Computer is FUBAR...Any suggestions? - GoFuckYourself.com

ModelPerfect · 07-14-2007, 12:08 PM

There I was happily clicking around on eBay looking for a bigger hard drive, when an unexpected (are they ever really expected?) split-second power outage/spike shut me down.

When I tried to restart, it says "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" and will not restart even under safe mode.

I finally decided to run a repair on the my XP Pro installation (not using recovery console). Well, it went straight to the installation page after the agreement, rather than giving the usual repair option. That generally means it did not find a version of Windows already on the drive or that it is very seriously corrupted. Hmm.

I then tried to repair through recovery console using FITBOOT. It did say the boot sectors were bad and supposedly fixed them, but I'm getting the same problem.

What else can I try?

I suppose the problem can be hardware based, but I do use surge protectors (not that that is 100% effective). What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

-Logan

FakeNick · 07-14-2007, 12:11 PM

buy a new one im pretty sure that will fix the problem

Iron Fist · 07-14-2007, 12:21 PM

Dude, your getting a dell (tm)!

techtony · 07-14-2007, 12:23 PM

some times a system can go into shock, unplug power let sit for 15min and plug it back in. sometimes helps

Bell · 07-14-2007, 12:27 PM

since the trouble - have you turned it COMPLETELY off
for at least 10 minutes and then back on and see if it comes up...

I know that sounds simple... and stupid...
but... it has worked for me before...

sometimes mine overheats and acts qwirkie...

Good Luck...

~DomainBELL (Patricia)

ModelPerfect · 07-14-2007, 12:50 PM

Yeah...I tried letting it sit and restarting, but that unfortunately didn't do anything. Unless someone can suggest something else, I'm going to try putting in an old hard drive, installing xp on it and see what happens. If it works, then it's probably not hardware related. Then I can at least backup some data and reinstall...

ModelPerfect · 07-14-2007, 01:43 PM

Anyone know the best place to get cheap components if I want to build my own computer?

notabook · 07-14-2007, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ModelPerfect

Anyone know the best place to get cheap components if I want to build my own computer?

http://www.pricewatch.com - http://www.newegg.com

The Truth Hurts · 07-14-2007, 04:28 PM

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297185

have you tried this?

ztik · 07-14-2007, 04:31 PM

Sounds like your drive is dying.

If it is you can try putting the old one in a fridge or freezer for abit until its cold then copy everything over to a new one

d-null · 07-14-2007, 04:38 PM

thanks for the reminder to always back up

good luck solving your problem

ModelPerfect · 07-14-2007, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Truth Hurts

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297185

have you tried this?

Thanks for the link. I'll research the code a little more when I put the hard drive back in. I just put in an old 6GB and installed XP, and it works fine. So the problem is either XP or the old hard drive. I feared the hard drive's days were numbered, which is one reason I was looking to buy another, but most of the bad drives I found wouldn't register at all (i.e. no partitions even). Luckily, I do backup regularly, so I only lost some non-essentials and about 1-2 weeks of various work on files. Still the loss of time is a major PITA!

ModelPerfect · 07-16-2007, 01:54 PM

Thought someone might find the solution useful, although I can't really take credit for it...kind of happened by accident.

I ended up putting an old 6GB hard drive in and installing Windows on it, which worked fine. I was then curious if I could read the bad drive as a slave, so I installed it as such and rebooted. Windows (from the 6BG drive) automatically ran a checkdisk and corrected some errors on the bad drive. I tried reading the My Documents folder, but it was still protected. So for "shits and giggles" I tried booting from the bad drive again (as the master), and it worked just as normal, and I can access my files. I still don't trust the drive and will replace it, but at least I have time to back up anything that wasn't already backed up.

