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C:\ inaccessible

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Windows 2000 workstation SP4 desktop compter
Drive 0 = 80Gb WD800JB drive
Partitioned as C: = NTFS 40Gb, D: = NTFS 40Gb

Shut the machine down normally at night. Started the next morning and got 0x0000007B blue screen INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error. Used laptop to research.

Booted from W2K install CD in safe mdoe, command propmt only. Ran CHKDSK C: but the version on the CD did not have the /f option.
CHKDSK did not report any errors and shows the volume label as W2KWks which is correct.

Switch to C: prompt succeeded. DIR command yields "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable." error message.

Switch to D: prompt succeeded. DIR command yields correct directory listing.

Shut down and removed hard drive. Installed another hard drive and installed W2K, formatting the new hard drive. Had startup problems.

Replaced motherboard, re-installed W2K on new hard drive,formatting again. Installed SP4. No problems in start up.

Shut down normally and installed old hard drive as slave (drive 1) with new hard as master (drive 0).

Startup normal. Restart in Safe Mode with command prompt. Drive 0 is now C: and drive 1 is now D: and E:.

CHKDSK D: /f reports correct information including volume label (W2KWks), good numbers, and no errors. CHKDSK E: /f reports the same with volume label of W2KData which is correct.

Trying to switch to D:\ prompt yields "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable."
Switching to E:\ prompt succeeds and DIR listing is correct.

Reboot to normal W2K - not safe mode. My Computer shows C:, D:, E:, and F:(CD). Everything except D: is OK. D: does not show the volume label or any numbers. The number columns are blank, not zero. Double clicking yields "D:\ is not accessible. The parameter is incorrect." error message.

I live just north of Houston and about this time hurricane Ike hammered us so I'm just now getting back to this. Got power back yesterday. Power outage did not cause this problem. It happened a couple of days before the storm.

I need to get some data from what is now the D: partition - drive 1, partition 1.

What I have concluded so far is:
1) It is not a hardware or driver problem because the same driver handles D: and E: and E: appears to be OK.
2) I can't use FDISK /mbr because I will most likely lose my E: partition.
3) The directory structure of the D: partition is corrupted.

I have been researching manually manipulating the Master Boot Record (MBR) but, on second thought, I'm thinking the partition table is OK because CHKDSK returns correct numbers and no errors.

I'm thinking the drive 1 MBR is still set such that the D: partition is marked as bootable. If I get the directory structure corrected is that going to cause a boot problem? Seems that it would be OK since the first bootable partition is on drive 0.

I haven't yet seen anything on how the system makes the transition from using CHS disk access in the boot process to the NTFS drive:\directory disk access to load and run the OS.

Any reccomendations on where I go from here? Any clarifications about what the problem is would be greatly appreciated.

7 replies

by jswentworth

I have seen this issue before and when CHKDSK /F doesn't fix it I have had to use a program called Recover My Files on the disk. You don't have to actually save any of the files it recovers, but running the utility will fix the file tables pretty frequently. You can read all about it over at http://www.techemperor.com/2008/09/19/how-to-recover-lost-files/ it's got a big writeup about it, how to use it etc... Hope that helps.

by Former member

INTRODUCTION
When you start your computer, you may receive one of the following error messages:
?
STOP: 0x0000007B (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4)
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
?
Setup has encountered a fatal error that prevents it from continuing.

Contact your product support representative for assistance. The following status will assist them in diagnosing the problem.

(0x4, 0x1, 0, 0)

Setup cannot continue. Power down or reboot your computer now.
You may also receive a "Stop 0x0000007B" error message during Windows XP Setup when the Setup program restarts during the installation process. When you receive a Stop error while the Setup program is running, you receive the second error message. To troubleshoot this issue, read the following four sections to determine if any one of the issues applies to you. If none of the issues apply to you, use the following general troubleshooting steps at the end of the article.

Boot-Sector Viruses
You may receive a "Stop 0x0000007B" error message if your computer is infected with a boot-sector virus. If the problem is intermittent and you can start Windows, check your computer for viruses. If you find a virus, also check any floppy disks for viruses before you use them again.

