# Windows won't boot past 'Verifying DMI pool data'



## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi Guys, hope you can help with this.

Our family computer won't boot beyond the 'Verifying DMI pool data' screen. It gets to this point then the PCI devices listing and other text above becomes corrupted, random characters become highlighted in random colours and these same characters change to random letters or symbols, some of them flashing.

I tried to run a Ubuntu Linux liveCD to get at the hard drive as it hadn't been backed up. At first this would boot to the menu screen then restart when the 'try..' button was pressed. I ran Memtest from the disk, which showed up loads of errors, so I tried removing a stick of RAM (we have 2x1GB) and after this Ubuntu booted okay, so I've managed to copy our entire C drive onto an external HDD.

I've tried searching the forums and found several threads, but none mentioning the corrupted screen described above. As advised to others I've tried removing the CMOS battery for 10 mins, but this made no difference.

As I have all our data on an external drive I'm considering re-installing windows, but would like to make sure there's no other solution before doing so.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide, it will be greatly appreciated!


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

Did you Memtest86 the single stick you left in?

Have you tried entering Bios and using Default (or whatever it sets at for auto-optimizing)?


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks for the quick reply!

I did think I'd run Memtest on that stick with errors, but have just run one pass again and it seems to have run through fine, with no errors! I was trying out every possible RAM configuration at the time though, so might have mistakenly tested the wrong one.

I'm not sure what you mean by the second part.. set what in the Bios to default?


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

Raskolnik said:


> ...............I'm not sure what you mean by the second part.. set what in the Bios to default?



Read your manual about 'Load Optimized Defaults '.

edit: found this site with a heap of info -> http://www.techsupportforum.com/f10/

I'd recommend NOT using the floppy drive approach until you re-consult here.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Ah, I see what you mean now, sorry, was being a bit thick! 

I found the load optimised defaults setting, although selecting it didn't do anything noticable (not sure whether it should have to load or anything after selecting this?). It still hangs up on the same screen.

The link you posted is back to the forum...


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000474.htm


Oops!


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks.

Forgot to say earlier we have two HDDs, set up in (I think) RAID 0 as the comp sees them as one. The comp is 7 yrs old with no problems so far.

I've gone through that lot (with the exception of the floppy drive options-don't have one, so could be awkward if that turns out to be what's required!).

Numbers as per the list you linked to:
2. Both HDDs are set to 'Extended IDE drive': Auto; 'Access Mode': Auto, and I also clicked 'IDE auto detection' for both. I assume these are the settings being referred to?

3. No CD in drive.

4. Boot order set to Floppy-HDD-CD Rom

5. Removed CMOS battery for 10 mins, with no apparent effect.

6. Pushed all connections to make sure they were seated properly.

7. This step asked me to wipe the HDD and start again. I already had this as an option, but I'd rather keep it as a last resort given that I can access the HDD ok from the Ubuntu CD.

I've seen flashing the BIOS mentioned in other places in connection with this problem but, again, this seems to require a floppy drive.

Thanks again for your time!


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

"4. Boot order set to Floppy-HDD-CD Rom"

You said "with the exception of the floppy drive options-don't have one"



??


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Ah... set the boot order to the one shown on the link without thinking!

Have changed to both CD ROM-HDD and HDD-CD ROM but still arrive at the corrupted page. If I set CD ROM first it comes up with 'Boot from CD/DVD:' twice below the 'Verifying DMI Pool Data', but still hangs up on the corrupted screen.


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

Is the floppy disabled in the Bios?

EDIT: also, in Bios, ensure that plug and play is set for the OS to use, NOT Bios,


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

I've set the Boot order to CD ROM-HDD-Disabled, so it should no longer be looking for a Floppy drive. Is this what you mean?


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

It sounds like there is a Bios corruption. Shut down the computer pull the power plug, hit the power button one more time. There is a jumper pin close to the processor. Take note of what pin it is covering (Pin 1 and 2 or Pin 2 and 3) remove the pin, wait a few seconds and put it back to the same pin configuration. (this will clear the CMOS) Now start it up, and go directly to the Bios and set it to Default settings. If this still fails, you might try a Bios Update.


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

Raskolnik said:


> I've set the Boot order to CD ROM-HDD-Disabled, so it should no longer be looking for a Floppy drive. Is this what you mean?


I don't know how your bios is set - see my edit above also about plug 'n play.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

@CCT
I've removed the Floppy option from the boot list, so the order is now CD ROM-HDD, with the others disabled. I also noticed that the 'Standard CMOS features' page where all my drives are listed had a 'Drive A' option set to a 3.5" drive, so I've changed this to none.
Rebooting still leads to the same result, however.
I can't find anything in the BIOS mentioning 'Plug 'n Play', but there is a 'PnP/PCI Configurations' page which could be what you're referring to? Although this only has two listings: 'PCI 1 IRQ Assignment' and 'PCI 2 IRQ Assignment' which are set to auto but can be changed to various numbers.
I've found my motherboard manual, if this is any help: http://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Manual/motherboard_manual_ga-k8n(pro)(ultra)-sli_e.pdfhttp://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Manual/motherboard_manual_ga-k8n(pro)(ultra)-sli_e.pdf

@spunk.funk
I've gone through your advice (although to clear my CMOS I had to short two connectors rather than remove a jumper).
When I reboot the computer it says: 'CMOS cheksum error-defaults loaded' which presumably means the CMOS cleared ok? If I then go into the BIOS and set to optimised defaults and reboot it goes through to the corrupted screen as before. I also tried doing this, then changing all BIOS settings to those advised by CCT, with the same result. However, it comes up with the corrupted screen much quicker than with the default BIOS settings.

Is it possible to update/flash the BIOS without a Floppy disk? My Mobo has a Dual BIOS/Q-Flash ability, although I only have a vague idea what this is for! I've tried going into it and setting it to boot from the Backup BIOS, but this again results in the same screen.

Again, thanks for your patience!


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

Ubuntu sees the IDE Raid array OK, yet the raid array won't boot because of the DMI problem in Bios.

- try setting those PnP PCI settings to whatever they alternatively offer -?disable?

- if no joy there, put those back then try booting to your XP disk just to prove you can, then exit

- then, strip it down a bit, eg, what's in the PCI slots?


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## AlbertMC2 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi

Does your PC have an onboard integrated display or has it got an add-on display card?

If it is onboard/integrated then it uses some of your RAM. If one of your memory modules are corrupt then it would cause a "corrupted" screen.
I would test the remaining memory module again and allow it to run through at least 3 passes.

If this is an add-on display card it is possible the card is damaged.

You mentioned that Ubuntu works. Does the PC still give a corrupted screen when starting your PC even though it boots with Ubuntu?


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

@CCT
Don't think it makes any difference, but the HDDs are connected with SATA, not IDE cables.

-The PnP/PCI settings for both 'PCI 1 IRQ Assignment' and 'PCI 2 IRQ Assignment' give me the option of either 'Auto' or a list of various numbers; I've tried different combinations of numbers for both: setting them both to the same number, different numbers and one to Auto and the other to a random number.

-The XP disk boots fine, I let it load to the XP Home Setup page then quit.

-I have the following PCI slots filled: One PCIe slot-'nVidia GeForce 7800GTX' gfx card; PCI slot-Sound Card; PCI Slot-TV Card.

@Albert MC2
-The computer has a separate nVidia gfx card, as detailed above.

-I've run Memtest for 3 passes, with no problems.

-Ubuntu isn't installed, it's just running from a LiveCD. When I boot from this the 'PCI Devices Listing' page above the 'Verifying DMI pool data' does not corrupt, the Boot from CD text appears and it then boots into the Linux menu okay. So it seems as though the corruption only happens when trying to boot from the HDD.


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

This is where I am a bit confused.

On my mobo, if I want to Raid 0 my 2 sata's, they need Sata raid drivers, and must be configured as sata (not ide enhanced) in my bios.

Maybe 2 sata's can be set to ide and raided, but that's out of my knowledge area.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Well, I don't really know much about RAID beyond the very basics.

I know the HDDs are connected with SATA cables (small pink cables) and as the computer shows these as one drive I assume they're in RAID 0.

If you look at the manual I posted earlier, on Pg 36 under the 'IDE Channel 2/3/4/5 Master' BIOS section (and in my BIOS) it gives an 'Extended IDE Drive' option, the description for which is: 
"Extended IDE Drive SATA devices setup. You can use one of two methods:
Auto Allows BIOS to automatically detect SATA IDE devices during POST.
(Default value)
None Select this if no SATA IDE devices are used and the system will skip the
automatic detection step and allow for faster system start up."

