unmountable boot volume - no XP Pro boot disk

R, A, G and Z series specific matters only
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cjb2486
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Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:28 pm

unmountable boot volume - no XP Pro boot disk

#1 Post by cjb2486 » Sat Dec 17, 2005 2:06 pm

While using my r40, it froze and when I tried to reboot, the dreaded "unmountable boot volume" message appeared. From everything I read, I need to put in an XP Pro boot disk to try to fix the problem. But I don't recall any disks being included with the laptop. In theory, everything should be fixable using the blue "access IBM" button.
Is there a way to create a boot disk by pressing that button?
I wanted to order a restore disk from IBM/Lenovo, but when I input the part number that they just gave me, I got a message that said it was an incorrect part number!
If all else fails, is there someplace where I can download an XP boot disk without risking the machine that I'm using to download it? I'm worried because this is the only XP Pro machine that we have and I don't want to mess up another machine while trying to create a boot disk.
Many thanks for anyone's assistance.

suandmarc
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 11:42 am

Unmountable disk...

#2 Post by suandmarc » Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:12 pm

Unfortunately, there is no single complete boot disk for XP. There is a set of boot disks (5 ?) for XP which can be obtained via the Microsoft website, but generally boot problems with XP are either very easily fixed, or require a repair installation via an XP installation CD. All XP repair procedures presume, of course, that no actual hardware problem exists.
The simplest form of repair involves use of an XP or 2000-formatted floppy disk (or appropriate CD) containing three critical startup files. This sometimes enables XP to continue the bootup operation successfully. If this doesn't help, other methods will be required.
Do you have access to the internet via another computer, and the ability to format a floppy via XP or 2000? Do you still have the IBM SERVICE partition (or similar) on the computer (BIOS messages at POST, F11, etc.)?

I cannot answer many questions specific only to the R family; my experience is limited to the A series, but I may be able to help you further.

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