For a list of antivirus software manufacturers, click the following article number to see the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
49500 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/49500/EN-US/) List of Antivirus Software Vendors
Note You may have to use more than one brand of virus-detection software to detect and remove various viruses.

Important If your computer has been infected, it may be open to additional forms of attack. We recommend that you rebuild infected Internet-facing servers by following the guidelines that are published on the CERT (http://www.cert.org/) Web site. Internet-facing servers are servers that function without a firewall or other protection. It is also a good idea to rebuild any other computers that are at risk because of their proximity to infected computers before you put them back in service.

If a virus has infected your Windows XP-based computer and a virus-detection program cannot remove the virus and repair the system, you must repartition and format your hard disk and reinstall Windows XP. For additional information about partitioning and formatting a hard disk with Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
313348 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348/) How to partition and format a hard disk in Windows XP
For more information about how to help protect the boot sector from viruses in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
122221 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/122221/) How to protect boot sector from viruses in Windows

Device Driver Issues
You may receive a "Stop 0x0000007B" error message in the following scenarios:
? A device driver that the computer boot controller needs is not configured to start during the startup process.
? A device driver that the computer boot controller needs is corrupted.
? Information in the Windows XP registry (information related to how the device drivers load during startup) is corrupted.
Windows XP requires a miniport driver to communicate with the hard disk controller that is used to start your computer. If Windows XP does not supply a device driver for your controller or if Windows XP is using a corrupted or incompatible driver, you must replace the driver with a valid copy that is compatible with your controller and Windows XP.

During the first phase of the Windows XP installation, Setup displays the following message at the bottom of the screen:
Press F6 if you have to install a third-party SCSI or RAID driver.
Press F6 and then follow the instructions to install a mass-storage device driver from your Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). For additional information about using F6 to load an OEM device driver to support, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
314859 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314859/) Limited OEM driver support is available with F6 during Windows XP Setup
To determine if your hard disk controller is compatible with Windows XP and to obtain information about drivers that are included on the Windows XP CD-ROM or that are available for download, see the latest Windows XP Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). For additional information about the latest Windows XP HCL, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
314062 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314062/) The latest Windows XP hardware compatibility list
If your hard disk controller is not listed on the HCL, contact the manufacturer of your computer, system board, or hard disk controller for information about the availability of a driver. Microsoft does not guarantee that a resolution is available for non-HCL equipment. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
315239 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315239/) Microsoft support policy for hardware that does not appear on the Windows HCL
If the System hive in the Windows XP registry is corrupted, Windows XP may not be able to load the miniport device driver that the boot controller requires. To resolve this issue, restore a registry backup. For additional information about restoring a registry backup, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307545 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/) How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting

Hardware Issues
You may receive a "Stop 0x0000007B" error message if there is a resource conflict between the boot controller and another controller or between SCSI devices. You may also receive this Stop error message if drive translation is not being performed or if drive translation was changed. To troubleshoot this issue:
1. If an IRQ or I/O port address conflict exists between the boot controller and another controller, Windows XP either stops responding (hangs) or displays a "Stop 0x0000007B" error message. If you recently added new hardware, remove the new hardware or reconfigure it so that it does not conflict with the resources of any other installed controllers.
2. If you are using a SCSI hard disk, check the SCSI chain for correct termination. Remove any unused SCSI devices or make sure that each SCSI ID is unique.
3. Make sure that drive translation is turned on (if it is required) and that it has not been changed. For example, if you recently switched controllers, this issue may occur. For additional information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
314082 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314082/) You receive a Stop 0x0000007b error after you move the Windows XP system disk to another computer

Other Issues
Other potential causes of a "Stop 0x0000007B" error message include:
? The boot volume is corrupted and cannot be initiated by Windows XP. If the file system is corrupted and if Windows XP cannot initiate the boot volume during the startup process, either move the drive to another computer that is running Windows XP and run the chkdsk command on that drive or try to create a parallel installation of Windows XP on the drive (in a separate folder). The Windows XP Setup program checks the integrity of the volume before it copies files, and it may fix some problems in the process.
? You are installing Windows XP on a mirrored boot partition that was created by Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. Windows XP does not support Windows NT 4.0 Ftdisk volume sets. If you are running Microsoft Windows 2000, you must convert all Ftdisk volume sets to dynamic volumes before you upgrade to Windows XP. If you are running Windows NT 4.0, break any mirrors and back up all the data on the stripe, the RAID5, or the extended volume sets before you upgrade to Windows XP. Ftdisk sets might not be accessible after the upgrade.

