[thechi]

i am in a constant loop of rebooting/blue screen with an error message of unmountable_boot_volume. i have attempted to fix this by following the instructions in sticky "How-to repair Windows XP". i only get as far as pressing F8 to agree... the next screen is:

"The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space on this computer."

i have C: Partition1 and Unpartitioned space

i then have the option to choose a partition and then, Enter=Install C=Create Partition F3=Quit

it does not give me an installation list.

what do i do now?? can someone please help me?

***UPDATE***

after doing some more reading, i went back into the recovery console and did a chkdsk /r. it's been going for about 1.5 hours now and is stuck at 51% completed.

C:\>CHKDSK /R
CHKDSK is checking the volume...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
CHKDSK is performing additional checking or recovery...
51% completed.

as i said, it's been stuck here for about 1.5 hours. i can't tell if it's doing anything or not.

Edited by thechi, 12 September 2007 - 07:12 PM.

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Hi thechi...

Just let it run until it completes or you are absolutely sure it has stopped responding. I've actually seen this operation take up to 12 hours depending on the size of the drive and the condition it's in. In a lot of cases like yours, the machine will boot to Windows once it completes.

If it doesn't complete or get you into Windows, post back here with your results and we'll see if we can get it going another way.

wannabe1

[wannabe1]

Hi thechi...

Just let it run until it completes or you are absolutely sure it has stopped responding. I've actually seen this operation take up to 12 hours depending on the size of the drive and the condition it's in. In a lot of cases like yours, the machine will boot to Windows once it completes.

If it doesn't complete or get you into Windows, post back here with your results and we'll see if we can get it going another way.

wannabe1

[thechi]

wannabe1...

thanks for your response. i will let it run. i will keep you informed.

thechi

[wannabe1]

My pleasure...

As a side note, a pause at 51% is pretty common and it may sit there a while...then suddenly back up a ways and start forward again. Another common pause is at 84%. It may do this a number of times as it tries to recover the file system.

[thechi]

wannabe1...

thanks a lot. that makes me feel a little better. it's been sitting at 51% for hours now. i thought it was just going to stay stuck there, and i didn't know a way out. let me ask you this.... if it were stuck at any point, would it just kick itself out? or would it just stay that way forever until i did something? (sorry if that's a silly question)

thechi

[wannabe1]

If it stops responding, you can usually end it by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete...or powering the machine down by pressing and holding the power button in for about 5 seconds. Let's hope it doesn't come to that and that it completes and boots to Windows.

[thechi]

thank you. i will let it try to continue.

i don't know exactly how long it's been now, probably about 4 hours stuck in the same spot. i don't hear the cd or hdd working... all i hear is the fan. i know you said the process could take up to 12 hours or so... but do you have any idea how long is 'normal' to be paused at 51% and 84%?

i am also concerned about my machine going to sleep. i imagine that would stop the process entirely. i'm afraid to leave my machine unattended because of that reason.

i just want access to my files. if i can get them i'd be willing to start the os and all my appz over from scratch. i have about 30gb of work files i need desperately.

[wannabe1]

I'm fairly certain we can get to and recover your files. I think the problem you have is with the file system and we can usually get around that one way or another...providing the HDD itself is still healthy. Just from what I've seen so far, I think it's all right.

[thechi]

that's a big relief... thank you. i just went and checked and it's moved up to 53%. so maybe it's going along fine. i have been sitting here searching and trying to fix this issue for over 24 hours with about 3 hours sleep. i am going to go eat and relax a bit. i will come back and give an update if any.... thanks again for your help. it's greatly appreciated.


*** UPDATE ***

it's nearly 11pm PST and it's now up to 56%... i guess that's a good thing, at least it's moving a little.

i forgot to mention.... this whole ordeal started after i rebooted from a very slow and staggering session, and got a chkdsk that had tons of "check disk, deleting corrupt attribute record (128, " ")" responses. i mean, tons. that itself took about an hour. i don't know if that has any significance, but thought i'd bring it up.

Edited by thechi, 12 September 2007 - 11:52 PM.

[thechi]

*** UPDATE ***

3:15am and up to 61% .... keeping my fingers crossed.

5:15am ... up to 62% ....

10:10am ... 72%

Edited by thechi, 13 September 2007 - 11:11 AM.

[wannabe1]

This has got to be a record for running chkdsk...has this completed yet?

[thechi]

it's finally stopped... it says....

CHKDSK found and fixed one or more errors on the volume.
"all the disk space/available space, then allocation units, etc"

C:\>

it hasn't rebooted itself.... just gives me the C prompt. I am waiting to hear back from you before i do anything.

[wannabe1]

type exit and press Enter. See if it will boot to Windows.

[thechi]

whew... huge, gigantic sigh of relief!! it booted right in and seems to be fine. the first thing i'm going to do is back up all my work before anything else. in the case this happens again i don't want to have to go through another 24 hours of nail biting, sleeplessness and anxiety.

after i back up everything, i wonder if i can find out what caused this. or maybe i should leave well enough alone. if you have any suggestions either way, please let me know.

thank you so much for coming to my aid... just knowing you were here to help me during this ordeal has meant a lot.

[wannabe1]

That's great news!

I think it would be a very good idea to check this machine over a little bit. These kinds of problems can be caused by quite a few different things...including failing ram or a HDD going bad.

Get your files backed up first, then we'll look at a few things and run some diagnostics.

Well done...