[jcmoral]

A few days ago I got the 'unmountable_boot_volume' error on my computer. After some Googling I found that I had to boot from the XP cd and run chkdsk.
First problem: the computer (four years ago) didn't come with one, so I borrowed one from a friend.
Second problem: the computer won't boot from the CD. I've rearranged the boot order to no avail. I've even disabled the hard drive and floppy from booting, leaving only the CD drive. Still no luck.

I'd like to resolve this without reformatting/reinstalling. Any ideas? Thanks very much in advance.

[talldude123]

have you tried another OS CD? Or try using Linux instead?

[jcmoral]

I've tried two CDs now. I'd try Linux if there were a foolproof way to run games written for Windows.

[Mak213]

Are you sure that these CD's you are trying are bootable? If they were just copied or downloaded that doesnt make then bootable.

Also i think that talldude means to try using Knippox and running Chkdsk. Knippox is a Live CD that you can use to troubleshoot some windows problems. That might help.

[jeremy]

heres a guide on making it bootable http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/15/

[jcmoral]

There may be something wrong with the drive. I tried another CD but it still didn't work. This time, though, the drive actually tried reading the CD before spitting out the error. Can I get to the Recovery Console and run chkdsk using the 6 floppy boot disk set?

EDIT: So this latest CD is booting, but it goes straight to the installation. I don't see a 'Welcome to Setup' screen nor do I see an option for getting to the recovery console. Anyone have a procedure or screenshots for this?

[Osiris]

what about repair? Did you see that?

[Law]

You can use the 6 floppy disk to get into the recovery console if you're still have problem.

[jcmoral]

No, no 'repair' option either. I did get it into the recovery console by holding down the 'R' key while it was loading some files. When it finished loading the Recovery Console screen came up. Then it decided it wouldn't accept any of the administrator passwords. (I tried all of them several times and am sure I typed them correctly). Now I have to boot from the setup floppies. Don't have any floppies at the moment will post back tomorrow if that works or not. If it doesn't I might try that Knoppix mentioned above. Thanks everyone for all the help!

[EricB]

every time that i post an answer people seemed ignore it