Got the "unmountable boot volume" message today with no previous problems on a Dell XPS. Inserted the XP installation disk, entered Recovery Console and ran chkdsk /p and /r, receiving unrecoverable sectors on the /r. Tried to install XP from the disk but on the installation screen there were no drives or partitions to select from. My computer had two hard drives. What can I try next? Would like to recover some files from the second hard drive where my data was stored with system/application info on the primary drive. Thanks.

Without more info it appears that the boot sector is corrupt. As you already know how to access the Recovery Console, go back in and run these two commands at the prompt:

FIXBOOT (press enter) this command creates a new boot sector.

FIXMBR (press enter) this command analyzes and repairs the master boot record.

Ignore any warning messages you may get during the process.

After completing these two commands you need to run CHKDSK on both hard drives. If you only have a single volume (C:\)on the first hard drive, and a single volume (D:\) on the second hard drive, run CHKDSK at the prompt with this syntax:

CHKDSK C: /p /r

(when it finishes)

CHKDSK D: /p /r

If your drives are partitioned into multiple volumes (C:\, D:\, E:\, etc.) you have to run CHKDSK on each volume. Just be sure that the syntax is CHKDSK followed by the drive letter. Reboot after running CHKDSK on all volumes.

Regarding bad sectors; the /r switch marks out the bad sectors and attempts to recover any data they contained. From that point on Windows will not attempt to write data to the sectors that CHKDSK has marked.

However, bad sectors are symptomatic of a failing hard drive. You need to replace it as soon as possible, and transfer your data over before it's gone forever.

Thanks! Will do so and come back with results.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shirt88

Thanks! Will do so and come back with results.

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Okay, in recovery console, C drive. The command fixboot comes back "FIXBOOT cannot find the system drive, or the drive specified is not valid"

If I go to D drive I get the same message. Chkdsk says "The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems"

If I run Disk diagnostics though it says both C and D drives pass. If I go to the Setup screen they are also shown there as SATA 0 and SATA 1.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shirt88

Okay, in recovery console, C drive. The command fixboot comes back "FIXBOOT cannot find the system drive, or the drive specified is not valid"

If I go to D drive I get the same message. Chkdsk says "The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems"

If I run Disk diagnostics though it says both C and D drives pass. If I go to the Setup screen they are also shown there as SATA 0 and SATA 1.

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Run fixboot and fixmbr again with these switches:

fixboot \Device\HardDisk0

fixmbr \Device\HardDisk0

Then run the bootcfg command. If /list doesn't show any entries, run /scan. If /scan detects your windows installation, run /rebuild.


Bootcfg Command Syntax


bootcfg /list

/list = This option will list every entry in the boot list in the boot.ini file.

bootcfg /scan

/scan = Using this option will instruct bootcfg to scan all drives for installations of Windows and then display the results.

bootcfg /rebuild

/rebuild = This option will step you through the process of rebuilding the boot.ini file.

When you say "Setup Screen" are you referring to the Windows installation screen listing any Previous Windows installations? If no previous Windows installation is listed, are the drive capacities listed? Write down exactly how Windows setup lists drive 0 an 1, and include that in your next post.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technocity

Run fixboot and fixmbr again with these switches:

fixboot \Device\HardDisk0

fixmbr \Device\HardDisk0

Then run the bootcfg command. If /list doesn't show any entries, run /scan. If /scan detects your windows installation, run /rebuild.


Bootcfg Command Syntax


bootcfg /list

/list = This option will list every entry in the boot list in the boot.ini file.

bootcfg /scan

/scan = Using this option will instruct bootcfg to scan all drives for installations of Windows and then display the results.

bootcfg /rebuild

/rebuild = This option will step you through the process of rebuilding the boot.ini file.

When you say "Setup Screen" are you refering to the Windows installation screen listing any Previous Windows installations? If no previous Windows installation is listed, are the drive capacities listed? Write down exactly how Windows setup lists drive 0 an 1, and include that in your next post.

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Thanks for the help! Ran fixboot /device/harddisk0 and received "FIXBOOT cannot find the system drive, or the drive specified is not valid". Ran bootcfg /list on displayed C prompt and changed to D prompt with no files found. Ran bootcfg /scan and received error message: Failed to successfully scan disks for Windows installations. This error may be caused by a corrupt file system, which would prevent Bootcfg from successfully scanning. Use chkdsk to detect any disk errors.

Concerning the question about the display screen, if I go to the Boot Device Menu and select Hard Drive Diagnostics, it displays a Drive 0: ST3160023AS - Pass and Drive 1: No device and Drive 2: ST3250620AS - Pass and Drive 3: No device and Drives 4-5 CD R/RW and DVD+/-RW

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shirt88

Thanks for the help! Ran fixboot /device/harddisk0 and received "FIXBOOT cannot find the system drive, or the drive specified is not valid". Ran bootcfg /list on displayed C prompt and changed to D prompt with no files found. Ran bootcfg /scan and received error message: Failed to successfully scan disks for Windows installations. This error may be caused by a corrupt file system, which would prevent Bootcfg from successfully scanning. Use chkdsk to detect any disk errors.

