Windows XP Will Not Boot, Not Even In Safe Mode

[political]

Dear All,

(Firstly, allow me to apologise for being yet another ignorant "Average Joe" who has never contributed anything to a tech forum in my life, yet comes here crying for help when something goes badly wrong - I have sworn that I will donate to this forum if somebody can successfully assist!)

(Let me also emphasise that, although I have a general understanding of what is going on and can follow instructions reasonable well, I am not great with particular terminology.)

For reference, I am using a Dell Dimension 9200 bought exactly two years ago.

Basically XP will not boot, plain and simple - not even in any of the safe modes or in "last known good configuration".

My first port of call was the Dell Diagnostics CD that came with my system - I tried using the problem tree to pinpoint a specific test for my problem. I ended up running tests for "Cannot Boot the OS".
Everything seemed fine until it reached the tests for the SATA Hard Drive. The Confidence Test passed ok, but when the follwing test was taking place:

SATA Disk. S/N = S09QJIML911082 - Device Quick Check

The testing froze, and I encountered the follwing message:

Fatal Error TNT. 10049: Out of stack buffers, CS: EIP are in error values :
Error ocurred in real mode, exception/interrupt number 0071h
Err values = 0000D100h 000003F9h
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
F:\DIAGS\DIM32\A1276>

Now, obviously that means there is an issue with my hard drive - something corrupt or damaged. However, for piece of mind, I also ran the Express Test that tests the most crucial components of the entire system. Again, when it reached the SATA tests, I experienced the following:

Error Code 0F00 : 065D
Msg: IDE device failed. The self-test failed the read portion of the test.

(I know that this CD is now two years out of date, so I also downloaded the latest Diagnostics file for my model from the Dell support website and burnt it to a DVD, however that DVD did not seem to work when I tried to boot my system from it.)

OK - I hope I haven't bored anybody with all that, but this is the part where I am looking for some advice. I know now to expect some level of data corruption (and thus, data loss), but want to know what I can do to minimise this and potentially correct the problem. I am prepared to go the distance rather than give up and just replace my hard drive.

Does anybody recommend the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows? (http://www.ubcd4win.com) or indeed any good user-friendly methods of working around problems like this and trying to recover unharmed data?

I'm also hoping that some of my data will remain unaffected because of my partitions, with all Windows and system files being on C: and most of my data files stored on D:

The below thread from 9 months ago seems as if it was based on EXACTLY the same problem, although I understand the extent of hard drive corruption or damge may differ:
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread102586.html

Any advice or help would be appreciated beyond words...

[HoustonIT]

I would suggest purchasing a new drive, and then trying to put your current drive in an external enclosure like this: http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp=40159497&source=EWBBASE&cm_mmc=CSE-_-google-_-ewbbase-_-Storage&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=40159497. Then you might be able to access the date on your old drive.

[political]

Thanks for the info.

I've already gotten this situation sorted though (I didn't think anybody on this forum was going to reply!):)

[ashrestha01]

Dear All,

(Firstly, allow me to apologise for being yet another ignorant "Average Joe" who has never contributed anything to a tech forum in my life, yet comes here crying for help when something goes badly wrong - I have sworn that I will donate to this forum if somebody can successfully assist!)

(Let me also emphasise that, although I have a general understanding of what is going on and can follow instructions reasonable well, I am not great with particular terminology.)

For reference, I am using a Dell Dimension 9200 bought exactly two years ago.

Basically XP will not boot, plain and simple - not even in any of the safe modes or in "last known good configuration".

My first port of call was the Dell Diagnostics CD that came with my system - I tried using the problem tree to pinpoint a specific test for my problem. I ended up running tests for "Cannot Boot the OS".
Everything seemed fine until it reached the tests for the SATA Hard Drive. The Confidence Test passed ok, but when the follwing test was taking place:

SATA Disk. S/N = S09QJIML911082 - Device Quick Check

The testing froze, and I encountered the follwing message:

Fatal Error TNT. 10049: Out of stack buffers, CS: EIP are in error values :
Error ocurred in real mode, exception/interrupt number 0071h
Err values = 0000D100h 000003F9h
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
Command or filename not recognized
F:\DIAGS\DIM32\A1276>

Now, obviously that means there is an issue with my hard drive - something corrupt or damaged. However, for piece of mind, I also ran the Express Test that tests the most crucial components of the entire system. Again, when it reached the SATA tests, I experienced the following:

Error Code 0F00 : 065D
Msg: IDE device failed. The self-test failed the read portion of the test.

(I know that this CD is now two years out of date, so I also downloaded the latest Diagnostics file for my model from the Dell support website and burnt it to a DVD, however that DVD did not seem to work when I tried to boot my system from it.)

OK - I hope I haven't bored anybody with all that, but this is the part where I am looking for some advice. I know now to expect some level of data corruption (and thus, data loss), but want to know what I can do to minimise this and potentially correct the problem. I am prepared to go the distance rather than give up and just replace my hard drive.

Does anybody recommend the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows? (http://www.ubcd4win.com) or indeed any good user-friendly methods of working around problems like this and trying to recover unharmed data?

I'm also hoping that some of my data will remain unaffected because of my partitions, with all Windows and system files being on C: and most of my data files stored on D:

The below thread from 9 months ago seems as if it was based on EXACTLY the same problem, although I understand the extent of hard drive corruption or damge may differ:
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread102586.html

Any advice or help would be appreciated beyond words...

