I recently got the bluescreen with unmountable_boot_volume as the error. While trying to just reinstall windows xp pro with a bootable disk, when the delete partition comes up, it says there are files needed & cannot delete partition. Also cannot install xp on the already made partition. Tried using windows 98 fdisk to delete, did not work. Any ideas? Remember, I have tried booting cd of course followed the steps. I'm out of ideas & might just have to get a new hd...

What was the error received when using Win98 fdisk? I can't envision a scenario that matches your description of events. There should be no files in use or needed when booting from CD. Did you enable and set the BIOS boot order to boot from CD before the hard drive?

I got no error using fdisk. It said it deleted the partition, but when I run the xp install it just says the partitions are there,& it cannot delete or install on the partitions that are there, saing there are setup files that need to be used 4 setup. & yes the cd-rom boots before the hd.

Would the hard drive have any write-protection, encryption, or drive overlay software in use on it that may need to be running for the drive to be accessible to the system? If not and there isn't any data on the drive that needs to be retained first, try erasing and overwriting the drive with zeros with one of the utilities listed in the hard drive forum FAQ.

No, nothing like that. It was just a simple home based desktop. I can't even boot windows. It just goes from the loading xp boot screen to the bluescreen with the unmountable_boot_volume screen with a stop command. I'm not that great with computers, so I will have to read up on what you are talking about, but I will try it...

I know of dban, which seems perfect from what I have read about it, but it says it doesn't work on "broken" computers. Will it work as long as I can boot from my cdrom? I am really grateful for your help on this... I'm getting really frusterated with this hd! Lol

i know of dban... but it says it doesnt work on "broken" computers. will it work as long as i can boot from my cdrom?

If the hard drive is malfunctioning, which may be what led to the unmountable boot volume error in the first place, any utility, including DBAN, will have trouble working with the drive.

If you have a known working hard drive or are willing to purchase a new drive and swap the drives, that's any easy way to tell if the drive is a problem. The drive manufacturer also provides a software diagnostic utility for a bootable floppy or CD that can be run to test the existing drive, but downloading and creating the utility disk is more involved.

Also, what is the full blue screen error including all the hexadecimal numbers?

a problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

if this is the first time you have seen this stop errorscren,restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need.

if problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use safe mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select advanced startup options, and then select safe mode.

technical information:

*** stop: 0x000000ED, (0xC000000E, 0xC000000E, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

that is the full bluescreen. I have nothing new installed on the computer. I was actually out of town with the computer locked with a password, and when I returned it had this bluescreen when I tried to start up for the first time. Never had any problems before this.

I suspect the drive just needs testing and subsequent replacement, but below are some links to additional info on the error and other situations leading to it:


When you restart your computer or upgrade to Windows XP, you receive the "STOP 0x000000ED UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" error message (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297185)
Stop 0x000000ED Error Message When Volume on IDE Drive with Caching Enabled Is Mounted (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315403)
Bug Check 0xED: UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms797142.aspx)

Haha. That is also the conclusion I have come to. That's for all the help.