XP help

Here's the situation.....Compaq Presario, Windows XP Home SP2.

Flash Drive was in USB port, Norton Antivirus had completed it's update, but I told it to restart later since I was in the middle of work. 10 mins later, BSOD appeared, computer automatically restarted and operating system no longer boots. I tried booting to Safe Mode, and Safe Mode doesn't load...it gets hung up at "iomdisk.sys".

I've read a few articles about "iomdisk.sys" being problematic during Safe Mode, but I didn't see any solution to the problem. Last known configuration didn't work either. I disabled automatic restart after system failure so that I can read any BSOD.

In Recovery Console, I disabled the iomdisk, but when I attempted to boot into safe mode or normal mode, and I get the error message Stop 0x0000007B.

I attempted a repair install, but quit that since the repair install would not copy certain files (ie, version.dll)--perhaps this was a problem since the OEM is XP Home SP1.

Anyone know of other troubleshooting I can do to diagnose/fix the problem?

Thanks,
John

 

Sounds like hardware failure. Take out the flash drive if you haven't already. If it still fails to boot try repairing from the XP cd. If it's still messed, reformat.

 

Hello John, welcome to Major Geeks.

Yes a repair install can fail if some of the files it wants to copy are older or the older files clash with the new that are left.

This means that your only option left is a clean install to get Windows working again. Use Autopatcher from MG to udate to SP2 and beyond after installation.

Before you reinstall you will want to save your data.
In order to recover your data you will need to access the failed windows from another operating system.

Options here include

Take the drive out and slave it to another pc.

Boot the pc from linux or drdos or the Norton recovery CD

Install a second copy of Windows onto a second hard drive

Install a second copy of Windows onto a second partition, carved out of the free space on the first hard drive.

What are your resources? Post again if you need help with any pat of this.
Incidentally my Norton hasn't wanted to restart after updates for a very long time.

Studio T

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm leaning towards installing a 2nd copy of windows onto the HDD and getting important data and files, then doing a clean install.

Can someone post details on how to carve out a new partition to put a second copy of Windows onto the existing drive?

-John

 

Now that you have a failed repair install, a clean install is your only option

You didn't answer the question(s).

Some implementations of Norton come with a recovery cd which can boot the pc, recognise usb drives, and copy files.

You obviously have access to another pc to post to MG. Using this is by far the next easiest option.

In order to create a new partition you will need bootable partition resizing software. I haven't seen any freeware to do this. I use Partition Magic, although there are others on the market. The software available (Diskpart / Fdisk) on the windows XP disk can only create/delete partitions, not resize them.

It may be cheaper to obtain/borrow a second small hard drive and use that.
Once you have somewhere to install to its easy, you can install a second copy from your XP disk to do the business.

It's at times like this we find out who are friends are.

Studio T

 

Boot your computer using Hiren's BootCD or anything else that contains a file manager. (even Mini Windows 98 will be good and do the job)

Or even better, you can use boot your computer using a windows bootable CD, it's a CD that contains a fully functional copy of Windows XP, like Windows PE and BartPE.

 

I do have access to second PC. I'm in the process of obtaining Windows XP boot disk. Seems like there are lots of options to choose from to get important files--especially when it appears not to be a hard-drive failure. I just need access to desktop files and MyDocuments, etc.

My attempt(s) at a repair install failed because I kept getting messages about files not being able to get copied...perhaps conflict between SP1 OEM files and current SP2 on computer...so, I aborted the repair install.

I also tried some tricks with the Recovery Console and nothing seemed to improve the situation.

Thanks again for the suggestions and advice. I'll post as I continue with the pain-staking process.

 

This won't help you. It doesn't boot the pc, merely calls the windows xp boot process from the hard drive, whcih we know isn't working.

You have to get a disk with an operating system capable of controlling the pc.

How did the file search go? If you do have malware a clean reinstall will definitely sort it.

Amjad
Windows 98 floppy/cd will boot the pc but won't read NTFS filing system used by Windows XP. You can buy NTFS readers for DOS but this is a long winded process.
Bart PE will not recognise the NTFS but not the USB. Otherwise it would be a good suggestion.
There are a number of suppliers of 'bootable cds plus utilities' out there. If you want to go that route try

http://www.eddiemaintenance.com/

$10 to download or $15 by post for the CD.

Studio T

 

Actually I've been playing with this freebie.

