Member Avatar for NYC1

Hi to all. I need your help. For about a 1 week I been having this dilema. as a matter of fact I thought that I was going to have to by another hard drive which at the moment I really dont want to waste $ on. anyways after I tried to correct this problem with windows xp recovery console, and even trying to reinstall windows xp I didn't have no success. at times I got messages saying 0 drive found I believe. after trying to fix this problem 1 day of rest later all of a sudden the recovery consule worked and windows surprisely started. it was working like for 35 minutes and all of a sudden I get a damn! blue screen message saying that windows shutdown to prevent damage. I'll be back later on today.please If u can help me with this I will really appreciate it.

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Dani AI

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For 's Dell 600m: the UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME BSOD, plus the earlier "0 drives found" during setup, most often means either the boot filesystem is corrupt or the disk/controller is not being seen by Windows XP. is correct that hardware problems are common with these symptoms; the steps below are low-risk, software-first checks that can be done without opening the laptop.

Boot from the Windows XP CD, press R to enter the Recovery Console, choose the Windows installation and provide the Administrator password. Run these commands (each on its own line):

chkdsk /r
fixboot c:
fixmbr
exit

chkdsk /r searches for and tries to repair file-system errors and bad sectors (it can take hours). fixboot writes a new boot sector and fixmbr repairs the master boot record. Reboot after exit and note any change.

If the installer showed "0 drives found", that commonly means XP lacks the SATA/AHCI driver. In the Dell BIOS (often F2 for Setup; F12 for one-time boot menu/diagnostics on many Dells) look for a "SATA operation" or "SATA mode" option and switch it to "ATA/Compatibility/Legacy" if available. Alternatively, during XP setup press F6 to load the vendor SATA driver from a floppy (or slipstream drivers into the installer).

Run the Dell pre-boot diagnostics (boot menu -> Diagnostics) to get a SMART/drive test. If diagnostics or chkdsk report many bad sectors, the drive is failing — copy important files immediately (boot a rescue/live USB to copy files to a USB drive) and replace the drive. If the data is irreplaceable, stop further repair attempts and consider a professional recovery service.

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Member Avatar for DenisOxon

Hi,

It sounds as if you have a a hardware fault, could be disk or controller.

First I would ensure all cables are seated correctly.

Second connect disk to another ide/sata (you don't say what it is) port

Third unplug all other hardware, including internal drives, in case psu is being overloaded.

Forth put hard drive in external case and see if it works ok connected to other computer.

Hope this gives you a plan to sort problems. Please let us know how you get on.

Denis

Member Avatar for NYC1

Hi. thanks 4 the reply. Honestly, other than connecting to the internet and using microsoft word and excel. I have limited knowledge with computer. I have a 600m Dell Laptop. What's the easiest way to do all your advices with it.
Thanks again!

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