reboot and select proper boot device problem

montypython · Post by **montypython** » 2005-12-10 05:15pm

My computer currently refuses to boot, telling me to reboot and select proper boot device. I tried ctrl-alt-del to get past, but it just restarts the computer and says the same thing again. How do I solve this?

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2005-12-10 05:33pm

Have you tried going into BIOS to see what your boot up order is?

montypython · Post by **montypython** » 2005-12-10 05:39pm

Boot order is floppy drive, CD-rw, then hard drive. I tried inserting the XP CD, it goes to the XP bootup screen, to choose either install XP or automatic repair. Automatic repair requires a specific boot disk that I don't have.

Manus Celer Dei · Post by **Manus Celer Dei** » 2005-12-10 06:45pm

Try changing it to boot from the hard drive first.

montypython · Post by **montypython** » 2005-12-10 11:23pm

Manus Celer Dei wrote:Try changing it to boot from the hard drive first.

Just did that, still no good. Someone's told me that it could mean my HD has fried, I certainly hope that isn't the case.

montypython · Post by **montypython** » 2005-12-11 01:00am

The chkdsk scan of xp recovery console indicates that one or more parts of the volume may be corrupted, what do I need to do?

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2005-12-11 07:23am

At best, reformat the drive and install a clean copy of Windows XP.
At worst, your hard drive is tiggered and you need to replace it.

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2005-12-11 10:06am

You could see if the HD is toast by installing it in another computer as a slave, and see if you can read any of the data. (You could also take the opportunity to offload anything important, in case you're worried about losing it.) But yeah, it sounds like the drive is pooched.

(If it turns out that the drive is, indeed, screwed, and there are data you don't wish to lose, then there are data recovery places out there for just such an occasion. I can't speak to the cost effectiveness of this solution.)

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2005-12-11 05:14pm

Professional data recovery on a shagged drive is expensive.

Installing the drive as a slave is a good idea, but it will only recover from a screwed set of boot files, which chkdsk /r or the fixboot command would likely have done anyway. From the report of a damaged volume, it's likely the partition won't show up on any other machine either.

montypython · Post by **montypython** » 2005-12-12 04:33pm

Installed it in another computer as a slave to see if data was readable. The drive is detected but no drive letter, can't sense partitions. Haven't used Fixboot yet.

What pisses me off is that this is a brand new Maxtor HDD, just out of the box. To have it go crap like this...

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2005-12-12 06:33pm

It's time to run Maxtor's disk diag utility. Full test, write down the error code, and RMA the drive.

2:1 that drive's fucked.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2005-12-12 06:36pm

montypython wrote:Installed it in another computer as a slave to see if data was readable. The drive is detected but no drive letter, can't sense partitions. Haven't used Fixboot yet.

What pisses me off is that this is a brand new Maxtor HDD, just out of the box. To have it go crap like this...

Did you make sure that the type of HDD is compatible with your current motherboard before purchasing?

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2005-12-12 06:55pm

He's previously managed to install XP on it and has data on there. I'll give you one guess whether you think it's compatible or not.

Netko · Post by **Netko** » 2005-12-13 05:37am

montypython wrote:Installed it in another computer as a slave to see if data was readable. The drive is detected but no drive letter, can't sense partitions. Haven't used Fixboot yet.

What pisses me off is that this is a brand new Maxtor HDD, just out of the box. To have it go crap like this...

Meh, happens. Got a Hitatchi (I think) once from an otherwise reliable shop with free delivery to my door. Was all happy at the convinience until I plugged it in and its name appeared as a random selection of ASCII non-letter characters. Then had to spend 2 drives to the shop to replace it (once to turn it in, once to get replacement since that wasnt covered by the free delivery). Shit happens...