Installed SP3 - Disk Read Error, Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to Restart

T

theredbaron

I installed SP3 via Automatic Update a few hours ago, and after rebooting the
computer for the changes to take effect, now Windows won't load at all. BIOS
loads and then I get the error "A DISK READ ERROR OCCURRED. PRESS
CTRL+ALT+DEL TO RESTART" When I restart, the same thing happens.

I called Microsoft and they said the only way to fix this is reinstall XP,
and they would send a replacement disc to me in 3-10 business days. Simply
put, I can NOT wait that long, and I am INFURIATED with Microsoft. Is there
any way to fix this issue other than that?
 
R

Randem

You have fallen victim to the MS Disk Read Error Error. MS creates this
problem and blames it on your disk which I know is good. Every since I
installed SP 3 my laptop crashes with this same error on a routine basis. I
fortunately have a backup image to restore from. Nothing else works, none of
the MS acclaimed fixed such as DiskBoot ot FixMBR that they tote that will
fix the error work for me. They only thing your can do is to boot from a CD
then run Chkdsk /f or chkdsk /r to repair the file systems (this is what the
error really means). All other NTFS based utilities will read the File
system except for MS operating systems that need to boot from it!!!

This is why MS states that you have to re-install XP. Notice that they did
not even mention that your disk is bad and you need to purchase a new disk
because this is untrue. This error is still the same from the DOS days and
haven't changed a bit.

I have tried many utilities to restore the boot process and none have worked
so MS does know what they are talking about on this issue to re-install XP.
Even a repair will not work... Shameful...

Hopefully you have a backup image that you can copy your profile and data to
the backup image and then restore the image to get the machine to boot
again.

I am an expert on this issue I have done it enough times. Twice in the last
month... YOUR DISK IS NOT BAD!!!

Just for fun you can run testdisk from the Linux System Rescue CD and chkdsk
from Bart PE if you have another computer to create the CD's from.

--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org
 
J

Jim

theredbaron said:
I installed SP3 via Automatic Update a few hours ago, and after rebooting
the
computer for the changes to take effect, now Windows won't load at all.
BIOS
loads and then I get the error "A DISK READ ERROR OCCURRED. PRESS
CTRL+ALT+DEL TO RESTART" When I restart, the same thing happens.

I called Microsoft and they said the only way to fix this is reinstall XP,
and they would send a replacement disc to me in 3-10 business days. Simply
put, I can NOT wait that long, and I am INFURIATED with Microsoft. Is
there
any way to fix this issue other than that?
Click to expand...
A disk read error is most likely a hardware problem with the disk.
Thus, if this happened to me, I would replace the disk.
Then, I would restore the disk from a backup that I made with Acronis True
Image.
The total time to rebuild the disk from scratch would be about 30 minutes
(plus the time it takes to buy a new disk).

And, if you do not make regular backups, you can expect to have this problem
again.
Jim
 
J

Jim

Randem said:
You have fallen victim to the MS Disk Read Error Error. MS creates this
problem and blames it on your disk which I know is good. Every since I
installed SP 3 my laptop crashes with this same error on a routine basis.
I fortunately have a backup image to restore from. Nothing else works,
none of the MS acclaimed fixed such as DiskBoot ot FixMBR that they tote
that will fix the error work for me. They only thing your can do is to
boot from a CD then run Chkdsk /f or chkdsk /r to repair the file systems
(this is what the error really means). All other NTFS based utilities will
read the File system except for MS operating systems that need to boot
from it!!!

This is why MS states that you have to re-install XP. Notice that they did
not even mention that your disk is bad and you need to purchase a new disk
because this is untrue. This error is still the same from the DOS days and
haven't changed a bit.

I have tried many utilities to restore the boot process and none have
worked so MS does know what they are talking about on this issue to
re-install XP. Even a repair will not work... Shameful...

Hopefully you have a backup image that you can copy your profile and data
to the backup image and then restore the image to get the machine to boot
again.

I am an expert on this issue I have done it enough times. Twice in the
last month... YOUR DISK IS NOT BAD!!!

Just for fun you can run testdisk from the Linux System Rescue CD and
chkdsk from Bart PE if you have another computer to create the CD's from.

--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org
Click to expand...
None of this has ever happened on my systems. It is strange how few of
these "common errors" never happen to me.
By the way, as this is an OEM system, you are not a customer of MS. MS does
not owe owners of OEM machines the time of day.
You should get all of your support from Dell.
Jim
 
R

Randem

Well Jim, That is the problem with those types of errors that do not happen
to everyone, it is often considered that it doesn't happen or not enough to
warrant a fix by the bean counters. Lot's of thing do not happen to me such
as viruses/trojans/worms/malware but I would NEVER consider that since they
don't happen to me that they don't exist...

--
Randem Systems
Your Installation Specialist
The Top Inno Setup Script Generator
http://www.randem.com/innoscript.html
http://www.rndem.com/installerproblems.html
http://www.randem.com/vistainstalls.html
http://www.financialtrainingservices.org
 
T

theredbaron

A disk read error is most likely a hardware problem with the disk.
Thus, if this happened to me, I would replace the disk.
Then, I would restore the disk from a backup that I made with Acronis True
Image.
The total time to rebuild the disk from scratch would be about 30 minutes
(plus the time it takes to buy a new disk).

And, if you do not make regular backups, you can expect to have this problem
again.
Jim
Click to expand...

Well Jim, as I said in the first post, the computer was working completely
fine up to the point in which I installed SP3. No viruses/malware/etc, no
hardware issues, no problems whatsoever. The only problem I seem to have is
trusting Microsoft.