I think this seems to indicate that IDE in the BIOS also means SATA?? (I might have read thiswrong!)


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

It is an oddly worded Bios - not clear.

Anyway, pull the cards from the PCI slots and try that.

Something is screwing up your hardware inventory.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Will the machine boot without the video card? I didn't think this would work?
I'll try the others.


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

I said PCI, NOT PCI-E .


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Haha, yeah I just noticed that, sorry! 
Tried removing the video card and re-seating, just in case this wasn't fitted properly, then removed both the TV card and sound card, but still arriving at the same corrupted screen.


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

Well, you are backed up so it is time for -

Repair Install, then that not working, 

Total Re-install, then, that not working,

Bios reflash and Total re-install.

I mention Bios last because a bad flash and your board is a coaster (usually). 
It does, however, sound like your Bios is corrupted.


Your call.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

'Verifying DMI pool data' and you get a flashing cursor upper left corner of the screen?

Classic. You lost the mbr. Standard fix is go into xp recovery console and run the utilities fixmbr and fixboot.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

@Wand3r3r
Attached is the screen I get. Some of these are flashing. Usually it's much worse than this, with artefacts all over the screen, but the levels of corruption seem to change as I remove/add components and make changes to the BIOS...


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Okay, I tried following Wand3r3r's suggestion as I'd rather try everything that doesn't involve re-installing all my software, settings etc before resorting to a total re-install! 
But when I run fixmbr I get a message saying:

'*Caution*
This computer appears to have a non-standard or invalid master boot record.
FIXMBR may damage your partition tables if you proceed.
This could cause all the partitions on the current hard disk to become inaccessible.
If you are not having problems accessing your drive, do not continue.'

Will try fixboot.

[EDIT]
I've run fixboot, but this made no difference.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Does anyone know if it's okay to run fixmbr despite this message?

[Edit]
My mobo has a dual BIOS system on it, which I believe means there is a backup BIOS in case the first fails. Does this mean that flashing should be much less likely to go wrong than with a single?
Also, I tried booting from the backup BIOS with the same results.. if a corrupt BIOS is causing the problems shouldn't the backup have booted ok?


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

Pages 62- 63 of your manual sort out how to try and boot using the 'backup' Bios.

It may already have happened depending on settings.

As to the 'fix mbr' message -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/266745 (Win 200 but basically the same issue) and -> http://www.techsupportforum.com/f10...le-corruption-what-might-cause-it-174076.html (go through that, especially post 15).


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Okaaay. I've run 'fixmbr', with no improvement. Still getting the corrupted screen.

Does anyone know if the Dual BIOS system on my motherboard means flashing is much safer? If this is the case I'd rather try this before re-installing windows as it should be much quicker and I won't have to re-install everything. Especially as it's not guaranteed that re-installing would actually fix the problem!
I would try a repair install (I'm assuming this doesn't result in having to re-install everything, but I've never done this before so may be wrong!??), but I'm not getting that option on the XP boot CD. Is there any other way to do this?


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## AlbertMC2 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi

Yes it is safer to a degree. The whole point of a dual BIOS is if the one becomes corrupt you have the other one to fall back on. This way you can update the one - if it works after the update you can switch the PC off, change the jumper to utilize the 2nd BIOS and flash it as well (If you want to).

However I can't see the BIOS causing this problem. The fact that it is booting from the CD without causing a "corrupt" screen should tell you the PC is working fine. It is only faulty when booting from the hard drive. I agree with Wand3r3r in thinking it is the Boot record. However more than this your hard drive could be corrupt/damaged, it could be a simple case of a faulty cable or even a boot virus infecting your mbr.

1. Therefore I would start with the cable first and if possible also change the port on the motherboard that the hard drive is connected to.
2. Is it possible to to attach your hard drive to another PC and check for viruses. If not you can download a *Kaspersky boot CD ISO*, write the image to a CD (using a program like *Imgburn*), boot the PC with the CD and run a scan on the hard drive.
3. The last option is to run a chkdsk on the hard drive. To do this boot into the recovery console as you have done before then type
*chkdsk c: /r*
and enter. Allow chkdsk to run and repair any errors it might find.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Your screen shot looks normal for a bios boot summary when there is nothing to boot to.

What would be really helpful is if we could see above the DVD listed to see if the hard drive is listed.

