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Spyderbyte
Advanced Member
Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 372
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 Posted: 22 Jul 2004 03:39:06 pm Post subject: |
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My computer froze this morning (which it tends to do fairly often) and I had to turn it off with the power button (also normal). However, when I turned it back on about half an hour ago, I was greeted with a black screen simply with the words Operating System Not Found. I tried twice more, thinking it might be a fluke, but no luck.
I unplugged my hard drive and reconnected my old one (which is how I'm writing this), but now I have no idea what to do. I'm pretty sure my computer won't support another ribbon to allow me to run both hard drives at once. (as I know many people are able to do)
This is really not cool.
Any and all help will be appreciated!
Spyderbyte |
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agility
Calc Spammer
Calc Guru
Joined: 16 May 2004
Posts: 1266
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 03:50:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Buy a new HD cable with connectors to hook up two HD's at once. Or, you could just reformat the bad one without buying a new cable. |
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NETWizz
Byte by bit
Bandwidth Hog
Joined: 20 May 2003
Posts: 2369
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 04:22:54 pm Post subject: |
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The bad hard drive probably died. Whether it is completely dead or not is unknown. You should be able to add it as a slave to the ide/eide cable and boot off the working drive and access the infomation on the bad drive unless it completely died.
Either way, do not save anytning new to it unless it works and you run scandisk and do a full surface scan... |
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Spyderbyte
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Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 372
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 04:41:25 pm Post subject: |
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agility wrote: Buy a new HD cable with connectors to hook up two HD's at once. Or, you could just reformat the bad one without buying a new cable.
My cable does have two connectors, so should I connect the good drive to the end or the middle?
Jbirk wrote: The bad hard drive probably died. Whether it is completely dead or not is unknown. You should be able to add it as a slave to the ide/eide cable and boot off the working drive and access the infomation on the bad drive unless it completely died.
Either way, do not save anytning new to it unless it works and you run scandisk and do a full surface scan...
Thanks, but the same question. Should it be Motherboard.......Bad Drive.......Good Drive or the other way around? Or does it matter?
I'm kinda clueless about these things...
Thanks for the help though!
Spyderbyte |
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agility
Calc Spammer
Calc Guru
Joined: 16 May 2004
Posts: 1266
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 08:25:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Set the good drive as the master drive and the bad drive as the slave drive. Consult your hard drive's manual to see the jumper settings on how to do this. If you do it that way, it doesn't matter where on the cable it's connected to as long as they are connected somehow. |
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AlienCC
Creative Receptacle!
Know-It-All
Joined: 24 May 2003
Posts: 1927
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 09:27:46 pm Post subject: |
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You didn't state which version of Windows you are using, but I am going to assume it is XP, as I've never heard of this happening with any other version.
I've seen that same error before, and it wasn't because of hardware failure. So rather then take guesses like everyone else, I'm going to point you straight at the source for more information on that error message along with Microsoft's version of Support.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;321626
Of the suggested things they mention, Method 2 is more then likely going to be your fix, it was for me, but it won't hurt to go down the checklist to make sure everything else is in order as well.
--AlienCC |
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Spyderbyte
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Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 372
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 10:10:14 pm Post subject: |
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Ok, thank you. Yes it was XP, sorry for not mentioning it. Also, how do I start my computer to the Recovery Console? I think it was something to the effect of tapping F3 while the computer first starts up, but it's been a long time since I've had to do it.
Thanks for the prompt replies everyone!
Spyderbyte |
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AlienCC
Creative Receptacle!
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Joined: 24 May 2003
Posts: 1927
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 10:16:32 pm Post subject: |
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The easiest way is to boot from the installer cd, and use the tools in there. You have to skip past the first part where it says something about Recovery, as that will require you to have 2 or 3 pre-made floppy disks. Just wait until it asks you what you want to do and the option you want should be in there, which will drop you down to a console and let you fix things.
--AlienCC |
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Spyderbyte
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Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 372
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 10:33:51 pm Post subject: |
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Just to make things nice and difficult, I don't have the installer cd.  I could probably get a hold of a friends, but you did say easiest. Might there be another way?
Thanks for being so patient!
Spyderbyte |
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AlienCC
Creative Receptacle!
Know-It-All
Joined: 24 May 2003
Posts: 1927
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EEDOK
Member
Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Posts: 117
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| Posted: 22 Jul 2004 11:54:14 pm Post subject: |
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I had this problem once(on a parents laptop), and it was cause the MBR was schmucked, and the way I got around it was installing linux, and lilo fixed it(allowed booting into windows), but eventually my linux attempts were thwarted and they reinstalled windows and wiped out the linux partitian.
