I screwed up the boot.ini and cant boot from USB CD/DVD

Hey folks (very long time no see, i've been a busy chappie)

So heres a quick rundown of my problem...

Computer is a Toshiba P2000 (freakishly slim Pentium 3 Netbook)



I edited the boot.ini manually, when i reboot it just posts then hangs on a black screen.

I thought it was no biggie, ill just reinstall as ther was nothing on it needed and it could do with a reinstall anyway, but as it is a "netbook" it doesnt have a CD Drive so i got my USB CD/DVD out and tried to boot with that with no success [after a bit of googling it turns out these just wont boot from any USB CD]

Again i thought no biggie ill just get the HDD out and connect it to my PC and edit the boot file, that is when i discovered this laptop doesnt use a standard IDE or SATA drive...

It uses a drive based on IDE but it has a 50 pin Female connection, and the corresponding Male pins are on the Laptop.....

http://www.extremecoolgadgets.com/product_info.php?language=en&currency=GBP&products_id=3065

It is apparently the hdd they used in early iPods.


Anyhoo, after plenty of googling it looks like i can get a connector for it (possibly) to be able to plug it into my desktop IDE connection, but they are only available from less than reputable looking sellers on ebay based in Hong Kong (the same sellers have many of ther own websites offering them aswell) my money is them all being the same seller.

They are only about £5 so it is not a lot of money but i dont like ordering from overseas period.

Now this lappy does have the ability to boot from a USB Floppy (according to google, but i havn't tested) so where i need some advice is can i create some form of DOS floppy and boot from that and edit the boot.ini file that way?

Or any other suggestions welcome.


Q

 

Greetings, ~Q~.

LTNS!

You might take a look at Bootdisk.com - always used them for DOS disks, pretty reliable.

 

Hey Caliban that does look like what i need but I have to confess my DOS knowledge has never been good, and it is virtually non existent now, I might be quite savvy with most aspects of modern OS's but im a rank noob when it comes to this stuff.

Hell its been so long since i used a floppy im not sure if the disks will be good or the drive will still work.

Could you give me a few pointers please mate?

 

Yeah, you'll probably run through a few floppies before you find a good disk - those things sure don't last long, and good luck trying to find some in a store anymore.

There's a pretty good rundown on DOS commands at Computer Hope - probably what you're looking for would be bootcfg, edit, etc.

 

Hello,
If all you want to do is edit the boot.ini file, you can use UNetbootin to create a bootable USB flash drive. It downloads a number of Distros including Puppy Linux that you could use to edit the file. Also, it can use any bootable iso file, including freeDos. What operating system are you using. If it is formatted with NTFS, I do not think DOS will be able to see the partition or files. I prefer Puppy because it defaults to root which lets you basically edit any system file.

 

Unfortunately it doesn't boot from a USB Stick (only a USB FDD)

IT is/was running XP and very well for such an old low powered thing.

I hadn't thought about the NTFS Issue, but with it being an old P3 on a 20GB 1.8" i reckon chances are it will be FAT.


If it is NTFS, i guess i would need a *nix floopy?

 

Hello,
You can use ntfs4dos. It is no longer supported by Avira but it is still available here. It creates a bootable floppy that has read and write access to a NTFS drive. Also, here is a link to the documentation.

http://www.free-av.com/documents/products/pdf/jp/man_avira_ntfs4dos_pers_en.pdf

 

Thanks for the help folks, i'm gonna have to put this on hold 'til tomorrow as my USB FDD is fubar
(found it slightly crushed at the bottom of an old chest that is full of old HDD's

I'll report back tomorrow when i get one sorted out.


BTW; I've also found found out that this will boot from *certain* PCMCIA CD Drives so i'm gonna make few calls and see if i can find one of them to lend and try.

 

Quick update....

I've tried 3 different USB FDD's and i can't get it to boot from any of them (can't find a PCMCIA one either)

So i'm going to order the adapter off ebay and see if that arrives.


I'll let yas know when it sorted, Thanks for the help geeks.

 

Hello,
Just something for your information. It seems that XP will only boot from 3 specific USB FDD's.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916196

 

Ok, one of us is deffo' confused here...

I didn't think i was booting the floppy "through" XP


I thought i was booting from the Floppy directly, as in the same way a Live CD boots.



edit: as my only intention was to access the HDD and manually edit a file.

 

Oops. Yep, I am the confused one. Sleeping at the switch. :-o

 

phew!

I thought i was gonna have to un-learn everything i crammed in my head last day or so

 

Sorry plodr but im almost 100% sure your mistaken as it lists USB FDD as a boot option in the BIOS.

 

Can you boot to the recovery console?
BOOTCFG.exe
Edit the Windows boot settings stored in Boot.ini

Syntax
BOOTCFG /addsw Add OS load options for an OS entry in boot.ini

BOOTCFG /copy Duplicate the entries for an OS instance.

BOOTCFG /dbg1394 Configure 1394 port debugging

BOOTCFG /debug Edit the debug settings for an OS.

BOOTCFG /default Specify the default OS

BOOTCFG /delete Delete an OS entry [operating systems] section of Boot.ini

BOOTCFG /ems Redirect the EMS console to a remote computer (server only).
(Emergency Management Services)

BOOTCFG /list List entries in boot.ini

BOOTCFG /query Display section entries from Boot.ini

BOOTCFG /raw Add OS load options, specified as a string

BOOTCFG /rebuild Totally rebuild boot.ini (use when Windows won't start)

BOOTCFG /rmsw Remove OS load options for an OS

BOOTCFG /timeout Change the OS time-out value.Detailed options for all the above are available from BOOTCFG /? Items in bold are only available from the recovery console

Default identification strings:

OS Load Options = /Fastdetect
Load Identifier = Microsoft Windows XP Professional

If you intend to rebuild the boot.ini file, delete it first - boot into the recovery console then:

ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\Boot.ini
DEL C:\Boot.ini
Bootcfg /Rebuild
FixbootThe moral sense of conscience is by far the most important.. it is the most noble of all the attributes of man" - Charles Darwin

Related Commands:

Fixboot - Write a new partition boot sector
Q291980 - The XP Bootcfg command
Q317521 - The 2003 Bootcfg command
Recovery console

 

The recovery console needs the ability to boot from CD if im not mistaken.

 

There are two ways to start the Recovery Console:

If you cannot start your Windows and the Recovery Console has not been installed on your computer before, you can run the Recovery Console from your Setup CD.
Click "How to use the Recovery Console" for detailed information.
Alternative, you can install the Recovery Console on your computer to make it available in case that you cannot restart Windows. You can then select the Recovery Console option from the list of available operating systems on startup.
Click "How to install the Recovery Console" for detailed information.

 

I wonder if you can access the recovery console from a boot to usb winxp setup.
I have a build for usb install of win xp he should be able to install the recovery consol from somthing like it even if it wernt the one from his computer cd/dvd/image.

 

X:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

Where x is the usb drive containing the winnt32.exe file

 

Thanks for the help patty' but if you re-read the thread, you will see that this particular lappy will not boot from any USB Device except (possibly) a USB Floppy.

It doesnt have any recovery console installed.


edit: any other ideas are welcome though! cos as of today i am just waiting for the adapter to come off ebay so i can plug it into my desktop.

Although i keep having flashing moments of lunacy where i feel like having a go at soldering the connections to an IDE ribbon
(it uses the same pin out apparently)

 

Hello,
What kind of adapter did you get. I just purchased one of these when I saw it mentioned in a thread on Major Geeks. You can attach any 2.5/3.5 sata/ide drive and plug it into a usb port with this adaptor.

http://www.datamemorysystems.com/_memory-information/_IMG/cb-isatau2-4.jpg

 

Check out my linky in post #1

This HDD is not a standard connection, it is 5mm 1.8" and has a weird 50pin FEMALE head on it.
(althoughi t only uses 44 like standard IDE)


This is the adapter i ordered....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-8-Toshiba-Hard-Disk-2-5-IDE-ATA-Converter-Small-/230403840768

Looks like i might be waiting a while though as he is now not taking orders

 

Yikes, I can see what you are saying about cabling.

 

They used this HDD in some early ipods and i found a hack where somone had managed to rig up a 3.5" desktop HDD to ther ipod, which is kind of the reverse of what i need so i know it can be done...

But that dude must have more patience than me, as he had to sodler connections at both ends (88 tiny pins to 88 tiny wires) i would only need to do 44


Here is a link to the page but it seems to be down for now from my end (the rest of the site works though)

http://www.ipodhacks.com/article.php?sid=1318

 

Maybe something like this would be easier to hook up.

http://www.sourcingmap.com/zif-ide-...gle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=usfroogle

 

Thats basically the same thing just that goes to a 3.5" instead of a 2.5"


But, the 2.5" one is a bit cheaper, and it's on ebay so i should get my money back if it doesn't arrive

 

I got the adapter today...

http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/4613841/220/4613841.jpg

Worked like a charm, I had to plug it into a laptop and boot a linux disc to get into it though, as it wouldn't work with my IDE to USB adapter.

Once i got in I just edited the boot.ini and fitted it back in the netbook, where it booted up straight away.


Here is the lappy up and running...

http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/4613891/220/4613891.jpg


Only cost me £3.99 inc' p&p aswell.


Cheers, Q.


EDIT: check out how skinny this thing is...

http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/4613929/220/4613929.jpg

 

Good job, Q - glad you got it sorted. That's a good looking little machine. :major

 

Nice job, Q!

You are a very calm man for getting through that without throwing the thing against the wall. Gotta love proprietary hardware both floppy and IDE connections. My first Compaq notebook (all pcmcia connections) wasn't much better.

 

hehe, i came close to slingin at the wall a couple of times.
(especially as it takes ages to post, so constant restarts are excruciating)


I think it is poor form on toshibas behalf for this thing not having USB CD capabilities, the tech' was certainly available at the time, and im sure this must have cost a bomb when new.

And i would hope at least, that all of these would have shipped with a bootable PCMCIA CD drive from new otherwise it is disgraceful IMHO.

Although i'.ll give them ther' dues on just making the HDD so flippin thin and small, even if it does have a retarded female 50 pin head :mad


***

 

that some skinny lappy u got there. how much centimetres is it?