Win 2K Reinstall won't work

[Bill Robinson]

Hello, I'm hoping someone may have a solution to a major
problem I'm experiencing.

My Win 2k machine gave me a blue screen (I don't remember
the message)2 days ago after I had been setting up some
shared folders (I had just completed setting it up with
another PC in a peer-to-peer network). It would not
reboot. I booted it from the floppy boot disks and
attempted to reinstall Win 2K on the existing NTFS
partition (all of the C: drive). The PC has no other hard
drives.

During the install, I received messages on each file that
it was unable to copy the file, with the option to skip
it. I chose to skip the files, and ended up with a
c:\winnt directory with all subdirectories. But, all of
them were empty (no files).

I decided I would have to reformat the disk and start from
scratch, but first wanted to save as many files to floppy
as I could. I attempted (while in the recovery console) to
copy files to the a: drive. I received a message "Access
denied". So, I am unable to save any of my files off the
hard drive.

I have found that this is the situation:

I CAN create and remove directories.
I CAN delete individual files.
I CAN use "type" command to display text files to the
monitor.
I CANNOT copy files from floppy to hard disk (access
denied).
I CANNOT copy files from hard disk to floppy (access
denied).
I CANNOT copy files from one directory to another on the
hard disk (access denied).

So it appears the hard disk is locked out of being able to
be written to or copied, but not read.

I'm not sure if I inadvertantly messed up the permission
on the hard drive while setting the shares. How can this
be checked (all the existing Win 2K files were erased
during the attempted reinstall)?

I ran the "FIXBOOT" command from the repair console, with
no effect. It just said it had suscessfully repaired the
bootsector, but he proble remains.

Is there any way I can get the hard drive to allow copying
and installing files, or am I going to have to consider it
a total loss, and just reformat. I'm wondering if that can
even be done. (the drive is a WD 20 GB ATA-100).

Thanks, and I really appreciate any help anyone can offer.

Bill

 

[Carrie Garth \(MVP\)]

Hi Bill,

RE: "attempted to reinstall Win 2K on the existing NTFS partition.... received
messages on each file that it was unable to copy the file, with the option to skip
it. I chose to skip the files..."

Not being able to copy files during an in-place upgrade can be the result of
incorrect NTFS permissions on the partition on which Windows 2000. For more
information, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base Article:

KB319344 - "Setup Cannot Copy the File" Error Message During In-Place Upgrade of
Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=319344

Not being able to copy files during setup can also be caused by the following reasons
outlined in this Microsoft Knowledge Base Article:

257954 - Random Files May Not Be Copied During Text-Mode Setup
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=257954

The Windows CD-ROM is damaged or dirty.
PC133 SDRAM is being used in a computer that requires PC100 SDRAM.
The CD-ROM drive is malfunctioning.
The RAM is mismatched or the memory is faulty.

And on the subject of faulty RAM, here's what another user with the same problem had
to say about it:

----- Begin Original Message -----
From: "Jim Smith"
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup
Sent: Friday 2002/07/26 12:28 PM
Subject: Re: Setup cannot copy the file ....

I have found this to me a RAM problem, not a CD or HD problem. The CPU
decompresses the files on the CD and writes them to the HD, if RAM is
flakey, files will not be decompressed correctly and when setup does a
verify, it fails. I fought with this problem for almost a day before I
replaced my RAM and it went away.
----- End Original Message -----

And on the subject of testing for faulty RAM. If you are running an Intel I386
architecture system, you can download MemTest86 to test your RAM:
http://www.memtest86.com/. Or if you have more than one module and it could be
mismatched RAM or a single faulty module, you could try removing all but
one module before running setup. If necessary, try other single modules until you
(hopefully) find one that allows setup to run properly.

RE: "I attempted (while in the recovery console) to copy files to the a: drive. I
received a message "Access denied"."

This is the default behavior of the Recovery Console (for security reasons). For
more information, see the section titled "Restrictions and Limitations of the Command
Console" in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base Article:

KB229716 - Description of the Windows 2000 Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=235364

Note that this default can be changed to allow access to all folders on all drives,
but it has to changed using a Windows Security tool such as Local Security Settings
(secpol.msc). This, (obviously) means, that the change has to be done in preparation
for recovery. For future reference, here are some Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles
on the subjects:

KB240831 - HOW TO: Copy Files from Recovery Console to Removable Media
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=240831

KB235364 - Description of the SET Command in Recovery Console
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=235364

RE: "Is there any way I can get the hard drive to allow copying and installing
files..."

As your situation stands, I think you will need to slave the computer's hard disk to
another computer that has an OS running the NTFS file system, then retrieve your
files. And if that is not possible, install another hard disk on the computer,
install a parallel copy of Windows 2000 using the NTFS file system, boot to the
parallel copy, then retrieve your files.

--
Carrie Garth, Microsoft MVP for Windows 2000
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- c x g

: "Bill Robinson" <wkb_am AT compuserve DOT com>
: Wrote in message : Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 10:01 AM
: Hello, I'm hoping someone may have a solution to a major
: problem I'm experiencing.
:
: My Win 2k machine gave me a blue screen (I don't remember
: the message)2 days ago after I had been setting up some
: shared folders (I had just completed setting it up with
: another PC in a peer-to-peer network). It would not
: reboot. I booted it from the floppy boot disks and
: attempted to reinstall Win 2K on the existing NTFS
: partition (all of the C: drive). The PC has no other hard
: drives.
:
: During the install, I received messages on each file that
: it was unable to copy the file, with the option to skip
: it. I chose to skip the files, and ended up with a
: c:\winnt directory with all subdirectories. But, all of
: them were empty (no files).
:
: I decided I would have to reformat the disk and start from
: scratch, but first wanted to save as many files to floppy
: as I could. I attempted (while in the recovery console) to
: copy files to the a: drive. I received a message "Access
: denied". So, I am unable to save any of my files off the
: hard drive.
:
: I have found that this is the situation:
:
: I CAN create and remove directories.
: I CAN delete individual files.
: I CAN use "type" command to display text files to the
: monitor.
: I CANNOT copy files from floppy to hard disk (access
: denied).
: I CANNOT copy files from hard disk to floppy (access
: denied).
: I CANNOT copy files from one directory to another on the
: hard disk (access denied).
:
: So it appears the hard disk is locked out of being able to
: be written to or copied, but not read.
:
: I'm not sure if I inadvertantly messed up the permission
: on the hard drive while setting the shares. How can this
: be checked (all the existing Win 2K files were erased
: during the attempted reinstall)?
:
: I ran the "FIXBOOT" command from the repair console, with
: no effect. It just said it had suscessfully repaired the
: bootsector, but he proble remains.
:
: Is there any way I can get the hard drive to allow copying
: and installing files, or am I going to have to consider it
: a total loss, and just reformat. I'm wondering if that can
: even be done. (the drive is a WD 20 GB ATA-100).
:
: Thanks, and I really appreciate any help anyone can offer.
:
: Bill