Unmountable and unopenable

dud22 · 07-23-2008, 05:23 AM

Hi,
Recently I shut down my Gateway Model MX6650 laptop without issue. When I tried to reopen I got the blue screen and "unmountable boot volume problem" I have read so much about. I followed all steps listed without success including chkdsk. I then purchased an enclosure and attempted to open the drive via my wife's computer. The hard drive shows installed and is recognized in My Computer as drive E. However, when I try to open it slows the whole computer down and eventually says "Function not permitted". When I right click and go to properties it is showing as zero bytes. There is no security tab to attempt to take control either like I read in another thread. This would make sense if it has a boot failure but how do I get around the failure to go straight to the data? I have 3 years worth of pictures that I would like to recover before my wife breaks down in tears. Any suggestions? If I can't do this myself, what is the best professional option for data recovery for a consumer size amount of data? This may have been covered before but I went through many threads and all of them were for steps that I couldn't get to due to the drive not opening at all.

Thanks for any help,

~~wiseleo~~ · 07-23-2008, 05:44 AM

Well, try my steps in the signature. :)

There is a reasonably high chance of success and the process is designed to bring unrecognizable drives back to life.

Tumbleweed36 · 07-23-2008, 07:08 AM

These might be worth a try:

When booting up to Windows XP you may get an error that reads: "Unmountable Boot Volume".

This is probably because your boot.ini file is messed up. Here is a possible remedy:

You can boot to the XP cd and when you see the "Welcome to setup" message, press the letter R.
You will then get a DOS prompt.
Then type: chkdsk /p [enter]
When that is done type: fixboot [enter]
Type: Y at the next prompt [enter]
Then type: exit [enter]
The system will now reboot into Windows.

If for some reason that didn't work, you can boot to the recovery console (example above).
Type: "chkdsk /r" [enter]
When done type: exit [enter].
This takes a bit longer, but the system should boot back into Windows.

~~wiseleo~~ · 07-23-2008, 09:04 AM

This is a data recovery scenario on an obviously failing disk, why on Earth is irreversible CHKDSK being recommended?

Grab the image, copy the data, then work on making it bootable and more likely RMA it.

That's a surefire way to lose those pictures.

Wow. I am speechless.

dud22 · 07-23-2008, 09:55 AM

Does that mean that it's too late if chkdsk has already been run? *please say no, please say no, please say no*

07-23-2008, 05:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
dud22 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Unmountable and unopenable Hi, Recently I shut down my Gateway Model MX6650 laptop without issue. When I tried to reopen I got the blue screen and "unmountable boot volume problem" I have read so much about. I followed all steps listed without success including chkdsk. I then purchased an enclosure and attempted to open the drive via my wife's computer. The hard drive shows installed and is recognized in My Computer as drive E. However, when I try to open it slows the whole computer down and eventually says "Function not permitted". When I right click and go to properties it is showing as zero bytes. There is no security tab to attempt to take control either like I read in another thread. This would make sense if it has a boot failure but how do I get around the failure to go straight to the data? I have 3 years worth of pictures that I would like to recover before my wife breaks down in tears. Any suggestions? If I can't do this myself, what is the best professional option for data recovery for a consumer size amount of data? This may have been covered before but I went through many threads and all of them were for steps that I couldn't get to due to the drive not opening at all. Thanks for any help,

07-23-2008, 05:44 AM	#2 (permalink)
~~wiseleo~~ Troubled Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 461 OS: Win 2003 SP2 My System	Re: Unmountable and unopenable Well, try my steps in the signature. :) There is a reasonably high chance of success and the process is designed to bring unrecognizable drives back to life.

07-23-2008, 07:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 14,168 OS: XP Professional	Re: Unmountable and unopenable These might be worth a try: When booting up to Windows XP you may get an error that reads: "Unmountable Boot Volume". This is probably because your boot.ini file is messed up. Here is a possible remedy: You can boot to the XP cd and when you see the "Welcome to setup" message, press the letter R. You will then get a DOS prompt. Then type: chkdsk /p [enter] When that is done type: fixboot [enter] Type: Y at the next prompt [enter] Then type: exit [enter] The system will now reboot into Windows. If for some reason that didn't work, you can boot to the recovery console (example above). Type: "chkdsk /r" [enter] When done type: exit [enter]. This takes a bit longer, but the system should boot back into Windows. __________________ ----------

07-23-2008, 09:04 AM	#4 (permalink)
~~wiseleo~~ Troubled Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 461 OS: Win 2003 SP2 My System	Re: Unmountable and unopenable This is a data recovery scenario on an obviously failing disk, why on Earth is irreversible CHKDSK being recommended? Grab the image, copy the data, then work on making it bootable and more likely RMA it. That's a surefire way to lose those pictures. Wow. I am speechless.

07-23-2008, 09:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
dud22 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Re: Unmountable and unopenable Does that mean that it's too late if chkdsk has already been run? please say no, please say no, please say no