windows xp "cmdcons"

[Guest]

question (not sure if right area - sorry if not) !

windows xp professional installed on HP Compaq nc6220 on 60Gb HDD - ghosted
to 120Gb - boots up and runs fine

installed cmdcons through usual process (have done many times in past on
other machines without problems)

On reboot and selecting "Microsoft Windows Recovery System" /cmdcons I get a

Disk Error
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart the computer

So - I can't get to the command console !

Any suggestions or pointers, is there any boundary or size limitation ?

Am also having a problem when attempting a boot of the CD with a blue screen
of death and a message that there was an error in pci.sys but I think that
is totally unrealted, and just another problem to sort through and correct

Would be grateful for any solutions

Have kept the original 60Gb HDD intact so I have some fallback position
although a fair bit of water has passed under the bridge so a lot of
duplicate work will need to be done if I have to go backwards

Looking forward to a clue

Thank you in anticipation

 

[Guest]

What is in your boot.ini file? Did ghost use a Signature() ARC name for
specifying the new drive 120GB in boot.ini?

 

[Guest]

Hi John

Here are the contents of the boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

As for ghost, I use an old copy that I boot from a floppy under DOS and have
never had the problem when using it in the past

 

[Guest]

Your boot.ini looks correct. The only thing I can think of that would result
in getting the disk read error when booting from the command console is if
the hard disk layout specified in the ROMBIOS is different from what is
specified in the boot sector file C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT or if a corrupted
system registry was copied to the C:\CMDCONS directory.

If you could send me your BOOTSECT.DAT file from the C:\CMDCONS\ directory I
could tell you the disk layout specified in it and you can then see if it
matches what is specified in your ROMBIOS settings. You can attach the file
to an email and send it to john AT resqware DOT com.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com

Hi John

Here are the contents of the boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

As for ghost, I use an old copy that I boot from a floppy under DOS and have
never had the problem when using it in the past

What is in your boot.ini file? Did ghost use a Signature() ARC name for
specifying the new drive 120GB in boot.ini?

 

[Guest]

John

Have sent you the file as suggested

email will show up as from

(e-mail address removed)

Appreciate your help

Your boot.ini looks correct. The only thing I can think of that would result
in getting the disk read error when booting from the command console is if
the hard disk layout specified in the ROMBIOS is different from what is
specified in the boot sector file C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT or if a corrupted
system registry was copied to the C:\CMDCONS directory.

If you could send me your BOOTSECT.DAT file from the C:\CMDCONS\ directory I
could tell you the disk layout specified in it and you can then see if it
matches what is specified in your ROMBIOS settings. You can attach the file
to an email and send it to john AT resqware DOT com.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com

Hi John

Here are the contents of the boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

As for ghost, I use an old copy that I boot from a floppy under DOS and have
never had the problem when using it in the past

What is in your boot.ini file? Did ghost use a Signature() ARC name for
specifying the new drive 120GB in boot.ini?

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


:

question (not sure if right area - sorry if not) !

windows xp professional installed on HP Compaq nc6220 on 60Gb HDD - ghosted
to 120Gb - boots up and runs fine

installed cmdcons through usual process (have done many times in past on
other machines without problems)

On reboot and selecting "Microsoft Windows Recovery System" /cmdcons I get a

Disk Error
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart the computer

So - I can't get to the command console !

Any suggestions or pointers, is there any boundary or size limitation ?

Am also having a problem when attempting a boot of the CD with a blue screen
of death and a message that there was an error in pci.sys but I think that
is totally unrealted, and just another problem to sort through and correct

Would be grateful for any solutions

Have kept the original 60Gb HDD intact so I have some fallback position
although a fair bit of water has passed under the bridge so a lot of
duplicate work will need to be done if I have to go backwards

Looking forward to a clue

Thank you in anticipation

 

[Guest]

David,

The error message you are seeing is definitely coming from bootstrap code in
the BOOTSEC.DAT file that you emailed to me. The bootstrap code in this file
is getting an error trying to load into memory the hidden system file CMLDR
from the root directory of your hard drive. If this file does exist in your
root directory, it suggests that the hard disk layout specified in the
BOOTSEC.DAT file does not match the layout being presented by the computer's
ROMBIOS. I don't know if there is a way to enter the ROMBIOS setup on your
laptop, but if there is you can check to see if the ROMBIOS has the same
layout specified as from your BOOTSECT.DAT file listed below.

LBA enabled - Logical Block Addressing
234436544 - Total Sectors
63 - Sectors per track
255 - Heads

If CMLDR is not in your root directory or if the ROMBIOS does not match this
drive layout, either one would cause the error you are seeing. Let me know
what you find on this machine and maybe we can figure out a way to get it
working.

