Recovering from Rescue and Recovery (WinXP)

[garyd9]

Often times, I find that restoring a full drive image from "Rescue and Recovery" leaves me with an unbootable system. After R&R is done, when the machine reboots, I get one of the following errors (including the text here in case someone else has the problem and searches...)

Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem.

Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware.

Please check the Windows documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional information

-- or --

Windows\System32\Hal.dll missing or corrupt:

Please re-install a copy of the above file.

---

IBM tech support tries to be helpful, but (at least in my case) they weren't able to resolve the problem. In the past, I've solved it by re-installing WinXP Pro (from a retail install CD - my TP factory restore discs install WinVista), re-installing R&R, and then restoring my backup again...

Thanks to google, however, there IS a solution...

(taken from: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314477)

Get an old WinXP install CD. If you have a newer notebook, go into BIOS (press F1 at the ThinkVantage splash), and change the SATA controller to use "Compatibility" instead of "AHCI." (this is required as most WinXP boot discs don't have AHCI driver, and most people don't have floppy drives for their thinkpads.)

Now boot from the WinXP CD, and let it go through loading a bunch of drivers. Eventually, you'll get a prompt to press "R" for a recovery console. (If you're not using an original WinXP install disc, you might not get this option... I don't get it on my SP2 disc with T60 drivers slipstreamed... which is why I suggest using compatibility mode..) Choose drive/install for your WinXP on the HDD. Type your administrator pw...

Now the fun part: run "bootcfg /rebuild" and answer 'y' to only the proper windows install. For the load identifier, type "WinXP fix" (or something else unique.) Leave the OS options blank.

When that's done, "exit" and your machine should reboot. This time, when it boots from the HDD, you should see a menu with two option: your original XP install, and the new identifier that you typed while using bootcfg. Choose the new identifer. Let windows boot. Ignore the new devices, and restart WinXP - enter BIOS again and change your HDD back to AHCI (if applicable.) Boot windows again. It'll likely find new devices that you already had... it's not a problem.

Now clean up that boot cfg... Right-click 'My Computer", choose properties, "advanced" tab, "settings" for the Startup and Recovery, click the 'Edit' button. You'll see two lines under "operating systems" - your original line and the one you added with bootcfg. Change the "original" line so that the "multi(x)disk(x)rdisk(x)partition(x) parameters are the same as the one added by bootcfg.

-- safety check --

save the file, hit 'ok', 'ok', reboot, and make sure the original line reboots your machine... then go back to editing that file and...

-- end safety check --

remove the line added by bootcfg.

All fixed.

BTW, it appears that this occurs because the "hidden partition" gets installed in a different place when you restore from R&R, so the boot.ini ends up pointing to the wrong place.

I have NFC why it happens some of the time, and not all of the time. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my machine was factory "Win Vista Business" and I'm overwriting it with WinXP?