07-14-2007, 12:08 PM	#1
ModelPerfect Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,862	Computer is FUBAR...Any suggestions? There I was happily clicking around on eBay looking for a bigger hard drive, when an unexpected (are they ever really expected?) split-second power outage/spike shut me down. When I tried to restart, it says "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" and will not restart even under safe mode. I finally decided to run a repair on the my XP Pro installation (not using recovery console). Well, it went straight to the installation page after the agreement, rather than giving the usual repair option. That generally means it did not find a version of Windows already on the drive or that it is very seriously corrupted. Hmm. I then tried to repair through recovery console using FITBOOT. It did say the boot sectors were bad and supposedly fixed them, but I'm getting the same problem. What else can I try? I suppose the problem can be hardware based, but I do use surge protectors (not that that is 100% effective). What do you think? Thanks in advance. -Logan __________________ Logan modelperfect [at] gmail.com http://www.modelperfect.com (Proudly hosted at www.webair.com )

07-14-2007, 12:11 PM	#2
FakeNick Confirmed User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 739	buy a new one im pretty sure that will fix the problem __________________ this is my sig, it is the only one i have which is why it is mine

07-14-2007, 12:21 PM	#3
Iron Fist Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 23,400	Dude, your getting a dell (tm)! __________________ i like waffles

07-14-2007, 12:23 PM	#4
techtony Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 668	some times a system can go into shock, unplug power let sit for 15min and plug it back in. sometimes helps __________________ The Freak and Geek Show The F&G Network The F&G Shop ICQ# 486382410

07-14-2007, 12:27 PM	#5
Bell Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 298	since the trouble - have you turned it COMPLETELY off for at least 10 minutes and then back on and see if it comes up... I know that sounds simple... and stupid... but... it has worked for me before... sometimes mine overheats and acts qwirkie... Good Luck... ~DomainBELL (Patricia) __________________ come peek at the over 2000 available hot domain names I have listed here: DomainBELL.com

07-14-2007, 12:50 PM	#6
ModelPerfect Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,862	Yeah...I tried letting it sit and restarting, but that unfortunately didn't do anything. Unless someone can suggest something else, I'm going to try putting in an old hard drive, installing xp on it and see what happens. If it works, then it's probably not hardware related. Then I can at least backup some data and reinstall... __________________ Logan modelperfect [at] gmail.com http://www.modelperfect.com (Proudly hosted at www.webair.com )

07-14-2007, 01:43 PM	#7
ModelPerfect Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,862	Anyone know the best place to get cheap components if I want to build my own computer? __________________ Logan modelperfect [at] gmail.com http://www.modelperfect.com (Proudly hosted at www.webair.com )

07-14-2007, 04:28 PM	#9
The Truth Hurts Zph7YXfjMhg Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In Your Skull Posts: 15,512	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297185 have you tried this?

07-14-2007, 04:31 PM	#10
ztik Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Nomad Posts: 5,196	Sounds like your drive is dying. If it is you can try putting the old one in a fridge or freezer for abit until its cold then copy everything over to a new one __________________ .

07-14-2007, 04:38 PM	#11
d-null . . . Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: NY Posts: 13,724	thanks for the reminder to always back up good luck solving your problem __________________ __________________ Looking for a custom TUBE SCRIPT that supports massive traffic, load balancing, billing support, and h264 encoding? Hit up Konrad! Looking for designs for your websites or custom tubesite design? Hit up Zuzana Designs Check out the #1 WordPress SEO Plugin: CyberSEO Suite

07-16-2007, 01:54 PM	#13
ModelPerfect Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,862	Thought someone might find the solution useful, although I can't really take credit for it...kind of happened by accident. I ended up putting an old 6GB hard drive in and installing Windows on it, which worked fine. I was then curious if I could read the bad drive as a slave, so I installed it as such and rebooted. Windows (from the 6BG drive) automatically ran a checkdisk and corrected some errors on the bad drive. I tried reading the My Documents folder, but it was still protected. So for "shits and giggles" I tried booting from the bad drive again (as the master), and it worked just as normal, and I can access my files. I still don't trust the drive and will replace it, but at least I have time to back up anything that wasn't already backed up. __________________ Logan modelperfect [at] gmail.com http://www.modelperfect.com (Proudly hosted at www.webair.com )