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by mel_forgotten

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i have a dell optiplex GX260 with a windows 2000, Just yesterday i was transfering some data from my pc to a thumb drive when the Pc froze. Pressing the alt+ctr+del didnt help so my sis had the pc shut down by holding down the start button for a few mins, i then start it up again but this time windows couldnt complete running, it would only load halfway and the stop:0x0000007b inaccessible boot device came up. i have tried starting in up on safe mode but the same blue screen comes up b4 windows could completely load. i have even tried downloading a boot check disk and booting up from there but it would just say "invaild disk"
i dont know what else to do, pls help.

10 replies

by pser

Hopefully you have your data backed up! Sounds like your drive just pooched on ya.

Have you tried to boot to a "live cd"? If not download (from another PC obviously) Knoppix then boot in to it and see if you can 'see' (access) your data on the HDD. If so you may be able to salvage your data maybe even the OS. If not .... HDD id DEAD.

by mel_forgotten

well i would love to try that method but i do not have a windows 2000 cd, the com was given by a fren from the usa. Im currently using a windows XP on another pc, i havent got a cd for that too as it didnt come with this pc i bought frm the store. Would copying a windows xp and installing it on the win2000 os work? if so, how do i go about downloading it?

by pser

Seeing as how you do not have a 'legal' copy of 2k or XP, the answer to your question is no, that is not an option. Nor is the great suggestions from CaptBillyOneEye possible without the disks.

You can still do what I suggested with the Knoppix live CD ( www.knoppix.org/ ). On your XP machine, go to this site and it will give the instructions to download and burn to a CD. Then Boot your Win2k system (making sure boot order in BIOS is set to CD Drive first) to this CD. From there see if you can access the HDD. If nothing else you can determine if your data is still there. Where to go from there is up to you. Do you need to salvage that data? If not, obtain a legal copy of the OS of your choice and reinstall. If yes, there is data you MUST salvage, there are options.

Whatever you end up doing, in the future keep this in mind BACK UP YOUR DATA.

Good luck to ya!

by captbilly1eye

I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but... it sounds like you may have a Hard Drive that is on the verge of failure. So, the first thing to check is the drive.

Using your Windows 2000 install CD, access the Recovery Console command prompt. Here's a MS article that will guide you through the steps: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/229716 .

In order to boot using the CD, your BIOS will need to have the CD drive set as the first boot priority.

Insert a 2000 CD and boot up.
When asked, boot to the CD by hitting the Enter key.
At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press F10, or press R to repair, and then press C (Windows 2000 only) to start the Windows Recovery Console.
Next, you will be asked which Windows installation to use. Hit the 1 key on your keyboard and then Enter (assuming that is the C drive).
You may be asked for an administrator password. At which point you will need to enter it or hit Enter if their is none.
At the resulting C:\Windows> prompt in the recovery console , type 'chkdsk /r' (with a space after chkdsk and without the quotes) and hit Enter.
This will start the scan and sector recovery.
Leave the computer on and undisturbed until completed. Be aware that this process will most likely take several hours to complete (sometimes overnight).
When it is done, you'll know if it is a HD failure issue or not.
If errors were found, run it again.
(chkdsk /r)
If errors were found on the volume and Chkdsk was unable to recover or repair them or if Chkdsk was unable to run at all, you will need to replace the HD.
If you do not have an external backup available, you will need to install 2000 and your other software on the new formatted HD.
Based on your post, it sounds like you may have to reinstall regardless.

To close the Recovery Console and reboot, type EXIT and hit Enter.

Here is another good reference for using the Recovery Console: http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computing/windows/win2krec5.htm .

Please let me know the outcome.

by captbilly1eye

In order to access the tools in the Recovery Console, you need to have a Windows 2000 CD... ANY Windows 2000 CD. That is unless the Recovery Console was actually previously installed on the system (which is unusual). If it was installed, you would be presented with menu choices at boot up to select the Operating System or Recovery Console as boot options.

See if you can find someone that has a Windows 2000 CD. Copying and/or downloading the Windows OS is not a legal option and installing XP over top will not work.

Perhaps the place or person you purchased the system from can supply you with a copy. If it was a legal copy originally, they should have no problem doing so.

For future reference: Please make sure to Respond to the correct thread.

by mel_forgotten

yea i know what u mean. The xp that i have has a recovery console that is installed on the system itself, that is y they didnt give me a cd i guess. This is such a bummer, i would have to go find a win2k cd somehow. sorry bout replying to the wrong thread, its just that both of u gave me the same solution which is use a win2k cd so i thought i would just reply to one.

by mel_forgotten

I did as u have said PSer. Burned a knoppix cd, set bios to boot frm cd drive but all i get now whenever i boot up is this;

intel boot Agent GE v1.2.05
copyright 1997-2003, intel corporation

PXE-E61: media test failure, check cable

Which cable are they talking about? the cd drive cable?

by pser

Stands for Pre eXecutable Environment. It's mostly used in Networked PC's. It allows Admins to boot up machines without 'touching' them via a network connection. I won't go in to any more detail than that about PXE just thought you needed to know that that is not a problem. You can turn PXE on or off in the BIOS.

If your system could not boot to Knoppix ... perhaps you did not burn it as a bootable cd?.?. Dell system ... right? You should be able to hit the F10 button upon system startup for a 'Boot selection'. Confirm your Knoppix burn is good by trying to boot to it on your XP machine (making certain the boot order is CD first.) If it does not boot on that machine either ... try to burn again making certain it is a bootable cd not just the .iso file.

While everything the Capt. is telling you is correct, I would still want to confirm my data was still accessible. If you cannot access your drive at all in Knoppix, then your HDD is dead and there will be no need to even try a restore or last good config.

Good luck again.

by captbilly1eye

Yes. you should get hold of a 2000 install or upgrade CD.

Meanwhile, try one more thing...
Power up the system and immediately start tapping the F8 key once every second or two. That should open you to a 'Windows Advanced Options Menu' - the same one you used to get to Safe Mode.
Here, select "Last Known Good Configuration".
Then lemme know.

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