110 comments

• 

  Anonymous

  1 year ago

  Hello,
  
  I have been getting this error for a while and have been unable to use my laptop. I have followed these steps a couple of times and while it seems like everything goes well, ie, while in the dos prompt I receive messages like corrupted data repaired etc. when I try to restart the computer I get the same blue screen error as I had been receiving from the beginning. If anyone has any advice/help it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
  reply
• 

  edward

  5 months ago

  replace your hard disk,the boot sector is corrupted.
  reply
• 

  Dgourd

  4 months ago

  Before you buy a knew hard drive, try doing a clean install. Before you install though format the hard drive with the installation cd. You will lose all your data, but it beats getting a knew hard drive or not using your laptop at all.
  reply
• 

  Anonymous

  11 months ago

  Nice posting. I have been facing same problem with my Linux OS and suffered from data loss. I didn't make backup of my hard drive. Someone suggested me stellar phoenix Linux recovery software to recover lost data. This software backed up my file in few time. It is one of the best recovery software.
  
  Thanks
  reply
• 

  Paul

  8 months ago

  That fixed it!! Wonderful!! Thank you!!!
  reply
• 

  Ashley

  8 months ago

  Okay. My laptop keeps saying this, so I followed these instructions, to which I got the response, 25% unrecoverable...blah blah blah. When I entered the fixboot command, it says 'the target partition is C: Are you sure you want to write a new bootsector to the partition C:?' then it says it cannot open the partition. Any ideas?
  reply
• 

  davak

  8 months ago

  Sorry, Ashley. It sounds like the hard drive is toast.
  reply
• 

  Sebastian

  8 months ago

  Thanks - it worked and saved me for a lot of trouble!
  reply
• 

  anon

  8 months ago

  Thanks,
  
  The BSOD itself was a little hard to see, it flashed up so fast that I had to capture what it said with a camera.
  
  Anyway, thanks, I though my computer was done for until i read this
  reply
• 

  Maaz

  6 months ago

  Press F5 on bootup and select disable automatic restart, when it crashes, it will stay on the bluescreen until you manually restart.
  reply
• 

  Rob

  8 months ago

  This process worked exactly as documented. The chkdsk took a while (20 minutes or so) but the reboot ect was flawless.
  
  Thanks!!!
  
  BTW, first thing I did when I re-booted???? yep, backed up my Quciken files and address lists....
  reply
• 

  Sue

  8 months ago

  I can't get into recovery mode. Just keeps going back to that damn blue screen. Any other ideas?
  reply
• 

  danitz

  8 months ago

  On your bios change the firstt boot to your disk drive
  reply
• 

  Anonymous

  8 months ago

  I've got this exact problem, but there is one small problem that's keeping me from saving the files on my computer. My computer (Sony Vaio desktop) didn't come with a windows xp cd-rom. Is it possible to use anyone else's windows xp installation cd to fix my computer?
  
  Thanks
  reply
• 

  tom

  7 months ago

  i get to the chkdsk /p part and it gets to 75%
  and stays there
  reply
• 

  Juan

  7 months ago

  i do everything perfect exept after i press "r"... i go to a black screen and it says: Which
  
  
  1:F:\minint
  
  Windows installation would you like to log onto
  (To cancel, press ENTER)?
  
  
  
  and it only lets me press one letter... so i cant type chkdsk /p....
  
  
  what do i do??
  reply
• 

  xyz

  7 months ago

  press 1
  reply
• 

  James

  7 months ago

  I followed the above directions. But, I still got an "unmountable boot volume message on my laptop. What do I do next?
  reply
• 

  Stayce

  5 months ago

  I got the same thing. Anyone know what to do now?
  reply
• 

  ME

  7 months ago

  THANK YOU!!!!!
  :):) :)
  reply
• 

  James Resti

  7 months ago

  I did exactly what you recommended and I was able to get the machine to boot up. Unfortunately I did not know enough to stop the process and I apparently repartitioned the hard drive, losing (I think, a lot of files and programs.
  
  I could reload the programs and do a file recovery, but I seem to be locked in a viciaous cycle. The windows icon at the bottom of the screen says that the version of windows is no longer secure, suggesting that I download service pack 2 or 3. When I try to do that (through automatic update) nothing happens. When i tried to manually download service pack 3, I couldn't because I need Internet Explorer 7.0, which I can't get because I don't have SP 2.
  
  I went to control panel and found many of the programs that I thought I lost (including SP 2) but they are not on the desktop or program list and I don't know how to update them. I bought Search & Recover but I can't use it because you need IE 6.0 or higher, which I can't get - HELP
  reply
• 

  J

  7 months ago

  I everything you said and everything seemed ok until "fixboot".
  When I typed it, it said, "Are you sure you want to write a new bootsector to the partition C:?"
  Do I enter "Y" or "N"?
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• 

  Shotaro

  7 months ago

  enter Y
  reply
• 

  THANKSSSS

  7 months ago

  OMG THANKS tipmonkies!!! :):) IT WORKED :)
  
  wow unbelievable for computer noobs like me haha. I thought it was all over when my laptop crashed onto the floor (sry for the pun) and the blue screen appeared - scary and chilling moments.
  
  Hey J (the poster above me) enter Y. but i'm sure u must have done it anyway :)
  reply
• 

  Jim

  7 months ago

  Worked like a charm! Thank you so much.
  reply
• 

  webreviewer

  7 months ago

  Perfectly worked fine! Thanks for the posting.
  reply
• 

  Only Me

  7 months ago

  This worked for me but, I had to get to recovery mode with DOS prompt differently....
  My computer kept automatically rebooting, like a broken record, causing me to not be able to access the welcome screen. Even to disable automatic reboot did not help. So...
  I pressed F2, and went into the setup. From the first section I used the "arrow down" to BOOT SEQUENCE...hit enter... then highlight Internal HDD...enter and follow prompts.. this took me to recovery mode.. and from there I followed the above directions and was able to repair my boot drive using my XP Installation disk....
  It was scary, and I have no training at all...
  But it worked. And I hope it works for someone else!
  Good Luck
  reply
• 

  Deb

  7 months ago

  Thanks this worked for me :)
  
  If anyone is trying to do this on a Dell laptop - I had to press F12 twice really quickly immediately on start up to get to the "boot from disk" option menu. Once you've pressed that option it works as above.
  
  Thanks again
  reply
• 

  Shotaro

  7 months ago

  thanks XD all worked well
  reply
• 

  Neil

  6 months ago

  worked well thanks!
  reply
• 

  JOHN

  6 months ago

  When I try to boot up with the XP CD in the DVD drive, I never get to the 'Welcome' screen. I just see the DELL screen and then the screen informing me of a problem and the choices of using the last configuration that worked, boot normally, safe mode, etc. Choosing any of them gets the blue screen with the UBV error message. How do I get into the system to run chkdsk, etc.
  
  Thanks,
  John
  reply
• 

  Mike

  6 months ago

  If you get into Windows Repair and it won't recognize the C: drive, forget the Windows XP Repair disk.
  
  I've fixed this error several times using Seagate SeaTools for Dos, available from the SeaGate website. Run the short test, if it fixes at least one error, restart the machine. If the short test doesnt pick up the error, run the long test to completion and restart. Voila.
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• 

  pris

  2 weeks ago

  This was very helpful. Once I was able to make a working bootable disk from the SeaTools ISO (I used the ISORecorder app from alexfeinman.com), I was able to boot the laptop with the unmountable boot volume error to SeaTools disk. It's found one error so far on the long test, and I am hoping it's able to fix my problem!
  reply
• 

  i need help

  6 months ago

  I have dell with windows 2006
  First i hit 12
  Than i did boot from disk and hit enter
  It loads a blue screen with a gray bar that says setup is load files ( with some stuff like host adapter and stuff
  than is stays setup is starting windows
  i get welcome to setup
  i hit R
  than i get
  WIndows XP professional setup
  ======================
  
  Examining 238418 Md Disk 0 at id 0 bus 0 on iastor...
  
  Nothing happens from this point what am i doing wrong there is no administrator pass word.
  reply
• 

  Br.

  6 months ago

  Thank you soo much !
  My pc got this error now in christmas and this saved me :D
  reply
• 

  Fred

  6 months ago

  thank you so much it worked. only addition to directions is to type "Y" when asked if c is the partition for fixboot. thank you thank you!!!!
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• 

  Marion J. Stearns

  6 months ago

  volume in this case mens that the "Volume with bars underneath" looks just like what you see on the television screen when you are turning up or down the volume. This sits onthe bottom of my laptop screen all the time, how do I get rid ofit?
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• 

  Parkit

  6 months ago

  Worked like a charm. Thank you.
  reply
• 

  Gerri

  6 months ago

  If I own a Dell and install the disc will all stored data be lost, along with files?
  reply
• 

  Erika

  6 months ago

  Thank you - this website saved my dell ...I kept getting the blue screen - would not re-boot from cd-rom, to get into the recovery console. So with this site's suggestions, I pressed f2, found how to disable the hard drive, to get the machine to boot from the cd-rom, and used the chkdsk /p command. I saw something that said the chkdsk /r command would erase data. After re-booting I re-enabled the hard drive and reset the order to what it was, and then re-booted again without the disk in the cd-rom, and everything looks great. Thanks again. One question: what are the implications of using the /p command instead of the /r command? What have I messed up or not fixed properly?
  reply
• 

  James

  6 months ago

  thx soooo much omg omg omg omg omg this is the BEST, i love this fking site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  reply
• 

  ShogunMMA

  6 months ago

  Man thank god for this fix! Whew.. just got that unmountable boot error. Did exactly as said in this article and it worked like a charm!
  
  Thank you!!
  reply
• 

  chad

  6 months ago

  wow. absolutely perfect. thank you so much. 5-stars across the board.
  reply
• 

  anna

  6 months ago

  thankyou soooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!! worked absolutely perfectly. you are an absolute LIFESAVER
  reply
• 

  Amanda

  6 months ago

  I can't find my XP installation CD, but have Vista from my other computer, will this screw everything up if I use my Vista CD? I think so, but i'm out of options at this point. My other computer does not have a floppy drive in order to download the boot disks since I don't have the XP CD. I'm assuming my HD is done since i've had a ton of other problems, all I want to do is to be able to boot up so I can dump all my info off the hard drive before I install a new one.
  
  THANKS!
  reply
• 

  ZK

  6 months ago

  Great advice tipmonkies
  reply
• 

  Norbs

  6 months ago

  thanks for the tips guys, worked for me. i did have to follow the advice of a previous poster - hit F2 immediately upon startup to get to a menu where i could arrow down to "boot sequence"... had to adjust this so that "boot from CD/DVD etc" is first on the list. from there the steps listed above worked as billed. success!
  reply
• 

  Ace

  6 months ago

  Thanks, That worked great!
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• 

  jon

  6 months ago

  thankyou so much!! quick and easy and too the point.
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• 

  Zonda

  6 months ago

  I tried this but without success then found this text on another site.
  
  If for some reason that don't work for you, you can boot to the recovery console like above and...
  Type "chkdsk /r" then enter
  When done type "exit" and hit enter.
  This will take longer, but the system should boot back into Windows.
  
  And it did!!
  So thanks to this site and another I now have my Dell desktop back. Hurrah!
  reply
• 

  mark

  6 months ago

  had no other pc/laptop, so had to use my PSP to browse the internet. after waiting a decade for pages to i came across this page and it has saved me heaps of trouble. excellent Advice, really helpful... thankyou.
  reply
• 

  rob

  6 months ago

  Great job. It worked
  reply
• 

  jjonajameson

  5 months ago

  Thank you a kazillion!! I thought I was screwed until I followed the steps on your website. I have a Toshiba laptop and like one of the contributors, had to press F2 really quickly to get the process startedl. thaks again. Your website was a huge help to me!! :)
  reply
• 

  jeff

  5 months ago

  thanks a lot... this worked perfectly
  reply
• 

  Colin

  5 months ago

  Thank you,Thank you, Thank you, GREAT POSTING.............I owe you one.
  
  C2ent69
  reply
• 

  Nicholas

  5 months ago

  I have dell with windows xp
  First i hit 12
  Than i did boot from disk and hit enter
  It loads a blue screen with a gray bar that says setup is load files ( with some stuff like host adapter and stuff
  than is stays setup is starting windows
  i get welcome to setup
  i hit R
  than i get
  WIndows XP professional setup
  ======================
  
  Examining 152587 Md Disk 0 at id 0 bus 0 on iastor...
  
  Nothing happens from this point what am i doing wrong there is no administrator pass word.
  reply
• 

  steve

  5 months ago

  worked cheers
  reply
• 

  Joeblow

  5 months ago

  Will a windows xp pro disk work if I have xp home on the computer
  reply
• 

  Benjamin

  5 months ago

  I'm not a tech person, and I'm also not trying to promote Linux or anything. I got the unmountable boot volume error about 10 days ago. I did NOT have a CD or anything to reboot it. I kept calling around, asking friends if they had XP home, and I got tired of waiting. So I downloaded Ubuntu, the Linux operating system. I burned it on a CD, then booted my laptop from the CD and installed it. It asked me if I wanted a dual boot system, and I said yes. It allowed me to select the amount of hard disk space to partition for the new operating system, all the while keeping Windows XP as well. I only let Ubuntu take up 5gigs, and let it install itself. Well, I was happy, because I was back on the internet! Ubuntu seemed to work fine, even used it's own software to locate my wireless router (I was worried about getting that to work). Anyway, long story short, now my laptop asks me if I want to boot Ubuntu or XP. So, this morning I went ahead and selected XP to show my friend what the error code was, and XP booted right up!! So, I'm sure a lot of you will slam what I just said, but for those without a CD who need to get back online, it might be worth a try. Now I have a backup operating system ready to go whenever XP crashes again, if I don't end up using it regularly. P.S., the Ubuntu operating system comes complete with Open Office, which let me view powerpoints and look at my Word documents. I'm not sure yet if I can actually create a new Word document or anything though.
  reply
• 

  Paul

  2 months ago

  Hi Benjamin,
  
  did you manage to recover all your files with Unbutu?
  
  Paul
  reply
• 

  sheree

  5 months ago

  thankyou thankyou thankyou. it didnt work first go, but i tried it again and worked fine. you saved my life!!
  reply
• 

  poul

  5 months ago

  You just saved my day!!!! Thanks a lot
  reply
• 

  LD

  5 months ago

  hello,
  
  i followed the steps above, but when i type chkdsk /p or chkdsk /r or even just chkdsk, my laptop doesnt understand the command, I have tried others too as per some other threads I have seen, but nothing works and I am at my wits end, has anyone got any other suggestions?
  
  many thanks
  reply
• 

  Espio

  5 months ago

  i presume you are running windows and not linux or mac?
  
  if you are running windows, then its something i havent had before, maybe a format c: helps?
  reply
• 

  Keith

  5 months ago

  brilliant!!!!!! it worked a treat
  reply
• 

  anonymous

  5 months ago

  Hi. I am using an Acer TravelMate 2300 with XP. Just got the unmountable boot volume screen, but no matter what I do I cannot stop the comp from rebooting itself the instant the blue screen appears. Also, the XP system came already installed, so there is no disc, though I can borrow one from someone else. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
  reply
• 

  Murat Kaya

  5 months ago

  thanks, it works...
  reply
• 

  rhia

  4 months ago

  oh my gosh thanks so much it worked fine!
  reply
• 

  Andy

  4 months ago

  done all the above and still does not work. Help please!!
  
  Andy
  reply
• 

  Tim

  4 months ago

  Wow it worked, thank you so much. That fixboot part is the most important thing to do. Time for me to backup my files then i can format this thing...
  reply
• 

  Skatu

  4 months ago

  Hello,
  
  I recently got the "“unmountable boot volume” on my Toshiba Satellite A100.I tried to download a windows XP OS from a site online. It download and i burnt it off on a cd.I tried to run it on the laptop and changed the boot sequence to boot from CD-ROM but it wouldn't boot.It kept going back to blue screen.It doesnt even boot from safe mode.I dont know what to do.Please help me.Do i have to get the original XP CD to fix it or use an Original Vista CD?Please help me ....
  
