lost cluster at io.sys file stopping boot

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Licensed to Quill

(SEE OTHER THREADS, - or don't bother as this is reasonably
self-explanatory)

I think I have traced the problem I was having to what Norton Disc Doctor
told me was a lost cluster in the io.sys file which seems bad enough
(curiously it reported what it thinks is a corrupted io.sys file as a
non-critical error which is a bit mysterious?). It surely would cause the
system to not boot? (the mobo manufacturer claims that windows 2000 is
designed to work equally with all sorts of different disc controllers and
that updating some controller driver is never the cause of a non-boot
problem)

What I was wondering is whether I can merely copy an io.sys backup file to
the root or if there is some more full method of making the disc bootable
again which I need to use (such as running SFC /scannow from a Windows 98
boot disc, as suggested elsewhere, presumably checking the boot files?). Is
there a way of running setup from the i386 directory on a CD to reinstall
just the boot files and/or check all files including the boot files in
WIndows 2000?

FP
 
AFAIK there is no 'io.sys' used in Windows 2000 Certainly not part of the
boot sector.

You can start the recovery console and from a command prompt issue the
command;
fixboot
to repair the bootsector.

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks.
Press ENTER at the "Setup Notification" screen. Press R to repair a Windows
2000 installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The
Recovery Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do
not have the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the registry is corrupted
or missing or no valid installations are found, the Recovery Console starts
in the root of the startup volume without requiring a password. You cannot
access any folders, but you can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot,
and fixmbr for limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated,
you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer:
%systemroot% and %windir%

Or try creating a boot floppy. For the floppy to successfully boot Windows
2000 the disk must contain the "NT" boot sector. Format a diskette (on an NT
machine, not a DOS/Win9x, so the NT boot sector gets written to the floppy),
then copy ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini to it; and possibly
ntbootdd.sys. Edit the boot.ini to give it a correct ARC path for the
machine you wish to boot.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


| (SEE OTHER THREADS, - or don't bother as this is reasonably
| self-explanatory)
|
| I think I have traced the problem I was having to what Norton Disc Doctor
| told me was a lost cluster in the io.sys file which seems bad enough
| (curiously it reported what it thinks is a corrupted io.sys file as a
| non-critical error which is a bit mysterious?). It surely would cause the
| system to not boot? (the mobo manufacturer claims that windows 2000 is
| designed to work equally with all sorts of different disc controllers and
| that updating some controller driver is never the cause of a non-boot
| problem)
|
| What I was wondering is whether I can merely copy an io.sys backup file to
| the root or if there is some more full method of making the disc bootable
| again which I need to use (such as running SFC /scannow from a Windows 98
| boot disc, as suggested elsewhere, presumably checking the boot files?).
Is
| there a way of running setup from the i386 directory on a CD to reinstall
| just the boot files and/or check all files including the boot files in
| WIndows 2000?
|
| FP
|
|
 
Greetings --

Io.sys was used in the MS-DOS boot process, years ago, but plays no
active role on a Win2K machine. It exists only to provide backwards
compatibility for those few rare legacy applications that require its
presence.

Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
 
Many thanks: I presume having System Commander will vitiate a lot of what
you said so I should probabaly merely go into the box and disconnect the C
drive which is the Windows 98 one so that the BIOS only sees that Windows
2000 one, and sees it as simply a C drive with no particularly complex boot
sectors.

I can easily create some Windows 2000 recovery discs on another machine
although I have already created some (6) with the XP system I have and
tried most of what you suggested without the detail (it wouldnt let me use
the setup50.exe file on the i386 CD without being in Windows, although I may
try that again if it would make things easier? It probably wont and I will
have to repair whatever is wrong with the 2000 installation and THEN put the
C drive back in line and THEN have system commander sniff around and see
which OSs are present. I am hoping that when it does so, it will let each
OS see itself as the C drive.

But for some mysterious reason the whole OS suddenly can tsee the CD ROM
although it does see the D drive so I am beginning to wonder if ther eis
some problem with the jumper setting on the D drive which is conflicting
with the CD-ROM? (This will presumably be corrected if I disconnect the 98
drive and move the jumper to the MASTER position on the 2000 drive)

FP


Dave Patrick said:
AFAIK there is no 'io.sys' used in Windows 2000 Certainly not part of the
boot sector.

