Hidden partion autochk program not found

Discussion in 'Software' started by ewicatcher, Mar 19, 2006.

  1. ewicatcher

    ewicatcher Private E-2

    I just purchased Norton System Works 2006 and was attempting to install it over the 2005 version. Norton recognized the older version and was going to uninstall it before installing the 2006 version.

    I received some error message toward the end of the install that there was an error in the install. Without rebooting I tried to uninstall the 2005 version but was unable since there was an incomplete install or some such nonsense. Anyhow, I gave it a ctrl, alt, del. Now I cannot get back into Windows just the blue screen of death... with the message that the autochk program is not found. I did some searching on the internet, and found a person with a similar problem. It was suggested to him that he use PTEDIT to fix his problem.

    I downloaded this program and put it on a floppy but my computer will not boot from it. I typed G:Windows >a: then I typed a:/ptedit/ptedit.exe etc. etc. I also tried the Windows XP Recovery Console. I tried FIXMBR/fixboot both with no success. I would like to try the PTEDIT program but I cant get it going.

    The computer cycles over and over and each time I get the message that the autochk program is not found. I believe it has to do with:

    "If the computer is rebooting then most likely the NTFS partition has been configured as a "hidden NTFS" partition, which is 0x17 (hex) or 23 (decimal) in the "partition type" field of the partition table. XP seems to treat this in the following manner: if the partition is "hidden", then it should pretend that the partition does not exist. If the partition does not exist, then the pathname of the autochk.exe file is inaccessible. You can download a free tool called "PTEDIT" (do a Google search with "PTEdit download") which runs from a DOS boot disk and will allow you to simulate the situation, so that you can see the results. For your system partition, type "17" (which is hexadecimal) or select from the list options "hidden NTFS" and it will automatically select the numerical value for you. Tell it to save the changes, and you will get exactly the results you described."

    Microsoft suggests:

    .Insert the Windows XP startup disk, and then close the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP window if it appears. 2.Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.3.At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER.
    copy drive letter:\i386\autochk.exe %WINDIR%\system32

    Note The drive letter placeholder represents the drive, such as "D:", that is running the Windows XP startup disk.
    4.Type Y when you receive the following message:
    Overwrite C:\WINDOWS\system32\autochk.exe? (Yes/No/All):
    5.Remove the Windows XP startup disk, and then restart the computer.

    This one did not work either, running it in different variation I get either access denied or file not found. Also when I am in the command prompt mode of the XP recovery console by default it is coming up G:Windows>.
    Before my troubles my drives were: C:\ Windows operating system
    D:\ Second hard drive
    E:\ DVD Player
    F:\ CD Burner

    I guess the C drive is now hidden. I put the drive in another computer. The drive showed up in device manager and disk management but I was unable to assign a drive letter to it. Norton Go Back may be guilty for this too.

    I don't know how to proceed; your help would be most appreciated.

    Shawn
    Dell 4100
    Pentium 1Ghz 384 RAM
    Windows XP SP2
     
  2. Franklin

    Franklin Corporal

    Just to check a couple of simple things,Does it boot into safemode and when you set the drive in another pc did you set it as a slave.
     
  3. ewicatcher

    ewicatcher Private E-2

    No, it does not boot into safe mode, I get the same error message, "autochk program not found, skipping autochk."

    It is a Maxtor drive, and the settings for this particular drive on maxtor.com says that it does not need to be set to slave. I did try the jumper in almost every configuration possible. Someone on another forum told me to try cable select too. That did not work either.

    For some reason it wants to install on the G drive which is a noxexistent drive. I am afraid to reinstall windows on the nonexistent G drive or the C drive. When I was going to reinstall on the C drive it said there was no partition, and asked if I wanted to create a partition. I got scared and decided to pursue putting the drive on another computer, which did not work as I think I already stated.

    I wish I could try the ptedit.exe utility, but it would not book the program?


    Shawn
     
  4. ewicatcher

    ewicatcher Private E-2

    I am thinking I want to try and reinstall Windows but there are too many options for me to make an uninformed decision. When I go to Windows setup the following screen comes up, I have changed the color to blue.

    What is referred to as drive G: was once my C drive pretty darn sure, it is the right size about 60GB.

    I believe what is referred to as drive C used to be my secondary hard drive AKA Drive D about 80 GB I believe. I am assuming since the drive formerly known as C is not recognized that my D drive got bumped up to C.

    I could probably install Windows on the former D drive (secondary hard drive) but then I figure I will right back to having a drive the computer cannot see and I still won't be able to get my data off the problematic drive.

    I was going to try Microsoft Support but could not log into tech support because I do not have the Windows product ID, gee if I could get on my computer I could get that info but then again I wouldn't need their help a catch 22 I believe. My pals at Symantec that got me into this mess have not returned my email request for help.

    Any help anyone could offer would be most appreciated. I will Paypal you a 12 pack of beer!

    Thanks Shawn



    Windows XP Home Edition Setup

    The following list shows the existing partitions and
    unpartitioned space on this computer.

    Use the UP and DOWN keys to select an item in the list.

    • To set up Windows XP on the selected item press ENTER.
    • To create a partition in the unpartitioned space, press C.
    • To delete the selected partition, press D.


    Unknown Disk


    (There is no disk in this drive.)

    57216 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on atapai [MBR]

    G: Partition1 [NTFS] 57208 MB ( 40956 MB free)

    Unpartitioned space 8 MB



    76317 MB Disk 0 at Id 1 on bus 0 on atapai [MBR]


    C: Partition1 (Local Disk) [NTFS] 76317 MB (40956 MB free)






     

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