hi i am new to the site and my problem is windows wont start even in safe mode or off the recovery disk it gives me the same error unmountable boot volume. the system first crashed when installing the discovery mod. it hasent started since. anyone?
oh no... i had that error on my first PC about.. 7 years ago when xp first came out. and i think the harddrive was replaced and it worked again, dunno was a long time ago.
Had something similar happen a few years back, your best bet is to try a new hard drive. Sometimes they just quit out of the blue after a few years of use.
SYMPTOMS
When you start your computer, the Microsoft Windows XP startup screen appears, and then the computer may restart. The Windows XP logon screen does not appear.
CAUSE
This issue may occur if the Kernel32.dll file is missing or damaged.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, use the Windows Recovery Console to extract a new copy of the Kernel32.dll file from the original Windows XP CD. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Start the Recovery Console. If you do not have the Recovery Console installed, start it from the Windows XP CD. To do this, follow these steps:
a. Insert the Windows XP CD, and then restart the computer. If you are prompted, select any options that are required to start from the CD.
b. When the text-based part of the Setup program starts, follow the instructions that appear on your screen. To select the repair or recover option, press R.
c. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you must access from the recovery console.
d. When you are prompted, type the Administrator password.
2. At the command prompt, type cd system32, and then press ENTER.
3. Type ren kernel32.dll kernel32.old, and then press ENTER.
4. Type map, and then press ENTER.
5. Note the drive letter that is assigned to the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD. It is appears in a format that is similar to the following format:
D: \Device\CdRom0
6. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:
expand drive\i386\kernel32.dl_
Where drive is the drive letter of the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD). For example, type:
Expand d:\i386\kernel32.dl_
Note Include the underscore character after the "L" in Kernel32.dl_.
You receive the following message:
Kernel32.dll
1 file(s) expanded.
7. Type exit. The computer restarts.
8. Remove the Windows XP CD, and then start the computer as you regularly do.
OR (caution format time)
If you cant format you need a program called killdisk. Google it, it is on the Ultimate boot CD
Run that and it resets the harddisk to factory settings, ( that means everything, hideden partitions the lot)then try a format out of windows enviroment using a dos disk also on ultimate boot cd.
once its formatted try reinstalling using your windows disk.
If still no joy, The others are right. Get a new Hard disk.