winXP problem - plz help

[aniv3]

I've recently installed winxp home edition build 2600
on my 80 GB HD - I made 2 partitions - the 1st 20GB, NTFS (Winxp is installed in this partition)
and the 2nd, 60 GB also ntfs...
when winxp starts loading, a blue screen appears with the following error msg:

"UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME"
what the hell is wrong???

 

[Toejam31]

<A HREF="http://www.techtips4u.com/kb/sw/SW00014.htm" target="_new">"Unmountable Boot Volume" Win XP</A>

Toejam31


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[aniv3]

I've talked 2 a technician where I bought my HD and he told me that I should format my HD with 2 partitions - one using fat 32 and the other NTFS. And 2 install WinXP in the FAT32 partitions... and this should solve this problem... it did...
but I don't understand what this has 2 do with the" unmountable boot volume" error msg, according 2 the link u gave me, it says that this problem is created by messed up boot files....what's the file system got 2 do with it?
any idea???

 

[Toejam31]

The kind of file system didn't have anything to do with your particular error. Formatting and reinstalling the operating system is what corrected the problem.

It didn't matter what file system you choose for the partitions, or whether you created one or more. Many people are running WinXP with either of the file systems, and with no errors.

I think having two partitions per hard drive is a good idea, but that didn't have anything to do with the error, either.

The technician you talked to <i>accidentally</i> got it right. Partially, anyway. But you could have simply repaired the Master Boot Record or the Boot.ini file and done the same thing ... or as you did ... wipe the system partition clean and reinstall the operating system.

The fact is, many technicians recommend the exact reverse of what you were told ... to install the OS into an NTFS partition, and that the other partitions should be formatted as FAT32.

It's my personal opinion that mixing and matching file systems on the same hard drive is not always a good idea. I've seen some instability issues occur as a result of this.

You should be aware that most so-called technicians are not the most caring, or the best educated people. And half the time, you aren't actually talking to a tech ... you are talking to a customer service rep, pretending to be a tech, who would probably need help to recognize a floppy drive. (You might think I'm exaggerating ... but I met such a person.) These days, it's like flipping a coin when you look through the Yellow Pages to find a family doctor. Somewhere out there is the worst doctor. He may be just barely qualified to practice medicine, but he's treating someone ... right now!

Finding a well-trained technician with good troubleshooting skills can be even harder ... IMHO, a truly exasperating experience.

Toejam31

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<font color=purple>"Some push the envelope. Some just lick it. And some can't find the flap."</font color=purple>

 

[dr_jones]

I agree the industry is full of morons...

 

[Tungsten]

i had the unmountable boot prob as well, i tried everything, lots of re-formats & total deletion/re-creates with PM8.0, chkdsk /p >fixboot, chkdsk /r & linux distro tools... only way i can get windows to boot is to have it on a fat32 partition... i guess the HD finally gave up(weird partition table behavior), maybe a low level format would fix it or maybe it would break it, its working fine fast'n stable now so i wont press my "luck".

 

[chandanarahul]

being a tech support I gotta agree with u on this (abt being unable to rely on all the techs and their inability to figure out what the heck is really going on). It's better to stay with NTFS and try to repair mbr or run a winxp repair on it rather than doing reinstallation. ntfs is supposed to be robust and is better to have os on ntfs. What's the point of having os on ntfs? What's the point of having two file systems?