Concerning the question about the display screen, if I go to the Boot Device Menu and select Hard Drive Diagnostics, it displays a Drive 0: ST3160023AS - Pass and Drive 1: No device and Drive 2: ST3250620AS - Pass and Drive 3: No device and Drives 4-5 CD R/RW and DVD+/-RW

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Sorry, the question you asked was about this screen, if I select System Setup from the Boot Device Menu and go to Drives it lists Drive 0: SATA-0, Drive 1: SATA-1; Drive 2: SATA-2, and Drive 3: SATA-3

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shirt88

Sorry, the question you asked was about this screen, if I select System Setup from the Boot Device Menu and go to Drives it lists Drive 0: SATA-0, Drive 1: SATA-1; Drive 2: SATA-2, and Drive 3: SATA-3

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Ha ha, I'm batting a 1000 here answering your questions, okay, if I select "To set up Windows XP now, press enter" I get the licensing agreement, press F8 to agree, the next screen says the following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space on this computer. In the box below it says "Unknown disk" and under that (There is no disk in this drive)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shirt88

Ha ha, I'm batting a 1000 here answering your questions, okay, if I select "To set up Windows XP now, press enter" I get the licensing agreement, press F8 to agree, the next screen says the following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space on this computer. In the box below it says "Unknown disk" and under that (There is no disk in this drive)

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OK, take a step back and perform these basic troubleshooting steps;

1] Shutdown, disconnect the power cord from the power supply connector, disconnect all peripherals, then open the case.

2] If the case is full of dust, clean it out thoroughly with compressed air. If compressed air isn't handy, reverse the hose on the vacuum cleaner so it blows out. Put a crevice tool on the hose extension so you get good air pressure.

3] Re-seat ALL motherboard and hardware device connectors, ONE at a time. When I say "re-seat" I don't mean just pressing on the connector; I mean unplug each connector, inspect for signs of damage and/or bent pins, then "re-seat" the connector.

4] When you finish re-seating connectors, button it up, reconnect peripherals and power, reboot.

5] Immediately go into BIOS setup and verify that your drives are correctly identified by mfg. model number, capacity in MBs, and designation; (primary master, primary slave, etc.).

Post back with the results and we'll go from there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technocity

OK, take a step back and perform these basic troubleshooting steps;

1] Shutdown, disconnect the power cord from the power supply connector, disconnect all peripherals, then open the case.

2] If the case is full of dust, clean it out thoroughly with compressed air. If compressed air isn't handy, reverse the hose on the vacuum cleaner so it blows out. Put a crevice tool on the hose extension so you get good air pressure.

3] Re-seat ALL motherboard and hardware device connectors, ONE at a time. When I say "re-seat" I don't mean just pressing on the connector; I mean unplug each connector, inspect for signs of damage and/or bent pins, then "re-seat" the connector.

4] When you finish re-seating connectors, button it up, reconnect peripherals and power, reboot.

5] Immediately go into BIOS setup and verify that your drives are correctly identified by mfg. model number, capacity in MBs, and designation; (primary master, primary slave, etc.).

Post back with the results and we'll go from there.

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Sorry... Dell laptop... forget the part about the power cord and peripherals, but everything else applies. Dell's are easy to get into. If you need a users manual to help you, and you don't have one, get it on the Dell website. While you're there, download a copy of the latest BIOS, if you haven't already flashed your BIOS to the latest version.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technocity

OK, take a step back and perform these basic troubleshooting steps;

1] Shutdown, disconnect the power cord from the power supply connector, disconnect all peripherals, then open the case.

2] If the case is full of dust, clean it out thoroughly with compressed air. If compressed air isn't handy, reverse the hose on the vacuum cleaner so it blows out. Put a crevice tool on the hose extension so you get good air pressure.

3] Re-seat ALL motherboard and hardware device connectors, ONE at a time. When I say "re-seat" I don't mean just pressing on the connector; I mean unplug each connector, inspect for signs of damage and/or bent pins, then "re-seat" the connector.

4] When you finish re-seating connectors, button it up, reconnect peripherals and power, reboot.

5] Immediately go into BIOS setup and verify that your drives are correctly identified by mfg. model number, capacity in MBs, and designation; (primary master, primary slave, etc.).

Post back with the results and we'll go from there.

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Will do. At work today so I won't be able to get back with you until this evening. Have a great day, talk to you then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technocity

Sorry...Dell laptop...forget the part about the power cord and peripherals, but everything else applies. Dell's are easy to get into. If you need a users manual to help you, and you don't have one, get it on the Dell website. While you're there, download a copy of the latest BIOS, if you haven't already flashed your BIOS to the latest version.

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Hi Technocity, been totally tied up the past two weeks. Followed your directions above. This is a Dell XPS Desktop Gen 4. Running Dell Diagnostics Express Test and Custom on hard drives. I've run the Hard Drive Diagnostics off Setup but will do so again.