If we can’t figure out what is creating the problem I’d be interested in
finding out if RescueBoot works on this machine. RescueBoot also creates an
alternate boot environment like cmdcons and adds it to the boot menu, but
instead of just the command line it gives you basically a clean install of
your existing Windows installation that boots and runs from a protected
directory on your hard drive providing the Windows Shell, Explorer, IE,
command prompt, disk tools and most of the Windows GUI and console utilities.
The RescueBoot beta release is available for free at:

www.resqware.com/beta/beta.aspx

If you do decide to try it let me know if it works and if it does I’ll make
sure to see that you get a copy of the release version when it goes out in
the next week or two.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com

John

Have sent you the file as suggested

email will show up as from

(e-mail address removed)

Appreciate your help

Your boot.ini looks correct. The only thing I can think of that would result
in getting the disk read error when booting from the command console is if
the hard disk layout specified in the ROMBIOS is different from what is
specified in the boot sector file C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT or if a corrupted
system registry was copied to the C:\CMDCONS directory.

If you could send me your BOOTSECT.DAT file from the C:\CMDCONS\ directory I
could tell you the disk layout specified in it and you can then see if it
matches what is specified in your ROMBIOS settings. You can attach the file
to an email and send it to john AT resqware DOT com.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com

Hi John

Here are the contents of the boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

As for ghost, I use an old copy that I boot from a floppy under DOS and have
never had the problem when using it in the past

:

What is in your boot.ini file? Did ghost use a Signature() ARC name for
specifying the new drive 120GB in boot.ini?

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


:

question (not sure if right area - sorry if not) !

windows xp professional installed on HP Compaq nc6220 on 60Gb HDD - ghosted
to 120Gb - boots up and runs fine

installed cmdcons through usual process (have done many times in past on
other machines without problems)

On reboot and selecting "Microsoft Windows Recovery System" /cmdcons I get a

Disk Error
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart the computer

So - I can't get to the command console !

Any suggestions or pointers, is there any boundary or size limitation ?

Am also having a problem when attempting a boot of the CD with a blue screen
of death and a message that there was an error in pci.sys but I think that
is totally unrealted, and just another problem to sort through and correct

Would be grateful for any solutions

Have kept the original 60Gb HDD intact so I have some fallback position
although a fair bit of water has passed under the bridge so a lot of
duplicate work will need to be done if I have to go backwards

Looking forward to a clue

Thank you in anticipation

 

[Guest]

Hi John - sorry been flat out busy - justa thought before I try anything else
- wouldn't the file contents be wrong if I ghosted off the 60Gb drive to a
120Gb drive - Perhaps I should/could try uninstalling/deleting the subdir and
then reinstal cmdcons again

Would that force it to write the correct BOOTSECT.DAT data

Any ideas or thoughts on that course of action

Thanks again

David,

The error message you are seeing is definitely coming from bootstrap code in
the BOOTSEC.DAT file that you emailed to me. The bootstrap code in this file
is getting an error trying to load into memory the hidden system file CMLDR
from the root directory of your hard drive. If this file does exist in your
root directory, it suggests that the hard disk layout specified in the
BOOTSEC.DAT file does not match the layout being presented by the computer's
ROMBIOS. I don't know if there is a way to enter the ROMBIOS setup on your
laptop, but if there is you can check to see if the ROMBIOS has the same
layout specified as from your BOOTSECT.DAT file listed below.

LBA enabled - Logical Block Addressing
234436544 - Total Sectors
63 - Sectors per track
255 - Heads

If CMLDR is not in your root directory or if the ROMBIOS does not match this
drive layout, either one would cause the error you are seeing. Let me know
what you find on this machine and maybe we can figure out a way to get it
working.

If we can’t figure out what is creating the problem I’d be interested in
finding out if RescueBoot works on this machine. RescueBoot also creates an
alternate boot environment like cmdcons and adds it to the boot menu, but
instead of just the command line it gives you basically a clean install of
your existing Windows installation that boots and runs from a protected
directory on your hard drive providing the Windows Shell, Explorer, IE,
command prompt, disk tools and most of the Windows GUI and console utilities.
The RescueBoot beta release is available for free at:

www.resqware.com/beta/beta.aspx

If you do decide to try it let me know if it works and if it does I’ll make
sure to see that you get a copy of the release version when it goes out in
the next week or two.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com

John

Have sent you the file as suggested

email will show up as from

(e-mail address removed)

Appreciate your help

Your boot.ini looks correct. The only thing I can think of that would result
in getting the disk read error when booting from the command console is if
the hard disk layout specified in the ROMBIOS is different from what is
specified in the boot sector file C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT or if a corrupted
system registry was copied to the C:\CMDCONS directory.

If you could send me your BOOTSECT.DAT file from the C:\CMDCONS\ directory I
could tell you the disk layout specified in it and you can then see if it
matches what is specified in your ROMBIOS settings. You can attach the file
to an email and send it to john AT resqware DOT com.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


:

Hi John

Here are the contents of the boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

As for ghost, I use an old copy that I boot from a floppy under DOS and have
never had the problem when using it in the past

:

What is in your boot.ini file? Did ghost use a Signature() ARC name for
specifying the new drive 120GB in boot.ini?

