Inaccessible Boot Device- and I'm desperate

[AJK]

Just before leaving for a brief vacation, I had difficulty
turning off the computer, a Latitude 840 with Windows
2000. I recently added an external DVD writer, which may
or may not have something to do with that. When I tried
to start the computer the next day, after seeing the
Windows 2000 Professional screen, I received an ominous
message saying ' Inaccessible Boot Device.' No matter
what I tried (Safe Mode, Boot with most recent good
configuration, etc.), I end up with the same message.
When I tried to reinstall Windows 2000 it indicated that
the drive was recognized but was either full or damaged
and that I would have to reformat. The 'inaccessible'
message indicates to check for viruses, remove any newly
installed hard drives, check to make sure the HD is
properly configured, and run CHKDSK/F-- all of which
require that I get past the error message, which I can't.
So I'm desperate because, despite having saved a lot, I
will be losing tons of important files if I have to
reformat. I've also tried the recovery console approach
but get nowhere, and I'm no computer expert. My question:
Is there anything I can do to overcome this problem short
of reformatting? If not, please advise on the
reformatting procedure. Should I just follow the steps
indicated on the 2K installation CD? Thanks for help and
advice.

 

[Rick]

Just before leaving for a brief vacation, I had difficulty
turning off the computer, a Latitude 840 with Windows
2000. I recently added an external DVD writer, which may
or may not have something to do with that. When I tried
to start the computer the next day, after seeing the
Windows 2000 Professional screen, I received an ominous
message saying ' Inaccessible Boot Device.' No matter
what I tried (Safe Mode, Boot with most recent good
configuration, etc.), I end up with the same message.
When I tried to reinstall Windows 2000 it indicated that
the drive was recognized but was either full or damaged
and that I would have to reformat. The 'inaccessible'
message indicates to check for viruses, remove any newly
installed hard drives, check to make sure the HD is
properly configured, and run CHKDSK/F-- all of which
require that I get past the error message, which I can't.
So I'm desperate because, despite having saved a lot, I
will be losing tons of important files if I have to
reformat. I've also tried the recovery console approach
but get nowhere, and I'm no computer expert. My question:
Is there anything I can do to overcome this problem short
of reformatting? If not, please advise on the
reformatting procedure. Should I just follow the steps
indicated on the 2K installation CD? Thanks for help and
advice.

Have you checked for something minor, like a loose
hard drive cable?

Have you disconnected the new DVD writer?

Do you have access to another Win2K installation
(a friend's machine or whatever)? If so, try
connecting your drive as a secondary device on that
system and see if the drive can be accessed.

Rick

 

[Pegasus]

Just before leaving for a brief vacation, I had difficulty
turning off the computer, a Latitude 840 with Windows
2000. I recently added an external DVD writer, which may
or may not have something to do with that. When I tried
to start the computer the next day, after seeing the
Windows 2000 Professional screen, I received an ominous
message saying ' Inaccessible Boot Device.' No matter
what I tried (Safe Mode, Boot with most recent good
configuration, etc.), I end up with the same message.
When I tried to reinstall Windows 2000 it indicated that
the drive was recognized but was either full or damaged
and that I would have to reformat. The 'inaccessible'
message indicates to check for viruses, remove any newly
installed hard drives, check to make sure the HD is
properly configured, and run CHKDSK/F-- all of which
require that I get past the error message, which I can't.
So I'm desperate because, despite having saved a lot, I
will be losing tons of important files if I have to
reformat. I've also tried the recovery console approach
but get nowhere, and I'm no computer expert. My question:
Is there anything I can do to overcome this problem short
of reformatting? If not, please advise on the
reformatting procedure. Should I just follow the steps
indicated on the 2K installation CD? Thanks for help and
advice.

The symptoms you describe suggest that you might
have a problem with your disk. Download and run
the diagnostic program that your hard disk manufacturer
makes available on his home site, free of charge. It is
non-destructive and it generates its own boot disk.

 

[Guest]

First, my apologies for double posting. I thought
different people consulted the different forums and simply
tried to increase my audience. Second, thanks for the
advice. I went to the HD manufacturer's site and
downloaded a bootable diagnostic diskette that found some
corrupted sectors, repaired them, and now I have just
successfully booted up.