restored image of C doesn't boot

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

The C drive crashed on my Dell Latitude last week and I thought restoring it would be no big deal since I had a current image with ATI 8. After waiting 5 days for Dell to get a replacement disk to me using my "next day on site service", the disk arrived without any instructions whatsoever. I have installed the disk and verified and restored the image successfully but the disk does not boot. The message says "Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware. " What does this mean and how do I fix it? I am traveling and do not have any disks or documentation (but most docs can be found online.)

 

Did you make your ATI8 image from the C: partition only or from the whole HDD ? If in the first case, you may need your XP installation CD for solving this : boot from it, launch the recovery console, then type "fixboot" and then type "fixmbr". This should create a MBR, Master Boot Record, enabling your PC to boot.

Hope this helps !

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I have (2) 20 GB drives, C and F. The image was of C only, a single partition, or so I thought. According to the restore process, the image file contains 18.59 GB of data. I have a separate image for the undamaged F drive.

Most computers don't come with diskettes to reinstall the OS these days. This machine had Win 2K Pro on it initially but I upgraded to XP Pro about a year ago. Dell says they no longer have Win 2K media available and won't provide an XP diskette because I didn't purchase the upgrade from them. Would an upgrade disk even would work in this instance? It's 1250 miles away or I would try it and see. I was hoping to get this computer functional before I get back to Seattle in May!

One rather odd thing I noticed when using the ATI rescue disk to view the drive is that the replacement Dell sent is actually a 40 GB disk (actually 37.? GB refurbished) with 20 GB unallocated.

 

Since you made a backup of the C: partition only, the MBR has not been included (most probably). It's an ATI "feature" ! So you really need to create a new one. I see 2 possibilities :

1/ Any XP install disk you may find will be able to create a new MBR, using fixboot and fixmbr, from the recovery console

2/ Try using BootItNG from www.terabyteunlimited.com
it's a partition manager, which will also help you use the unallocated part of your new disk. Installation is a bit elaborate, but you can also use only the partition management without installing it on the HDD. I think BING may be able to create a working MBR

 

Look at this article for correcting problems such as yours Repairing Windows XP in Eight Steps.

 

I'll take a look at BootItNG since that doesn't depend on having a Windows CD--an apparently rare item these days. I actually tried to buy a new PC but the ones available from the retail stores don't have install disks either. And, when I get the system running will print the suggested Article as a reference. I'm sure it will come in handy later. Thank you both for the suggestions.

I will be replacing this Latitude in May--as soon as it's out of warranty but not sure I'll get another Dell (this is my 14th one.) Whatever I choose, it must come with a Windows CD.

 

Your story is familiar. This happened to me also. I wound up reformatting my hard drive. This is precisely why I switched to Paragon drive backup. a version of this program might be free on Vu-net a download site. Paragon does back up the MBR & Does write to DVD or CD. There are a few programs that might fix your problem. A program called " Fix NTLDR " an iso you can burn & boot so you can fix the ntldr is missing problem. A program is called "mbr Autowrite" you can find this in the Acronis forum here at Wilders.

 

You may want to look at Mustang's Begginer's Guide to Creating a BartPE CD. There are directions for building an XP CD from the I386 directory on the hard drive or restore disk for systems that didn't come with an XP CD.

 

LyndaT,

I'm trying to understand the scenario. Your HD failed and Dell sent a replacement. You restored an image of your C: drive and the OS doesn't boot.

A few questions.

What problems did you notice when the computer crashed?
Was your old HD a 40 GB one or do you have two HDs in the laptop?
How did you do the restore?
Where do you keep the C: and F: drive images?
How old is the image?
Did the image verify OK?
Does the new HD show correctly in the BIOS?

One quick observation. It's not a MBR problem.

 

Just a comment : it should be at least a MBR problem, but not necessarily the only one, you are right on this. Why : because I cannot believe the new drive has already a working MBR and ATI doesnt save the MBR when you only backup a partition. If you backup the whole drive, then the MBR is saved and can be restored.

 

>>What problems did you notice when the computer crashed?<< The drive started making a high-pitched noise about 4 hours before it failed. Eventually, that noise turned to a loud screech or scream. This occurred while I had the Dell technician on the speaker phone. He said it was likely the head that crashed.

>>Was your old HD a 40 GB one or do you have two HDs in the laptop?<< Yes I had (2) 20 GB drives.

>>How did you do the restore?<< Using the Rescue CD and Restore Image option.

>>Where do you keep the C: and F: drive images?<< On an external hard disk that can be accessed either as a USB device or via ethernet. I prefer to use ethernet since the USB port is 1.0. I had to use USB for the restore however.

>>How old is the image?<< I have several ranging from 2 days to 12 months. I have restored 2 different images with the same effect.

>>Did the image verify OK?<< Yes, the images did verify and reported that the restores completed successfully.