Last edited by Guest on 22 Jul 2004 11:55:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Spyderbyte
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Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 372
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| Posted: 23 Jul 2004 08:19:02 am Post subject: |
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Looks like I need to borrow an XP cd from somebody. Thanks for the help EEDOK, but I think I'll see if I can get it running before trying to figure out how to install linux.
And have fun on your vacation, we should all take more of those. :D
Thanks!
Spyderbyte |
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NETWizz
Byte by bit
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Joined: 20 May 2003
Posts: 2369
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| Posted: 23 Jul 2004 04:18:44 pm Post subject: |
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There are usually other ways to get to the recovery console.
Look it up on the Internet. You can get to it via startup disk. |
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wrigley
Advanced Member
Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 399
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| Posted: 27 Jul 2004 09:59:06 am Post subject: |
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| Recovery console? Haven't heard about this one before, is it the same as hitting F8 on startup? |
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Arcane Wizard
`semi-hippie`
Super Elite (Last Title)
Joined: 02 Jun 2003
Posts: 8993
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| Posted: 27 Jul 2004 10:28:14 am Post subject: |
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It's like dosprompt I guess, or some cheap linux command prompt rip off.
Check out the link AlienCC provided.
Quote: To recover your operating system when your computer does not start correctly or does not start at all, you may want to install and use the Windows Recovery console.
Quote: How to use the Recovery Console command prompt
When you use the Recovery Console, you are working at a special command prompt instead of the ordinary Windows command prompt. The Recovery Console has its own command interpreter. To enter this command interpreter, you are prompted by Recovery Console to type the local Administrator password.
When the Recovery Console starts, you can press F6 to install a third-party SCSI or RAID driver, in case you need such a driver to access the hard disk. This prompt works the same as it does during installation of the operating system.
The Recovery Console takes several seconds to start. When the Recovery Console menu appears, a numbered list of the Windows installations on the computer appears. (Generally, only c:\Windows exists.) Press a number before you press ENTER, even when only one entry appears. If you press ENTER without selecting a number, the computer restarts and begins the process again.
When you see the prompt for %SystemRoot% (generally C:\Windows), you can start using the available commands for the Recovery Console.
Back to the top
Command actions
The following list describes the available commands for the Recovery Console:
* Attrib changes attributes on one file or subdirectory.
* Batch executes commands that you specify in the text file, Inputfile. Outputfile holds the output of the commands. If you omit the Outputfile parameter, output appears on the screen.
* Bootcfg modifies the Boot.ini file for boot configuration and recovery.
* CD (Chdir) operates only in the system directories of the current Windows installation, removable media, the root directory of any hard disk partition, or the local installation sources.
* Chkdsk The /p switch runs Chkdsk even if the drive is not flagged as dirty. The /r switch locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. This switch implies /p. Chkdsk requires Autochk. Chkdsk automatically looks for Autochk.exe in the startup folder. If Chkdsk cannot find the file in the startup folder, it looks for the Windows 2000 Setup CD-ROM. If Chkdsk cannot find the installation CD-ROM, Chkdsk prompts the user for the location of Autochk.exe.
* Cls clears the screen.
* Copy copies one file to a target location. By default, the target cannot be removable media, and you cannot use wildcard characters. Copying a compressed file from the Windows 2000 Setup CD-ROM automatically decompresses the file.
* Del (Delete) deletes one file. Operates within the system directories of the current Windows installation, removable media, the root directory of any hard disk partition, or the local installation sources. By default, you cannot use wildcard characters.
* Dir displays a list of all files, including hidden and system files.
* Disable disables a Windows system service or driver. The variable service_or_driver is the name of the service or driver that you want to disable. When you use this command to disable a service, the command displays the service's original startup type before it changes the type to SERVICE_DISABLED. Note the original startup type so that you can use the enable command to restart the service.
* Diskpart manages partitions on hard disk volumes. The /add option creates a new partition. The /delete option deletes an existing partition. The variable device is the device name for a new partition (such as \device\harddisk0). The variable drive is the drive letter for a partition that you are deleting (for example, D). Partition is the partition-based name for a partition that you are deleting, (for example: \device\harddisk0\partition1) and can be used instead of the drive variable. The variable size is the size, in megabytes, of a new partition.
* Enable enables a Windows system service or driver. The variable service_or_driver is the name of the service or driver that you want to enable, and start_type is the startup type for an enabled service. The startup type uses one of the following formats:
SERVICE_BOOT_START
SERVICE_SYSTEM_START
SERVICE_AUTO_START
SERVICE_DEMAND_START
* Exit quits the Recovery Console, and then restarts the computer.
* Expand expands a compressed file. The variable source is the file that you want to expand. By default, you cannot use wildcard characters. The variable destination is the directory for the new file. By default, the destination cannot be removable media and cannot be read-only. You can use the attrib command to remove the read-only attribute from the destination directory. The option /f:filespec is required if the source contains more than one file. This option permits wildcard characters. The /y switch disables the overwrite confirmation prompt. The /d switch specifies that the files will not be expanded and displays a directory of the files in the source.
* Fixboot writes a new startup sector on the system partition.
* Fixmbr repairs the startup partition's master boot code. The variable device is an optional name that specifies the device that requires a new Master Boot Record. Omit this variable when the target is the startup device.
* Format formats a disk. The /q switch performs a quick format. The /fs switch specifies the file system.
* Help If you do not use the command variable to specify a command, help lists all the commands that the Recovery Console supports.
* Listsvc displays all available services and drivers on the computer.
* Logon displays detected installations of Windows and requests the local Administrator password for those installations. Use this command to move to another installation or subdirectory.
* Map displays currently active device mappings. Include the arc option to specify the use of Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) paths (the format for Boot.ini) instead of Windows device paths.
* MD (Mkdir) operates only within the system directories of the current Windows installation, removable media, the root directory of any hard disk partition, or the local installation sources.
* More/Type displays the specified text file on screen.
* Net Use connects to a remote share for the Windows XP Recovery Console. The following text describes the syntax for this command:
NET USE [devicename | *] [\\computername\sharename[\volume] [password | *]]
[/USER:[domainname\]username]
[/USER:[dotted domain name\]username]
[/USER:[username@dotted domain name]
[/SMARTCARD]
[/SAVECRED]
[[/DELETE] | [/PERSISTENT:{YES | NO}]]
NET USE {devicename | *} [password | *] /HOME
NET USE [/PERSISTENT:{YES | NO}]
* Rd (Rmdir) operates only within the system directories of the current Windows installation, removable media, the root directory of any hard disk partition, or the local installation sources.
* Ren (Rename) operates only within the system directories of the current Windows installation, removable media, the root directory of any hard disk partition, or the local installation sources. You cannot specify a new drive or path as the target.
* Set displays and sets the Recovery Console environment variables.
* Systemroot sets the current directory to %SystemRoot%.
Sounds like a lame way to replace the msdos boot up disks.
Last edited by Guest on 27 Jul 2004 10:29:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Tyler
Advanced Member
Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 352
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| Posted: 03 Aug 2004 12:26:19 pm Post subject: |
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That's a simple fix...
Goto http://www.bootdisk.com
Download the apporpiate bootdisk with FDISK
At prompt type a:\fdisk /mbr
Your master boot record is dead, just get the low-level utility to write it up for you again. |
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Spyderbyte
Advanced Member
Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 372
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2004 04:05:21 pm Post subject: |
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YAY!!!!!
Thanks for all the help everyone, I got my hard drive up and running again and didn't lose any of my data! I have even restarted it once after installing all the updates that have built up, and everything is still working.
I found an option on the F8 startup menu that said something to the effect of restoring defaults, or reverting to last succesful startup, and then I selected XP, and it started up! (The loading screen took quite a bit longer than usual, and it of course had to run scandisk, but other than that it was great)
Thanks again!
Spyderbyte |
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Arcane Wizard
`semi-hippie`
Super Elite (Last Title)
Joined: 02 Jun 2003
Posts: 8993
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2004 07:14:36 pm Post subject: |
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| How did you get in the boot menu when your BIOS couldn't find the OS? |
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DmitriB
Advanced Member
Joined: 22 Jun 2003
Posts: 319
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2004 09:46:49 pm Post subject: |
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| all you do is tell your mobo to boot from cd instead from the bios, then the cd usually will have better luck in finding the "missing drive" |
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Spyderbyte
Advanced Member
Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 372
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| Posted: 14 Sep 2004 09:50:19 pm Post subject: |
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Bah! I spoke too soon. This time I couldn't get into the boot menu, any keypress would just cause it to repeat "Operating System not found." Actually, for the first couple startups I would just get a blinking cursor.
I've tried hooking both hard drives up to my cable (apparently it's supposed to be motherboard.........slave drive............master drive, but I only found how to set the jumper settings for my "broken" drive. My old drive has six pins instead of ten, and I found some settings online, but it also said its position on the cable would be enough. Anyway, I still can't get my compy to realize I have two.
Sooooooooo, if I do manage to get my hands on a cd or otherwise find the recovery console, might Fixboot (writes a new startup sector on the system partition) be what I'm looking for?
And I tried to find a bootdisk that would work, but the only ones that seemed close looked like they just enabled the cd drive.  I ran across a floppy that seems to have fdisk on it already, but it's for Windows ME. (Which is very strange since I nor anybody I can think of near me has ME.) Are there big differences, or might I be able to use it? Sigh, I'm such a newb at this. 
Thanks for all your patience!
Spyderbyte |
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Computer Tech Support => Technology & Calculator Open Topic
