Hard drive failure during defrag?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Why did I ever defrag?? On a whim, I decided to try the Windows DEFRAG
utility. In the middle of the defrag routine, my laptop suddenly quit and
said that I had a missing or corrupt system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. It said I
could attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the
original Setup CD-ROM, and selecting 'r' at the first screen to start repair.


I tried this. I turned off the laptop, inserted the Setup CD-ROM, turned
the laptop on, and booted from the CD. The laptop opened up a Windows Setup
screen and said it was loading various files. Then it went to the Windows XP
Home Edition Setup screen, where I had the choice of setting up Windows XP or
repairing the Windows XP installation using Recovery Console (press R). I
pressed 'r' and the screen said it was "Examining 38155 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on
bus0 on atapi..." The laptop stayed like this for about 10 minutes, then
said "Examining startup environment...". After about 5 more minutes, the
laptop screen switched to a black Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console
screen, which said to "type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the
computer". It was about about 10 more minutes before I got a DOS prompt
where I could type EXIT, but when I got the C:\ prompt, I typed EXIT. When
the laptop rebooted, it hung and said I had a missing or corrupt
system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. So the Recovery Console apparently didn't work.

On other attempts, I tried copying ntfs.sys from the Setup CD-ROM to the
laptop C:\ drive, with no luck. I also tried looking at the contents of the
C:\ drive with the DIR command. No luck. It took the laptop a long time to
respond to any DOS commands addressing C:\, but it immediately responded to
commands addressing D:\. Is it time to just give up and reinstall Windows?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

"hfearing" <hfearing@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Why did I ever defrag?? On a whim, I decided to try the Windows DEFRAG
>utility. In the middle of the defrag routine, my laptop suddenly quit and
>said that I had a missing or corrupt system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. It said I
>could attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the
>original Setup CD-ROM, and selecting 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
>
>
>I tried this. I turned off the laptop, inserted the Setup CD-ROM, turned
>the laptop on, and booted from the CD. The laptop opened up a Windows Setup
>screen and said it was loading various files. Then it went to the Windows XP
>Home Edition Setup screen, where I had the choice of setting up Windows XP or
>repairing the Windows XP installation using Recovery Console (press R). I
>pressed 'r' and the screen said it was "Examining 38155 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on
>bus0 on atapi..." The laptop stayed like this for about 10 minutes, then
>said "Examining startup environment...". After about 5 more minutes, the
>laptop screen switched to a black Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console
>screen, which said to "type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the
>computer". It was about about 10 more minutes before I got a DOS prompt
>where I could type EXIT, but when I got the C:\ prompt, I typed EXIT.

At this point you were running the Recovery Console and you could have
used various commands to fix or diagnose the problem.

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
Article ID : 314058
http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=314058


> When
>the laptop rebooted, it hung and said I had a missing or corrupt
>system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. So the Recovery Console apparently didn't work.
>

What you needed to do was the following:

*****
5. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER
after each command):
cd \windows\system32\drivers

ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old
Note This step renames the corrupted Ntfs.sys file to Ntfs.old. If the
Ntfs.sys file is not found, the file is missing.
6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press
ENTER:
copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers
Where cd is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive that contains the
Windows XP CD, and drive is the drive where you installed Windows XP.
*****

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Mr. Martell, thanks for your suggestion.
I started the Recovery console again, and this time when i got the C:\
prompt, instead of typing "exit" I typed "cd \windows\system32\drivers".
After about 30 minutes, the laptop responded with "The path or file
specified is not valid."
So, I figured it couldn't find a c:\windows\system32\drivers folder.
So, I went to d:\i386 and tried copying the ntfs.sys file to c:\, with the
command
copy ntfs.sys c:\
After about another 20 mintues, the laptop said "The file could not be
copied."
Any other suggestions?




"Ron Martell" wrote:

