UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME, BSOD, repair console fails, data saved! I can has XP key?

Thegreatcow

Ahoy hoy folks!

Got another issue on my plate today, (apologies for the spelling, doing this on the iPhone) it seems after several years of good service, my WD 10k 74gb raptor kicked the bucket and some how corrupted my boot sector to the drive, and it boots straight into a BSOD with thread title up above.

I tried using window's recovery console, but every time I try to select the volume from the DOS Prompt, it hangs and does nothing....yikes not good....

So! How boned am I here? I guess the main things I'm looking at:

-Can I recover the data from the drive by say hooking it up to another compy as a slave/external "drive dock"? If so, would I need data recovery software or can I just hook it straight up?

-If the data is recoverable, does that mean the drive is salvageable? IE a full format and just re-install an OS/use as another application drive?

-Should I stay away from 10k rpm drives in general because of this? I'll be quite honest, I've never had a boot sector get corrupted before. I've used lots of drives over the years in assembling compies for friends and family, and these 10k guys just looked like a nice performance boost without splurging on an SSD.

Once again, thanks for any help/advice! You all have been great before!

bowen

You shouldn't need any recovery software. You probably have almost an 100% chance to restore data, assuming it's just the boot sector of the hard drive that's kissing the deck.

I'd just recommend reading the reviews on a particular piece of hardware when you buy them. I've had no issue with 10k drives, so, I don't see why not.

The drive is probably gone to shit, I wouldn't try reusing it, get the data off it.

BlochWave

I assume when you say you used the recovery console, you followed the directions in the spoiler tag.

Looking at those directions, I'm not sure where

I try to select the volume from the DOS Prompt

comes in, so I'm hoping you were doing something different and the below instructions help you. Since you're booting off of the CD the fubar'd HD shouldn't even be a factor.

The data should be fine. If my Windows drive did that, I could still boot from my second HD which has a Linux OS on it, and then access all my files on that HD via Linux's file browser, no sweat. I'm sure you could hook it up to another HD and transfer files or make an image or whatever if you wanted. That might be easier.

Some operations with a hard disk, such as an error when installing an additional operating system, can damage the boot sector of the disk, thus preventing it from booting.

Follow these instructions to restore the MBR:

Insert the XP or Windows 2000 installation CD in the CD-ROM drive and reboot the computer.

If the computer does not boot with the CD, then you will have to change the boot sequence in the PC’s BIOS setup so that the CD takes precedence over the hard disk.

While booting, the boot program on the CD detects any existing, bootable partitions on the hard disk, stops the boot process and only continues booting once a key has been pressed.

On the first screen of the Windows Setup program, select "R" and on the next screen, select "K" to run the Recovery Console.



Now, enter the following command

fixmbr

If, after re-starting, the hard disk is still not able to be booted, you can also re-create the boot sector in the first partition.

In order to do this, return to the Recovery Console and type in this command

fixboot c:

The following tip describes how you can accomplish the same thing by using a DOS diskette:

Thegreatcow

Yeah that's exactly what I was trying to do. I used my windows xp cd to boot and pressed R to start the recovery console console from the windows setup. It then took me to a dos-esque menu to "Select which volume you wish to work with", and there's only one volume to choose. When I select it, it just hangs and does nothing, even after sitting for 20 minutes.

Though the replies so far are pretty heartening, as long as I can yank some important files off that drive, I'll be a happy bovine. Now to wait for my dock connecter to arrive and I can start working on this beast...

TychoCelchuuu

I would NOT keep on trying to make that thing bootable; it sounds like it is failing and you'll want to hook it up to another computer and grab your important data. Using it a bunch (i.e. booting off of it and running Windows and so on) might cause more damage.

Thegreatcow

Ahoy hoy folks! Thanks again for your help regarding yanking the data off my boot drive. My compy is up and running, and my Diablotek drive dock worked great!

Now I've got a new situation. My old compy is still serviceable, and I was planning to use some of my secondary drives as a new primary. Now I know that you can go registry diving to find a windows product key and I've used Jellybean's magical key finder to good effect before, but I can't seem to get it to work on an external slave drive.

So! My query is twofold: is there any way to remotely extract a product key from a "dead" windows drive and if I do can I pretty much use any windows XP cd to reinstall windows on my old compy as long as I match the pro/home versions based on the product key?

Once again thanks for your help in this matter!

bowen

It'd be more effort than it's worth. Do you not have the key anywhere?

You can use any CD as long as the version and type matches.

IE, a Windows XP Pro SP3 CD key with a Windows XP Pro SP3 CD, etc.

Thegreatcow

bowen wrote: »

It'd be more effort than it's worth. Do you not have the key anywhere?

You can use any CD as long as the version and type matches.

IE, a Windows XP Pro SP3 CD key with a Windows XP Pro SP3 CD, etc.

Alas I can't find hide nor hair of this key anywhew, I had that folder that the DVD came with but it vanished in the intervening 3 times that I moved over the last couple of years.

ronya

If your folder has your purchase information, call Microsoft and ask for a new key. Call the number they show on the activate over the phone screen, I think.

Thegreatcow

That's the thing, the folder that held the DVD and key, I lost it in the intervening 3 years. My old windows install is on the drive that's dying, so I'm hoping there's some way I can extract the key from the drive.

Hevach

The key is stored in the registry, so you can get it back if the windows folder itself is intact.
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

I think this is the program we've got at work, I haven't used it in a while. Freeware, you can run it on a nonbootable drive to get the key for its installation rather than the one running, which is what you want (there's a few freeware options I know of that you can't do this with).

One thing to remember, if it's an OEM copy, sometimes the key in the registry doesn't match the key on the folder. I honestly don't know what that means for using that key, since I've never run into a situation where I had to use a recovered key like that.

TychoCelchuuu

Hevach wrote: »

The key is stored in the registry, so you can get it back if the windows folder itself is intact.
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

I think this is the program we've got at work, I haven't used it in a while. Freeware, you can run it on a nonbootable drive to get the key for its installation rather than the one running, which is what you want (there's a few freeware options I know of that you can't do this with).

One thing to remember, if it's an OEM copy, sometimes the key in the registry doesn't match the key on the folder. I honestly don't know what that means for using that key, since I've never run into a situation where I had to use a recovered key like that.

That is precisely the program he said he was trying to use.

When you say you can't get it to work, what do you mean? When you click load hive, does it not work? Do you get an error message?

Skeezicks

Try loading the registry hive from the old hard drive. Do this:

Start Menu -> Run -> type in 'regedit' (without the brackets)
Click "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE"
File -> Load Hive -> Browse to the file and call it whatever you want. Registry files are stored in %SystemRoot%\WINDOWS\System32\Config\

Then try running the key finder again.

When you're done:
Click on the loaded hive -> File -> Unload Hive

Thegreatcow

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

Hevach wrote: »

The key is stored in the registry, so you can get it back if the windows folder itself is intact.
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

I think this is the program we've got at work, I haven't used it in a while. Freeware, you can run it on a nonbootable drive to get the key for its installation rather than the one running, which is what you want (there's a few freeware options I know of that you can't do this with).

One thing to remember, if it's an OEM copy, sometimes the key in the registry doesn't match the key on the folder. I honestly don't know what that means for using that key, since I've never run into a situation where I had to use a recovered key like that.

That is precisely the program he said he was trying to use.

When you say you can't get it to work, what do you mean? When you click load hive, does it not work? Do you get an error message?

Yup, I try pointing it to the slave Drive, and I get a HIVE LOAD FAILED message. I must be pointing it in the wrong way methinks...

Thegreatcow

Skeezicks wrote: »

Try loading the registry hive from the old hard drive. Do this:

Start Menu -> Run -> type in 'regedit' (without the brackets)
Click "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE"
File -> Load Hive -> Browse to the file and call it whatever you want. Registry files are stored in %SystemRoot%\WINDOWS\System32\Config\

Then try running the key finder again.

When you're done:
Click on the loaded hive -> File -> Unload Hive

Ooo this looks promising thank you! I was seeing incredibly more gobbledygook versions alluding to what you're saying online but this distills it quite nicely. I'll give it a look when I get home tonight!