  Thanks
  reply
• 

  Abbs

  4 months ago

  Thanks for the info!!! But wouldn't this cause you to lose all the saved files on your hard drive? Or not?
  reply
• 

  melfin

  4 months ago

  thank you a lot!!!
  reply
• 

  gadgetman37

  4 months ago

  There is a typo in this article. chkdsk has no such parameter as /p. It should be /r as onfirmed on the Microsoft site. For a full list of parameters type chkdsk /?
  reply
• 

  elistuy

  4 months ago

  Thank You
  
  Worked PERFECTLY!!!
  reply
• 

  rjp

  4 months ago

  I tried this fix and chkdsk /p resulted in: "the volume appears to have one or more unrecoverable problems". So I ran fixboot , it created a new bootsector. I typed exit and rebooting brought up the screen to start in safe mode. I tried that and got the orginal Unmountable Boot Volume. Any more suggestions?
  reply
• 

  rjp

  4 months ago

  Also, its appears the be the 0xc000009c error code version. This appears to be caused by a UDMA hard disk controller but I cannot seem to this explicitly stated anywhere. How do check if I have this UDMA thing?
  reply
• 

  annie

  4 months ago

  Thanks, very useful post! I'm still shopping for a new computer but at least now I can back things up.
  reply
• 

  Jon

  4 months ago

  regardless of the typo this here's a life saver. thanks!
  reply
• 

  nanaof4

  4 months ago

  at chkdsk /p after 27% it says volume appears to contain 1 or more unrecoverable problems.......this is a dell inspirion 5100..........any ideas?
  reply
• 

  Andrew Ahrendt

  4 months ago

  Thank You SOOOOOOO Much For This!!!!!!!!!!
  reply
• 

  Sahil

  4 months ago

  Worked perfectly and when i was all rejoicing i get "IRQL not less or equal" blue screen error upn startup.
  Someone help!
  reply
• 

  J

  4 months ago

  Thanks tipmonkies! It worked!!!!!!
  reply
• 

  lgcc

  3 months ago

  thank you very much. I have learnt a big lesson and have backed up all files from the hard drive.
  reply
• 

  Alex

  3 months ago

  Okay, originally my computer just booted up in an infinite loop (got to the loading screen, then went back to the beginning), but a different help guide online told me to disable automatic restarts on errors and I did, now I get this.
  
  The problem is, I don't have an XP installation disk. Does anyone know what I can do to fix this without an installation disk?
  reply
• 

  Jesus E. Medina

  3 months ago

  Really really! Thank you. The problem is fixed!
  reply
• 

  ritrits

  3 months ago

  What can one do if the CD-ROM don't detect the CD and have stoped functioning
  reply
• 

  James

  3 months ago

  Thank you so much!! It worked! Flawlessly. I was so scared I had lost all of my information since I didn't do any backup beforehand. The comments left by others were especially helpful! I'll describe my experience below so that it may help you.
  I have a Dell laptop inspiron 700m, working fine until it gave me the blue screen with the unmountable boot volume. I didn't have any "Windows XP CD-ROM" but I did have a "Dell Laptop Windows Operating System CD" which I created for backup years ago (Thank God!). I inserted the CD, right on the startup screen I pressed F12. It then says "boot menu". Choose the IDE CD-ROM and not the IDE HDD, because you want to reboot from the CD, not the hard drive, since your hard drive is in trouble. Then it takes me to the Welcome Screen (be patient!) and then I followed the exact directions as above, and it worked fine. One thing to remember is not to type in any command until you see the "C:/>" prompt. And the "chkdsk /p" has a SPACE in it. Good luck y'all! I'm hella happy my computer is back.
  reply
• 

  Lori

  2 months ago

  Thanks for making note of the SPACE in "chkdsk /p"...I missed that and couldn't figure out why this wasn't working for me.
  After I read your post, I went back and it worked PERFECT!
  reply
• 

  hopeless23

  3 months ago

  I have a Dell Laptop. I was able to get into setup to disable the interal hdd as someone else mentioned. I then hit boot from cd. It stated that it loaded files. Did I overwrite my other files? Are my pictures that were stored on my harddrive gone forever?
  reply
• 

  SDC

  3 months ago

  It worked for me on the 2nd time! I had to do both the chkdsk /p and the chkdsk /r before I saw any improvement but it worked! Thank you!!!
  reply
• 

  b

  3 months ago

  ok this is it on a normal xp pc clcik del to enetr setup on startup inster our disc into the cd/dvd drive and click advanced bios settings. next turn whichever boot device which is hard drive to cd/dvd drivr and follow on thru
  reply
• 

  Kareema

  2 months ago

  Thank you very much for the advice.. I tried it and it works wonderfully.
  reply
• 

  Gautam

  2 months ago

  I went into the BIOS and changed the First Boot priority to CD ROM but the screen says Booting from ATAPI CD ROM ... and then the blue screen error(Unmountable Boot Volume) appears again. What could be the reason. Should i attach my hard disk as a slave to another machine and then format my drive and install Windows XP again?
  reply
• 

  Paul

  2 months ago

  Did not work first time, but after two tries took PC apart, wiggled all conections etc, then tried procedure again (with /r) and then it worked! Bril!! Doing full backups now and going to PC world to buy a new hard drive, they are only £60,- The old one can become a slave drive.
  
  Thanks for the extremely helpful tips and all the comments!
  
  Paul
  reply
• 

  Lori

  2 months ago

  Works PERFECT!!
  reply
• 

  Paul

  2 months ago

  You are the best, my wife and i thought that we would have to but a new computer. this worked great the first time.
  reply
• 

  Anon

  2 months ago

  Thanks! I can't believe it, but this worked perfectly. So much for buying a new PC....
  reply
• 

  Lin

  2 months ago

  I use this fixed my computer problem. Thank you very much!
  reply
• 

  scott

  2 months ago

  I also have done all of the steps but when I get to the selecting the R for repair, it locks up at
  WIndows XP professional setup
  ======================
  
  238418 Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on iastor...
  
  it has also gone past this to the next page but I don't get a prompt to type in chkdsk or fixboot. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
  reply
• 

  uzo

  2 months ago

  thanks very much for your advice. it worked. there is a little error,
  when your are in DOS prompt type chkdsk (chkdsk/p is wrong), other steps are correct.
  reply
• 

  Ross

  2 months ago

  worked for me...thanks!
  reply
• 

  K73

  2 months ago

  Does it have to be an XP install disk you originally used or can you use any one else's XP disk?
  reply
• 

  George

  2 months ago

  omg. thank you sooo much. it got it to work again!
  reply
• 

  NickBoy98

  1 month ago

  u are the best now my computer is a liitle laggy but working
  reply
• 

  Ash

  1 month ago

  At last, the solution to the dreaded error that I am experiencing. However, does anyone know if I follow these steps then will it let me into Windows normally and keep all my files or will it wipe them off as part of this process?
  reply
• 

  fixed!

  1 month ago

  Thank you! I have used this fix on three occasions so far!
  reply
• 

  Spaz

  4 weeks ago

  Your a supastar. Fixed it first time. Many many thanx.
  reply
• 

  Desperate

  3 weeks ago

  Hi i am having the same issue, i get a blue screen that says "unmountable boot volume" and i have two cd's for windows reformat, but one of them does not let me get past the "press any key to boot from cd", i pressed every key i could..but it wont load. Second cd brings me strat to ms dos..where ur chkdsk /p command did not work..
  
  Please please please help..i dont even see the welcome screen.thank you.
  reply
• 

  tamsin

  1 day ago

  please help!!!! i got the dreaded unmountable boot volume message..tried all 5 methods to boot.. safe mode..etc and none of these worked it just kept going back to same message..then whilst trying to boot i pressed f10 for recovery mode and something called pc angel popped up i followed the onscreen instructions and it worked!!! my pc is now as good as new ( i even had to go through the start up like when i first got my laptop) all files and folders have been deleted,and my laptop is faster than ever..great! but pc angel has deleted all my photos (about 1000) and im gutted i can never get these photos back..please any ideas how to retrieve my photos????
  reply