That's a rather vague code meaning it can't boot, as far as I can see.
In http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/index.cfm?action=showthread&threadid=252855&forumid=1 there's one post "Problem solved" and that road seems a good way for you also. Remove the disk and put your old one in in stead. Once you've got it working, mount the current disk as a slave and see what happens. You might be able to backup all your data, and then do a chkdsk. If it doesn't help, you might be able to boot into the recovery console using your new disk and see if fixboot or fixmbr on the old drive work. If not, it's time for a zerofill and a complete new install. But you've got your data then.
Old programs you don't have a disk probably will be lost. Although, if they are very old, they just might be working if you copy the whole subfolder of Program Files. A useful lesson: always have a good copy of installation media and downloaded setups.
Kees
Greetings everyone.
Last Tuesday when I turned my computer on, I got the message ?A disk read error occurred, press crtrl+alt+delete to restart?. Since then I have been searching online for a way to get my computer back up & running.
The specs of my computer:
Dell Inspiron 9100 Notebook
Windows XP Pro SP3
P4 @ 3.2 Ghz w/ Hyper Threading
1 gb Memory
160 gb Western Digital PATA/IDE HD
(Replaced original 80 gb HD in May 08 b/c became too small)
Removable internal DVD/CD-RW drive (& a removable internal floppy disk)
Purchased in Oct. 04.
When I installed the new HD back in May, I used Apricorn EZ Gig II & the included HD enclosure to copy the contents of the old HD onto the new one.
I first ran the onboard Dell diagnostics; it did a full system scan (from the processor to the memory to the HD) it told me everything was fine.
I then ran the WD hard drive utility from a floppy disk. I ran both the quick & full tests and it told me there were no problems.
Since the HD seems to be alright, I?ve been wondering if something has corrupted the Master Boot Record. I do my best to keep my system in check; security-wise I run Norton 360 2.0 & Ad-Aware 2008 (there?s more I can do though, I know). I don?t think it could be malware, but who knows.
Anyways, I?ve tried booting from my Windows CD to get to the Recovery Console or do a repair installation, but things hit a snag. The drive spins up & I get a message telling me setup is preparing files, but then the screen goes black & nothing else happens, other what sounds like the optical drive spinning down. This happens regardless of whether I go into bios & change the boot order or if I press F12 to go to the one-time boot menu. I have also tried using a knoppix LiveCD (something I read about on several forum threads), but all I get is a message telling me there is not bootable media.
I tried using my external DVD Burner drive, but to no avail. It does not matter if I remove the internal optical drive & adjust bios (to both the CD drive & or USB), it won?t work. The drive spins up, but nothing happens.
I know the Windows CD works as I?ve tested it in another computer.
I then downloaded the XP floppy disk boot set & tried to get Windows set-up started with them. It works fine until I am asked to insert the 6th disk. Once I do that, I get the blue screen of death with the following error message:
?A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer. (etc etc.)
Technical Information:
***STOP: 0x000007B (0Xf7a524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)?
At this point I?m out of ideas. I can?t figure out why the CD drive is acting as it is & why the BSOD is appearing with the floppy disks. It may be due to search fatigue, but in all the forums I?ve read I have yet to find out an explanation for my drive issues or solution to getting Windows running.
The vast majority of my data is backed up on a second work/personal notebook; however there is some information that I did not have recently backed up O(I know, stupidity & a bit of procrastination to blame). Among this is the information for my personal finances program (last backup was as of Dec 28th) & as I play The Sims 2 in my spare time, some houses/projects I was working on.
If would prefer to get Windows working properly again, but at this point if I could get it running stably long enough so I could get into the programs/files I need to back up I would accept that.
I?d rather not have to write zeroes to the drive & reinstall Windows (although I have occasionally thought about it just to get rid of all the accumulated system detrus that gums up the os overtime). I have some programs that I no longer have the disks for & again I would rather not lose the information I don?t have backed up. My other concern is if I do that, my internal optical drive may continue to act as it is now & I would be unable to do anything installation wise.
I?ve been resistant to taking it into a computer shop as I?m incredibly cheap, but also because I want to learn how to deal with this. I?m the ?tech guy? for my father?s business & for many of my friends & some of my extended family. I want to know how to handle future issues like that may crop up. I?ve always admitted that I am still learning & that there is a lot I don?t know yet.
I?ve thought about reinstalling the old HD to at least get my computer working, but I?m not sure if the old drive will work. It?s been sitting in my safe & I?m not sure how the vibrations from closing the top safe door have affected it.
Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get this situation dealt with, or am I (for lack of a better phrasing) essentially screwed?
Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic