XP won't boot or reinstall

[MCWS]

One year old Dell P4 laptop running XP on wireless
network, battery power, open IE window and it freezes, end
task, open IE again but can't find home page, restart
computer, get blue screen.

When booting normally (in safe mode, last config, or just
normally) get blue-screen:

Unmountable Boot Volume ...
Stop: 0x000000ED
(0x82758680,0xC000009A,0x00000000,0x00000000)

When booting with Dell Windows XP CD (service pack 1),
option to install XP, get blue-screen:

Page Fault in Non Paged Area .... file: ntfs.sys
Stop: 0x00000050 (...

When booting with Dell Windows XP CD,
option hit R to enter Recovery Console, get hung
at "Examining Startup Environment...".

Ran Dell's extended diagnostics on whole system, including
full confidence test of hard drive. All passed, "optimal."

Using DOS commands I cannot "see" the harddrive, except
with FDISK, which sees an unlabeled drive with status A,
file system NTFS, about 38GB, and 100% used(really?!).

When booting with my old Windows 98 SE CD it detects NTSF
file system and an operating system on the harddrive.
(But I'm afraid to continue with Windows 98 setup...).

How can I scan/repair the ntfs.sys file or the file system
on my harddrive, since it seems that is where the problem
might be? (And how do I fix the caching/IDE issue or
whatever virus may have caused this in the first place?)

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

You need to contact Dell about this issue.

 

[MCWS]

Are you saying that this is a hardware problem? The system
passed 2-hours of diagnostic hardware tests and has
exhibited no external symptoms of hardware failure. Dell
tells me it is a software issue and that I have to
completely erase my hard drive (using Windows 95 DOS DEBUG
software!) in order to reinstall Windows XP.

If the hard drive has a file or file system error, why
would that make me unable to boot up the XP Recovery
Console from the Windows CD? Doesn't it run in the ram?
Does it have to communicate with a hard drive file just to
run?

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

First, let me direct you to the Knowledge Base Article with regard to
Unmountable Boot Volume:
http://tinyurl.com/ezaj

Second, this and almost all errors you have posted are indicative of some
sort of hardware issue or conflict, the diagnostic notwithstanding. NOTE:If
you ran chkdsk, while it might find some errors on the drive, to do a full a
diagnostic on a hard drive, you need to run the drive manufacturer's
diagnostic tools. If you didn't receive such a tools disk with your
computer or hard drive if added later, then you should check the
manufacturer's web site for their tools and instructions for creating their
tools disk and running their diagnostic. You should look into this if the
Knowledge Base Article above does not resolve the issue.

It's possible this may be nothing more than a cabling issue as outlined in
the Knowledge Base Article above and all things you've posted may stem from
that. Because this is a laptop, it may be necessary to contact Dell,
especially with regard to the article as laptops are not as easy for a user
to make the specified changes as it is for a desktop user.

The Recovery Console cannot resolve the issues you have posted. It might
temporarily get you back into your system but it would be temporary and
would not resolve the problem. However, that wouldn't resolve the root of
the problem which would continue to generate errors and continue to plague
you with the same problems.

 

[Sharon F]

battery power

If you have a regular power supply for this system, it is recommended to
use it for the installation of any large application. It would be advisable to
use it when installing a new operating system as well.

 

[Guest]

Thank you and Michael Solomon for your suggestions.

I have not been been using the battery power, but now that you mention it, I should have removed the battery while troubleshooting!

Here's another suggestion for anyone trying to troubleshoot XP not booting (Stop 0x000000ED Unmountable boot volume): if you have an internal wireless card and a home wireless network running you should disable the wireless card in the BIOS while you are attempting to fix the computer! Since it is internal many of us end users don't think of it as a peripheral device that needs to be disconnected.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your suggestions.

I have now erased my perfectly good harddrive and all the perfectly good data files on it and reinstalled Windows XP. I'm still busy reinstalling all the other perfectly good software, most of which came pre-installed originally. All because Windows XP didn't recognize the NTSF partition, or at least that's all I can guess because every item of DOS software I ran had no problem reading the master boot record and presenting a table of partitions that recognized the active NTSF C: partition. I was even able to use "NTSF Reader" to copy some files I couldn't live without to floppy disks. If I'd been braver and less technologically ignorant, I might have tried to use it or some other third party software lying around on the internet to actually "repair" what seemed to be a perfectly good partition.

After I thought to disable the internal wireless card in the BIOS I was finally able to consistently get past the Windows XP setup Welcome screen without hanging at "Examining startup environment..." or getting a Stop 0x00000050 or Stop 0x00000024 ... ntsf.sys... error. Of course, XP setup still reported my active NTSF partition as [unknown] and errored out as before whenever I tried to do anything except delete it and reformat the drive. And, even then, the reformat process ended with a Stop 0x00000024.

But the XP Recovery Console never got past a hang at "Examining startup environment...". If one's startup environment is in good shape, then why would one be trying to use the Recovery Console to solve a problem with starting up?

I now think that rather than assuming these errors are caused by hardware failure, it is more a question of whether XP setup will work with a hardware configuration it doesn't recognize as the one it expects from the original install, either because the hardware id data or drivers have been scrambled or because the current configuration is different (or , perhaps, failing).

Rant: I blame Windows XP for not having an emergency boot and repair module that isn't hamstrung by proprietary, copyright, security considerations. The operative phrase here is not that XP can't boot, but that XP won't boot. This is the first time in 12 years that an operating system has required me to erase my entire harddrive just so it could boot up. Bah.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

You seem to have overlooked this part of the knowledge base article:
CAUSE
This behavior can occur if either of the following conditions is true:
a.. Your computer uses an Ultra Direct Memory Access (UDMA) hard disk
controller, and the following conditions are true:
a.. You use a standard 40-wire connector cable to connect the UDMA drive
to the controller instead of the required 80-wire, 40-pin cable.
b.. The basic input/output system (BIOS) settings are configured to
force the faster UDMA modes.
b.. The file system is damaged and cannot be mounted.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, use the appropriate method.
UDMA Controller
If your computer uses a UDMA hard disk controller, use the following
procedures:
a.. Replace the 40-wire cable with an 80-wire UDMA cable.
b.. In the BIOS settings for your computer, load the 'Fail-Safe' default
settings, and then reactivate the most frequently used options such as USB
Support.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

Thank you and Michael Solomon for your suggestions.

I have not been been using the battery power, but now that you mention it,

I should have removed the battery while troubleshooting!

Here's another suggestion for anyone trying to troubleshoot XP not booting

(Stop 0x000000ED Unmountable boot volume): if you have an internal wireless
card and a home wireless network running you should disable the wireless
card in the BIOS while you are attempting to fix the computer! Since it is
internal many of us end users don't think of it as a peripheral device that
needs to be disconnected.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

XP has an emergency boot and repair module and repair installs can be done
with Windows XP when booting from the XP CD. However, it appears the
manufacturer supplied you with a recovery CD as opposed to an actual XP CD.
While I accept your complaint, it is being made in the wrong place. You
need to complain to your PC manufacturer as it was their choice to supply a
proprietary recovery CD as opposed to an actual XP CD. They have the option
to do either and perhaps with enough complaints from consumers such as
yourself they will start supplying users with an actual operating system CD
again.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

Thanks for your suggestions.

I have now erased my perfectly good harddrive and all the perfectly good

data files on it and reinstalled Windows XP. I'm still busy reinstalling
all the other perfectly good software, most of which came pre-installed
originally. All because Windows XP didn't recognize the NTSF partition, or
at least that's all I can guess because every item of DOS software I ran had
no problem reading the master boot record and presenting a table of
partitions that recognized the active NTSF C: partition. I was even able to
use "NTSF Reader" to copy some files I couldn't live without to floppy
disks. If I'd been braver and less technologically ignorant, I might have
tried to use it or some other third party software lying around on the
internet to actually "repair" what seemed to be a perfectly good partition.