If you can download the iso file and burn it to cd (10M) you will have a bootable CD which can resize NTFS partitions and create new ones.

There's no guarantee, but I like what I've seen so far.

http://partitionlogic.org.uk/

Studio T

 

Well, I managed to get a copy of BartPE. It loads up well on the laptop, but using the files utility tool, I could not see the local disk [C:]. That makes me a little worried.

Prior to the BartPE, I attempted another repair install; this time ignoring all the 'set-up could not copy XXXX.xxx'. However, that completely screwed up the computer's ability to recognize any OS.

Right now, I'm trying to get a few files off the computer and do a clean install.

Any thoughts as to why BartPE can not recognize the C: drive?

-John

 

Are you talking about the 'A43 file management utility' ?
Was your drive encrypted?

NB I recommended against Bart PE.

Studio T

 

Yes. That file utility tool does not recognize drive C:. The drive was not encrypted. The drive is not the original drive of the laptop, but I doubt that plays any effect on BartPE utility tool not being able to recognize it.

Also, Windows Recovery Console appears not to recognize drive C: either.

Computer won't even boot into safe mode or normal mode. I can't even get to the Windows XP logo...just a constant start and re-start of blackness.

I think my brute repair install did the partition in. After I completed the repair install, a chkdsk automatically began and found a lot of unreadable sectors. I'm hesitant to call this a total HDD failure since there has been no indications (noises, other BSODs, etc) of a pending failure.

 

Update:

Went into BIOS setup and the HD was recognized, yet when I attempted to do a HD self test, it failed..didn't even begin the self-test..it was if the HD was not present, yet on the main screen of the BIOS, it shows the HD serial number.

Also, loaded the Ultimate Boot CD and ran the Seagate HD diagnostic, and that tool could not find a hard drive (FYI, the HD is a Seagate one).

I'm not sure what is up now.

 

Is this a SATA hard Drive?

Studio T

 

StudioT,

Yes, I beleive it is a SATA drive.

 

This is why it is a good idea to have system details. With SATA drives and slightly older pcs you need extra drivers, loaded from a floppy, to recognise the drive at install time.

I will be out for most of today, so perhaps some other Geek can help find them.

Post what details you have of your hardware.
Do you have a Compaq driver cd, look on there for SATA drivers.
Also note (post) all the settings relating to SATA in BIOS, you may have reset the BIOS to IDE during your earlier efforts.

Studio T

 

UPDATE:

Here are the drive specs:

Seagate Momentus ST94811A 40GB Hard Drive
(EIDE ATA-100, 5400 RPM, 8MB - MPN: ST94811A)

BIOS is set for auto-detect HDD. When I replaced the original with this HD, I don't remember having any issues. Just inserted the new drive and installed XP.

The BIOS does recognize the HDD..the model number is displayed. When I enter the HDD settings in BIOS it shows the correct capacity, etc. Here is my BIOS info for the HDD:

Type Auto Detect


Multi-Sector Transfers 16 Sectors
LBA Mode Control Enabled
32 Bit I/O Disabled
Transfer Mode FPIO 4 / DMA 2
Ultra DMA Mode Mode 5
SMART Monitoring Enabled

I went from Windows XP not booting, safe mode getting hung up at 'iomdisk.sys', to a brute repair installation where I couldn't copy a handle of files from the XP disk, to a CHKDSK (once repair install was 'completed') that had a lot of unrecognizable sectors.

Now, when I turn on computer, all I get is blackness and loop of restarting.

Since my computer can not recognize the HDD, if I were to slave it to another computer, I can, in theory, get some files from it?

All I want is to get a few files from it and do a clean install.

 

That was option 1 way back in post 3.

Do you know how to set the jumpers?

Studio T

 

I don't know how to set the jumpers, but I think I can have one of the IT guys at work show me how.

Hopefully the drive is functional to slave it to another computer. I'm not sure what exactly is screwed up, but I'll try a bit more playing around to see if I can get the hard drive to at least be recognized.

Thanks!

 

There are three settings

Master (no jumper)

Slave (vertical jumper on right)

Cable Select (horizontal jumper across bottom)

It is likely that Compaq have used cable select. In this case the Master drive is at the end of the flat data cable and the slave is in the middle position.

If you have disturbed the jumpers it just might lead to your symptoms. Any wrong configuration will not lead to damage, it just won't work.

Studio T