Member Avatar for Cooky87

Hi guys.

I have a real problem, i'm posting this from a pc at college because i can't get on my home pc. It was working perfectely last night until about 10:00 then the problems started. I restarted my pc and was presented with a screen saying i had to choose from 5 options before starting my pc they were:
Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe mode with command Prompt
Last Known Good settings
Start Windows Normally

I've seen this before so i thought nothing of it and chose start normally, windows began to start then it restarted and went back to the screen with the five choices, no matter which one i chose it just restarted and went back to the same screen again and again. My knowledge of PC hardware is very limited, so can you guys please help me?

P.s. i tried e-mailing windows support but they want a product id number, which i can access because i cant get on my pc.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Sphyenx

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This is a boot-stage failure rather than a normal Safe Mode problem: the Advanced Boot Options menu reappearing after every selection usually means Windows cannot proceed past the loader/early kernel stage. Causes most often are NTFS / boot-record corruption (the "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" blue screen mentioned by ), a failing or disconnected hard drive, bad RAM or loose cables, or corrupted BIOS/CMOS settings. Reformatting is premature and will destroy recoverable data.

Suggested non‑destructive workflow (in order of risk and diagnostic value):

  1. Power/hardware basics: remove all USB devices and non-essential drives; check for POST beeps or HDD activity LEDs. If the keyboard is USB and the BIOS is old, try a PS/2 keyboard to get into setup. If BIOS setup is reachable (different keys: Del, F2, F1, Esc, F10), load defaults and save.

  2. Bare‑bones test: with power off, open the case (after unplugging), reseat RAM and power/data cables, try one memory stick at a time and disconnect extra PCI cards and extra drives.

  3. Data-first rescue with a bootable environment (Linux live USB, Hiren's/UBCD): mount the internal disk and copy important files to an external drive before any repairs.

sudo fdisk -l
sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt

(Use the live image's tools or install smartmontools to inspect drive health: smartctl -a /dev/sda.)

  1. Software repairs (only after backup): use the Windows Recovery/Repair environment to run a full disk check and repair boot records. Typical Recovery Console / repair commands are:
chkdsk /r C:
fixmbr
bootcfg /rebuild

Run fixmbr only when MBR corruption is suspected.

If SMART or diagnostics show many reallocated sectors or read errors, prioritize backup and replace the drive. Start with the safe checks suggested by and , then the hardware isolation from , and use the Recovery approach mentioned by only after files are secured. Do not perform a full format/reinstall (as suggested by ) until data is backed up and hardware health is confirmed.

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Member Avatar for carlino

Have you made any changes/updates?

Normally when that screen you mention is show it means windows has been shutdown incorrectly and therefore is giving you the option of starting in a simpler mode to avoid the problems. Like for example if you update your graphic card's drivers and then is shown that menu when you reboot, probably the drivers didn't function correctly.

So try starting it in safe mode and try to fix the problem from within windows. It's hard to say where to start but if you made any changes, try changing them back to as they were before.

Member Avatar for Cooky87

So try starting it in safe mode and try to fix the problem from within windows. It's hard to say where to start but if you made any changes, try changing them back to as they were before.

Thats my problem i cant start it in safe mode, or any mode for that matter. whenever i select an option the pc just goes srtaight back to the screen with the choices, it doesn't start at all.

Member Avatar for Sphyenx

wow, when the mother board loads up when you first turn on your pc, hold delete, you should open system bio's. I dont know all about hardware, just enough to drive me home, but look around you should notice problem's. Also if the problem consist's then well. reformt. Are you colleges on XP?, if so stick in a floppy, open up My Computer, and right click floopy disk, and make it a dos boot, and run your home computer with the dos boot, and then type this after A:\format C:, have a good one. Sorry about your trouble's.

Member Avatar for caperjack

If you get int o the bios as suggested above ,set the defaults and exit saving changes and try Re-booting

Member Avatar for Cooky87

Thanks for the advice guys, i'll try that. This is the last time i can get on a pc today, so i'll get back to you tomorrow. as for making a dos boot disk on my colloges pcs, they use windows 98 and all the disk drives are disabled. but thanks...i'll get back to you tomorrow

Member Avatar for Cooky87

Hey guys Im a friend of cooky87 and am using his info to tell u of his latest problem.

He STILL cannot get on to his PC and the hold del thing didnt work. He needs his PC for college and would be very gratefull of any help.

Cheers Guys

TJ / Cooky87

Member Avatar for rasputinj

Hey guys Im a friend of cooky87 and am using his info to tell u of his latest problem.

He STILL cannot get on to his PC and the hold del thing didnt work. He needs his PC for college and would be very gratefull of any help.

Cheers Guys

TJ / Cooky87

reformat and start again, if nothing else has worked, or take off anything extra sound card, firewire card, and try to start it bare bones. Or you can boot it into recovery mode with the XP/2000 cd and do a chkdsk on it also.

Member Avatar for DMR

Or you can boot it into recovery mode with the XP/2000 cd...

Yes- try that before resorting to a reinstall. When you boot into the Recovery Console from the install CD you have more than a few options at your disposal, one of which is to attempt an automated repair of your system. You can also attempt manual repairs via the Recovery Console's (somewhat limited) built-in commands. More info on using the Recovery Console can be found here:

Member Avatar for K9Specialist

Hello Guy's I have the same problem, however it's a little different after the five options it refers to a blue screen and gives reference to a unmountable_boot_volume. No matter what key I strike I cannot get past this blue screen. Please help.

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