> "hfearing" <hfearing@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> >Why did I ever defrag?? On a whim, I decided to try the Windows DEFRAG
> >utility. In the middle of the defrag routine, my laptop suddenly quit and
> >said that I had a missing or corrupt system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. It said I
> >could attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the
> >original Setup CD-ROM, and selecting 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
> >
> >
> >I tried this. I turned off the laptop, inserted the Setup CD-ROM, turned
> >the laptop on, and booted from the CD. The laptop opened up a Windows Setup
> >screen and said it was loading various files. Then it went to the Windows XP
> >Home Edition Setup screen, where I had the choice of setting up Windows XP or
> >repairing the Windows XP installation using Recovery Console (press R). I
> >pressed 'r' and the screen said it was "Examining 38155 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on
> >bus0 on atapi..." The laptop stayed like this for about 10 minutes, then
> >said "Examining startup environment...". After about 5 more minutes, the
> >laptop screen switched to a black Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console
> >screen, which said to "type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the
> >computer". It was about about 10 more minutes before I got a DOS prompt
> >where I could type EXIT, but when I got the C:\ prompt, I typed EXIT.
>
> At this point you were running the Recovery Console and you could have
> used various commands to fix or diagnose the problem.
>
> Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
> Article ID : 314058
> http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=314058
>
>
> > When
> >the laptop rebooted, it hung and said I had a missing or corrupt
> >system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. So the Recovery Console apparently didn't work.
> >
>
> What you needed to do was the following:
>
> *****
> 5. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER
> after each command):
> cd \windows\system32\drivers
>
> ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old
> Note This step renames the corrupted Ntfs.sys file to Ntfs.old. If the
> Ntfs.sys file is not found, the file is missing.
> 6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press
> ENTER:
> copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers
> Where cd is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive that contains the
> Windows XP CD, and drive is the drive where you installed Windows XP.
> *****
>
> Good luck
>
> Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
> --
> Microsoft MVP
> On-Line Help Computer Service
> http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
>
> In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
> http://aumha.org/alex.htm
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Boot from the Windows XP CD. When it asks if you want to install windows
check yes. You will then have the option to install a fresh copy or do a
repair.

"hfearing" wrote:

> Mr. Martell, thanks for your suggestion.
> I started the Recovery console again, and this time when i got the C:\
> prompt, instead of typing "exit" I typed "cd \windows\system32\drivers".
> After about 30 minutes, the laptop responded with "The path or file
> specified is not valid."
> So, I figured it couldn't find a c:\windows\system32\drivers folder.
> So, I went to d:\i386 and tried copying the ntfs.sys file to c:\, with the
> command
> copy ntfs.sys c:\
> After about another 20 mintues, the laptop said "The file could not be
> copied."
> Any other suggestions?
>
>
>
>
> "Ron Martell" wrote:
>
> > "hfearing" <hfearing@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> >
> > >Why did I ever defrag?? On a whim, I decided to try the Windows DEFRAG
> > >utility. In the middle of the defrag routine, my laptop suddenly quit and
> > >said that I had a missing or corrupt system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. It said I
> > >could attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the
> > >original Setup CD-ROM, and selecting 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
> > >
> > >
> > >I tried this. I turned off the laptop, inserted the Setup CD-ROM, turned
> > >the laptop on, and booted from the CD. The laptop opened up a Windows Setup
> > >screen and said it was loading various files. Then it went to the Windows XP
> > >Home Edition Setup screen, where I had the choice of setting up Windows XP or
> > >repairing the Windows XP installation using Recovery Console (press R). I
> > >pressed 'r' and the screen said it was "Examining 38155 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on
> > >bus0 on atapi..." The laptop stayed like this for about 10 minutes, then
> > >said "Examining startup environment...". After about 5 more minutes, the
> > >laptop screen switched to a black Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console
> > >screen, which said to "type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the
> > >computer". It was about about 10 more minutes before I got a DOS prompt
> > >where I could type EXIT, but when I got the C:\ prompt, I typed EXIT.
> >
> > At this point you were running the Recovery Console and you could have
> > used various commands to fix or diagnose the problem.
> >
> > Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
> > Article ID : 314058
> > http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=314058
> >
> >
> > > When
> > >the laptop rebooted, it hung and said I had a missing or corrupt
> > >system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. So the Recovery Console apparently didn't work.
> > >
> >
> > What you needed to do was the following:
> >
> > *****
> > 5. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER
> > after each command):
> > cd \windows\system32\drivers
> >
> > ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old
> > Note This step renames the corrupted Ntfs.sys file to Ntfs.old. If the
> > Ntfs.sys file is not found, the file is missing.
> > 6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press
> > ENTER:
> > copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers
> > Where cd is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive that contains the
> > Windows XP CD, and drive is the drive where you installed Windows XP.
> > *****
> >
> > Good luck
> >
> > Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
> > --
> > Microsoft MVP
> > On-Line Help Computer Service
> > http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
> >
> > In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
> > http://aumha.org/alex.htm
> >

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Jerryrock, thanks for your suggestion.

At your suggestion, I booted from the Win XP Setup CD, and chose to install
Win XP. I did not get an option to "repair", only to "set up". I chose to
"set up" C: Partition1 [unknown], and got a message page saying "the
partition is either too full, damaged, not formatted, or formatted with an
incompatible file system. To continue installing Windows, Setup must format
this partition. CAUTION: Formatiing will delete any files on the partition."

Any other suggestions?



"jerryrock" wrote:

> Boot from the Windows XP CD. When it asks if you want to install windows
> check yes. You will then have the option to install a fresh copy or do a
> repair.
>
> "hfearing" wrote:
>
> > Mr. Martell, thanks for your suggestion.
> > I started the Recovery console again, and this time when i got the C:\
> > prompt, instead of typing "exit" I typed "cd \windows\system32\drivers".
> > After about 30 minutes, the laptop responded with "The path or file
> > specified is not valid."
> > So, I figured it couldn't find a c:\windows\system32\drivers folder.
> > So, I went to d:\i386 and tried copying the ntfs.sys file to c:\, with the
> > command
> > copy ntfs.sys c:\
> > After about another 20 mintues, the laptop said "The file could not be
> > copied."
> > Any other suggestions?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "Ron Martell" wrote:
> >
> > > "hfearing" <hfearing@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > >Why did I ever defrag?? On a whim, I decided to try the Windows DEFRAG
> > > >utility. In the middle of the defrag routine, my laptop suddenly quit and
> > > >said that I had a missing or corrupt system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. It said I
> > > >could attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the
> > > >original Setup CD-ROM, and selecting 'r' at the first screen to start repair.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >I tried this. I turned off the laptop, inserted the Setup CD-ROM, turned
> > > >the laptop on, and booted from the CD. The laptop opened up a Windows Setup
> > > >screen and said it was loading various files. Then it went to the Windows XP
> > > >Home Edition Setup screen, where I had the choice of setting up Windows XP or
> > > >repairing the Windows XP installation using Recovery Console (press R). I
> > > >pressed 'r' and the screen said it was "Examining 38155 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on
> > > >bus0 on atapi..." The laptop stayed like this for about 10 minutes, then
> > > >said "Examining startup environment...". After about 5 more minutes, the
> > > >laptop screen switched to a black Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console
> > > >screen, which said to "type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the
> > > >computer". It was about about 10 more minutes before I got a DOS prompt
> > > >where I could type EXIT, but when I got the C:\ prompt, I typed EXIT.
> > >
> > > At this point you were running the Recovery Console and you could have
> > > used various commands to fix or diagnose the problem.
> > >
> > > Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
> > > Article ID : 314058
> > > http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=314058
> > >
> > >
> > > > When
> > > >the laptop rebooted, it hung and said I had a missing or corrupt
> > > >system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. So the Recovery Console apparently didn't work.
> > > >
> > >
> > > What you needed to do was the following:
> > >
> > > *****
> > > 5. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER
> > > after each command):
> > > cd \windows\system32\drivers
> > >
> > > ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old
> > > Note This step renames the corrupted Ntfs.sys file to Ntfs.old. If the
> > > Ntfs.sys file is not found, the file is missing.
> > > 6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press
> > > ENTER:
> > > copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers
> > > Where cd is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive that contains the
> > > Windows XP CD, and drive is the drive where you installed Windows XP.
> > > *****
> > >
> > > Good luck
> > >
> > > Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
> > > --
> > > Microsoft MVP
> > > On-Line Help Computer Service
> > > http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
> > >
> > > In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
> > > http://aumha.org/alex.htm
> > >

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

"hfearing" <hfearing@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Mr. Martell, thanks for your suggestion.
>I started the Recovery console again, and this time when i got the C:\
>prompt, instead of typing "exit" I typed "cd \windows\system32\drivers".
>After about 30 minutes, the laptop responded with "The path or file
>specified is not valid."
>So, I figured it couldn't find a c:\windows\system32\drivers folder.
>So, I went to d:\i386 and tried copying the ntfs.sys file to c:\, with the
>command
> copy ntfs.sys c:\
>After about another 20 mintues, the laptop said "The file could not be
>copied."
>Any other suggestions?
>
>


Whoa!!!!!

30 minutes to respond to a CD command in Recovery Console? Something
is very seriously amiss here.

1. Go to the hard drive manufacturer's web site and download their
diagnostic software. Boot your computer with the diskette or CD
created by this and run the diagnostic tests on your hard drive.

2. If your computer passes the hard drive diagnostic test then boot
back into the Recovery Console and enter the following command:

CHKDSK C: /R

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm