Inaccessible_boot_device
Inaccessible_boot_device
ok, wtf kinda bs is this? threw in a new mobo and i got this error(presuming from my HD) i have tried everything, ne1 help here????? thx
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Got the same error on my kids computer this morning. Obviously for some reason the computer is not able to access the hard or floppy drive which ever you are trying to boot from. On my kids computer it was a loose power connector. Could be a bad IDE cable, power connector, HDD, IDE port or IDE controler.
ok, i'll try that. thing about the floppy is i don't have one on this comp. i thought i had taken care of that though, as i completely took the floopy out of the bootup sequence in the bios, and when i went in there it didn't see one, so i figured it was ok...
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FlyingPenguin
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It's a known issue with ALL NT based OSes. Get used to it.
This comes about because Win2K/XP - unlike Win9x - does not use DOS drive letters (there is not DOS once past the boot menu) but the actual device address for the drive.
When you install a new mobo it's important that the boot drive's device address not change.
The problem is, since the advent of ATA100 controllers, the boot device address CAN change. For instance if your old mobo had a seperate EIDE and ATA100 bus and you were using the ATA100 bus for your boot drive, but now the new mobo uses a single combined EIDE/ATA100 bus, then the boot device address will be different. This is because on systems with seperate ATA100 controllers (even if they're onboard) that controller is usually treated as a SCSI controller.
Different controller chipsets will use different addresses dependin on what BIOS assigns. The only thing that appears to help is to use an add-on controller which seems to maintain a consistent device address.
This is why I recommend (ESPECIALLY if the system is mission critical) that when originally setting up the system you buy and install an add-on ATA100 controller like the Promise card (just disable the onboard ATA100 controller). Then if you ever have to change mobos (upgrade or mobo failure) you move the Promise controller over to the new system and the OS will see the boot device in the same address (usually - at least in my experience so far).
Here's what I recommend in your case:
Put some time aside for this - a LOT of time. Like a whole weekend.
First, MAKE A GHOST IMAGE of the boot partition first before swapping mobos! If this doesn't work, and the system is mission critical, at least you can restore it, put the old mobo back and give it back to him until you can deal with it.
ALSO make a repair disk BEFORE swapping mobos.
You're just going to have to try swapping mobos first and PRAY it works. If the current mobo has the boot drive connected to the standard EIDE controller then you should do the same with the new mobo and all SHOULD go well.
If it doesn't then try this:
Boot using the Win2K install CD (or the install floppies). If your new mobo has an ATA100 controller that requires special drivers to be recognized by Win2K (as most do), then you MUST have a copy of those drivers unzipped to A FLOPPY (must be on a floppy since you won't be able to access the hard drive).
First thing the Win2K installer does when it boots is ask you to press a function key (I think F6) if you have a SCSI or other disk controller drivers to install. Hit that key, and it'll prompt you to put the drivers in the floppy drive. It'll install the drivers and continue on.
When you get asked if you want to do an installation or repair, select REPAIR.
When it comes up with a list of repair options, put an X ONLY in the FIRST option (called something like "Repair Boot Sectors"). DO NOT SELECT ANY OTHER REPAIR OPTIONS.
This will (hopefully) setup Win2K to boot properly from the device you just installed drivers for.
If this doesn't work, you're screwed and you'll have to do a clean install.
I've found no other way so far to get around this, but I expect that sooner or later someone will write a utility that will solve this problem - something like the OnTrack disk manager that perhaps "spoofs" or at changes the boot device address for the OS.
Good luck.
This comes about because Win2K/XP - unlike Win9x - does not use DOS drive letters (there is not DOS once past the boot menu) but the actual device address for the drive.
When you install a new mobo it's important that the boot drive's device address not change.
The problem is, since the advent of ATA100 controllers, the boot device address CAN change. For instance if your old mobo had a seperate EIDE and ATA100 bus and you were using the ATA100 bus for your boot drive, but now the new mobo uses a single combined EIDE/ATA100 bus, then the boot device address will be different. This is because on systems with seperate ATA100 controllers (even if they're onboard) that controller is usually treated as a SCSI controller.
Different controller chipsets will use different addresses dependin on what BIOS assigns. The only thing that appears to help is to use an add-on controller which seems to maintain a consistent device address.
This is why I recommend (ESPECIALLY if the system is mission critical) that when originally setting up the system you buy and install an add-on ATA100 controller like the Promise card (just disable the onboard ATA100 controller). Then if you ever have to change mobos (upgrade or mobo failure) you move the Promise controller over to the new system and the OS will see the boot device in the same address (usually - at least in my experience so far).
Here's what I recommend in your case:
Put some time aside for this - a LOT of time. Like a whole weekend.
First, MAKE A GHOST IMAGE of the boot partition first before swapping mobos! If this doesn't work, and the system is mission critical, at least you can restore it, put the old mobo back and give it back to him until you can deal with it.
ALSO make a repair disk BEFORE swapping mobos.
You're just going to have to try swapping mobos first and PRAY it works. If the current mobo has the boot drive connected to the standard EIDE controller then you should do the same with the new mobo and all SHOULD go well.
If it doesn't then try this:
Boot using the Win2K install CD (or the install floppies). If your new mobo has an ATA100 controller that requires special drivers to be recognized by Win2K (as most do), then you MUST have a copy of those drivers unzipped to A FLOPPY (must be on a floppy since you won't be able to access the hard drive).
First thing the Win2K installer does when it boots is ask you to press a function key (I think F6) if you have a SCSI or other disk controller drivers to install. Hit that key, and it'll prompt you to put the drivers in the floppy drive. It'll install the drivers and continue on.
When you get asked if you want to do an installation or repair, select REPAIR.
When it comes up with a list of repair options, put an X ONLY in the FIRST option (called something like "Repair Boot Sectors"). DO NOT SELECT ANY OTHER REPAIR OPTIONS.
This will (hopefully) setup Win2K to boot properly from the device you just installed drivers for.
If this doesn't work, you're screwed and you'll have to do a clean install.
I've found no other way so far to get around this, but I expect that sooner or later someone will write a utility that will solve this problem - something like the OnTrack disk manager that perhaps "spoofs" or at changes the boot device address for the OS.
Good luck.
---
“The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.” - Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez
“The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.” - Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez
grrrrrrrr
dam windows ne wayz. i'll try that, although i'll hafta get my hands on a floppy, lol. thx a bunch penguin =D
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Must st ay a wa k e zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......
Must st ay a wa k e zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......
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FlyingPenguin
- Flightless Bird
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You don't need a floppy - boot from the CD.
I think you need a repair disk (hope you made one). Doesn't have to be on a floppy though. When you make a repair disk it's saved to a folder on your hard drive and if you haven't got a floppy it'll look for that folder as an alternative.
I think you need a repair disk (hope you made one). Doesn't have to be on a floppy though. When you make a repair disk it's saved to a folder on your hard drive and if you haven't got a floppy it'll look for that folder as an alternative.
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“The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.” - Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez
“The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.” - Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez
The same exact thign just happened to me last week. Got a new mobo and couldn't boot into windows. There's a pretty extensive forum post on the subject here . The way I fixed mine was to boot to a win2k cd and run setup. I told it to install (i tried repair and it did nothing), and then it came up and said that a previous upgrade has failed and it asked to try again. I said sure and away it went and it booted into windows fine. All I had to do was reinstall some drivers and everything worked fine. I didn't even have to reinstall any programs. I'm skeptical about this, though, because the 2000 install was originally a clean install on a newly formatted drive, so I don't know what the upgrade stuff was about. But it worked. Hope you get it fixed.
~ChuckD
~ChuckD