a disc repair. you will need a disc with windows xp if that is your operating system. also try pressing F10 at boot and see if you can do anything from there. Bob

[billyo]

Originally Posted by bobcox

have you installed any cards or new drivers. if so remove them and see what happens, i am told you need to do a disc repair. you will need a disc with windows xp if that is your operating system. also try pressing F10 at boot and see if you can do anything from there. Bob

i havent installed anything, i had hoster open, and i was trying to searched a song to play , and when i found the song i clicked on play and the cue button stayed on a bit, so i clicked on play again and my laptop frozed and a red bar went acrossed my screen, and i had to do a hard re-boot..that's when it all started..
thanks for youre adviced, i've tried that and the same problem still exist...

[mindonstrike]

Originally Posted by billyo

i'm having the same problem now, windows would not open " a problem has been detected and windows have been shut down to prevent damage to your computer' " UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT-VOLUME "..trying to re-intall windows..i keep getting an error msg.. need help bad.....please !!!

I googled "unmountable boot volume" and got this from the Microsoft help center. Hope it helps

Sam

Unmountable Boot Volume
View products that this article applies to.
Author:Soumitra Sengupta MVP
Community Solutions Content Disclaimer
Article ID : 555302
Last Review : April 26, 2005
Revision : 1.0
SUMMARY
When booting up to Win XP you may get a error that reads "Unmountable Boot Volume".
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SYMPTOMS
When booting up to Win XP you may get a error that reads "Unmountable Boot Volume".
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CAUSE
1.The file system is damaged and cannot be mounted.
2.You use a standard 40-wire connector cable to connect the UDMA drive to the controller instead of the required 80-wire, 40-pin cable.
3.The basic input/output system (BIOS) settings are configured to force the faster UDMA modes.

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RESOLUTION
If it be the connector cable problem then replace the 40-wire cable with an 80-wire UDMA cable.
If it's a BIOS settings problem then load the 'Fail-Safe' default settings, and then reactivate the most frequently used options such as USB Support.

If it's a damaged file system case then:-
1.Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.

Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted.

2.When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.

3.If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you must access from the Recovery Console.

4.When you are prompted, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.

5.At the command prompt, type chkdsk /r , and then press ENTER.

6.At the command prompt, type exit , and then press ENTER to restart your computer.

This takes a bit longer, but the system should boot back into Windows.



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MORE INFORMATION
"STOP 0x000000ED UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" Error Message When You Restart Your Computer or Upgrade to Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297185

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q314058

If the above process fails to restore the system then in the number#5 step use fixboot command instead of the chkdsk /r command.

[billyo]

Originally Posted by mindonstrike

I googled "unmountable boot volume" and got this from the Microsoft help center. Hope it helps

Sam

i tried that too.almost all day today..still have the same problem....i kinda gave up..thanks for your help..im on my way to get a new laptop now,,so hopefully.i wont have this kind of problem again..ill just use my back-up laptop tonight got a show to do.( just got this one ( back-up ) 2 months ago..thank god ! )