BSoD 0x000000ED

[Anaxandrides]

Hiya~

My wife's computer has a malfunction that I cannot fix. A first for me, I must admit. We woke up two days ago, and it had shut down during the night. I turned it on, and recieved an unmountable_boot_volume error with the primary error code as given in the thread title. I tried to get to the recovery console from the WinXP disk, but recieved the same error. So I started running Hiren's BootCD 8.6. A 16-pass memtest86, HDD Regenerator, Spinrite 6.0, Maxtor's built-in tools, PC Doctor, and Partition Magic were all used. The HDD works in all of the above programs, and came up with no physical or logical errors. I fdisked and zero'd the drive, then made a new NTFS partition. Should be fine after such extreme measures, right?

Wrong. The WinXP disk still gives the same error. Ubuntu and Fedora Core both install with no issues, but my wife is not a Linux user. Not a lot of help. So... any ideas? I am using an 80-pin cable, UDMA settings are correct, mbrfix and chkdisk found no issues... I'm stumped.

[Adrynalyne]

Are you certain you low level formatted the drive? Sounds like the MBR is still hosed.

[Anaxandrides]

Yes, I'm sure. I know it sounds like the MBR is still hosed, but I low-level formatted, used mbrfix, and cleared it. I don't really see how the MBR could be hosed. =/

[Shadow_Puter_Dude]

You mean fixmbr, correct?

[Anaxandrides]

Yea. My mistake, sorry. =P Been at this for two days solid, so I'm a little burned out~

[Shadow_Puter_Dude]

From the Recovery Console issue the command fixboot C: from the command prompt. Exit the Recovery Console and reboot.

[Anaxandrides]

I cannot get to the Recovery Console (as mentioned), because the WinXP installation CD bluescreens at "Starting Windows". No EULA, no partition/Recovery Console options.

[Shadow_Puter_Dude]

Run the drive manufacteurs HDD Utilities for your hard drive. Remove the partiton, then set the drive up as if it was band new.

[Anaxandrides]

Again, as mentioned, I ran Maxtor's utilities (it's a Maxtor drive), fdisked, zero'd, and installed a new NTFS partition. Mind you, the WinXP disk should have been able to make the partition for me. But it's not playing nice. Not to be rude, but I think it may help you to re-read the original post. I ran every HDD diagnostic tool and HDD utility that I could think of. Simple solutions are probably out the window on this one.

[Adrynalyne]

Well, we can be blunt and cut to the chase, sure.

You have two possibilities, if you have run every HDD tool imagineable.

1. Your XP CD is damaged.
2. Your hard drive is damaged.

[Anaxandrides]

The HDD has passed every test I've thrown at it, including the manufacturer's diagnostic and two third-party burn-ins. The WinXP CD works in the computer that I am using to make this post. The HDD works with Linux, and a different WinXP (Home instead of Pro) also fails to work. There has to be something else going on, but I can't figure out for the life of me what it is.

[Shadow_Puter_Dude]

Make sure that the CD drive is first in the boot order in BIOS. If the HDD is first then the boot sector of the HDD is being read before the system attempts to boot from the CD drive.

[Anaxandrides]

The CD drive is first in the boot order. I couldn't get to WinXP's setup or run any utilities on Hiren's if it weren't could I?

[Matacumbie]

See if this might apply, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315403

Turn off the IDE disk caching in the BIOS. Then, boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r.

Steve

[Shadow_Puter_Dude]

Originally Posted by Anaxandrides

The CD drive is first in the boot order. I couldn't get to WinXP's setup or run any utilities on Hiren's if it weren't could I?

Not true. You configure a boot order in BIOS, the system then searches for bootable devices in that order. If the first device is not bootable then it moves to the next device and so on until it finds the first bootable device.

[Anaxandrides]

Originally Posted by Matacumbie

See if this might apply, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315403

Turn off the IDE disk caching in the BIOS. Then, boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r.

Steve

IDE disk caching is off.

Shadow_Puter_Dude, what you say is true. However, the CD drive is (and always has been) the first item in the boot order.

[TimW]

Is this thing a dell?

[Shadow_Puter_Dude]

Originally Posted by Anaxandrides

Shadow_Puter_Dude, what you say is true. However, the CD drive is (and always has been) the first item in the boot order.

Then the CD should boot just fine, either the system is somehow reading the boot sector of the HDD and preventing a boot from the CD, or the CD drive is bad. Unplug the HDD from the IDE cable make the CD drive the first device connect to the IDE and try booting to CD.

[Anaxandrides]

It was built by me about a year ago.

And it -can- boot from CD, but the WinXP boot CD bluescreens. All other CDs work as intended. Incidentally, the HDD and optical drive are connected to different IDE ports (and yes, those also test fine).

[Shadow_Puter_Dude]

Does this system have a floppy drive? If so, have you tried booting from the Startup Disks, and enter the recovery console that way?