View Full Version : Windows - bizarre disk behaviour
Some will doubtless recall my thread about cloning my IDE C drive onto a new SATA. Total success, and running fine since then EXCEPT for a niggling little power problem which I have had for about a year, and not been able to pin down - random 'poking' at the drive power leads would produce a spin down/up occasionally. Lived with it. Until this AM when it got quite bad. More 'active' poking. Aha! Two red wires which obviously had not been properly crimped for years came out of one adapter. No problem, out with trusty soldering iron and job done. Power up. Corrupt or missing hal.dll. I know what to do! Err I don't????
I have 2 SATA and 1 remaining IDE drive now. Windows OS was on SATA 'Drive 2' (third drive) part 1. Windows OS on Disk Manager STILL shows on 'Drive 2 part 1' but after much fiddling (and cursing) I find I now need to call 'Drive0 part1' in boot.ini to find the OS. Has anyone an explanation for how the Drive numbers do not now seem to correspond to the Drive Manager Drive numbers? Partition letters are all correct. Weird!
I should add that I had tried Recovery Console first to rewrite boot,ini but that could not even FIND the OS!
FullOppositeRudder
25th Mar 2011, 23:15
The 'missing hal.dll' file gets a lot of attention in Google. It may be worth glancing through there to see what can be done for this one.
I can't throw any light on the other problem you mention, except that when you get the machine booting again as you originally had it, it may well have solved itself.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll triumph :ok:
FOR
FOR - hidden in post #1 is the story of 'triumph' - as posted it was boot.ini that needed the vet. Yes, I have seen old hal many times.:) It was the drive numbering that has floored me! I was hoping one of our gurus would explain how Windows works out who is who.
Mike-Bracknell
27th Mar 2011, 18:31
Sorry BOAC, it's been about 15 years since I needed to know how to format a boot.ini - I suggest you try trial & error?
M_B - there is no problem with boot.ini that needs 'formatting' as explained in posts #1 and #3.I was hoping one of our gurus would explain how Windows works out who is who
Loose rivets
27th Mar 2011, 19:53
Can you alter their order in the BIOS, and see if Windows reassigns them?
Saab Dastard
27th Mar 2011, 20:27
Interesting information here from MS: The disk drive numbers may not correspond as expected to the SATA channel numbers when you set up Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows 7 on a computer that has multiple SATA or RAID disks (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937251)
That's for Server 2008 / Win7 - there's a somewhat similar article on server 2003 / XP here: Overview of PNP enumeration and hard disk drive letter assignments in Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825668)
Basically, with more than one HD controller - SATA or PATA - you will get "interesting" PnP disk enumeration effects.
As I recall, MS used to define the "system" disk as the one with boot.ini (and other things like NTLDR) on it, and the "boot" disk as the one where the Windows system files reside. That's how I recall it from NT 3.5, anyway. Maybe they've changed it around, or maybe my memory is faulty! I've long since thrown away my NT3.5 resources, so I can't check it. :)
SD
Thanks for those links, SD - disk-wise I am kind of between the XP and the Vista scenario (I am using XP with SARTA and IDE). Disk '0' has indeed remained with the iDE. I can see that the power 'blip' may have caused Win to renumber the drives and that is fine, but I cannot understand how the drive numbering in Disk Manager is not one that will work with boot.ini - and I have to use a totally different drive number there to locate the OS drive.
It's a black art, innit?
Feline
29th Mar 2011, 13:56
Hi BOAC - you've possibly tried this already - Control Panel > Administrative Tools -> Disk Management
At least it shows you the disk numbers and how they are partitioned ...
Good Luck!
Mr Optimistic
3rd Apr 2011, 08:52
disk enumeration - The PC Guide Discussion Forums (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=51601)
or
Also note that pre-Vista uses boot.ini, which must a) reside on the = initial BIOS's boot disk b) the boot.ini entry uses the BIOS (int 13h) = disk number. The OP must ensure that this number is correct. Vista+ use BCD database, which keeps the mountdev IDs of the disk = volumes instead (for non-Dynamic disk volume, mountdev ID is 4byte MBR = signature + 8 byte StartingOffset of the partition). kept in \boot\bcd as mountdev IDs. In this latter case, the BIOS disk numbering is not important. What is = important is that a) the correct boot disk is known to BIOS, probably to = the extension BIOS on the controller itself b) the driver for its = controller is installed to Windows OS which will be booted. That's all = for Vista+.and best of luck.
