[hairlessAple]

I have done couple of installs via my usb drive with no problems.
Once in a while though, i get a problem where the computer boots into the deskop the first time and when I install the drivers and such and reboot the computer it gives me a "disk read error occured, press ct+alt+delete".
When I boot off my usb drive again and select the second+third step option it boots into the desktop no problem.
Would a chkdsk /r fix this?
the thing is, whenever I try to do a repair , fixmbr for example, the recovery console always points to the drive other than the main c: drive. The only way to have it see the c: drive is if I run the recovery console via a cdrom...but it still doesn't fix the issue.
Well I haven't tried chkdsk /r.
I've tried fixboot, fixmbr and bootcfg /rebuild...and none seem to fix the issue.

So I end up formatting and redoing the whole thing again and that usually fixes it up but it's a pain in the arse. It looks like such a simple thing to fix, but i have no idea how to do it.

[ilko_t]

I would check the hard disk with its manufacturer tool a few times with the extended test, check IDE/SATA cables, check if jumpers MASTER/SLAVE are correctly placed, and finally play with BIOS settings for hard disk mode- LARGE/LBA/AUTO.
How old is the hard disk? Is the computer overclocked?
The problem has nothing to do with USB boot or Windows setup

edit: what file system do you format the windows partition in?

This post has been edited by ilko_t: 26 February 2009 - 02:15 AM

[hairlessAple]

ilko_t, on Feb 26 2009, 03:08 AM, said:

I would check the hard disk with its manufacturer tool a few times with the extended test, check IDE/SATA cables, check if jumpers MASTER/SLAVE are correctly placed, and finally play with BIOS settings for hard disk mode- LARGE/LBA/AUTO.
How old is the hard disk? Is the computer overclocked?
The problem has nothing to do with USB boot or Windows setup

edit: what file system do you format the windows partition in?

ilko...this problem happens randomly with multiple pcs.
I can boot from an xp install cd and reinstall the OS on the same computer and everything works okay. So I don't think it's any of the bios or jumper settings.

I usually format in NTFS(quick).

[jaclaz]

Is the message on ALL PC's:

Quote

"disk read error occured, press ct+alt+delete"

Check this:
http://www.msfn.org/board/error-0xc000000e...90120&st=25

It is VERY important to understand from where the error message comes from, it seems like coming form the BIOS, is it exactly as you posted it? Or in CAPITAL LETTERS?

This, would confirm that:

Quote

I've tried fixboot, fixmbr and bootcfg /rebuild...and none seem to fix the issue.

though I need a more detailed report.

The bootcfg /rebuild fixes BOOT.INI:
http://support.micro...kb/291980/en-us
it has nothing to do with this problem.

Fixboot and Fixmbr may only be useful if any of the errors in the previously linked post occur:
http://commandwindow...le-commands.htm

From what you describe it looks more like there is a problem in the MBR (like a completely wrong partition entry or a missing Active partition) that prevents the BIOS from accessing the disk....

jaclaz

[hairlessAple]

I believe I have found out what the problem was.

It was the boot priority. It seems that when the usb has a higher priority than the internal hard drive, i get that error message. Am I on the right track?
This is what happened today when I tried installing XP on of our customer's machines.
The first run, I didn't bother checking the boot order in the bios...and I got that error message again.
So I went into the bios and found out that the usb device was the second device to be booted, and the hard drive was third. I fixed that up, and then it worked fine after that.

This post has been edited by hairlessAple: 09 March 2009 - 08:02 PM

[jaclaz]

hairlessAple, on Mar 10 2009, 03:02 AM, said:

So I went into the bios and found out that the usb device was the second device to be booted, and the hard drive was third.

And which was the first?

hairlessAple, on Mar 10 2009, 03:02 AM, said:

I fixed that up, and then it worked fine after that.

You fixed it how?

Was the hard disk UNPARTITIONED/UNFORMATTED?

The "cannot read disk" error should be caused by the EXACT opposite of what you report : internal hard disk (unpartitoned/unformatted) having higher priority in boot device that USB stick.

The error (on the same machine) should be the same whether you have the USB stick inserted or not.

It is also possible that you are falling in one of the reported behaviour in FAQ #10 here:
http://home.graffiti.net/jaclaz:graffiti.n...SB/USBfaqs.html
(first three points)

jaclaz

[hairlessAple]

jaclaz, on Mar 10 2009, 09:48 AM, said:

hairlessAple, on Mar 10 2009, 03:02 AM, said:

So I went into the bios and found out that the usb device was the second device to be booted, and the hard drive was third.

And which was the first?

hairlessAple, on Mar 10 2009, 03:02 AM, said:

I fixed that up, and then it worked fine after that.

You fixed it how?

Was the hard disk UNPARTITIONED/UNFORMATTED?

The "cannot read disk" error should be caused by the EXACT opposite of what you report : internal hard disk (unpartitoned/unformatted) having higher priority in boot device that USB stick.

The error (on the same machine) should be the same whether you have the USB stick inserted or not.

It is also possible that you are falling in one of the reported behaviour in FAQ #10 here:
http://home.graffiti.net/jaclaz:graffiti.n...SB/USBfaqs.html
(first three points)

jaclaz

And which was the first?

CDROM

You fixed it how?

I made the USB drive the last device in the boot order.

I always make a single partition and format the drive.

Anyways, I figured out what I was doing wrong. I now make sure the internal hard drive is higher up the chain in the boot order than the USB drive.

[hairlessAple]

...

This post has been edited by hairlessAple: 10 March 2009 - 07:13 PM