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


:

question (not sure if right area - sorry if not) !

windows xp professional installed on HP Compaq nc6220 on 60Gb HDD - ghosted
to 120Gb - boots up and runs fine

installed cmdcons through usual process (have done many times in past on
other machines without problems)

On reboot and selecting "Microsoft Windows Recovery System" /cmdcons I get a

Disk Error
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart the computer

So - I can't get to the command console !

Any suggestions or pointers, is there any boundary or size limitation ?

Am also having a problem when attempting a boot of the CD with a blue screen
of death and a message that there was an error in pci.sys but I think that
is totally unrealted, and just another problem to sort through and correct

Would be grateful for any solutions

Have kept the original 60Gb HDD intact so I have some fallback position
although a fair bit of water has passed under the bridge so a lot of
duplicate work will need to be done if I have to go backwards

Looking forward to a clue

Thank you in anticipation

 

[Guest]

If the cmdcons directory was ghosted from the 60GB drive it would explain
everything. I had assumed you created the cmdcons directory after you had
cloned the drive. Deleting and reinstalling cmdcons should fix the problem.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com

Hi John - sorry been flat out busy - justa thought before I try anything else
- wouldn't the file contents be wrong if I ghosted off the 60Gb drive to a
120Gb drive - Perhaps I should/could try uninstalling/deleting the subdir and
then reinstal cmdcons again

Would that force it to write the correct BOOTSECT.DAT data

Any ideas or thoughts on that course of action

Thanks again

David,

The error message you are seeing is definitely coming from bootstrap code in
the BOOTSEC.DAT file that you emailed to me. The bootstrap code in this file
is getting an error trying to load into memory the hidden system file CMLDR
from the root directory of your hard drive. If this file does exist in your
root directory, it suggests that the hard disk layout specified in the
BOOTSEC.DAT file does not match the layout being presented by the computer's
ROMBIOS. I don't know if there is a way to enter the ROMBIOS setup on your
laptop, but if there is you can check to see if the ROMBIOS has the same
layout specified as from your BOOTSECT.DAT file listed below.

LBA enabled - Logical Block Addressing
234436544 - Total Sectors
63 - Sectors per track
255 - Heads

If CMLDR is not in your root directory or if the ROMBIOS does not match this
drive layout, either one would cause the error you are seeing. Let me know
what you find on this machine and maybe we can figure out a way to get it
working.

If we can’t figure out what is creating the problem I’d be interested in
finding out if RescueBoot works on this machine. RescueBoot also creates an
alternate boot environment like cmdcons and adds it to the boot menu, but
instead of just the command line it gives you basically a clean install of
your existing Windows installation that boots and runs from a protected
directory on your hard drive providing the Windows Shell, Explorer, IE,
command prompt, disk tools and most of the Windows GUI and console utilities.
The RescueBoot beta release is available for free at:

www.resqware.com/beta/beta.aspx

If you do decide to try it let me know if it works and if it does I’ll make
sure to see that you get a copy of the release version when it goes out in
the next week or two.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com

John

Have sent you the file as suggested

email will show up as from

(e-mail address removed)

Appreciate your help

:

Your boot.ini looks correct. The only thing I can think of that would result
in getting the disk read error when booting from the command console is if
the hard disk layout specified in the ROMBIOS is different from what is
specified in the boot sector file C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT or if a corrupted
system registry was copied to the C:\CMDCONS directory.

If you could send me your BOOTSECT.DAT file from the C:\CMDCONS\ directory I
could tell you the disk layout specified in it and you can then see if it
matches what is specified in your ROMBIOS settings. You can attach the file
to an email and send it to john AT resqware DOT com.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


:

Hi John

Here are the contents of the boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

As for ghost, I use an old copy that I boot from a floppy under DOS and have
never had the problem when using it in the past

:

What is in your boot.ini file? Did ghost use a Signature() ARC name for
specifying the new drive 120GB in boot.ini?

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


:

question (not sure if right area - sorry if not) !

windows xp professional installed on HP Compaq nc6220 on 60Gb HDD - ghosted
to 120Gb - boots up and runs fine

installed cmdcons through usual process (have done many times in past on
other machines without problems)

On reboot and selecting "Microsoft Windows Recovery System" /cmdcons I get a

Disk Error
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart the computer

So - I can't get to the command console !

Any suggestions or pointers, is there any boundary or size limitation ?

Am also having a problem when attempting a boot of the CD with a blue screen
of death and a message that there was an error in pci.sys but I think that
is totally unrealted, and just another problem to sort through and correct

Would be grateful for any solutions

Have kept the original 60Gb HDD intact so I have some fallback position
although a fair bit of water has passed under the bridge so a lot of
duplicate work will need to be done if I have to go backwards

Looking forward to a clue

Thank you in anticipation