jaclaz

This sounds a lot like a calibration problem/misaligned head and another few possible causes, basically it cannot find the "start" of the recording, or cannot read anything at all.... Sure it does the problem is the HDD, not the PC. It is most probably simply broken. Never trust anyone. Expecially a unknown guy on a Forum. If that drive contains valuable data you should start looking for a professional data recovery service. If it doesn't: if it is covered by warranty, RMA it if warranty has expired, use it as door holder or open it for the fun of looking inside it, or throw it in the dustbin, there is nothing you can really DIY with such symptoms. If you want anyway to try the BSY fix, it shouldn't do any harm, but it will also most probably NOT do any good, unfortunately. You can try using Victoria to check it's state, but AFAIK/AFAICR a non-calibrating drive should have BUSY on nonetheless (thus giving NO certain diagnosis): http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=129263 On the other hand, the BSY and LBA0 fixes are a sort of "general reset", that may change the behaviour of the drive even if affected by a completely different problem, so, before throwing it in the dustbin, is something you may want to try nonetheless. (but NOT if you have valuable data on it) jaclaz

We've got that by now. Now, this starts being a better question. I have NO way to know HOW "HP startsmart" works, but if you post the contents of the isolinux .cfg file(s) I may be able to help you in putting together an appropriate grub4dos set of commands, which may or may not work, see below. Small correction, this is it what you would like to do (if possible ), as said it mainly depends on how the actual .iso is built, in the case of Linux based boot CD's typically there are: .iso images that will work "as is" .iso images that will work with extracted kernel and initrd (not anymore "pure" .iso image booting) .iso images that need particular commands/cheatcodes passed to the kernel .iso images that need more complex changes inside the .iso (including in worst cases a recompile of the kernel ) .iso images that simply cannot be booted through .iso mapping Surely, if the thingy is case #3 or #4 above. What you would have found had you googled a bit before: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=23104 http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11527 You can start where Samman or jvenables left.... Maybe you can use newish Syslinux/memdisk .iso mapping features... http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8258 jaclaz

Well, maybe I have to repeat that we do have at least one report of the data recovery having been granted for free. A few posts starting here : http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=128807&st=2350 jaclaz

For the record a PE 1.x is a PE 1.x, and it is EXACTLY "as a BartPE". It can be built with both BartPE and Winbuilder (besides manually ). What is added to it as shell or as pre-set programs is entirely up to the builder. jaclaz

Just to prove that IF OP had actually done a bit of homework, he may have found the info he asked about. Trying to strenghten (currently) low google-fu's.... jaclaz

JFYI (only seemingly OT): http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=12287 jaclaz

Ow, comeon : http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001364.html I guess it is possible, though the drive warranty covers only the drive and not the DATA on it. That's strange, but AFAIK second hand, so called "refurbished drives" actually coming form seagate sport a "refurbished" NEW sticker on them, maybe it was some "dirty trick" from the dealer or shop where you bought it? Possibly a Mod has already removed it. Basically instead of "plainly replying" you had quoted the whole initial post. And you did it again just above your last post, quoting entirely my previous reply.... jaclaz

Don't mix too things together. (hd32) is the first virtual CD-like device in grub4dos. Before you ask: (0xff) is the last virtual CD-like device in grub4dos, sometimes it works better then (hd32) If you actually READ on boot-land, you should already know the answers to most of your questions. READ the stickies: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showforum=66 particularly: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7328 http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8944 http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5041 Then SEARCH a bit. Among other, these : http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=9863 http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5041&st=33 http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5041&st=39 may interest you. There are more Acronis products versions than stars in the sky , so just try it! Well, you read, but maybe did not fully understand. When you load bootmgr, it will look on the ROOT of the device from which it is booted, for a folder \boot\ and inside this folder for a file named "BCD", i.e. ROOT\boot\BCD - this can be chnaged though really NOT recommended, expecially until you are more familiar with the tools: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8043&hl= http://sites.google.com/site/rmprepusb/tutorials/how-to-create-a-usb-drive-that-will-install-vista-win7-and-server-2008 Unfortunately the boot-land "main" server is down right now (not the Forum one, the one with the guide). You'll have to wait one or two days in order to be able to access the guide. In the meantime you can google translate backwards the Russian version: http://greenflash.su/Grub4Dos/Grub4dos.htm http://translate.google.it/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgreenflash.su%2FGrub4Dos%2FGrub4dos.htm&sl=ru&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8 jaclaz

Really? jaclaz

I still don't get it. It seems to me like you don't want to solve a problem, but rather continue hanging on your personal assumptions. There is NOT one reason in the word why the fact that the cd's use isolinux and not another loader should create a problem, the problems are only in the way the actual OS in the .iso is set: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8944 Anyway, here is how to load grub2 from grub4dos: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11562&st=6 and viceversa: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10276 For the record capabilities of grub4dos and grub2 are VERY similar (they are actually coded by mostly the same people). jaclaz

Do I get it was a single partition NTFS, Primary, partitioned and formatted under XP? Make a copy of first 100 sectors, compress the resulting file in a .zip and attach it to your next post (or upload to a file sharing site an post the link): get the dsfok toolkit: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~nulifetv/freezip/freeware/ unzip in a new directory, say C:\dsfok Open a command prompt and navigate to that directory. Now, you must be sure that you get the "right" physicaldrive number n(if you have just one hard disk, it will be "0", and the USB device will probably be "1" if you have one of those stoopid card readers this number may be incremented accordingly) Run following command: If the drive was previously attached (working) to your machine, open Regedit, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices and export the whole key. add it to the compressed file. State which drive letter the hard disk drive partition had assigned before. jaclaz

The proposed solution simply "resets" the HD internal log, the one that if reaches certain values, bricks the drive. Read the read-me-first: Unless OTHER things went wrong (concurrently or before the bricking), DATA will be AS accessible AS before the bricking. jaclaz

I don't get it. grub4dos supports booting SOME .iso images (the SAME ones that grub2 can load). jaclaz

On the drive? Remember that this is VERY risky! Point is how you got there. Check this step-by-step as reference: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step If the drive was originally partioned under Vista or 7, in Options (4th screen) set: Cylinder boundary: No Allow partial last cylinder: Yes When testdisk asks if you want to search for partitions created under Vista reply Yes. Then when you get to that screen you posted, select Continue and do a "Deeper search". If you could state HOW the drive was previously partitioned (like how many partitions, which type, which filesystems, etc.) and under WHICH operating system ( Linux, 2K/XP, Vista , 7, etc.) it would be a plus, as it is likely that we can find the actual bootsectors manually.... jaclaz

Which means TWO of them.... NO. http://homepages.tesco.net/J.deBoynePollard/FGA/questions-with-yes-or-no-answers.html YES. http://homepages.tesco.net/J.deBoynePollard/FGA/questions-with-yes-or-no-answers.html You are welcome. Notwithstanding that you obviously missed the read-me-first: whaere you would have learned how your problem is pretty much a non-target and thus should have NOT been posted here, we are good guys after all. From what you write you have probably had a problem somewhere (can be BOTH on the hard disk AND on the actual power supply) that blowed a TVS. A TVS is a sort of protection diode (there are normally two of them on modern hard disks, one on the 5V and one on the 12 V rail) that, in case of problems shorts to ground to prevent (in theory) further damage. In reality if this has happened, STOP moving the hard disk here and there, some power supplies have a protection that simply shuts them off if a short is found, some will simply blow silently. The drive needs to be checked thoroughfully from an electrical/electronic view point before ANY further step can be taken. Before you ask, NO, a PCB SWAP won't work (without a procedure outside of your reach) and it is possible that will also damage the donour PCB. It is technically possible to: open the hard disk remove the platters from it re-assemple the platters on another identical hard disk recover the data BUT it is NOT anything you can do at home as you would need tools and expecially experience that you simply cannot have (otherwise you won't be here asking about it). If the disk drive contains important data you may want to fork from a relatively huge amount of bucks and have a specialized recovery firm look at it. (only you can judge the value of that data but we are talking of several hundred dollars, probably in the $600÷1,000 range) If the idea is to just recover a functional drive, forget about it, if the problem can be repaired without opening the hard disk, like replacing the TVS or fixing a cold solder, it would be allright, but a drive with exchanged platters is to be considered functional (hopefully ) only for the sheer time needed to get the data out of it, and should be thrown in the bin immediately after the recovery. PLEASE, remove from your previous post the integral quote of Gradius' initial post, it only contributes to make this thread less readable. jaclaz

The mapping is wrong. You are mapping an executable to a virtual CD device. You can map a .iso file to a CD device , but not a loader to it! WHERE did you find such an example? Check the grub4dos forum : http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showforum=66 Particularly these two threads: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5041 http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8944 An XP install or PE 1.x won't work anyway unless it has special provisions (RAMDISK build). jaclaz

Sure. BUt you can create the setting while "rightfully" booted and export it to the PE in your example, don't you? jaclaz

Exactly. Let's put it this way: If you create a partition on an Operating System that sees a max of 128 Gb of hard disk (LBA 28) and you create it to the maximum size, it will be 128 Gb in size (there will be NO - or very little - unused space after it) When you activate the LBA48 capability, the same OS (like ANY other LBA48 enabled OS) will see the same 128 Gb partition and a lot of free, unused space behind. In other words the first partition will remain a 128 Gb partition. Everything within the 128 Gb will remain EXACTLY as-is the little (or NO) unused space will become LOTS of unused space. The problem is if you create a bigger than 128 Gb partition on a LBA 48 enabled OS and then try to access it from a NON LBA48 OS. jaclaz

What do you mean? Check this screenshot: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=141687 In disk 0 you can see: a primary partition (Dark Blue) drive letter D:, 29,88 Gb an extended partition (surrounded by a green border) containing: a logical volume (Light blue) drive letter C:, 89,53 Gb a logical volume (Light blue) drive letter E:, 28,29 Gb a logical volume (Light blue) drive letter F:, 150,38 Gb [*]some unused space at the end (Black) What you should see on your system (as you probably have a single Primary partition) is: a primary partition (Dark Blue) drive letter C:, roughly 128 Gb some (lots) unused space at the end (Black) jaclaz

IF you have a standard format for computer names, like: 2F16-01 2F16-02 .... 2F16-32 Something like this may be more appropriate: @ECHO OFF SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION SET Prefix=2F16- FOR /L %%A IN (1,1,32) DO ( IF %%A leq 9 (SET Num=0%%A) ELSE (SET Num=%%A) ECHO !Num! IF /I "%computername%"=="%Prefix%!Num!" ECHO regedit /s myreg!Num!.reg ) Just an example, it will just print on the screen numbers and if the computer name matches the regedit command line. jaclaz

That's typical of the old DIN connector: http://pinouts.ru/Inputs/KeyboardPC5_pinout.shtml Since the plug is "huge" it is likely that by accident some extra force is applied to it. This will usually crack the soldering to the motherboard. Get a soldering iron and re-heat/re-solder the connector solderings to the motherboard, it will last for another ten years.... jaclaz

Naah, you CANNOT get away with this so easily! Actually most of the jokes around are about DELL's customers : http://www.ahajokes.com/dum09.html and not about the smart guys that actually manage to create completely UNstandard BIOS and hardware, but we can adapt a few old ones: down vote But I have a scoop the original handwritten source of the BIOS part that creates drive assignments in DELL's BIOS: Strangely enough, the 1.0 Beta 6 is the 1.0 Beta 6, thus NOT the last (hopefully) one, nor the Final. But yes , it is the more recent one. jaclaz

Check the data in partition table. You can do it "approximately" by looking at the disk in disk management or "exactly" by veryfying the partition(s) table with any partition table viewer/editor, example: http://www.dtidata.com/ntfs_partition_repair.htm Most probably, you have a 128 gb partition and the rest of the disk unpartitioned. Please note that a few hard disks do have a jumper to limit the capacity shown to 128 Gb, you should also check this. jaclaz

I don't run a full DBAN since a few minutes are more than enough to wipe out a MBR Sure, but compare with the fractions of second to write a bunch of 00's... Wait until ilko_t has made his tests, the creator of WinsetupFromUSB having a laptop on which the proogram won't work is a nice twist to the otherwise lately fundamentally boring plot. ANd before anyone says anything different: YES, Lenovo's are queer YES, DELL's are MORE queer jaclaz

DBAN is definitely overkill. At the most you have to write 00's to the MBR. But wait a minute, are you running an (integrated/added/modified) source of some kind? Can you try with a "vanilla" XP with SP 2 or SP3 integrated and NOTHING else but (if needed) mass storage drivers? I'll keep this question for later. You can have a look at migrate.inf approach, in the meantime (google for keywords "migrate.inf cdob jaclaz" - without quotes) jaclaz