# Using Hirens boot cd



## john-boy (Feb 18, 2009)

Hi
Back in November I posted a question about xp with a boot problem.
Your advice was to download a Hirens boot and burn a cd.
After much frustration I have now made a Hirens boot cd 12.00 and run it.
I have loaded the mini xp section and tried to run chkdsk /p C: and all I get is invalid paramitters.
When I run chkdsk I get the message read only, but it shows no bad sectors and 119807 kb total disk space amonst other information.
The command prompt shows up as X:\i386\system32
when I run chkdsk/F it says file system is ntfs cannot lock current drive
chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process.

If I try and chance directory to either cd /C: or cd /D: it says drive not recognised.
I have two disc drives by the way Windows is on C: . D: just has some files on it. Windows is xp home with sp3 installed
Windows was preinstalled so I do not have the windows disk.
Any further suggestions as this is driving me round the twist.http://www.techsupportforum.com/images/smilies/1-upset.gif
:upset


Thanks


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

Weel, to start with, the format for the command is chkdsk C: /p (or whatever switch you want, eg, /p /R /F).

For the cd command, have you tried just typing c: ?


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Try "chkdsk c: /x /r" (without the quotes). The "/x" switch forces the drive volume to dismount.


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## TechGeek2 (Nov 21, 2010)

First, when you see the message the volume is in use and chkdsk /f cannot be performed give it a minute or two then you will be prompted to schedule the scan for the next boot. When prompted to schedule the scan tpye y > press enter > type exit > press enter. The message you are seeing is perfectly normal for running chkdsk /f while the disk is in use. 

<Mod Edit: Removed info on cd with illegal content>


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

TechGeek2, he's booting with Hiren's Boot CD. That's not the problem. It's just a BART CD with a bunch of apps on it. He just needs to add the "/x" switch to dismount the drive as I instructed him.


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## john-boy (Feb 18, 2009)

Thanks for the three replies
I have tried chkdsk C:/x/r and I get the message "cannot open volume for direct access"
Every variation of chkdsk gets me the same mesage or no result at all. Having looked at 'my computor' it shows the following
3.5 floppy drive (A) B ramdrive 358mb D= cd drive, E=cd drive
x mini xp 116mb.
No metion of the two hard drives which were C & D.
It seems as though the system is not seeing drive C: or D:
I have tried chkdsk on D, just in case the drive letters have become switched. but nothing more happens.

I have also tried some of the other items on the hirens boot cd and not of them have offered me a fix.

I am totally baffled, any further suggestions please. 

Cheers john


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

In the Mini-XP either click on the command prompt icon or go to Start/Run and type *CM*D. In the Command Prompt type* C : *and hit enter(this should change the *X:* prompt to *C: *) If so then type *chkdsk /F*. If that fails, at the* X:>* prompt type *DIR C: 
*This should show the contents of the C: drive, if Windows is not listed then this is not the boot drive*. 
*


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## Fred Garvin (Sep 4, 2010)

john-boy said:


> No metion of the two hard drives which were C & D.
> It seems as though the system is not seeing drive C: or D:


You answered your own question. Sounds like boot disc you're using isn't recognizing your SATA hard drives or your hard drives are completely dead. Most likely the former. Try a different recovery CD or a Windows XP retail cd and use the recovery console. You could also try changing the SATA option to compatible mode in your Bios.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Fred Garvin said:


> You answered your own question. Sounds like boot disc you're using isn't recognizing your SATA hard drives or your hard drives are completely dead. Most likely the former. Try a different recovery CD or a Windows XP retail cd and use the recovery console. You could also try changing the SATA option to compatible mode in your Bios.


Actually, unfortunately, I'd say it's the latter. Still, you can verify which of us is correct by finding someone who has a retail version of Windows XP slipstreamed with SP3. If you go to a "mom and pop" PC repair shop, they'll probably be willing to burn you a copy for a couple of dollars. Just tell them your using it for troubleshooting and not to actually install WinXP.


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## john-boy (Feb 18, 2009)

Thanks guys for your suggestions.
Having tried most of them and none of them have worked, I have resorted to ordering a windows xp home disc with sp3.
This should arrive in the next two days and lets hope that it does the trick.
I will keep you posted.

John.


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## john-boy (Feb 18, 2009)

To Fractalman93
My bios is Amibios 08.00.09 01/26/05 ID A0036001
I have been into the bios settings and cannot see where to change the sata options ?


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## TechGeek2 (Nov 21, 2010)

Unless your hard drive is completely dead, imho you went around the block to end up in the same place. It would have been sooo much easier to create the Utility Disc I linked you to in my post above, boot from the disc into ERD Commander and attempt a system restore. The disc also has Windows Recovery console. Alternatively, if you didn't want to try the ERD Commander you could have simply created a bootable Recovery Console disc. 

Of course, it should be noted that I do not know what your initial problem was other than a boot issue. Many boot issues can be repaired but, it would depend on the issue as to which command you use. fixmbr and/or fixboot repair a number of boot related issues. There is also a repair for NTLDR errors on the Utility Disc.


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## Jonny Robot (Sep 8, 2010)

Run HDD Regenerator off the Hiren's instead of chkdsk.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Jonny Robot said:


> Run HDD Regenerator off the Hiren's instead of chkdsk.


That takes a LONG time, but I have had it work where chkdsk and other methods have failed on a few occasions. It's worth a try.



john-boy said:


> To Fractalman93
> My bios is Amibios 08.00.09 01/26/05 ID A0036001
> I have been into the bios settings and cannot see where to change the sata options ?


That was actually Fred Garvin how mentioned the BIOS settings.


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## cucufata (Dec 17, 2010)

fractalman93 said:


> That takes a LONG time, but I have had it work where chkdsk and other methods have failed on a few occasions. It's worth a try.
> 
> 
> 
> That was actually Fred Garvin how mentioned the BIOS settings.


No, I think you are thinking of "SpinRite" which takes DAYS. (and I've never known it to work)

HDD Regenerator can run a 160 Gbyte (that has no bad sectors) in about an hour. Longest I've seen it run was 3 days, and that was on a completely dead HD with 10's of thousands of bad sectors.

Typically, I see errors on the order of 5 to 50, and expect it to run no more than 4 hours. More errors, more time however.


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## Fred Garvin (Sep 4, 2010)

Is your hard drive recognized in BIOS? It sounds to me like you're trying to run scans on a drive letter that isn't assigned, either because the boot cd's you're using have assigned a drive letter other than C: to your hard disk, or because your hard drive is dead and can't be seen by the computer.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

cucufata said:


> No, I think you are thinking of "SpinRite" which takes DAYS. (and I've never known it to work)
> 
> HDD Regenerator can run a 160 Gbyte (that has no bad sectors) in about an hour. Longest I've seen it run was 3 days, and that was on a completely dead HD with 10's of thousands of bad sectors.
> 
> Typically, I see errors on the order of 5 to 50, and expect it to run no more than 4 hours. More errors, more time however.


No. Definitely HDD Regenerator. When I say long, I'm talking like 3 hours as opposed to 40 minutes for chkdsk /r.


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## cucufata (Dec 17, 2010)

fractalman93 said:


> No. Definitely HDD Regenerator. When I say long, I'm talking like 3 hours as opposed to 40 minutes for chkdsk /r.


I've brought back HD's using HDD Regenerator that chkdsk would not scan.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

cucufata said:


> I've brought back HD's using HDD Regenerator that chkdsk would not scan.


Exactly. That's why I said it's worth a shot.


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## john-boy (Feb 18, 2009)

Just to let you all know how the problem first occured.
I was booting the computer up from cold and I get this message
windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt. \windows\system32\config\system 
Reboot with widows disk (which I do not have)yet) and selct 'r' at the first screen.
The bios recognises the two disk drives as ft tx ary 1 and ft tx ary 2
I have tried to used the hdd regen programme but when I try it using dos off the hirens boot the menu item was there but when I tried it, it said something like not present (just forgotten exactly what).
When I used one of the disk checking utilities it seeme to show windows on disk C but on the second partition which I don't think I created ? could it be the problem that it only reads the first partition when I try and boot. If so how do I remove this first partition ?
Or am I just better waiting for my widows xp cd to arrive.
I shall try again Tomorrow, Saturday.

Thanks again guys.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Each partition should have a drive letter. *C: *should be your boot drive. If there is a second partition on the same drive it would be *D:* etc. If you boot off of the Hiren's CD, go into Mini XP, click the *Command Prompt* icon, type in *C:* and hit enter does it change the *X:* prompt to *C: *? If so, type *DIR*, does it list Windows as one of the last files? If so, then *C:* is your boot drive with Windows on it. If you now type *chkdsk /F* and hit enter, it will run the Check Disk Utility. If Windows is not on *C:* try *D: *and so on till you get the boot drive.


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## Jonny Robot (Sep 8, 2010)

That last "system" file is one of several files that comprise your registry. It can't be replaced from a WinXP disk, like many others can.

I've done some trial-and-error experimentation with trying to reconstruct and edit registry files with mixed results, so I'm interested.

Here's an interesting read:

http://www.easydesksoftware.com/regfiles.htm


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## TechGeek2 (Nov 21, 2010)

> Just to let you all know how the problem first occured.
> I was booting the computer up from cold and I get this message
> windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt. \windows\system32\config\system
> Reboot with widows disk (which I do not have)yet) and selct 'r' at the first screen.



