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Operating System Boot Failure

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Typhoon859

Registered
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Starting out straight with the point, without the "how" for now - I had no issues of this sort before but now, after the POST BIOS at the screen that searches where to boot from, I get this:
Verifying DMI Pool Data...

NVIDIA Boot Agent 249.0542
Copyright (c) 2001-2005 NVIDIA Corporation
Copyright (c) 1997-2000 Intel Corporation
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
PXE-MOF: Exiting NVIDIA Boot Agent.

This loops for about 5 times and finally, underneath the last loop, it says the following:
DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER
_



I figured that the Operating System got corrupted for reasons that I'll explain afterward, so I decided to try and do a Windows Repair using the disc. All was good and well until I actually clicked on "Repair your computer" and no OS was listed in the System Recovery Options where it said "If you do not see your operating system listed, click Load Drivers to load drivers for your hard disks". That wouldn't help considering I never had to install any drivers for my hard disks. All my hardware is 3 months old and just a month ago, I ran stress tests on everything possible, memory tests, along with many other tests to check my system (including MemTest86 & Prime95). Including the stress test, I also checked all the blocks on my HDD for errors at the time so it isn't the problem.

Anyway, if I did in fact press "Load Drivers", I was able to see all the files on the drive. Along side the "C:" drive, there also was a drive named "Boot(X: )" which I'm assuming is the cache (not sure). Anyway, in the Windows folder of that "drive", there was a folder named "Boot" in which I even further found a folder named "PXE". The only files I'm able to view though are .inf (Setup information) files and in there was one named "WdsConfig". I tell you this because that folder seems as if it's of some great importance, considering it looks like what the NVIDIA Boot Agent explores. Maybe that folder is corrupted and maybe I can replace it by copying, pasting, and replacing it from my flash drive (just a wild guess).

In any case, what I was in fact successful in doing was using the error-checking software that comes with Vista, since I was also able to right-click the drive and use the tools that were in the properties. I selected both, to automatically fix file system errors and to scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. A few common errors were found, all of which were fixed, but nothing major, again hinting towards the fact that the HDD and SATA connection to the motherboard are fine (and yes, I did try different SATA ports). What I was also successful in doing was a System Restore back to when I know the drive was booting (though I'm not too sure what that function recovers exactly, besides program changes).
The tools I'm given if I continue, even if I don't select an OS, are the following:

-Startup Repair
-System Restore
-Windows Complete PC Restore
-Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool
-Command Prompt

Without choosing the Operating System, it obviously says that it's unknown, an even worse factor being that it doesn't even know what drive to do any of the actions I'd select, which basically makes all those options null besides Command Prompt. By entering "rstruie.exe /OFFLINE:C:\Windows", I was able to do a System Restore which ended up not helping anyway. Since the system can read the drive in the BIOS, I want to again try to emphasize as much as I can that there is nothing wrong with it - it's just Windows.

The strangeness to all of this is that this happened after I solved another problem I've been having for the past 3 months. Before my current power supply which I listed in my profile, I had the Rosewill 600W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready Power Supply (RP600V2-S-SL). Only recently have I figured out that the reason my system was freezing (probably at an average of every other day) and the reason it took me multiple tries to start up my system was because this power supply wasn't supplying enough amperage on the 12V rail (a max of 35A), considering that only my video card uses 26A from there. (The system usually froze during video playback, even more so during high resolution video playback.) I tried to find the reason for this issue two months ago but found improbable causes and the reason I looked into it now again and found the solution was because my system stopped starting altogether.

Basically, I replaced the power supply with my current CORSAIR one, where I ONLY REPLACED THE POWER PLUGS AND TOUCHED NOTHING ELSE FOR CERTAIN. I really didn't touch anything else so it seems odd to me that this problem occurred only now when I replaced the power supply, and not any of the other hundred times I shut my system down manually because of the freezes. I double checked that I had everything plugged in fully and properly. Maybe it had something to do with my system not starting up at all with my previous power supply. IMPORTANT: What I meant by my system not starting up was that all the fans turned on and ran at 100% as usual, difference being that usually this takes place only for a few seconds till the motherboard beeps. When it didn't start up, the fans just kept running at full power and my EVGA 680i motherboard just stopped at error code 25 (displayed on the board itself), which is video card related, probably because it's really the thing that was using most of the amperage. -Anyway, that issue is solved now.

By installing a fresh version of Windows onto a new hard drive and making this current HDD a slave drive, or maybe even placing it into an external shell, is there any way I can fix Windows on the drive since I'd have access to an OS on the other drive? Maybe I could replace some Windows files required for startup. Basically, can anybody recommend something for me to do? Thanks very much to all that even read this wall.



System Specs-
_______________________________________________________________________________
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W (BX80569Q9450)
Motherboard: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR2 1066MHz (PC2 8500) - TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF
Storage: Master: Hitachi Deskstar 250GB 7200 RPM SATAII (P7K500 HDP725025GLA380) & Slave: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 7200RPM SATAII (7K1000 HDS721010KLA330)
Optical Drives: LG Black IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - 22X DVD+R, 8X DVD+RW, 16X DVD+R DL, 22X DVD-R, 6X DVD-RW, 12X DVD-RAM, 16X DVD-ROM, 48X CD-R, 32X CD-RW, 48X CD-ROM
Video Card: MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCIe 2x16 HDCP Ready SLI
Soundcard: Onboard Azalia (HDA) - 8 Channels
Power Supply: CORSAIR 650W SLI & CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply (CMPSU-650TX)
Heatsink: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro, 92mm
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
 
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Give me ur full specs, i've had this issue all the time. But give me ur specs. and any plugged in usb storage drives?
 
The only thing that can cause this is faulty psu, not enough power from psu.
If u can get rid of anything u dont need, fans, cd-rom drives get rid of em and u should be fine, ur files could of been corrupted and will not boot even with a new psu.
 
The only thing that can cause this is faulty psu, not enough power from psu.
If u can get rid of anything u dont need, fans, cd-rom drives get rid of em and u should be fine, ur files could of been corrupted and will not boot even with a new psu.

You're right and originally, I did have a faulty PSU. If you read everything, which I didn't necessarily expect anyone to, I said I replaced it and it fixed the original PSU problem I was having. This problem is now so maybe because of the previous power supply, this issue still remained. But as I also said, I did so many tests to see if the HDD is faulty or not and they all pointed to the fact that it isn't. I'm basically trying to figure out a way to manually fix Windows.
 
You wouldnt happen to have jumpers on your hdd's?
Boot sequence configured?
 
Then the boot sequence setting may be configured for a hard disk drive that don't have the OS.

A15G said:
You wouldnt happen to have jumpers on your hdd's?
Boot sequence configured?

1) I took out my other hard drive so that only the one with the OS was inside

2) To begin with, I never changed anything from my previous setup; all I did was change the power supply to solve my previous problem which it did.

3) I've tried going into the boot menu and selecting the drive personally to boot from.

4) I double checked in the BIOS that the hard drive I need to boot Windows from was the first BOOT priority, on top of the fact that I made the order of booting as hard disks first.

5) No, my HDD does not have a jumper and neither does the other one that I unplugged.

6) With all the tests and observations I've done even now, I know that the problem is not the connection between the drive and the motherboard and neither is it the HDD itself. I know for fact now that it's Windows. My question is how to fix Windows in an indirect method, as in without the disc, as in by maybe booting from another drive with Windows on it and making the one I needa fix the slave drive. Maybe I can do something when I can access all its files. Anybody know of a method?
 
Well guys; thanks for the help attempt but no longer a need now to burn your brains. I solved the issue but explaining how would take too long. So, no need to further post - unless you have questions.
 
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