You can start the recovery console and from a command prompt issue the
command;
fixboot
to repair the bootsector.

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks.
Press ENTER at the "Setup Notification" screen. Press R to repair a Windows
2000 installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The
Recovery Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do
not have the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the registry is corrupted
or missing or no valid installations are found, the Recovery Console starts
in the root of the startup volume without requiring a password. You cannot
access any folders, but you can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot,
and fixmbr for limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated,
you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer:
%systemroot% and %windir%

Or try creating a boot floppy. For the floppy to successfully boot Windows
2000 the disk must contain the "NT" boot sector. Format a diskette (on an NT
machine, not a DOS/Win9x, so the NT boot sector gets written to the floppy),
then copy ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini to it; and possibly
ntbootdd.sys. Edit the boot.ini to give it a correct ARC path for the
machine you wish to boot.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


| (SEE OTHER THREADS, - or don't bother as this is reasonably
| self-explanatory)
|
| I think I have traced the problem I was having to what Norton Disc Doctor
| told me was a lost cluster in the io.sys file which seems bad enough
| (curiously it reported what it thinks is a corrupted io.sys file as a
| non-critical error which is a bit mysterious?). It surely would cause the
| system to not boot? (the mobo manufacturer claims that windows 2000 is
| designed to work equally with all sorts of different disc controllers and
| that updating some controller driver is never the cause of a non-boot
| problem)
|
| What I was wondering is whether I can merely copy an io.sys backup file to
| the root or if there is some more full method of making the disc bootable
| again which I need to use (such as running SFC /scannow from a Windows 98
| boot disc, as suggested elsewhere, presumably checking the boot files?).
Is
| there a way of running setup from the i386 directory on a CD to reinstall
| just the boot files and/or check all files including the boot files in
| WIndows 2000?
|
| FP
|
|
Click to expand...
 
Well I don't know the other details but system commander and moving and or
removing the system partition is definitely going to complicate your
problems and or solution.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


:
| Many thanks: I presume having System Commander will vitiate a lot of what
| you said so I should probabaly merely go into the box and disconnect the C
| drive which is the Windows 98 one so that the BIOS only sees that Windows
| 2000 one, and sees it as simply a C drive with no particularly complex
boot
| sectors.
|
| I can easily create some Windows 2000 recovery discs on another machine
| although I have already created some (6) with the XP system I have and
| tried most of what you suggested without the detail (it wouldnt let me use
| the setup50.exe file on the i386 CD without being in Windows, although I
may
| try that again if it would make things easier? It probably wont and I
will
| have to repair whatever is wrong with the 2000 installation and THEN put
the
| C drive back in line and THEN have system commander sniff around and see
| which OSs are present. I am hoping that when it does so, it will let each
| OS see itself as the C drive.
|
| But for some mysterious reason the whole OS suddenly can tsee the CD ROM
| although it does see the D drive so I am beginning to wonder if ther eis
| some problem with the jumper setting on the D drive which is conflicting
| with the CD-ROM? (This will presumably be corrected if I disconnect the
98
| drive and move the jumper to the MASTER position on the 2000 drive)
|
| FP
 
Dave

What am I doing wrong: I made the emergency recovery disc in windows 2000
but when I try to boot off it as it says to do, it doesnt boot; all I get
is NTLDR is missing. (The emergency boot disc creation doesn't seem to have
created a bootable disc?)

FP


DEave> AFAIK there is no 'io.sys' used in Windows 2000 Certainly not part of
the
boot sector.

You can start the recovery console and from a command prompt issue the
command;
fixboot
to repair the bootsector.

To start the Recovery Console, start the computer from the Windows 2000
Setup CD or the Windows 2000 Setup floppy disks. If you do not have Setup
floppy disks and your computer cannot start from the Windows 2000 Setup CD,
use another Windows 2000-based computer to create the Setup floppy disks.
Press ENTER at the "Setup Notification" screen. Press R to repair a Windows
2000 installation, and then press C to use the Recovery Console. The
Recovery Console then prompts you for the administrator password. If you do
not have the correct password, Recovery Console does not allow access to the
computer. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Recovery
Console quits and restarts the computer. Note If the registry is corrupted
or missing or no valid installations are found, the Recovery Console starts
in the root of the startup volume without requiring a password. You cannot
access any folders, but you can carry out commands such as chkdsk, fixboot,
and fixmbr for limited disk repairs. Once the password has been validated,
you have full access to the Recovery Console, but limited access to the hard
disk. You can only access the following folders on your computer:
%systemroot% and %windir%

Or try creating a boot floppy. For the floppy to successfully boot Windows
2000 the disk must contain the "NT" boot sector. Format a diskette (on an NT
machine, not a DOS/Win9x, so the NT boot sector gets written to the floppy),
then copy ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini to it; and possibly
ntbootdd.sys. Edit the boot.ini to give it a correct ARC path for the
machine you wish to boot.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


| (SEE OTHER THREADS, - or don't bother as this is reasonably
| self-explanatory)
|
| I think I have traced the problem I was having to what Norton Disc Doctor
| told me was a lost cluster in the io.sys file which seems bad enough
| (curiously it reported what it thinks is a corrupted io.sys file as a
| non-critical error which is a bit mysterious?). It surely would cause the
| system to not boot? (the mobo manufacturer claims that windows 2000 is
| designed to work equally with all sorts of different disc controllers and
| that updating some controller driver is never the cause of a non-boot
| problem)
|
| What I was wondering is whether I can merely copy an io.sys backup file to
| the root or if there is some more full method of making the disc bootable
| again which I need to use (such as running SFC /scannow from a Windows 98
| boot disc, as suggested elsewhere, presumably checking the boot files?).
Is
| there a way of running setup from the i386 directory on a CD to reinstall
| just the boot files and/or check all files including the boot files in
| WIndows 2000?
|
| FP
|
|
Click to expand...
 
The ERD is not bootable. To start the recovery console boot the Windows 2000
CD-Rom or setup disks.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


:
| Dave
|
| What am I doing wrong: I made the emergency recovery disc in windows 2000
| but when I try to boot off it as it says to do, it doesnt boot; all I get
| is NTLDR is missing. (The emergency boot disc creation doesn't seem to
have
| created a bootable disc?)
|
| FP
 
So if I boot through the xp setup discs (all 6 of them) and it asks me if I
want to exit setup, or setup XP or utilise the recovery console, can I get
somehow to the I386 directory on the CD-ROM and repair the 2000 installation
from there? I THINK that exiting causes it to reboot, setup causes it to
install XP rather than 2000 (?) and going to the recovery console merely
asks for XP recovery discs (which I havent got, and it seems nothing else
will do?)

Is there a way out?

FP
 
I don't understand how the XP disks play into this. To start the repair
process for Windows 2000 you'll want to boot from the Windows 2000 install
CD-Rom or setup disks.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


:
| So if I boot through the xp setup discs (all 6 of them) and it asks me if
I
| want to exit setup, or setup XP or utilise the recovery console, can I get
| somehow to the I386 directory on the CD-ROM and repair the 2000
installation
| from there? I THINK that exiting causes it to reboot, setup causes it to
| install XP rather than 2000 (?) and going to the recovery console merely
| asks for XP recovery discs (which I havent got, and it seems nothing else
| will do?)
|
| Is there a way out?
|
| FP
 
I thought that I could use any windows boot disc to get the unit up and
running so I can perform a repair on the installation?

If not, then I am back to wondering what I can do with the useless recovery
disc or how to make setup discs to get to a recovery console. Then do I need
to have installed the recovery console beforehand before I can do anything
with it?

I had hoped that a working copy of an i386 directory on a CD-ROM woudl
suffice as a windows 2000 install disc?

FP
 
:
|I thought that I could use any windows boot disc to get the unit up and
| running so I can perform a repair on the installation?
* For a floppy to successfully boot Windows 2000 the disk must contain the
"NT" boot sector. Format a diskette (on a Windows 2000 machine, not a
DOS/Win9x, so the NT boot sector gets written to the floppy), then copy
ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini to it; and possibly ntbootdd.sys. Edit the
boot.ini to give it a correct ARC path for the machine you wish to boot.

| If not, then I am back to wondering what I can do with the useless
recovery
| disc
* The ERD is not a bootable disk. It it used in conjuction with the recovery
console for some repairs.

or how to make setup discs to get to a recovery console.
* To start the repair process for Windows 2000 you'll want to boot from the
Windows 2000 install CD-Rom or setup disks. The set of four install disks
can be created from your Windows 2000 CD-Rom; change to the \bootdisk
directory on the CD-Rom and execute makeboot.exe (from dos) or makebt32.exe
(from 32 bit) and follow the prompts. Best to boot the CD-rom though.


Then do I need
| to have installed the recovery console beforehand before I can do anything
| with it?
* No

| I had hoped that a working copy of an i386 directory on a CD-ROM woudl
| suffice as a windows 2000 install disc?
* It will for a new install.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
 
Many thanks Dave but I think we are talking at cross-purposes: Again, what I
have is a lousy recovery CD-ROM which the manufacturer doesnt want me to use
to make a recovery set of floppies. That would be too easy and it would
entail my not destroying all my data and software aind configurations which
doesn't seem to suit their agenda at all.

I dont have a Windows 2000 CD-ROM (unless I can make a set of recovery
floppies from that recovery CD-ROM, - which is unlikely bordering on
inconceivable). So I cant make a set-up set of floppies from that.

Can I make a set from an XP CD-ROM and use it on Windows 2000?

On that basis how can I make a set of recovery floppies to repair this
windows 2000 drive? Can I download it from somewhere like www.bootdisc.com
(I cant find it there). Is there a package on the Microsoft site somewhere
which will make these discs to get to the recovery console ?

FP
 
Borrow one from a friend. It's hard for me to advise too much since I still
don't know for sure what you're planning to do since you have system
commander (never used it) and also mentioned removing the drive that
contains the system partition. Seems to me the first step is to see if the
boot disk I mentioned will start the operating system.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


:
| Many thanks Dave but I think we are talking at cross-purposes: Again, what
I
| have is a lousy recovery CD-ROM which the manufacturer doesnt want me to
use
| to make a recovery set of floppies. That would be too easy and it would
| entail my not destroying all my data and software aind configurations
which
| doesn't seem to suit their agenda at all.
|
| I dont have a Windows 2000 CD-ROM (unless I can make a set of recovery
| floppies from that recovery CD-ROM, - which is unlikely bordering on
| inconceivable). So I cant make a set-up set of floppies from that.
|
| Can I make a set from an XP CD-ROM and use it on Windows 2000?
|
| On that basis how can I make a set of recovery floppies to repair this
| windows 2000 drive? Can I download it from somewhere like
www.bootdisc.com
| (I cant find it there). Is there a package on the Microsoft site somewhere
| which will make these discs to get to the recovery console ?
|
| FP
 
To add to that if you can provide the drive and partition details and where
Windows 2000 is installed then I can tell you what the arc path should be.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
 
Hello again Dave

Well the only drive and partition info on this drive is that there is a C
drive which contains the OS and data and a D partition which contains the
pagefile.sys. I have run fdisk / mbr so I am not sure this situation is
particularly complex. But I don't have anyone with a Windows 2000 CD-ROM
which I can borrow

I did go into the backup utility and make something called an ERD to which I
copied various files such as boot,ini, ntldr, ntdetect.com, bootsect.dos
which is supposed to get me into Windows 2000 (I suspected that was too
easy) and in fact all it did was to give me a mysterious error message
telling me that the NTOSKRNL.exe file couldnt be found in the windows 2000
\system32\ directory which I don't beleive. But I suppose it is pretty
Click to expand...
predicatable if you try to repair an installation without those setup
floppies. (not sure what the > sign was all about AND I am pretty sure that
the file is there and probably exists in backup form as well, knowing
Windows 2000. But the computer probably just wasnt looking in the right
place for it for some reason (probably connected to my trying to repair an
installation without those floppies again).

Would it make any difference if I chaznged whatever is in the boot.ini file
if the 2000 installation uses a WINDOWS directory as oppose to a WINNT
directory (which is as used in the system from which the ERD was made)? This
installation was an upgrade from a 98 installation which used the 98
directories or am I still barking up the wrong tree without those setup
floppies?

FP


Dave Patrick said:
To add to that if you can provide the drive and partition details and where
Windows 2000 is installed then I can tell you what the arc path should be.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
Click to expand...
 
:
<snip>
| I did go into the backup utility and make something called an ERD to which
I
| copied various files such as boot,ini, ntldr, ntdetect.com, bootsect.dos
| which is supposed to get me into Windows 2000 (I suspected that was too
| easy) and in fact all it did was to give me a mysterious error message
| telling me that the NTOSKRNL.exe file couldnt be found in the windows
2000
| > \system32\ directory which I don't beleive.
* The ERD is not a bootable disk. End of story.

