DISK BOOT FAILURE

[Guest]

Hi...I have Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 on a machine that is about 4
years old but with no history of problems. My daughter was using MSN when it
started to make a strange whirring sound and then crashed. Now whenever we
try to load up the error message, "disk boot failure, insert system disk and
press enter" shows up. I was not supplied with a system disk/reload cd when I
bought the machine. I also get the error message, "a disk read error
occurred, press ctrl/alt/del to re-start" but when I do I resort to the first
message above. Suggestions will be received gratefully. Thanks.

 

[Sypher]

Hi...I have Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 on a machine that is about 4
years old but with no history of problems. My daughter was using MSN when
it
started to make a strange whirring sound and then crashed. Now whenever we
try to load up the error message, "disk boot failure, insert system disk
and
press enter" shows up. I was not supplied with a system disk/reload cd
when I
bought the machine. I also get the error message, "a disk read error
occurred, press ctrl/alt/del to re-start" but when I do I resort to the
first
message above. Suggestions will be received gratefully. Thanks

1) Remove any disks into the A: drive (if any).
2) If you still have the error, its probably a hardware problem (disk is
gone). U can try to re-format it
but i sincerely dont think that will work (if u heard a strange mechanical
sound, probably its gone forever).

Just buy a new disk and reinstall windows (download a disk from the internet
or ask a friend then put in the same code as the old one).

Bye!

Sypher

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

"A strange whirring sound and then crashed" scenario appears to
be the result of a defective hard drive. You'll have to purchase a
new hard drive and also a new copy of Windows XP.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

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

:

| Hi...I have Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 on a machine that is about 4
| years old but with no history of problems. My daughter was using MSN when it
| started to make a strange whirring sound and then crashed. Now whenever we
| try to load up the error message, "disk boot failure, insert system disk and
| press enter" shows up. I was not supplied with a system disk/reload cd when I
| bought the machine. I also get the error message, "a disk read error
| occurred, press ctrl/alt/del to re-start" but when I do I resort to the first
| message above. Suggestions will be received gratefully. Thanks.


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[Guest]

Hi Sypher

thanks for the quick response. I have a supplementary question I hope you
can help with: assuming your suggestion is correct, can the data on the
faulty hard drive be recovered? My son has a lot of college work in its
memory and to lose it would be a loss of months of work.

Thanks

 

[Sypher]

Hi Sypher

thanks for the quick response. I have a supplementary question I hope you
can help with: assuming your suggestion is correct, can the data on the
faulty hard drive be recovered? My son has a lot of college work in its
memory and to lose it would be a loss of months of work.

Thanks

Well ... there are specific companies that work over the "Data retrieval"
zone, but recovering a broken hard disk
is having a cost that a normal user dosnt normally want to spend.

So yes, technically you can recover the data, but you will spend a lot.
Seek in google for more information

Bye!

 

[Sypher]

"A strange whirring sound and then crashed" scenario appears to
be the result of a defective hard drive. You'll have to purchase a
new hard drive and also a new copy of Windows XP.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

Dont purchase a new copy of windows.
You probably have the license attached to the left or right panel of your
computer.
Just have a friend lend you one CD, install from that CD and use the key u
have.
Thats still legal as far as i know. In fact, you already paid for one
license.
Why should u pay for another ?


Greetings,
Sypher.

 

[R. McCarty]

Chances of recovery are quite small. Depends on whether the drive
can be "Spun" up and if the platter surface is undamaged. Professional
data recovery is available, but very expensive. It involves removing
the drive platters in a clean room environment and recovering data .
Disk manufacturers provide diagnostic software to check the integrity
of the drive (But not always the data contained). Check around your
area for a local PC shop. For a diagnostic fee, they may be able to
determine if the drive/data can be recovered. All magnetic media is
subject to data loss (Disk Drives, Floppies). Backing up personal
data and imaging the System Partition are the most effective ways to
protect yourself. Only when backups are on media that doesn't
exist on the PC drive itself can you be confident about being protected.
(CD-R, DVD-R or even to some extent a USB Thumb/Pen drive.)

