OS disk and Mirrored disks

[msnews.mircosoft.com]

All,

This morning i started my windows 2003 server ( 1 Boot/system disk and 2
mirrored disks with backup informtion) and it begun with a physical dump.
Then i started the box again and it came with the message "A disk read error
occurred" press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart". That is what i did but NO success
at all.

My question is "what is the best way to solve this"? and what will happen if
i replace the OS with a clean install, to my mirrored disks? are they still
in tact? Who can help me out?

Thanks!

 

[Daniel]

Hello Boorsma,

Thank you for posting your issue on out site. I just wanted to clarify a
couple of things. If these details are indeed correct, please do not
hesitate to follow the steps given. Before we get started I wanted to
clarify that Microsoft is not a disk manufacturer, and does not support
disk errors. All disk issues are best effort.

Situation:
Disk 0 - System / Boot
Disk 1 - Backup Mirror 1
Disk 2 - Backup Mirror 2

Experiencing the following message when trying to boot:
"A disk read error occurred press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart"

Recommendation:
If the system cannot boot into the system, and it is fairly early in the
booting process, I would recommend creating a boot disk. In order to
create a boot disk, please refer to the following article:

325879 HOW TO: Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition in the
Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=325879

Once you create the boot disk, make sure the boot.ini is pointed to the
Disk 0, and attempt to boot off of the disk. The boot disk will bypass many
things which could be damaged (Boot.ini, MBR, Ntoskrnl.exe).

If you use the boot disk and it is still unsuccessful, boot off of your
installation CD and go into recovery console. Please refer to the
following article for details:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;314058

Once you are in recovery console, verify that the volumes and partitions
are indeed present. If the disks are present attempt to run chkdsk from
the recovery console, and wait until the process completes. If it is
reporting errors, repeat the process again until no more errors are
reported. Once the final CHKDSK completes attempt to boot off of the
system without the aid of the boot disk.

The final approach to repairing the system would be to run the fixmbr
command from within the recovert console, but I would only recommend that
as a last resort.

If you wish to recover the system, I would recommend doing so in the
following order:
1. Format disk 0.
2. Install a vanilla installation of Windows 2003.
3. Update any BIOS and Disk controller firmware.
4. Update the chipset drivers.
5. Import the "foreign" dynamic disks (in the assumption that the mirrors
are software mirrors).
6. Restore the operating system from the backup.
7. Update the operating system using Windows update or Automatic update.

Thank you for your time,

****************************************************************************
*
Daniel
Microsoft Server Setup Team

Search our Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx

Visit the Windows 2000 Homepage at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/default.asp

See the Windows NT Homepage at
http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/

NOTE: Please reply to the newsgroup and not directly to me. This allows
others to add to and benefit from these threads and also helps to ensure a
more timely response. Thank you!

This posting is provided "AS IS" without warranty either expressed or
implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The views and opinions expressed in this newsgroup posting are mine and do
not necessarily express or reflect the views and / or opinions of
Microsoft.
****************************************************************************
*

 

[Magic]

Thanks Daniel for taking the time!

i have made a floppy disk and started it up....now i get the message

Disk I/O error : Status = 00001002
Disk I/O error : Status = 00001002
Disk I/O error : Status = 00001002

Windows 2000 could not start because the following file is missing or
corrupt:
<windows 2000 root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
Please re-install a copy of the above file.

Can you tell me how to do it? Maybe stupid question, but help me

Thanks again!!!!

 

[Daniel]

Hello Magic Boorsma,

It appears that the boot disk is functioning properly. When you get the
ntoskrnl.exe error, that means that it cannot find the appropriate
partition. The same error would be reported if you pointed your boot.ini
file to a completely bogus partition. Please do the following:

1. Double-check your boot.ini configuration.
2. Try all the possible options (list all the posibilities within the
boot.ini file, and go through them one by one)

In the event that the above does not work:

1. Patch the BIOS to the latest firmware update.
2. Patch the Disk Controller to the latest firmware.
3. Boot off of the Retail Installation CD, and specify an necessary mass
storage drivers during the boot.
4. Select "Repair" and then "Recovery Console".
5. Once you select the "Recovery Console" option, a list of operating
systems should be listed. Select the appropriate installation.
6. Enter you LOCAL administrator password, or the equivilant for the
installation.
7. Verify that the volumes and files are intact.
8. Run CHKDSK /R on the system volume, and wait until it's completion (may
take some time).
9. Run CHKDSK /R until the utility no longer reports an error.

Recovery console uses only the files within the Windows CD, and the Mass
storage drivers that is specified (if necessary at all). If recovery
console does not detect the installations nor the partition, then I fear
that the issue may not be with the installation of windows, but possibly
with either the hard drive, or even the disk controller.

Again, these are just ways which we go about troubleshooting this kind of
issue. There are lower level actions we may take to resolve the issue, but
we cannot engage in those methods because of the limitations of this
medium. Even if we were able to follow these low level action, disks
issues in general are best effort; If the root cause lies at a low enough
level, then we may not be able to recover the information.

****************************************************************************
*
Daniel
Microsoft Server Setup Team

Search our Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx

Visit the Windows 2000 Homepage at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/default.asp

See the Windows NT Homepage at
http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/

NOTE: Please reply to the newsgroup and not directly to me. This allows
others to add to and benefit from these threads and also helps to ensure a
more timely response. Thank you!

This posting is provided "AS IS" without warranty either expressed or
implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The views and opinions expressed in this newsgroup posting are mine and do
not necessarily express or reflect the views and / or opinions of
Microsoft.
****************************************************************************
*

 

[Daniel]

Hello Magic,

I noticed that you put two posts on the newsgroup. The other one makes
meantion of a crashed disk controller.

If you know for a fact that the disk controller is bad. I would recommend
replacing it. Also, if it has definately crashed, then there is no telling
what it could have written to the disk as it was failing. It could have
compromised the disk.

What kind of disk controller are you using for Disk 0?
What kind of disk controller are you using for your mirror?

****************************************************************************
*
Daniel
Microsoft Server Setup Team

Search our Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx

Visit the Windows 2000 Homepage at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/default.asp

See the Windows NT Homepage at
http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/

NOTE: Please reply to the newsgroup and not directly to me. This allows
others to add to and benefit from these threads and also helps to ensure a
more timely response. Thank you!

This posting is provided "AS IS" without warranty either expressed or
implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The views and opinions expressed in this newsgroup posting are mine and do
not necessarily express or reflect the views and / or opinions of
Microsoft.
****************************************************************************
*

 

[Laz]

Once you are in recovery console, verify that the volumes and partitions
are indeed present. If the disks are present attempt to run chkdsk from
the recovery console, and wait until the process completes. If it is
reporting errors, repeat the process again until no more errors are
reported. Once the final CHKDSK completes attempt to boot off of the
system without the aid of the boot disk.

I just wanted to thank you. We had the same problem here (on 2000) and
chkdsk from the recovery console worked just fine!

Hadn't it been for this message of yours, we'd have been in real
trouble.

Best,
Laz