Thanks for posting the original issue. The error you are receiving is the result of a corrupt registry. You can try chkdsk but, I doubt seriously if you will have any luck. Using chkdsk has rarely resolved this error for me in times past. In my opinion based on previous experience, the most viable option for repair is to either 1) perform a system restore or 2) copy certain files via recovery console to your windows directory.


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## Jonny Robot (Sep 8, 2010)

TechGeek2 said:


> Thanks for posting the original issue. The error you are receiving is the result of a corrupt registry. You can try chkdsk but, I doubt seriously if you will have any luck. Using chkdsk has rarely resolved this error for me in times past. In my opinion based on previous experience, the most viable option for repair is to either 1) perform a system restore or 2) copy certain files via recovery console to your windows directory.


Right, I intended to say something like this, but got distracted. You might be able to find a copy of that file somewhere else. This is what I really don't know but am interested in. I've read that you can find these files in saved System Restore files, and also I think there are backups in other places. I think some 3rd party software also saves backups of the registry files, but do not know what or where they would be.


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## TechGeek2 (Nov 21, 2010)

With all due respect, and without the risk of minimizing the legitimacy of other answers you have been provided, one of my initial replies to your post linked you to a utility cd that would perform a system restore on your computer, repair system files and contains Windows Recovery Console. Unless the utility cd is unable to detect your windows installation the system restore method will work. I have saved many computers that would not boot using the system restore method.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Both the Reovery Console method and Hiren's Boot CD are legitimate ways to resolve the issue. Perhaps it was a bad assumption, but I think a few people, including myself, assumed that he didn't have a WinXP disc since he's using Hiren's Boot CD.


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## Jonny Robot (Sep 8, 2010)

TechGeek2 said:


> With all due respect, and without the risk of minimizing the legitimacy of other answers you have been provided, one of my initial replies to your post linked you to a utility cd that would perform a system restore on your computer, repair system files and contains Windows Recovery Console.


That recovery CD is unavailable for download, wants something weird to install on my Internet Explorer, is not a commonly accepted tool and people cannot be expected to know these things and trust that they will work just because you made a general reference to it and posted a link.

Are you the author of that software/CD?


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

TechGeek2 and I were referring to a retail copy of WinXP. You would boot with it and run Repair -> Recovery Console. Then, run chkdsk. Still, like I said, both methods are valid.


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## TechGeek2 (Nov 21, 2010)

Jonny Robot said:


> That recovery CD is unavailable for download, wants something weird to install on my Internet Explorer, is not a commonly accepted tool and people cannot be expected to know these things and trust that they will work just because you made a general reference to it and posted a link.
> 
> Are you the author of that software/CD?


First, I had inadvertently set the file to private which is why it said it was unavailable. I apologize for that. I have now set it to public.

Secondly, the tools I repeatedly referred to are Windows Recovery Console and ERD Commander. Both of which were created by Microsoft. Referring to tested diagnostic/repair software created by Microsoft is not the same as making a general reference. I do not post instructions and/or recommendations to tools/fixes that I have not personally, at some point in time, used.


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## DT Roberts (Jun 22, 2009)

If I may, I'd like to get back on track here.

I agree with the usefulness of Hiren's. I have experience with *HDD Regenerator* as well, and do believe that it is a good tool to use for this type of situation.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Thanks, *DT Roberts. *That's what Jonny Robot and I were trying to get the OP to do before things got off course.http://www.techsupportforum.com/members/739041.html


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## TheOutcaste (Mar 19, 2009)

The boot disk mentioned contains commercial software that requires the purchase of a license in order to use it. The disk provides the license keys for free, which constitutes piracy.

Everyone please review the Forum Rules concerning the subject.

While Hiren has removed a lot of the illegal software that his disk used to contain, the CD still contains some illegal content and is not supported on the forum. As it was recommended to the OP before that decision was made though, I'll leave the thread open.


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## TechGeek2 (Nov 21, 2010)

> While Hiren has removed a lot of the illegal software that his disk used to contain, the CD still contains some illegal content and is not supported on the forum. As it was recommended to the OP before that decision was made though, I'll leave the thread open.


In other words, you will leave the link/post supporting one cd containing pirated software but, not another. I suppose this is the result of the cd being recommended by a moderator. If the rules prevent the use of pirated software and you remove the links/post to one then you must remove them all. Rules are rules and by leaving the post to one you send a message that moderators and other users are above the rules. That the rules only apply to _*some*_!


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## DT Roberts (Jun 22, 2009)

This is starting way too much trouble. I did not realize that *Hiren's *did in fact contain illegal software, but I could see at a glance that yours has quite a bit. This should have been handled in a far more professional manner than it was.

*Ultimate Boot CD* contains no illegal software and is therefore a good choice to use in this type of situation: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

This thread is now closed.

The fact that Hiren's was suggested by a Mod in the past is a moot point now. Hiren's has since been looked into and determined to contain apps that violate the EULA of same.


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