Hi all, I am having exactly the same problem. I have Dell XPS 410 computer. Now I am getting the same error as
Fatal Error TNT.10049: Out of stack bufffers, CS:EPI are in error values. Err values = 0000000Ch 000ADC2Fh
Command or filename not recognized.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Chaky]

Since political didn't say how he/she fixed the problem, I will throw in an observation and educated guess.

"out of stack buffers" is memory-related error. Not drive-related. Sounds to me like you are trying to use old-school dos-based utility that needs some sort of memory manager loaded prior to running the utility (something like Microsoft's himem.sys + emm386.exe).

If it is Dell-provided utility, then you can either talk to them about the issue or use different approach (read: utilty, bootable CD...) to test (and fix) the drive.

[Perry0059]

Thanks for the info.

I've already gotten this situation sorted though (I didn't think anybody on this forum was going to reply!):)

Did you replace the harddrive?

[tarael1]

Did you replace the harddrive?

Aloha, I found this very interesting since I have recently received the same error with a Dell XPS 410 computer. Here is a bit more info to add to the conundrum: I have a dual boot system(actually a triple boot system) with WinXP and Suse 11.1 on the primary hard drive and Vista on a second SATA hard drive. All of a sudden one day neither XP nor Vista will boot. Since they are on separate hard drives I am not inclined to believe that they are both bad at the same time. Here is the kicker: Suse 11.1 Linux boots up fine and has no problems other than not being able to read the files from either XP or Vista - not like before. I did a memtest first thing to rule that out ( I have 3Gb of non ECC RAM) and found no errors on 2 passes. This leads me to believe that I do not have a hardware problem but a friend (more knowledgeable in Linux than I) concur that it is likely a virus that has attacked the Master Boot Record. I have yet to try a repair or reinstall with the WinDoze disks because it is such a laborious task. I will stay connected to this thread if I come up with a solution.
It is refreshing that someone else has encountered the same problem since WinDoze has such a plethora of them.
tarael1

[Chaky]

Is linux on a separate partition and different filesystem? If so, that would definitely point to corrupt MBR. There is a vague chance to fix MBR with fixmbr or fixboot command in recovery console (if you have a XP/Vista setup disc).

[tarael1]

Aloha Chaky, yes Linux is on a separate partition in the XP drive. It also uses GRUB as a boot loader, which I will have to repair after the Windoze disk takes over. I will try the fixmbr today since my other chores are done and it's raining. Mahalo

[tarael1]

Aloha again,
Here is an update from this conundrum...This morning I opened it up to clean out dust on fans, etc. and reseated all of the connections. Then I disconnected SATA HDD 0 the one with XP and Suse. On the second drive I ran the disk utilities with the Vista DVD. Vista Startup Repair made a few repairs then ended with cannot repair this disk. BTW I did try fixmbr and fixboot neither of which were good commands with the Vista command prompt.

Then I used an old "Ultimate Boot" disk and ran a few tests. Even though the BIOS sees the drive, the Seagate Disk utility does not see it. It gives a INIT
Disk Error Error Reading Partion Table Drive 01 Sector 0
It is still sounding like a MBR problem to me but I can't find a command that works. I also tried to do a fresh install of Suse 11.1 and partition the drive; and again to wipe the drive and start fresh. Both times gave an error and crashed the installation.

When I tried to boot HDD 0 (XP and Suse) without the other drive I got a Grub error and no boot.
Both drives plugged in like before will boot to Suse from Grub no problem.
I'm not concerned with the Vista drive but changing out two HDD's and doing the reinstalls is a daunting task. I do have most everything backed up on DVD.
Any further suggestions?
Tarael

[Chaky]

Fixmbr and fixboot are XP commands (form XP recovery console) and they should be used on your SATA HDD 0 (where the XP is installed).

Did you try Bootrec.exe tool in Vista Recover enviroment? That is the tool you need for your other drive.

If none of this helps, the only solution would be to zero-fill the sector 0 with SeaTools for DOS.

If that tool doesn't help, try PowerMax. It might help, but it is ment to deal with maxtor drives (that Seagate took over), but who knows..

Both come in a form of bootable CD image, ready for burning, so you don't need an operating HD to run it, and both can zero-fill the whole drive (or just the first sector where the MBR record is kept).

[tarael1]

Aloha Chaky,
I value your input and appreciate it. I am concerned that I may lose the capacity to use the machine by running tests and screwing something up. Since I have a fresh SATA drive in stock I am going to install update and configure and new version of Suse 11.1 in the fresh drive then retry with the testing and experiments with the other drives. BTW I did use the Bootrec.exe from t he Vista disk and got no success. The Seagate utilities that I have are old so I will download new ones and burn them before I procede. Likely I will be down for a couple of days. Thank you for your support and assistance.
Tarael

[Chaky]

Way I see it, you have nothing to lose.

Only thing you can screw up is data on those drives (which is already lost) and, according to the drives states, you already lost capacity to use it (boot from it).

All you can do is wipe them and start all over again.

Another way to kick-start them would be to put them in another machine (not as system drives, off course) and use some disk management tools to delete the partitions and create new ones.