Boot problem

Hi, I just got a old laptop (IBM R50e) as a present, but it has a boot problem (hence the present :)) When I try to boot it up, i get the blue screen of death (unmountable boot volume). Same thing in safe mode. I tried booting from a XP CD in a hope that I could format the HDD, but when the files are getting loaded (the blue screen before any setup options) I get an error: "File acpiec.sys caused an unexpected error (32768) at line 5964 in d:\xpsprtm\base\boot\setup\setup.c." So….since I don't really have a idea on how to solve this, I need help :( and if anyone can help, it's HBH :love:

I'm going to boot up from a linux CD in the hope that someone with an idea will post a reply ;)

EDIT: Tried booting with a Linux Mint CD, but the CD just popus out instantly. Tried it with a Ubuntu CD and I can get to the options menu (install, test CD, and such) and when I try to install ubuntu…i get an error: "Buffer error on device hdc, logical block 357564"

Now what ???

Try a Linux CD, if that doesn't work try to boot a distro from USB. If everything fails, you might need to format the hard disk by taking it out and putting it in a external case.

Yeah, there are other ways to format your drive; Google it. Or, you could scrap your comp for parts.:D

whitecell wrote: Yeah, there are other ways to format your drive; Google it. Or, you could scrap your comp for parts.:D How can I format a drive if I can't boot it up ? (in the "normal way" or from a CD)

From the errors you got when attempting each install, it seems as if you either have bad install media or a bad CD drive. The first is unlikely, so let's go with the second. Try booting Linux off of a USB disk; there are instructions for doing this with Ubuntu, Arch, Gentoo, etc. that aren't hard to find online.

Once you get a working boot of Linux running, run "fdisk -l" to check for your hard drive. If you don't see the device listed at all or correctly, you've got a bad hard drive or a damaged one, respectively. Grab a Memtest CD and try running that, too, just for kicks. Might as well see what's wrong upfront.

The errors that are given are sector errors not related to software. that Ibm used several different hard drives according to how it was bought. Find out what drive it has (IE: w/d, hitachi, seagate etc..) and download and run their hard drive repair software. You can repair and overwrite a bad sector with most of the oem software. Then run the install.

So, I got BackTrack running from a USB and it seems that the HDD is ok. (well, physically at least). Shows hda1 (as the boot drive and NTFS) and hda2 as the swap. So…I would like if I could install BackTrack permanently on the HDD but the "normal" methods don't seem to work because when i enter fdisk dev/hda it says that it can't find it. Took a look in /dev and it's there but empty (0 B ). I'll try to figure this one out because it might have some differences if it's booted from a USB (even tho I can't imagine what the difference would be) If someone knows that there is a different method in installing the OS from a USB, let me know.

EDIT: Didn't see Korg's post. I'll try that but I'm still getting pissed off and would like if i just had a reset buttong on the HDD :D

Look I'm telling you from the errors you gave: unexpected error (32768) logical block 357564 These are sector addresses run the diagnostics on your drive and install normally.

Ok, I tried it and after 11 hours, the scan came out clean :whoa: Sick and tired of fuxoring with the HDD… I'll get a new one today (this one had 30G :xx:) Thank you all for trying to help. You rule :D

Mostly those BSODs are caused by your ram .. if you have an old mobo and installed a new ram sometimes the speed (Frequency) of the ram is not compatible with the mobo causing the BSOD ..

Try download a hirens CD .. burn it .. boot from it and run Memtest86 if it passed Test 4 without any errors .. then its not your ram .. and probably your HDD like Zephyr said.

If it did find any errors .. then you got a problem either you have deficient ram or the frequency of the ram is too high for your mobo .. try reducing it from the BIOS .. search for somthing like CPU:RAM you will find your ram speed there (333MHz or w/e) as 3:2 or similar .. reduce that by 1 unit .. so the speed will decrease to 200MHz (if your ram was originally 333Mhz)

then your PC should boot fine .. if you screwed up windows try installing it again if you didn't run your XP cd in console and type "chkdsk /p" then "fixboot"

if you decided to install windows again you might wanna do the BIOS thing again.

hope it works, cheers ;)

Nah, the RAM is fine (except that it's only 1G :@) I got a new hard and it's fine. Windows was on that hard but a friend who has a business of fixing comps told me that the problem was physical and that's moronic to try to fix it because it only has 30 Gb. So, after 2 days of trying to fix the foobared HDD, I gave it a couple of nice whacks and it blew the frustration away :

Thanks for trying to help ;)