But I suppose it is pretty
| predicatable if you try to repair an installation without those setup
| floppies.
* It wouldn't make any difference. Even if you have setup floppies they're
not good for anything without the Windows 2000 install CD-Rom. Repairing
with a restore CD-Rom won't be possible.

(not sure what the > sign was all about AND I am pretty sure that
| the file is there and probably exists in backup form as well, knowing
| Windows 2000. But the computer probably just wasnt looking in the right
| place for it for some reason (probably connected to my trying to repair an
| installation without those floppies again).
|
| Would it make any difference if I chaznged whatever is in the boot.ini
file
| if the 2000 installation uses a WINDOWS directory as oppose to a WINNT
| directory (which is as used in the system from which the ERD was made)?
This
| installation was an upgrade from a 98 installation which used the 98
| directories or am I still barking up the wrong tree without those setup
| floppies?
* Doubtful that the old '\windows' directory is used any more. Try creating
a boot floppy. For a floppy to successfully boot Windows 2000 the disk must
contain the "NT" boot sector. Format a diskette (on a Windows 2000 machine,
not a DOS/Win9x, so the NT boot sector gets written to the floppy), then
copy ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini to it. Edit the boot.ini to give it a
correct ARC path for the machine you wish to boot. Something like this.

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows 2000" /fastdetect

(assumes Windows 2000 installed on the first partition of drive 0)
 
OK on bootdisc.com I found the setup discs (which creates image files when
unzipped??) and a program called makebt32.exe which preusmably turns them
into floppies I can use but I suppose I wont be able to actually do anything
with them?? Is there no way I can use my CD-ROM with the i386 directory on
it?

Or will Ih ave to go out onto Kazaa and try to find someone who has the
CD-ROM I can download (presumably legally as I have a legal copy of the OS)

FP
 
:
| OK on bootdisc.com I found the setup discs (which creates image files
when
| unzipped??) and a program called makebt32.exe which preusmably turns them
| into floppies I can use but I suppose I wont be able to actually do
anything
| with them??
* No

Is there no way I can use my CD-ROM with the i386 directory on
| it?
* No, not for this.

| Or will Ih ave to go out onto Kazaa and try to find someone who has the
| CD-ROM I can download (presumably legally as I have a legal copy of the
OS)
* Try the boot floppy.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect
 
Well I tried what you suggested even though you had implied that putting in
the setup discs would only lead to a request for the CD-ROM and when I
pressed R for repair a Windows 2000 setup, all it did was tell me that
setup couldnt find a hard drive???

Does any of this indicate that I should try some form of fdisk /mbr or
bootdisk.exe utility or should I just stop wasting time with this
installation and put an XP install disc into the CD-ROM and have it update
the 2000 installation to XP (which I dsilike intensely)? AND this is only a
190 Meg Celeron 400.
 
You didn't mention the drive controller (possibly SCSI, or ultra DMA, or
ATA100, or raid, or serial ATA), but you may need to boot the Windows 2000
setup disks or CD-Rom and *F6* very early and very important (at setup is
inspecting your system) in the setup to prevent drive controller detection,
and select S to specify additional drivers. Then later you'll be prompted to
insert the manufacturer supplied Windows 2000 driver for your drive's
controller in drive "A"

If you wait and then S to specify additional drivers, then it may be too
late as Windows 2000 Setup at this point may have already assigned the
resources your drive's controller is wanting to use. This is also true when
starting the recovery console.

But forget this for now and try the boot disk. The setup disks won't do you
any good without the CD-Rom.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


:
| Well I tried what you suggested even though you had implied that putting
in
| the setup discs would only lead to a request for the CD-ROM and when I
| pressed R for repair a Windows 2000 setup, all it did was tell me that
| setup couldnt find a hard drive???
|
| Does any of this indicate that I should try some form of fdisk /mbr or
| bootdisk.exe utility or should I just stop wasting time with this
| installation and put an XP install disc into the CD-ROM and have it update
| the 2000 installation to XP (which I dsilike intensely)? AND this is only
a
| 190 Meg Celeron 400.
 
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