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UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME/Booting to chkdsk without XP disk or CD drive?

My laptop has ceased to boot into windows, blue-screening halfway to boot with the message "unmountable_boot_volume." I understand (from a google search) that my best next step is to run chkdsk, however as my laptop is a sony vaio I didn't get an XP disk, rather I got a "system recovery" disk which I'm not sure I can run chkdsk from. I have a standard XP Pro disk on cd, but, to make matters more complicated, my CD/DVD drive isn't working properly and will only play DVD's, not CD's. I have a working external CD/DVD drive, but I can't see a way to boot from this in the Bios (maybe I am missing something). Not that I even know that I'll be able to run the standard XP disk anyway. Should I go out and buy a DVDR and copy my XP to DVD?

I gather from a number of other sites that if you don't have an XP disk, you can create bootable floppys... Again, I have no access to floppys/floppy drives; can a similar thing be done from dvd? Can I boot from external devices?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

rindi

Remove the HD from the laptop, use a 2.5" to 3.5" IDE converter (if it is an IDE Disk) and attach it to a desktop PC as 2nd HD. Run chkdsk from there. Also run the disk manufacturer's Testing utility on it. You'll find it on the UBCD.

http://ultimatebootcd.com

chalexmandrake

ASKER

There isn't an easier way than that? Darn. That's not what I wanted to hear. Can I really not create a bootable dvd to get to chkdsk somehow?

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rindi

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chalexmandrake

ASKER

Could you explain which to use and why..? Both of these utilities are completely new to me, but it looks like UBCD4WIN requires windows to be actuallly working to function. As I explained, my windows won't boot at all. I just need a way to run chkdsk, ideally from a DVD. Many thanks.

rindi

Both. The UBCD has the manufacturer's utilities on them, and you should run those diagnostics on the disk as they can recover from some bad sectors. The UBCD4WIN gives you a windows environment and from there you can run chkdsk. You said you had a windows CD. On a running PC run the downloaded ubcd4win utility, it'll ask for your XP CD, and then you can create the DVD.

evilrix

Try looking at this: -

"How to get into Windows XP recovery console without a Windows XP CD"
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000635.htm

nobus

or BartPe : www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
lets you do that too

evilrix

Doesn't BartPE require a Windows CD (or at least Widnows files) to create it from?

nobus

imho, every xp boot cd requires them, on disk, or on cd in some form

evilrix

True, but on an OEM recovery CD they may not be accessible -- they could be, for example, compressed in proprietary format. Anyway, what you suggest is certainly a valid idea.

-Rx.

nobus

then we agree - nice eh !

chalexmandrake

ASKER

I managed to get it fixed (woohoo!) via chkdsk using a file called recovery.iso which I sourced via a user at the UBCD forum (http://www.markharding.com/xp_recovery_cd/recovery.iso). Don't know much about the utility, other than it proved to be the most straightforward solution (easypeasy!). I shall award the points to rindi, as I'm pretty sure UBCD/UBCD4WIN would have solved the problem (albeit with less efficiency) and his recommendation actually lead me to the solution, on the UBCD forum.

Thanks for you help all.

rindi

your welcome