Inaccessible boot device

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Licensed to Quill

I had a Duron 1.4 GHz computer running XP

The hard drive died and I replaced it with a Seagate one with a working
Windows 2000 installation which came out of a computer on which the mobo had
died. I updated the BIOS to recognise this drive and saved the updated info
to the BIOS.

Now when I try to boot, I get past the intitial black and white windows 2000
screen, as far as the coloured Windows 2000 splash screen and the boot stops
at the FIRST blue block and then gives me a BSOD with the
Inaccessible_boot_device error message

Any idea what I can do? Preferably from DOS? Scandisk reveals nothing.
Will SFC change anything if I put a CD in with the i386 directory copied
onto it? (I have checked the drive with the Seagate Utility and there is
nothing wrong with it). Is there a SYS C: command I can somehow try? I only
have a stupid recovery disc to install WIndows 2000 again and I am not about
to to destroy all my data and configurations built up over three years on
this drive (I'll never buy another of those again but I have found that one
can successfully run SFC /scannow from within windows and use a CD-ROM with
the i386 directory on it)

FP
 
I had a Duron 1.4 GHz computer running XP

The hard drive died and I replaced it with a Seagate one with a
working Windows 2000 installation which came out of a computer on
which the mobo had died. I updated the BIOS to recognise this drive
and saved the updated info to the BIOS.

Now when I try to boot, I get past the intitial black and white
windows 2000 screen, as far as the coloured Windows 2000 splash screen
and the boot stops at the FIRST blue block and then gives me a BSOD
with the Inaccessible_boot_device error message

Any idea what I can do? Preferably from DOS? Scandisk reveals nothing.
Will SFC change anything if I put a CD in with the i386 directory
copied onto it? (I have checked the drive with the Seagate Utility and
there is nothing wrong with it). Is there a SYS C: command I can
somehow try? I only have a stupid recovery disc to install WIndows
2000 again and I am not about to to destroy all my data and
configurations built up over three years on this drive (I'll never buy
another of those again but I have found that one can successfully run
SFC /scannow from within windows and use a CD-ROM with the i386
directory on it)

FP
Click to expand...

This is occuring because the motherboards have different disk
controllers. They also might have different HALS. SFC will not resolve
it plus you have to be able to boot to run SFC anyway. The proper
controller will have to be detected and the driver installed by setup.
You will have to boot from a Windows 2000 CD, choose setup, accept
license agreement and answer yes to repair Windows. It will redetect the
hardware and put in the correct drivers.

Leonard Severt
Microsoft Enterprise Support
 
Thanks Leonard I suspected that might be the problem.

But this gives rise to all sorts of interesting legal problems: I can't
imagine I can do this from a recovery CD? It seems cleverly DESIGNED to
desroy all my data and configurations, some of which would have worked with
the different computer.

Can I do it from a legal copy of an i386 directory copied onto a CD-ROM?
(There seems to be a file on it called setup50.exe) Or is my only legal way
of doing this without buying a new Windows 2000 disc, to buy an illegal copy
and do it from that using my licence number and key?

It seems unusual that I have to patronise the people who sell bootleg
Microsoft software in order legally to repair a legal installation at any
reasonable cost? It sort of gives them a 'get out' if anyone tries to sue
them for selling illegal softwre? They could say they were selling the
software to people to repair legal installations who had been given recovery
CDs who couldnt repair their installations.

FP
 
When you're buying a software you're buying a license rather than a medium.
If you're owning a legal OEM product installation key you can use any OEM
CDROM. If you have i386 content only you would need four W2k setup diskettes
or one W9x boot diskette.
 
Hi Jetro

Great!! I am sure I have those 4 windows 2000 setup diskettes which I made
sometime but if I can boot to a 98 promot from a floppy which recognises the
IDE CD-ROM and THEN run setup from the CD-ROM using the contents of the I386
directory that would be even easier. The repair program will presumably
then recognise the disc controller on this mobo and install the appropriate
drivers

FP
BTW I am not sure about what you said concerning "legal OEM product
installation" as the recovery CD-ROMs are completely useless for this
purpose: I Had heard a rumour that you could install the OS from the i386
directory and thought that if you can do this, you should be able to repair
a working install by the same method which was why I created the CD-ROM with
the i386 directory on it
 
BTW I am not sure about what you said concerning "legal OEM product
installation" as the recovery CD-ROMs are completely useless for this
purpose
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the point here. Jetro is correct... When you're
buying a software you're buying a license rather than a medium. If you have
purchased a legal OEM product installation key (i.e. on your original PC)
you can use any OEM CDROM to perform the install/repair.

However, what you have is a recovery CD, presumably supplied by the
manaufacturer of your PC. In my experience, these are as you say, DESIGNED
to wipe all data and restore the system to a known image - i.e. normally how
it shipped in the first place. They are NOT a full ('generic') MS Windows
installation CD, which Jetro is referring to, and will therefore NOT give
you the *Windows* repair facility. If you don't have one an OEM install CD
(or can't get your hands on one), you'll have to try your recovery CD, which
may not work anyway, as they would have been put together for your machines
original hardware configuration. However, if you can get your hands on a
full MS Windows OEM installation CD, e.g. from a friend, PROVIDED YOU HAVE
YOUR OWN LEGALLY PURCHASED LICENSE KEY, you should be able to perform a
repair without reinstalling from scratch.
 
I appreciate your input and the trouble you took inputting it into the
thread but wasnt that more-than-slightly implicit in what I was saying?
 
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