[bmmagic24]

Hi. I have had an additional internal hard drive installed in my old Dell which runs Windows XP for years now and I decided to take it out. I unplugged the IDE connectors and removed the hard drive, plugged it into an external enclosure, etc. Everything went fine until when I tried to turn on my computer again a black screen and message popped up:

"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 failure. Please check the Windows documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional information."

I don't know that much about computers but I need to get this computer running again and I would like to still be able to keep the extra drive as an external hard drive. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Were the two drives on the same IDE cable inside the system?
If so did you change the jumper on the back of the drive still in the system to a single drive now?
What make is the drive still in the system?

[rshaffer61]

Were the two drives on the same IDE cable inside the system?
If so did you change the jumper on the back of the drive still in the system to a single drive now?
What make is the drive still in the system?

[bmmagic24]

They were on the same IDE cable as far as I know. There is one ribbon-like connector going from the main drive to the motherboard and there are two connectors on that one ribbon; one for the main drive and one for an additional drive. I didn't know about or flip any switch on the drive nor do I know the make of the drive still in the system.

After windows not being able to start I took out the hard drive that I put in the enclosure and put it back in the main computer to see what files were on it. Windows started as usual once I put the drive back in. I had thought that there were just a few video files on it but apparently somehow some essential parts of windows were transferred or installed onto this hard drive. So I tried to move everything from that drive over the main drive but some files couldn't copy. For example, something called ntuser.dat and some others.

I don't know how these got on here but is there any way I can get them off? I really want to be able to use this drive as an external drive and I windows doesn't seem to start without it.

[rshaffer61]

OK this is going to take some work. First off we need to have you in windows to do this.

Download and install Free Everest Home Edition
Open it.
1: In left pane expand Computer folder.
2: Click once on Summary
3: In upper menu, go Report
4: And then to Quick Report-Summary
5: Save it in text file, and paste it in your next post.
Click the + by computer, click on Sensor. Get a screenshot and post it so I can check your temps and voltages...


DO NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING UNDER THE LINE THAT SAYS "DEBUG- PCI"

[attachment=48313:Everest.GIF]




Once we get the log I can check the jumper settings on the hd. What I'm looking at is the back of the drive where you plug the power and ide ribbon into it. You will see the little white or black jumper there. It will look something like this.

[attachment=48315:HD Jumper.jpg]

Once I know the manufacturer of the hd I can find the correct jumper setting to make it work as a standalone and not a master drive.

[rshaffer61]

Once I know the right settings then switching the jumper to the correct position should allow the windows to boot up with just the one drive in it.

[bmmagic24]

Ok, here is the log:

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition © 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer FAMILY (Family)
Generator Andrea
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2011-03-12
Time 00:44


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name FAMILY (Family)
User Name Andrea

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 2400 MHz (18 x 133)
Motherboard Name Dell Dimension 4600
Motherboard Chipset Intel Springdale i865PE
System Memory 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (08/26/04)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X (Microsoft Corporation) (64 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X
Monitor Dell E773c [17" CRT] (6418039532KU)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Intel 82801EB ICH5 - AC'97 Audio Controller [A-2/A-3]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel® 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
IDE Controller Intel® 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive HDS728080PLAT20 (80 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Disk Drive Maxtor 6Y080L0 (80 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Optical Drive PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-109 (DVD+R9:6x, DVD-R9:6x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:40x/24x/40x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
Optical Drive SAMSUNG CD-R/RW SW-248F (48x/24x/48x CD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 76245 MB (31985 MB free)
D: (NTFS) 78528 MB (52344 MB free)
Total Size 151.1 GB (82.4 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse PS/2 Compatible Mouse

Network:
Network Adapter Compact Wireless-G USB Network Adapter with SpeedBooster (192.168.1.7)
Network Adapter Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Modem BCM V.92 56K Modem

Peripherals:
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB2 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB Device Compact Wireless-G USB Network Adapter with SpeedBooster






...screenshot coming up...

[bmmagic24]

Here is the screenshot:

http://i1200.photobu...pg?t=1299910134

Thanks for your help.

-Brian

[rshaffer61]

You have two HD's that are showing.
HDS728080PLAT20 is a Hitachi drive and the other is a Maxtor drive.
If the Hitachi is the drive that stays in the system and has windows loaded on it then go HERE and look for the section that says"

Jumper settings
16 logical head default (normal use)

Use the line that says Shipping Default Condition (Device 0) to set the jumpers


If the drive is a Maxtor then use the following from HERE.

It doesn't matter which style you have the drive needs to be set as The Master jumper settings.

[bmmagic24]

I set the Maxtor to master and took the Hitachi out, but the same error message came up when I tried to turn the computer on. I appreciate your help, but I guess it's probably too complicated to fix, without you actually seeing for yourself what the problem is.

[bmmagic24]

I don't mean to be ungrateful at all though! I really am appreciative! The only reason I really said that was because I'm leaving to go back to college tomorrow night so the next 24 hours are really the only remaining time (until my summer break) when I'll be home to be able to work on this computer.

[rshaffer61]

Lets try one more thing before you actually give up.

Download and install Free Everest Home Edition
Open it.
1: In left pane expand Computer folder.
2: Click once on Summary
3: In upper menu, go Report
4: And then to Quick Report-Summary
5: Save it in text file, and paste it in your next post.
Click the + by computer, click on Sensor. Get a screenshot and post it so I can check your temps and voltages...


DO NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING UNDER THE LINE THAT SAYS "DEBUG- PCI" [attachment=48352:Everest.GIF]