I am running Windows XP on a Dell Dimension 4300 desktop PC. I use cable-modem to access the Internet and have a LinkSys Cable/DSL Router w/Firewall.

The other day my machine was on but I was away. When I returned, I was looking at the blue screen of death, and I think it mentioned something about ftdisk.sys. I wasn't sure what to do so I simply powered down and restarted.

During the boot process, I noticed that while running Intel UNDI, PXE-2.0, I was getting a DHCP error of some sort, perhaps while trying to boot from a remote machine (although my machine is a standalone PC).

I powered down, waited a few minutes, and rebooted, and the machine loaded perfectly fine. This occurred 2 or 3 more times during the next few hours. Since XP did not shut down correctly, I was prompted to run a quick disk check, and instead of bypassing I let it run. It did find some invalid links and repaired them, so I thought perhaps that had fixed the problem.

Then the Windows error happened again, and on rebooot I am now getting a "PXE-53: No boot filename received error" and my machine will not boot into Windows. Powering down and restarting has not worked, so I am thinking my MBR has become corrupted and thus my machine is looking for a remote boot file (?).

Is there any way to load into a Safe Mode and repair whatever has been damaged?

This is where a XP formatted floppy with NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM and your BOOT.INI files on it would come in handy. This would boot you to the GUI log on without using the HDD's MBR or boot sector.

Your problem doesn't appear to be with the disk though. PXE = Pre-boot eXecution Environment. Maybe a BIOS setting has been turned on for network booting. Some NIC cards have PXE capabilities (my 3C905C-TXM does). Your NIC card could be causing it. Try booting without it in the PC.

Thanks for the info. So I am assuming that this boot disk can be created off another XP machine, right?

And once booted into Windows, what fix can be applied so that I can reboot properly without the boot disk? Do you think my NIC card has gone bad?

Yes, the boot disk can be made on another XP machine. Just be careful of the boot.ini file. If both machines boot XP from a single HDD with only 1 primary partition (ie: the C: drive) you shouldn't have a problem. Don't confuse this disk with the set of Setup disks that can be made, not the same thing.

Maybe you misunderstood me, or I, you. I think your current problem is NIC/BIOS related. Try disabling the Intel NIC in the BIOS, if it is an on board NIC, or removing the NIC card. Then try booting.

PXE booting will occur before ANY type of disk access is done - floppy or HDD. That is controlled via the BIOS and/or the NIC. Before floppy or HDD boot access, I get two DOS screen messages regarding network booting on my 3Com 3C905C-TXM equiped system:

Initializing MBA (Managed Boot Agent). Press Ctl-Alt-B to configure.

and

Press N to Boot from Network.

In the MBA options I can set:

Default Boot to Local or Network
Local Boot to Enabled or Disabled
Message display to Enabled or Disabled.

My settings are Local, Enabled, Enabled respectively. I suppose it is possible that your N key on the keyboard could be stuck.

So, a boot floppy shouldn't help in this situation. But if something happens to the MBR or boot sector, the floppy will get you past that kind of problem.

As to what you can do in Windows to fix a MBR/boot sector problem, the quick answer is nothing. You'd need to run the Recovery Console in order to run the fixmbr and/or fixboot commands. You can get into the Recovery Console via booting an XP install CD - the full version, not an OEM recovery CD. I normally install the Recovery Console on my systems, thus getting another boot option. Microsoft's support site has excellent articles on the Recovery console.

You could also use a Win98 boot floppy to run fdisk /mbr in order to fix a MBR problem on a XP HDD. Regardless of the HDD format. The MBR is not OS format specific as it is read by the BIOS.

Thanks again for your reply!

I am definitely confused now. If the problem is with my Ethernet Card, what could trigger it randomly? This problem seems to have occured after a random system crash involving ftdisk.sys.

I did try to view my BIOS Configuration at boot time, but I could not find any options involving a network boot. The only relevant info I could set is to enable/disable the Intel UNDI PXE step in the bootup process (the other options were for the hard disk, floppy drive, and CD-Rom drives). Also, when exiting setup without saving, sometimes I get a PXE "Not enough base memory available" error as well. I am not sure where this fits into my problem.

I will follow your tip and try to boot without the NIC card in the system, but that would then disable my Internet connection. Is there a long-term solution that you can suggest? Thanks again!!!

Okay. I removed the Network card, and I am getting the same problems.

I forgot to mention earlier that at boot-up time there is a looping sound coming from my tower, and it seems like it is the floppy drive trying to read off a disk (the drive is of course empty).

In the BIOS setup, the options avaible for boot sequence are 1. floppy drive, 2. hard disk drive (it says Not Installed), 3. CD-ROM drive (it also says Not Installed), 4. BEV Device (this seems to be taking the place of Intel UNDI PXE).

If I disable the floppy drive option in the boot sequence and reboot, it says "No Boot Device Available".

I have no clue what's goig on!

Disable the Intel UNDI PXE. Ah, I see you did that already. The randomness could be your powersupply, memory, NIC and their seating. The floppy seek on boot is an option in some BIOSs. A lot of people turn it off for faster boot times, I leave it on.

If you disabled the floppy, removed the NIC and get "No Boot Device Available" - given your boot order, that usually means your HDD has cakked. What does your BIOS say about the drive? I know Dell's are bad on info, but it should at least list the drive. What is your drive formatted, FAT32 or NTFS? If it is FAT32, get a hold of a Win98 boot floppy (www.bootdisk.com). See if that will access the drive, if it showed up in the BIOS. If it is NTFS, you'll need to boot to Recovery Console to see if the drive can be accessed.

Actually, on rereading you last post, the BIOS boot is saying there is no HDD installed. Check the cabling for it, see if the BIOS is set to Auto for that IDE.

We are still in the "what's happening" stage, as opposed to the "long-term solution" part. What would take me a short time if I was I front of the machine, takes longer via the internet.

Check me to see if I have it right:
1: Machine won't boot to HDD, comes up with a PXE error.
2. Boot options were set to boot floppy, CD, HDD and then network.
3. With no NIC, No Boot Device Available is the error.
4. BIOS doesn't show a HDD. Ergo, no boot device.

Your 4-part take on my problem is accurate. With the NIC card, I get a PXE Error, and cannot boot to HDD.

When removing the NIC Card, and disabling the floppy drive, "No Boot Device" is the error. During Boot Setup, both CD-ROM and HDD are displayed with a status of "Not Installed".

I am pretty sure my HDD was an NTFS. Assuming my HDD *is not* fried, should the XP boot disk you recommended above still work (NTLDR, Boot.ini, and NTDETECT.COM)?

Not if the BIOS doesn't recognize that the HDD is there. If it does, the floppy should boot to the c:\windows\ntoskrnl.exe. If there still is that ftdisk.sys issue, add /sos to the XP boot option in the boot.ini file. Like this:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /sos

This will show various drivers starting up. Try starting up in Safe mode first.

I see. I will make the boot disk and give it a shot on Monday.

But if the hard disk isn't recognized by the BIOS, do you think it means my drive is fried? Also the CD-ROM seems to be unrecognized by the BIOS as well. Perhaps there is a deeper issue?

Thanks again!

Depends on if they are on the same IDE channel. You could try checking the cabling, changing the CD to the other IDE channel, setting them to master/slave instead of the Dell default of cable select (the position on the cable then determines master/slave).

If it is the IDE controller, your mobo is toast. You could add a PCI IDE control card, Promise and HighPoint make inexpensive ones.

The only way to really determine if the HDD is cakked is to plug it into another working system as a slave. Not to boot from, just to see if another BIOS will recognize the drive and if another OS will be able to access it. That's why I always recommend FAT32 for home users. A Win98 boot floppy gives you access to the drive.

If it turns out to be a power supply problem (5V/12V), be aware that Dell changes the power plug's pin configuration on its power supplies or at least some of them.

Ouch. This is not sounding good. But if I am able to access the BIOS, and if the floppy drive is detected, could it just be that the connection between the Hard Drive/CD-ROM and motherboard has gone bad? Would this render the whole motherboard inoperable? Or could I fix it with new cables?

Could you elaborate on the power supply issue? Thanks!

The floppy controller is generally a different chip than the IDE controller. So it is possible to have one or the other go bad. When I said the mobo could be toast, I meant that there is no way to repair a broken, on board, IDE controller. Other than putting in a PCI control card that is.

You have accessed the BIOS, you mentioned the boot order before. Dell BIOS will generally have the IDE drives on the first page in the BIOS, when you go into it.

It could well be a cabling issue on the IDE bus. That is why I had previously mentioned it. It would be a rare occurance for the cable to go bad though, it is just wires and connectors. The cable, if not put on properly could jiggle loose from vibration. Or if you were into the box, done that myself a couple of times.

You know, you never did mention if the HDD actually spins up?

That is where the PSU comes in - twice I've seen it be the power supply. When another device is added, the additional power drain cakkes things. But not enough for the BIOS to not start up and the CPU start running the boot process. So things look fine starting up, but it won't boot. Chased my tail for almost a day (way back when) the first time I ran into that. Dells do tend to a small wattage PSU.

The problem with the Dell mobo power plug pin configuration was just something I'd read about. It was more of a word to the wise. If you swap in a generic PSU, it would be a bad thing. Check the wiring colour codes.

Don't worry, I don't think we're at the Ouch stage, yet. We still haven't determined the problem. Pulling that HDD out and putting in another would test out the IDE cable and controller. You should be able to pick up a used 1-2 GB drive for $20 or less.

Now that you mention it Michael, Dell is notorious for shipping low-quality cooling fans, and mine is particularly loud. And and power-up time that whirring noise is one of the first sounds I hear.

But, since this problem I have not been hearing that noise! Well I will have to double check that but I am pretty sure I don't hear it.

As far as the HDD, how can I tell if there is activity? I don't recall there being a noticeable noise, nor any HDD light on the tower.

Depending on your case, there should be warm air coming out of your PSU vent, and possibly another vent just below that. Dell doesn't, to my knowledge, attach fans to the CPU heatsink. They do use an exhaust fan on the case, with a shroud around the heatsink. This will suck the warm air through the heatsink and out the back.

As for the HDD, it should fell warm to the touch if it is spinning. You really need to see if the HDD shows up in the BIOS.

Okay, odd turn of events. After not working all weekend and most of this evening, my computer randomly started working again. The only thing I did is perhaps re-position (not unplug/replug, just moved to the side a bit) some cables when searching inside my box.

I put my NIC card back in and my Internet is working fine.

Does this not seem extremely odd?

Also, I did receive the FTDISK.SYS error Friday night. This seemed to trigger the 2-day "bug" my PC experienced. How do you think I can remedy this problem? Does it involve the MBR? Perhaps chkdsk /mbr? Thanks!

Like I had mentioned in responses 6,10 and 12? You have to check your cabling, something is obviously loose according to your last post.

Regarding ftdisk.sys. It is not something that should be coming into play. It is for fault tolerant disks. Unless, in all this time you haven't mentioned that you are running a RAID setup?

Okay, scratch that about the FTDISK.SYS. On further reading in the MSDN library, it looks like in XP, ftdisk.sys is used for volumes "...which implements the basic partition support in kernel mode".

Forgot to address your MBR concern. The MBR only checks the partition table for the ACTIVE partition, then passes boot control over to that boot sector. If you cannot access the HDD via the BIOS, you will never read/write it. The fdisk /mbr won't help if the drive is not available in the BIOS. So, uUntil you have a steady access to the HDD, nothing on it matters.

I am not an expert on hardware (I'm a software guy), but can cables become loose "randomly" (i.e. from vibration perhaps)? As I mentioned the original FTDISK.sys error occured while the computer was on but idle. I had not opened or even moved my box anytime recently before the error happened.

When I finally did open the box Monday evening, I didn't unplug or re-plug any cables, just perhaps moved or "untangled" a couple. This is why I am confused as to why the computer did not work one second, and did the next. When the PC did start working again, my Hard Drive and CD-ROM both showed up properly in the BIOS, whereas before they were not being detected. So to answer your question, currently the BIOS *does* recognize the HDD, but that could randomly change if history repeats itself.

I did a GOOGLE search on FTDISK.sys errors, and one person reported that he was receiving similar errors as mine (i.e. computer going to BSOD while on but idle), and that he somewhat tied that to memory going bad. I downloaded a program called DocMem (something like that) that makes a bootable floppy and tests your memory out. I will give that a shot after work today.

Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks!

Well, I had answered this earlier, must of fat fingered it.

The cable could come loose due to vibration, that would give you random errors. Like not being able to see the drives in the BIOS. It could also cause your ftdisk error and crash. Maybe they weren't in all the way.

Like I've said before. Check your cabling. Reseat them on the mother board and on the devices.

Interesting. Well my PC has not crashed since Monday night. I will keep my fingers crossed!