UNBOOTABLE___BOOT___VOLUME

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

My computer won't start windows. When it is turned on it attempts to start
and then flashes a blue screen for almost a second and all I can read is:

UNBOOTABLE___BOOT__VOLUME

It then goes to a screen with a polite apology about not being able to start
and listing the following options:

Start in safe mode
Start in safe mode with networking
Start in safe mode with command prompt

Start with last successful configuration

Start windows normally

The last 2 just cycle through back to the same screen. The safe mode choices
make it list a screen full of DOS type commands and then cycles back.

The computer is a hp laptop with an Athlon chip running XP Pro.

I have put the installation disc in the drive and tried to start it but it
spins but doesn't ask if I want to boot from the disc. Do I need a command to
make it boot from there?

I have no training in computers, but as a teacher have learned a little on
the fly. I would just like to be able to save the data on the hard drive to a
pen drive and then if I need to reinstall, but I don't want to loose the data.

Thanks for any help you can give me!
--
Les Schmidt
Omaha Christian Academy

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

"canuk" <canuk@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>My computer won't start windows. When it is turned on it attempts to start
>and then flashes a blue screen for almost a second and all I can read is:
>
>UNBOOTABLE___BOOT__VOLUME
>
>It then goes to a screen with a polite apology about not being able to start
>and listing the following options:
>
>Start in safe mode
>Start in safe mode with networking
>Start in safe mode with command prompt
>
>Start with last successful configuration
>
>Start windows normally
>
>The last 2 just cycle through back to the same screen. The safe mode choices
>make it list a screen full of DOS type commands and then cycles back.
>
>The computer is a hp laptop with an Athlon chip running XP Pro.
>
>I have put the installation disc in the drive and tried to start it but it
>spins but doesn't ask if I want to boot from the disc. Do I need a command to
>make it boot from there?
>
>I have no training in computers, but as a teacher have learned a little on
>the fly. I would just like to be able to save the data on the hard drive to a
>pen drive and then if I need to reinstall, but I don't want to loose the data.
>
>Thanks for any help you can give me!

I believe that the error you are seeing is actually
UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

That is a relatively easy problem to fix in most instances, but it
does require that the computer be booted into the Windows XP Recovery
Console. Normally this is done from the Windows XP Installation CD
but with the "System Recovery" type CDs provided by Hewlett Packard
and others the Recovery Console option is not available.

Does your HP laptop have a 3.5 inch diskette drive? If it does then
go on another computer that also has a 3.5 inch diskette drive go to
http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=310994 and get the boot diskette set
for the version of Windows XP that is on the laptop. Create the
diskettes and use them to boot the laptop.

When it has finished booting and has stopped at the A:\> prompt enter
the following command:

CHKDSK C: /R

That should remedy the problem and get your Windows XP back to a
usable state.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm