I work for a large call center in central Florida. I'm responsible for
310 NT 4 workstations. Since I'm in an enterprise enviornment, I use
North Ghost 6.0 for major software upgrades.
I've been having a problem with a computer for awhile and I can't seem
to figure out a solution.
I copy a ghost image to the hard drive. I use the Ghost Walk program
to rename the computer and update the SID in the registry. After
updating the SID, I reboot the computer. Usually the computer will see
the bootable sector and start with Autochk. I never make it that far.
When the computer tries to boot to the hard drive, I get the error: "A
disk read error occured. Insert a system diskette and restart the
system."
At first, I thought this was due to a corrupt MBR so I used a boot
disk and did fdisk /mbr so I would have a fresh master boot record.
After rebooting, I got the same error message.
Now, I have another boot disk that actually allows me to boot into NT.
I made the disk myself and it includes ntdetect.com, boot.ini, ntldr,
and setupldr.
boot.ini reads:
boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt
operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\winnt="Windows NT"
Using this boot disk, I can get into the hard drive without a problem.
I just need to find a way to boot into the NT partition without the
disk. Can anyone help? |
Clarification of Question by
bgamble-ga
on
06 Nov 2002 16:43 PST
That is supposed to be Norton Ghost, not North Ghost.
|
Clarification of Question by
bgamble-ga
on
06 Nov 2002 16:52 PST
Something else, I've already used the setup disk to try to do a repair
on the installation. I also created an emergency repair disk with the
original image and tried a repair using that, but it didn't work
either.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
seizer-ga
on
06 Nov 2002 16:57 PST
Do you still have your original NT4 media? If so, pop the CD in on a
working system, bring up a command prompt, and change to the \i386
directory.
Then type "WINNT /OX" (without the quotes).
It will then make 3 boot floppies. Once these are created, boot with
these, choose the repair option, and then select only "repair boot
sector".
Does this fix your problem?
|
Clarification of Question by
bgamble-ga
on
06 Nov 2002 17:14 PST
Those three disks are the same as the Winnt setup disks which I
already have. I've also already done the repair to the boot sector.
The hard drive is new so I shouldn't have a problem there. I've also
flashed the bios to the latest version for that motherboard and
manufacturer.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
alienintelligence-ga
on
06 Nov 2002 22:16 PST
Hi bgamble,
The good comment below is a place to
start. Since the NT4 boxes seem to be
similar enough to roll out ghost images,
why not use another HD that you know
works and place it in the troubled PC?
If a similar ghosted image boots fine
in that PC, it will almost have to be
something to do with the other hard
drive.
Don't discount a new HD from being bad
just cause it's new. I had a 60, 80 and
20G all go bad in the past few months.
The 60G and 80G were new (and had stuff
I wanted on em too). If it wasn't for bad
luck, I wouldn't have luck at all.
I answered a question a while back about
an invalid partition:
[ https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=60138 ]
I posted some links for S.M.A.R.T. HD
test utilities for the major brands.
Western Digital
[ http://websupport.wdc.com/diag/dlg_download.asp ]
or
[ http://support.wdc.com/download/ ]
Maxtor
[ http://www.maxtor.com/products/DiamondMax/techsupport/TechnicalProcedures/20014.htm
]
IBM
[ http://www.storage.ibm.com/hdd/support/download.htm ]
Seagate
[ http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html ]
Have you tried running something like those to test
the HD parameters? That probably should be your next
item to check.
let us know,
-AI
|
Request for Question Clarification by
arcadesdude-ga
on
07 Nov 2002 11:08 PST
That's a strange error message there.
1) Are you sure the BIOS is set to boot to the HD first?
2) Have you tried another hard drive in the problem computer (as the
master drive) as suggested by alienintelligence?
3) Are you sure the hard drive is set to master (on the jumpers on
back of the drive)?
4) Are you sure it's connected as the first boot disk to the first
drive controller connection on the motherboard?
and finally:
5) Does the BIOS autodetect the hard drive in the BIOS setup?
|
Clarification of Question by
bgamble-ga
on
07 Nov 2002 12:26 PST
Well, I've been able to load Windows 2000 sucessfully onto that
specific drive last night. I had no problems at all. The ghost image,
I've loaded onto several computers since this problem has started. I
highly doubt that it is a hard drive problem. Everything is setup
right in the BIOS. The jumpers are set right. The hard drive is set as
the first boot option in the bios as well.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
arcadesdude-ga
on
07 Nov 2002 13:40 PST
It sounds software specific to NT. Is the NT disk defective in any
way? (Scratched? smudged?)
Have you tried installing with another NT disk? (A corrupted install
may have something to do with this problem if the disks were damaged
since the last time they worked).
|
Request for Question Clarification by
alienintelligence-ga
on
07 Nov 2002 18:45 PST
But have you tested the HD?
Have you used another HD with the same image
in the failing computer?
-AI
|