Please, if you are not going to help, or contribute anything of use to this
thread, kindly keep your comments to yourself.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Can you reboot into Safe Mode?

How to troubleshoot an unsuccessful installation of WinXP SP3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950718
I called Microsoft and...
Click to expand...

Did you call the specific WinXP SP3 installation and support number?

Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available for
Windows XP, but only for Service Pack 3 (SP3), until 14 Apr-09.

• US:
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&prid=11273&gprid=522131

• CA:
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-ca&prid=11273&gprid=522131

• UK:
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-gb&prid=11273&gprid=522131

• AU:
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-au&prid=11273&gprid=522131

• Other: http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=1173 | select
Windows XP | select Windows XP Service Pack 3

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldro...requisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx
 
T

theredbaron

Unfortunately, Safe Mode isn't an option. After the Dell BIOS loading screen
(the first thing that pops up when powered on), it immediately goes to the
(DOS) Disc Error CtrlAltDel Screen, in an endless loop.

I talked to Microsoft via internet chat first, and they told me I would need
the XP CD (which I can't find at the moment, might be at my apartment 50mi
away). After I left the chat, they immediately called me, and I told them my
problem again. They said the same thing, so I said I was going to trash the
Dell and get a Macbook, and they quickly offered a free XP CD, but it would
take a while to send in the mail. While booting from the XP disc will
hopefully remedy the problem (or at least to get me to safe mode to uninstall
SP3) time is a factor, as I have to go back to school Monday for a few weeks.

I was just hoping there was a quicker, easier solution, as this seems to be
a common problem (1.2 MILLION results on Google for "windows sp3 problem").
Thanks for the reply PA Bear (I stumbled across your aumha.net site in my
search, and bookmarked it for later)
 
T

Telstar

theredbaron said:
Unfortunately, Safe Mode isn't an option. After the Dell BIOS loading
screen
(the first thing that pops up when powered on), it immediately goes to the
(DOS) Disc Error CtrlAltDel Screen, in an endless loop.

I talked to Microsoft via internet chat first, and they told me I would
need
the XP CD (which I can't find at the moment, might be at my apartment 50mi
away).
Click to expand...

TOUGH.

\After I left the chat, they immediately called me, and I told them my
problem again. They said the same thing, so I said I was going to trash
the
Dell and get a Macbook,
Click to expand...

That is the best idea. Wait to you install upgrades on Leopard....it will
do the same thing.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

[To keep track of things, it helps immensely if you include all of previous
message(s) in your replies to the newsgroup. Thank you.]

Repost:
Did you call the specific WinXP SP3 installation and support number?
Click to expand...

Did you install WinXP SP3 per...
WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldro...requisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx
Click to expand...

Does the Dell machine have a hidden Recovery partition to return it to OOBE
state?

Had you been experiencing any problems whatsoever before you attempted to
install SP3 via Automatic Updates?

Was this the first time you'd attempted to install WinXP SP3? Was it the
first time SP3 was offered via Automatic Updates? Was the machine fully
patched at Windows Update when you attempted to install SP3?

What anti-virus application or security suite is installed and is your
subscription current? What anti-spyware applications (other than Defender)?
What third-party firewall (if any)? Were any of these applications running
in the background when you installed SP3?
 
M

Monitor

Randem said:
You have fallen victim to the MS Disk Read Error Error. MS creates this
problem and blames it on your disk which I know is good. Every since I
installed SP 3 my laptop crashes with this same error on a routine basis. I
fortunately have a backup image to restore from. Nothing else works, none of
the MS acclaimed fixed such as DiskBoot ot FixMBR that they tote that will
fix the error work for me.
Click to expand...

I thought we previously agreed that fixboot (not diskboot!) or fixmbr are
unsuitable tools for dealing with a "Disk Read Error" problem, yet you keep
mentioning them in this context. You might as well say that the "dir"
command never fixed a "Disk Read Error", and you would be entirely correct
(but probably somewhere off the beam).
 
R

Richard Urban

If you are getting a **DOS** disk read error (before Windows even boots up),
what makes you believe it is Microsoft's fault. You have hardware problems.
Accept the fact and cope with it.
 
P

Pegasus \(MVP\)

Richard Urban said:
If you are getting a **DOS** disk read error (before Windows even boots
up), what makes you believe it is Microsoft's fault. You have hardware
problems. Accept the fact and cope with it.

--

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience
Click to expand...

This is what I thought. It's probably purely coincidental that the problem
occured immediately after an SP3 installation. It might have happened any
other time too. The OP should now download the disk diagnostic program that
his disk manufacturer makes available on his web site, free of charge, and
use it to check the disk thoroughly.
 
D

Daave

Randem said:
Every since I installed SP 3 my laptop crashes with this same
error on a routine basis.
Click to expand...

You did the upgrade incorrectly. It would be nice if Microsoft offered a
virtually fool-proof method to perform the upgrade for their customers
(instead, the majority get SP3 via Automatic Updates, which can
sometimes be problematic). Since this is the case, you should check out
the best practices method mentioned on these pages:

http://www.iaps.com/windows-xp-sp3-installation-guidelines.html

http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldro...requisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx

I wouldn't install SP3 until you are positive your PC is in good shape.
That means it needs to be free of malware. It's usually best to use the
SP3 installation package or CD (that is, *not* Automatic Updates) while
you are offline with a clean boot configuration:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

An upgrade to SP3 done properly will *not* cause any crashes/errors.
 

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