General Troubleshooting
If none of the issues that have been described in this article apply to you, use the following general troubleshooting steps:
1. If you receive one of these error messages while you are installing Windows XP, update the computer BIOS or obtain Windows XP drivers for your hard disk controller (from the manufacturer of your computer, system board, or hard disk controller), or do both. For information about how to update your computer's BIOS or obtain Windows XP drivers, contact your computer manufacturer. For additional information about the availability of drivers, see the Device Driver Issues section in this article.

Note: If Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 was installed previously on a mirrored boot partition, see the Other Issues section in this article.
2. Use the Last Known Good Configuration feature. This may resolve the problem if you recently installed an incompatible device driver for your boot controller. For additional information about using the Last Known Good Configuration feature, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307852 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307852/) How To start your computer by using the Last Known Good Configuration feature in Windows XP
3. Use the Repair option with Windows XP Setup. For additional information about repairing Windows XP by using the Setup program, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
315341 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341/) How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
4. Restore a registry backup. For additional information about restoring a registry backup, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307545 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/) How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting

REFERENCES
For additional information about "Stop 0x0000007B" error messages, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
316401 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316401/) "STOP 0x0000007B" error message when you restart your Windows XP-based computer
303786 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/303786/) Missing [SysprepMassStorage] section causes STOP 0x7B error message on Windows XP sysprep images
315031 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315031/) Cannot upgrade with the MSDN version of Windows XP
314082 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314082/) You receive a Stop 0x0000007B error after you move the Windows XP system disk to another computer
314859 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314859/) Limited OEM driver support is available with F6 during Windows XP Setup

Perform a Repair Installation

Configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive. For more information about how to do this, refer to your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer. Then insert your Windows XP Setup CD, and restart your computer.

1. When the Press any key to boot from CD message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

2. Press ENTER when you see the message To setup Windows XP now, and then press ENTER displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen.

3. Do not choose the option to press R to use the Recovery Console.

4. In the Windows XP Licensing Agreement, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.

5. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.

6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.
If this information is useful, please mark as helpful. Thanks.

by ---tk---

I would try: Set up your PC with the new drive that works (fresh install) as the master Drive. then lable it as OS1 (anything really just to identify the drive later) as the drive name. Then place the "bad" drive in as the slave drive. Boot to a linux Live CD, I prefer Ubuntu 8.04.... and you might be able to access the file system on the second drive from the LIVE CD. If you can access the file system, drag and drop the files from one drive to another... If you are successful, you have your files, you can blow away your old drive and use it as storage space... To get the ISO live CD go here: http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download and to burn the ISO to a cd You can use Alchole120%, ISO Magic, Nero or any thing free that you can find.... A live CD allows you to run an OS in RAM with out installing it on the drives so your drives will be intact and you should be able access the file system... hopefully this helps, its a little far fetched, but it has worked for me 3 out of 5 times recover data... any questions feel free to post them up.

by doogal123

You also could buy a copy of SpinWrite from www.grc.com - it is an AMAZING disk recovery tool. I have a buddy who had an important HD fail, and with spinwrite he had it all back in 24 hours. Plus it will also recover Linux partitions. (No I don't get anything from SpinWrite, but the tool just works).

by thomson9

I did use a 3rd party tool but unfortunately it wasn't SpinRite. I've used that tool before with good results but the version I have didn't work with NTFS. I see now that they have a newer version that does. Wish I had checked there first before doing my web search.

The one I did use I wouldn't reccomend and it was the second one I tried.

The first one, NTFS Recovery, installed and demoed OK on my XP laptop but when I moved it to the Win2K machine to do the recovery it wouldn't run although it was advertised to run on Win2K.

I emailed them about the problem on 9/21 and haven't yet received a reply.

So everyone needs to be wary of those guys.

It did turn out to be a corrupted MFT. I got all of my files back but some of them were corrupted as well.

by Former member

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.
If this information is useful, please mark as helpful. Thanks.

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