Unfortunately, most PC users aren't informed about this until a situation
like you're in happens.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Here is a quick way to find if anything is left on your disk:
- Boot the machine with a Win98 disk from www.bootdisk.com.
- Run ntfsdos.exe (www.sysinternals.com).

Can you see any files or folders on the hard disk? If not
then you may have to accept this unfortunate incident
as a harsh reminder that all important disk files must
be backed up frequently to an independent medium,
as others have already suggested in this thread.

 

[Harry Ohrn]

Why a new copy of XP Carey?

 

[Guest]

thank you for your help

Dont purchase a new copy of windows.
You probably have the license attached to the left or right panel of your
computer.
Just have a friend lend you one CD, install from that CD and use the key u
have.
Thats still legal as far as i know. In fact, you already paid for one
license.
Why should u pay for another ?


Greetings,
Sypher.

 

[Harry Ohrn]

Try slaving the drive to a working system and see if you can recover files
off it. However given that you don't have much experience I strongly urge
you to see if a local computer tech can do this for you. Many of them will
have a bench top test system that they can use to plug a drive into and see
if it will spin up. If so they might be able to copy off your important data
.. However if the drive is totally dead your options are very limited in
terms of getting the data off of it.

You mention the system is 4 years old. When purchasing a new drive ensure
that your system can recognize the size of the new drive. People are
purchasing huge replacement drives only to find that their system can't even
see them. Consult the computer's motherboard manual to see if there a
limitations on drive size.

 

[T. Waters]

Hi Sypher

thanks for the quick response. I have a supplementary question I hope you
can help with: assuming your suggestion is correct, can the data on the
faulty hard drive be recovered? My son has a lot of college work in its
memory and to lose it would be a loss of months of work.

Thanks

 

[T. Waters]

Just buy a new disk and reinstall windows (download a disk from the
The above does not make too much sense.
1. You have lost your hard drive catastrophically, and if you do not have a
backup on separate media, you will literally have to spend thousands of
dollars gettng back the lost files.
2. You will have to replace the hard drive.
3. You were not supplied with an XP disk. You do not have a magic "code" as
referred to above. You cannot legally (or safely!) download XP from the Web.
(good grief!)
4. At the four-year point, your OEM computer company will not likely supply
you with anything in the form of new disk(s), though it does not hurt to
make a phone call and ask.
5. You will need to do what I did when this happened to me: buy an new copy
of XP and vow to never buy a "pre-installed" operating system in the future.
Such an operating system is not fully functional in the real world, and is
worth no more than $25, in my opinion.
6. I recommend that you buy the OEM version of XP for under $100. The retail
version is overpriced, and does not offer any advantages you would likely be
in a position to take advantage of.
7. You and your son have learned a valuable lesson with regard to backing up

 

[T. Waters]

I think Carey is right here. There was no XP media included with the
computer,

I was>>> not supplied with a system disk/reload cd when I bought the
and the computer is four years old. If the hard drive has been lost, what
chance do you think there is that the OEM will, at this point, offer to ship
restore media to the customer?
I have live through this scenario, and don't see any options here.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

If the OP can wait a few weeks, he can contact HP support and
place an order for HP Recovery CDs. Not many folks are willing
to wait in my estimation.

Obtaining HP Recovery CDs
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...3&lang=en&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=bph07143

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

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

:

| Why a new copy of XP Carey?
|
| --
|
| Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
| www.webtree.ca/windowsxp

 

[HeyBub]

Hi Sypher

thanks for the quick response. I have a supplementary question I hope
you can help with: assuming your suggestion is correct, can the data
on the faulty hard drive be recovered? My son has a lot of college
work in its memory and to lose it would be a loss of months of work.

It's too soon to tell.

First, get this machine up and running. That means a new hard drive and
probably a retail copy of XP.

Once it's running, you can connect the old hard drive as a slave and
determine if it can be read. It may be, if you're lucky, that only the boot
record is smashed.

If the entire directory structure is hosed, but the disk is readable, you
may still be able to recover. Check EasyRecovery professional edition.