My fault, folks, for not saying it was XP :O
Mr O - the link seems to be about partitions - it is disk numbering that is awry. The last bit was mostly black magic to me!
To re-iterate - Boot.ini is fine - it is just that it needs to call a different DISK number for the XP OS to that in Disk manager.
Mr Optimistic
3rd Apr 2011, 10:19
Guess the clue is the hal problem which I presume has been resolved. That incident presumably happened because the system got confused about the hardware setup.
'Check for proper boot order in BIOS. You might see the hal.dll error if the boot order in BIOS is first looking at a hard drive other than your main hard drive.'
Maybe reflash the bios for a bit of excitement ?
The following shows an equivalent problem in Vista, to which the answer is:
'Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.'
The disk drive numbers may not correspond as expected to the SATA channel numbers when you set up Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows 7 on a computer that has multiple SATA or RAID disks (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937251/en-gb)
Looks common enough
Resolve HAL.dll Missing or Corrupt Error on Windows XP at Instant Registry Fixes (http://www.instant-registry-fixes.org/resolve-haldll-missing-or-corrupt-error-on-windows-xp/)
But as this says
[/QUOTE]
But as long as you have it straight in your mind which is which, I wouldn't change things--unless you are obsessive enough that you will lay in bed thinking about it.[/QUOTE]
:p
Guess the clue is the hal problem which I presume has been resolved. That incident presumably happened because the system got confused about the hardware setup.
'Check for proper boot order in BIOS. You might see the hal.dll error if the boot order in BIOS is first looking at a hard drive other than your main hard drive.'
- yes, resolved - see post #1
Maybe reflash the bios for a bit of excitement ?
- don't think so, since it is working now, albeit unexpectedly! I prefer a different sort of excitement..........
The following shows an equivalent problem in Vista, to which the answer is:
'Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.'
The disk drive numbers may not correspond as expected to the SATA channel numbers when you set up Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows 7 on a computer that has multiple SATA or RAID disks (http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=42X487496&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsupport.microsoft.com%2Fkb%2F937251%2Fen-gb&sref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pprune.org%2Fcomputer-internet-issues-troubleshooting%2F446881-windows-bizarre-disk-behaviour.html%23post6347434)
Looks common enough
- see post #7 from SD - he also had an XP link. The problem is NOT with the 'C' Drive.
Resolve HAL.dll Missing or Corrupt Error on Windows XP at Instant Registry Fixes (http://www.instant-registry-fixes.org/resolve-haldll-missing-or-corrupt-error-on-windows-xp/)
- even bootcfg could not cope! See post #1
One of Windows little 'mysteries', I guess. It definitely stems from the 'power outage' taking two drives 'out' of the system but why the system has not 'caught up' as a whole I know not.
Mr Optimistic
3rd Apr 2011, 10:49
..........can't even find boot.ini on this machine.
How about taking power off the disk which doesn't have the OS, restart, shut down, reconnect, restart. Surely even disk manager will get the message then.
..........can't even find boot.ini on this machine. - I assume you are multi OS-boot? Otherwise you will not have one! It should be on your C drive.
NO to powering down (deliberately!). Then I would have to play 'hunt the OS' all over again:ugh:
Mr Optimistic
3rd Apr 2011, 11:47
'NO to powering down (deliberately!).'
Really, even though you have now corrected boot.ini ?
But if that's the case the problem should resolve itself by reconnecting the drive ? If the system can't load into windows, it can't be 'disk manager's fault in that circumstance which leaves the correctly functioning boot.ini.....
I feel that in the spirit of experimentation you should give it a go.:ok:
Ah, thanks re multiboot. Used to but don't now. That explains the boot.ini.backup file.