>>Does the new HD show correctly in the BIOS?<< Not sure how to tell but I suspect so. The Rescue CD reports 2 drives when it boots: a primary 40 GB (with 20 GB unallocated--the replacement disk) and secondary 20 GB, my F drive. I am running CD-based diagnostics for "OS won't boot" against the C disk now. So far, every test has reported pass...

regarding the discussion as to whether the entire disk was backed up or only a partition: I'm not aware of more than one partition on that disk but there may have been something hidden that I didn't know about. How much space should there be on a 20 GB drive? My image file is 18.59 GB and the partition I restored to on the new drive was 18.6 GB.

 

Using the Acronis Rescue CD, when you access the archive image of C: in Restore, before clicking "Proceed" do you see Track 0 as a part of the archive to restore? Track 0 permits you to boot.

 

LyndaT can you post your Boot.ini file. It sounds like its not pointing to the correct partition.

 

MerleOne,

You don't need to restore the MBR as a generic one is created when an image is restored. It's not the original MBR so if you are using a boot manager or a special MBR then you certainly want the original MBR, but for most of us a generic MBR is fine. I've tested several imaging/restore programs using a disk editor and this is the case. I haven't tested TI 8 however.

 

I'd be interested too.

LyndaT,

You mentioned that the 40 GB HD had 20 GB of unallocated space. That is expected now but did it have that space prior to your restore? If so it indicates a second hand HD and I wonder what was present in the first 20 GB.

Dells usually have a Utility partition and the boot.ini in the WinXP OS shows Partition(2). If your OS is now in partition 1 then the boot.ini may be incorrect. Do you have a floppy drive to run editbini?

 

LyndaT,

If you don’t have a floppy drive or any way to access boot.ini then read on.
Download Bootit NG. There is a one month trial.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html

Create a CD using the enclosed instructions (a pdf). Boot to the CD but don’t install BootIt NG. Access and edit your boot.ini

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=234

 

Sorry, I'm not sure how to get to boot.ini since I can't get a c:> prompt because of the error message mentioned above.

 

Interesting approach. It seems to depend upon having access to the disk although does mention an alternate method using the I386 directory which might be accessible in the image file. I'll need to go get more CDs first though. I only brought about 10 with me on this trip and I've used them all trying various things....

 

The drive clearly said "refurbished." I suppose that the other 20 GB was not made available because Dell is only obliged to replace the 20 GB disk I paid for initially, not the 40 GB they had available to send as a refurbished replacement.

The second HD is in the bay where the floppy drive used to be...

 

OK. So did you restore into the unallocated space or into the first 20 GB? Do you still have 20 GB of unallocated space?

The boot.ini theory is looking good. If you had the appropriate CD it would be a 10 second job to fix.

Dell replace your HD with the same size or larger. It looks like they forgot to wipe the HD.

 

As I remember the process, I saw no display of individual files or tracks to be restored. I selected the name of the image to be restored from a list of images on the external HD and then saw only thermometer bars on the screen for the next 7 hours....

 

I only saw 18.6 GB available via the ATI8 rescue disk after the replacement HD was installed. I'm sure Dell intended it to be that way since I only paid for a 20 GB disk when I bought the Latitude in the first place. Come on now, you don't think they'd just GIVE me an extra 20 GB of disk space when they can't even afford to send out a CD, do you? <g> I restored into the ONLY partition I saw. I didn't even know it was a 40GB disk until about the 3rd time I booted from the ATI8 rescue CD. According to that view, there is still 20 GB unallocated.

Ironically, I FINALLY encountered someone at Dell who tried to be helpful (as opposed to telling me WHY they couldn't send a CD with >any< OS.) This fellow pointed out that since I have purchased 14 Dell systems over the years, he could send an XP CD out as a replacment on one of the other units. I actually have 3 Dells and a Toshiba at this location. The others are scattered about in 3 or 4 other locations. Only one of the Dell units that shipped with XP installed actually came with a OS CD and that disk is somewhere between here and Australia in transit via surface mail. I'll likely have a new computer before I see that! In any case, an XP disk is on the way as a "Next Day" shipment, but that typically means 2 days to here. I could have it tomorrow but more likely on Friday....

OK, here's a surprise: I had to go outside to quiet my dog and found a rather bewildered USPS driver trying to deliver an express package. It contains an XP CD. I'm not sure how they managed to get it here in just over 12 hours but I have it in hand. I've been through so much in the last 5 days, I'm not even sure what to do with it!!!

 

Great news.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314477

I guess Method 2 is for you.

 

I was afraid this was too good to be true: I followed Method 2: only 1 option was presented after pressing "R" and that was c:\winnt. I pressed Enter to select that option and was immediately presented with the same old error message..... I guess I'm back to square one.

OK, 2nd time worked better; process is running now...

 

Damn.

I still think we need to know what your boot.ini shows. I can't think of an easy way at present but BootIt NG does work. See Post #16. Should take about 30 minutes.

I'm happy to answer questions if you have trouble making the CD.