After I thought to disable the internal wireless card in the BIOS I was

finally able to consistently get past the Windows XP setup Welcome screen
without hanging at "Examining startup environment..." or getting a Stop
0x00000050 or Stop 0x00000024 ... ntsf.sys... error. Of course, XP setup
still reported my active NTSF partition as [unknown] and errored out as
before whenever I tried to do anything except delete it and reformat the
drive. And, even then, the reformat process ended with a Stop 0x00000024.

But the XP Recovery Console never got past a hang at "Examining startup

environment...". If one's startup environment is in good shape, then why
would one be trying to use the Recovery Console to solve a problem with
starting up?

I now think that rather than assuming these errors are caused by hardware

failure, it is more a question of whether XP setup will work with a hardware
configuration it doesn't recognize as the one it expects from the original
install, either because the hardware id data or drivers have been scrambled
or because the current configuration is different (or , perhaps, failing).

Rant: I blame Windows XP for not having an emergency boot and repair

module that isn't hamstrung by proprietary, copyright, security
considerations. The operative phrase here is not that XP can't boot, but
that XP won't boot. This is the first time in 12 years that an operating
system has required me to erase my entire harddrive just so it could boot
up. Bah.

 

[Sharon F]

Thank you and Michael Solomon for your suggestions.

I have not been been using the battery power, but now that you mention it, I should have removed the battery while troubleshooting!

Here's another suggestion for anyone trying to troubleshoot XP not booting (Stop 0x000000ED Unmountable boot volume): if you have an internal wireless card and a home wireless network running you should disable the wireless card in the BIOS while you are attempting to fix the computer! Since it is internal many of us end users don't think of it as a peripheral device that needs to be disconnected.

Live and learn, eh? Good points about removing the battery and disabling
wireless.

Out of curiosity, does your Dell recovery set include a regular XP CD and
access to the Recovery Console? Wondering (too late) if the fixboot or
fixmbr commands would have helped any.

 

[Guest]

Well, it is a Dell labelled CD "Reinstallation CD Microsoft Windows XP Professional". At first I wondered about whether it was adequate also, so I downloaded the 6-floppy XP set from MS Support and tried them a few times but got the same results. Also, the Dell techs referred me repeatedly to Dell Knowledge Base instructions which included using the Recovery Console chkdsk /r and referred to the relevant Microsoft Articles. In fact, the very first tech I spoke with (on a lousy connection presumably with India) exclaimed "impossible" when I booted to the XP CD Welcome screen, pressed R and got a stop error.

 

[Sharon F]

Well, it is a Dell labelled CD "Reinstallation CD Microsoft Windows XP Professional". At first I wondered about whether it was adequate also, so I downloaded the 6-floppy XP set from MS Support and tried them a few times but got the same results. Also, the Dell techs referred me repeatedly to Dell Knowledge Base instructions which included using the Recovery Console chkdsk /r and referred to the relevant Microsoft Articles. In fact, the very first tech I spoke with (on a lousy connection presumably with India) exclaimed "impossible" when I booted to the XP CD Welcome screen, pressed R and got a stop error.

Thanks, MSWS. Very nice that Dell gave you access to the recovery console.
Very nice of you to teach them a few extras about how to get it to work.

My tablet PC shipped with an OEM recovery cd. Examining it in Windows
Explorer, I can plainly see that it has the standard Window CAB files but
the setup.exe is definitely tweaked. No recovery console available there.
In face, if you boot with the CD it's instant format/reinstall time. No
escape-key-whatsoever provided (don't ask how I know that, ok? )

There's no consistency from one OEM's recovery media to the next. The
options and directions can be very different from those provided for the
retail XP CD. Apparently, as in your case, these can also be different from
what the OEM *thought* they should be!

Again, glad you're all fixed now.