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I am getting windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem
could not read from the selected boot disk check boot path and disk hardware, well and you know the rest, this is not my computer and I don't have any of the disks so reloading is not an option so what can I do any help would be great like I said it isn't mine it was built buy some dude don't think he knew exactly what he was doing and now its all screwed up help please
Boot into the BIOS screens (del) and check the boot order to verify the setting is for the correct HDrive. Save any changes and exit. Make sure no CD are in any drives. Then watch the POST screens at startup to verify the HDrive is identified by model there. If still no joy, you are going to need a WinXP CD. In any case reloading may not be necessary. A windows repair may right things.
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Depending on the motherboard, it may be F2, F1, F10 or F11. Most likely it is DEL.
Did he build the computer specifically for you or was it the one he was using but then he sold it? If he did not give you the software then he may not have a valid license. If you get miffed with him, you can always turn him in to Microsoft :-).
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it was built for my sisters mother in law she had to be out of her house so my sister ende up with it Ive done the del button and gotten into the bios and then I just dont know what else to do
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On the second or third screen you will find "boot order". Set to first device= disabled, second device= CD, third device= HDD0. Save and exit. You move with the keys. all the instructions on how to move are right there on the screens. Enter, Esc, pageUp/dn, arrow keys are what you can use to move and open / close the different screens. If you mess up just exit WITHOUT saving. If you don't mess up but reset as described hit F10 and then enter. The computer will then attempt to boot to Windows again. Watch the screens from that point on. Watch for the harddrive model to flach on the screen. If none shows then there may be a problem with the harddrive or cables. Post back with results.
Depending on the BIOS you may see a list when entering the BIOS or you may see tabs. Either way you highlight the desired selection by using the arrow keys or the PgUP/dn keys. Once highlighted hit enter to open that screen. To go back hit Esc key.
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ok did that it shows primary master disk= lba, dma 2, 120gb Im assuming this is what you are asking for or something close
the other screens go by to fast to get much info, i know that it said phoenix, and there is a gforce and like i sid it goes by to fast on most of it to catch much
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No, that is the drive configuration. Is the BIOS a list or tabs? Post the list or the names of the tabs. I will attempt to send you to the correct screen.
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ok its a list this is what it says
two sides to the list
phoenix- awardbios cmos setup utilitystandard cmos features
advanced bios features
advanced chipset features
intergrated peripherals
power management\pnp/pci configurations
pc health status
other side says
frequency/voltage control
load fail safe defaults
load optimized defaults
set supervisor password
set user password
save & exit setup
exit without saving
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You don't have to disable the first device, you can set that to CD, then set the 2nd device to Hard Drive. The 3rd device could be disabled.
The hard drive may need chkdsk /r ran. It could be going bad or just have some corrupt or bad sectors.
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ok how do you run the chkdsk?
but any more suggestions would be great Im going to bed so I will try them in the morning
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If you have the windows install CD, put it in the drive. Boot like you are going to reinstall. Inside the install, pick R, then Recovery console. It will take you to XPs version of DOS. It may or may not ask you what partition you want to repair. If it does, pick 1 which should be C. Then you will have to login with your main Admin password. It's the one you picked when you first installed windows. Then type chkdsk /r. It will take anywhere from 20 to 120 minutes. Most of the time around 30-40. Then reboot.
There are other ways of doing it but you will have to make a boot disk for those options.
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dondreak
I have my reason for disabling the first boot device. Reserved for floppy drive if needed. No harm and avoids having to change all if the need to boot to floppy comes up.
Ravyn
The screen you want is the "advanced bios features" screen.
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dondreak,
You really should learn to read the posts properly. The OP stated in his original post that he didn't have any of the disks.
You also risk confusing the OP by advising a different set of instructions to those given by OtheHill, who seems to have the situation well in hand. One set of instructions at a time is enough for most people.
Please let us know if you found someone's advice to be helpful.
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Ok advanced bios is wher I disabled the first boot device, second one is boot from cd and third is HDD-0 and I saved all that
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sorry its all the same it goes to the screen that tells me same thing it has been u know about computer disk hardware config
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Ravyn
Did you try using the pause or scroll lock keys to freeze the screen. It is important to know if the drive is being configured by the BIOS. If it is, then the issue is a problem with Windows. If not, then the drive or some other component may be defective.
If using the recommended keys isn't working for you, then boot back into the BIOS screens and look for an entry called "enable fast boot". When found, set to disable. this will allow you to see the POST screens.
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ok I turn it on first screen says
Nvidia Geforce 4 mx 440 AGP8X VBIOS NV18.PN.02
Version 4.18.20.38.00
Copyright (C) 1996-2003 Nvidia Corp
64.0MB Ramthen it goes to the next black page witch reads like this
Phoenix-awardbios V6.00pg, an energy star ally copyright (c) 1984-2002, Phoenix techonolgies ltd
K7VTA3 V6.0A 9/22/2003
Main Processor AMD Athlon XP 2400+
Memory Testing 524288K OKPrimary Master: ST3120026A 3.54
Primary Slave: None
Secondary Master: Memorex 52MAXX 3252AJ QWS6
Secondary Slave: Nonethen after that it goes to the cant load windows disk error so those are the three screens that it goes threw
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OK, it appears your harddrive is being recognised. That is an indication the drive is OK.
Something must be wrong with the Windows installation.
About the only thing you could try right now without a windows disk would be to attempt to boot to safe mode. That requires continously tapping the F8 key at startup. If you get a menu first try to select last good configuration. Try each option in turn. Post back.
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tried them all none work I think it might be the boot. or what ever that file is I asked my sister what the last thing was that people were doing she said they were in a bunch of windows files and she dosent know if they messed with that file or not she said she thought that he was doing something with it then it didnt work
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I wish I could but I don't have it I think it is buried in a storage unit somewhere but like I said it isn't mine so I don't know where or when I could get at it
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It sounds like the hard drive is OK, but without the Windows CD, this problem would be nearly impossible to fix. Can you borrow a Windows CD from someone?
You could try slaving the hard drive to another machine, in order to retrieve any wanted data. You could also check the contents of boot.ini, and make sure other critical system files are present. It may be possible to fix it this way, but it wouldn't be easy to guide someone through it, via a forum.
Please let us know if you found someone's advice to be helpful.
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no I don't have any where to get a Cd all my computers came with it reinstalled and they don't send you any of the Cd's how do you check the boot.ini contents I'm beginning to really think that is where this problem is I do have 3 other computers to work off of so that's not a problem any help you could try to give would be great she cant afford to put any money into this system really so that's kinds where I'm stuck
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Remove the hard drive from the computer and change the jumper on the back to the "slave" position. Connect it to the middle connector of the IDE ribbon of another machine. Connect a molex power connector to the drive. You may have to boot into the BIOS of this machine to check that the drive is being recognized.
Boot into your normal Windows installation, and you should be able to see the extra drive in "My Computer" (possibly as E:\, depending on your machines hardware configuration). At the root of this drive, you should see a boot.ini file. If you can't see it, you'll have to set the machine to view hidden files (Tools > Folder Options > View tab). If you still can't see it, it may have been deleted.
If both machines are of a standard configuration (i.e. hard drive is master on the first IDE channel), you can probably get away with copying the boot.ini from your C:\ drive to the other drive, overwriting the existing one.
If the boot.ini file was the sole cause of the problem, you should now be able to put the drive back in its original machine and boot it up. Don't forget to change the jumper back to the "master" position, first.
Here's an example of a boot.ini file:
***********************************************************************************************[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect**********************************************************************************************
Please let us know if you found someone's advice to be helpful.
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Ha you guys are awsome that got me into that hard drive there is no boot.ini the boot.ini from my working computer reads like this
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\windows
[operating system]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\windows="microsoft windows xp home edition"/fastdetect/noexecute=optinso thats what mine says what do i need to cahenge to get it to work on this other computer
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Assuming that the hard drive doesn't have any hidden partitions, you can change both instances of "partition(2)" to "partition(1)". If you've managed to get Windows to boot up, you've probably done this already.
The USB ports are not affected by the boot.ini. That's another problem, entirely.
This would be a good time to start a new thread, specifically to fix the USB problem. Include a link to this thread, in order to provide some history for anyone that responds.
One tip: Use punctuation in your posts. It's hard to read posts that look like one long sentence. A lot of people that could help, won't (simply because they find the post hard to read). If you have difficulties with punctuation, try putting each sentence on a separate line.
Please let us know if you found someone's advice to be helpful.
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