jaclaz

Is the Windows CD "loud" when loading? (i.e. a lot of noise and vibration from the CD drive when it seeks files)? If yes, it may be still: I have seen defective hard disk cables/connectors behave like that. but if you wish, I would throw in - without additional costs - also a cold solder joint anywhere on the motherboard or HD PCB. Naaah. That's the "normal" approach. You well know how In some cases - when the post date+time sums up to an even number bigger than 6 - I draw randomly a new thread and in it, instead of posting the usual good advice, I simply throw on the table a few (sometimes wild, sometimes educated) semi-random guesses , and then let the OP choose among them which ones he/she feels better with or is more convenient to him/her. Other times I simply post real tall stories and see if the newcomer "buys" them . Once upon a time there was a PC that could not boot from it's internal hard disk. This happened some times, and some other times the PC booted normally. The queer thing was that just by inserting in the CD-ROM drive an XP install disc and bootng from it (but not doing any repair - or more generally operation from it) the next time the PC would boot normally. When the PC doesnt boot it shows however a message "disk read error occurred", but right after a boot CD was just loaded it started booting normally again. After some time of tests (new tests, not always the same ones) it was found how the vibrations induced to the case by booting from a CD made a false contact somewhere in the hardware "behave" (temporarily). The actual cause was never found, nor the problem solved, as the PC's owner found it not convenient (due to a bad back medical condition) to actually doing the only logical thing, i.e. to open the case (and while at it cleaning it's internals), and try re-seating cables/cards/RAM etc. and visually inspect the parts before re-assembling... both the PC and it's owner nonetheless lived happily ever after, with the only issue that the bad back problem became worse and worse each time the user had to bend to insert a boot CD to revive the stoopid PC.... jaclaz

Just in case of need : http://www.timerider.co.uk/laptopcpu.htm http://elektrotanya.com/clevo_d22_d27_m22_m27_sm.zip/download.html jaclaz

They are "very specific" apps, you won't get much info here on MSFN, but Google helps . You need only the basics, in Victoria there will be a "BUSY" indicator, HDAT2 is more complex but well documented, MHDD is possibly the most "difficult" to use. http://forum.hddguru.com/victoria-for-windows-english-help-google-translated-t12829.html http://translate.google.de/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&js=y&u=http%3A%2F%2Fhdd-911.com%2F&sl=ru&tl=en&history_state0= Direct download: http://hdd-911.com/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=31 http://hdd-911.com/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=31&task=view_category&catid=81&order=dmdate_published&ascdesc=DESC http://hdd-911.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=docclick&Itemid=31&bid=87&limitstart=0&limit=15 jaclaz

The MountedDevices key lists (in the case of "Fixed" disks) the disk signature AND starting address of the Volume: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=19663 If you have BOTH the machine and the disks, if you can find in any of the DosDevices\*: the disk signature and the starting address of a volume on the disk, you can be confident that EITHER the disk OR an image of it has been mounted on that OS. Since we are talking of forensics, DO NOT EVEN THINK of connecting those disks to *anything* if not through a write blocker. The first two keys mentioned by CharlotteTheHarlot will instead assure you that a given device model has been connected and mounted to a given bus. jaclaz

Post some DETAILS on the hardware (make/model) and try describing HOW/WHEN it started happening. jaclaz

Can you confirm it by using Victoria or mhdd or hdat2? If the PCB has some components gone it may not be BSY, but simply "not working". jaclaz

@tony177 I am sure you will make many friends on this board. Have fun while booting (or completely failing to ) that PC . jaclaz

Look, I don't want to be more grumpy than usual , but you come here asking about a problem that you have, that you have NO ideas how to solve and specifically ask other people (supposedly more expert than you are): and when some ideas are given to you, you start criticizing them? You are of course free to ignore them, but please, refrain from citing "not uncommon fixmbr errors" that you "researched on the net", if fixmbr throws a warning about an issue with the partition table, "common sense" (and rest assured a few years of experience of yours truly in this specific field) should tell you to investigate the issue. Of course you are perfectly free to ignore the posted advice . It's my fault , I should have replied properly to your: YES. http://homepage.ntlworld.com./jonathan.deboynepollard/FGA/questions-with-yes-or-no-answers.html jaclaz

I have seen defective hard disk cables/connectors behave like that. In any case the partition issue you reported needs to be investigated and fixed IMHO. jaclaz

I am not sure to get it. Forget about voltage on pins (temporarily). Is the disk LBA0 or BSY? Or none of the above? jaclaz

I'll risk going OT (actually going OT ) to post a snippet I really liked, but unrelated as being of a much more "generic" nature: http://lea.hamradio.si/~s57uuu/uuusb/uuusb_software.htm jaclaz

INformal: jaclaz

I see this achievement NOT as an arrival point, but rather .... http://reboot.pro/2398/page__st__1 jaclaz

For NO apparent reason : actually (and IMHO) the only thing that really *sucked* in Windows 3.11 was the windows manager (and the calculator, which still sucks big). Have a look at what I managed to put up in minibox: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=16754 http://reboot.pro/623/ besides the looks, you may find some links of interest or you could contribute with some ideas.... jaclaz

Hmmmm. Which OS are you running? (like XP or Vista or 7) Have you tried using the RMPRPUSB testing facilities on the drive? Which EXACT settings did you chose in RMPREPUSB? You want to choose: XP/WinPEv1/BartPE bootable [NTLDR] Filesystem (FAt32 or nTFS should equally do) Boot as HDD (C: 2PTNS) Then close Winsetupfrom USB and start it again, then run it on the already partitioned/formatted stick. Then post the LOG of WinsetupfromUSB. jaclaz

It seems like not. (see below) This means that grub4dos cannot find file menu.lst. Sure, that is expected and "normal". WHICH version of WindsetupfromUSB are you testing? WHAT the heck do you mean "I found on the internet? Winsetupfrom USB is here on MSFN: and you were pointed to it. Try again, using the 1.0 beta 7 version. Partition/format again the USB stick using RMPREPUSB. Try, INSTEAD of using F12 to change the boot device order in BIOS. jaclaz

Naaah, poor little google translate did what it could, idioms are idioms: http://en.bab.la/dictionary/italian-english/cosi-a-lungo http://en.bab.la/dictionary/italian-english/per-ora Ci vediamo... http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ci_vediamo o, meglio, ci si vede. http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1268606&langid=14 The google translation : http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=it&ie=UTF-8&text=Ci+vediamo%2C+o+meglio%2C+ci+si+vede.&sl=it&tl=en jaclaz

As I see it the message is there allright but in a more subtle (or if you prefer less obvious) way, I do like the second more. Failing in the translation trap I can translate "Così a lungo, per ora." back to what you probably meant (So long, for now.): http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/So+Long+for+Now but what you actually wrote means more or less "like this for a long time, so far" OT = Off Topic BOT = Back On Topic @bphlt http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/BOT jaclaz

YES. http://homepage.ntlworld.com./jonathan.deboynepollard/FGA/questions-with-yes-or-no-answers.html Easiest : jaclaz

Let me doubt this. In the sense that recovering the folder does not recreate the account. Please REMOVE the link to Winbuilder through softonic Here is the home of winbuilder: http://reboot.pro/ But if OP can use a PE, a suitable way to activete the "hidden" Administrator has been given by changing 1 (one) byte. jaclaz

NIce try , but can IMHO be bettered. What if you cut the infinity symbol out of the background, make the pee-wee image a little bigger, than tilt the symbol a little bit and replace the bow tie with it? Or use a Moebius band image? http://www-vrl.umich.edu/project2/moebius/ For NO apparent reason : jaclaz

Yep, we strive to be so. (this is what I call being in "picky mood") On the contrary I find - if your production in other language is at the same level of the italain ones - you did an exceptionally good work as the risk is always the same when "playing" with languages that you don't master enough, only seemingly OT: Naah, thank you very much , but I am not much into graphics (lolcats as an exception) Naah, that might be what jaclaz would like that his cat said about him, what jaclaz's cat(s) normally say is more like: and, specifically about him : jaclaz

Yep (meaning NO , you won't need the two additional wires to power the adapter), just in case REMEMBER GROUNDing. jaclaz

Then you will need a PE of some kind to access the Offline Registry: http://4sysops.com/archives/offline-enable-the-built-in-administrator-account-in-windows-7-and-vista/ jaclaz

Can you try this? Cannot say if Adminstrator privileges are needed: http://kb.iu.edu/data/axbw.html http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/enable-the-hidden-administrator-account-on-windows-vista/ jaclaz