I would also say having SMART disabled is not a great idea. Its your first warning of hard drive failure.

It will be interesting to see what the chkdsk /r results are. Do you have your data backed up?


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks guys for the help, I'm still amazed that people are willing to give their time for free to help out people like myself!

Okaay.
@AlbertMC2
-I've changed the SATA cables, with no effect.
-I have two hard drives in RAID 0, is it okay to change the ports on the Mobo that these are connected to? I've never been exactly sure how the RAID configuration is recognised by the machine... is it set up in the BIOS? If this is the case and I do change the ports on the Mobo the HDDs are connected to do I need to configure something in the BIOS?
-I don't have another PC to connect the drives to, just laptops. I've run the Kaspersky CD, but I don't think it's recognised my HDDs, it seemed to run through the check extremely quick (under 10s) which I wouldn't have thought would have happened on a drive with 200GB of data. I also looked at the file structure explorer thing in the [start menu] on the bottom left and the HDD wasn't there (not sure if it should show up there or not??)
-I've also tried running chkdsk and got a message saying 'The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems.' :S

@Wanderer
The boot screen now looks different (presumably because of the various changes that have been made in the BIOS) I'll take more photos of the current screen when I have a chance to use the camera again, but this may not be till after the weekend.
-I'm not sure what SMART is.... or if it was me that disabled it! Would it be helpful to see photos of my BIOS setup?
-Yes, I backed up all the data using an Ubuntu LiveCD to get access to my drive(s).


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Does anyone have any more info on this?


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## AlbertMC2 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi



> -I have two hard drives in RAID 0, is it okay to change the ports on the Mobo that these are connected to? I've never been exactly sure how the RAID configuration is recognised by the machine... is it set up in the BIOS? If this is the case and I do change the ports on the Mobo the HDDs are connected to do I need to configure something in the BIOS?


Generally you should not change them.



> -I don't have another PC to connect the drives to, just laptops. I've run the Kaspersky CD, but I don't think it's recognised my HDDs, it seemed to run through the check extremely quick (under 10s) which I wouldn't have thought would have happened on a drive with 200GB of data. I also looked at the file structure explorer thing in the [start menu] on the bottom left and the HDD wasn't there (not sure if it should show up there or not??)


When Kaspersky gives you the first screen on what to scan the hard drives should be listed. (You did choose the graphical interface as well as automatic?) However it could be due to your RAID setup that is not being detected by the Linux that Kaspersky runs.



> 'The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems.'


You are going to have to run chkdsk c: /r until the errors are resolved.
You are also going to have to run chkdsk on both of the RAID drives to discover which hard drive is damaged.
If the errors are permanent then there are 2 things you can do:
1. Delete the hard drive's partition then recreate it and copy the data back
2. Buy a new hard drive (recommended) and copy the data to it.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks for your reply! :smile:

-When the Kaspersky disk loads it comes up with a 'mounting disks' progress bar, then a warning saying 'There is not enough disk space to copy required files - 156266 Mb (number might be wrong!) of free space are needed. The files will be stored in the memory.' It then finishes the mounting disks process.
When the program pops up there are two ticked boxes beneath the 'Start Objects Scan' button: 'Disk boot sectors' and 'Hidden Startup Objects'. If I click on 'add' in the bottom left no folder structure is shown.
-I've tried running chkdsk numerous times, but continually get the same message. How do I run it on the two RAID drives if they're configured to show as one (RAID 0)?


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## AlbertMC2 (Jul 15, 2010)

So Kaspersky doesn't pick up the hard drives - probably due to the RAID setup.

and I must be honest I don't know how to run chkdsk on each volume seperately. I would've just unplugged the one drive and ran chkdsk on the other and then swap it around. However I do not know if this will break the RAID or what the consequences will be.

Someone more clued up with RAID would have to help you out with that. And I would suspect that is the hardware forums.
I will see if I can PM one of them for help.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Thank you very much for all your efforts, very much appreciated!


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## AlbertMC2 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi

I spoke to one of the hardware experts. He suggested that you run the hard drive diagnostic tool for your make of hard drive. 
A list of Hard Drive manufacturers and the links to their Diagnostics tools can be found *here*. 
Download the ZIP file, extract the ISO and write it to CD using a program like *ImgBurn*. If you need help with ImgBurn here is a *guide*.
Once written to CD, boot your PC with the CD and run the Advanced or Extended test on each hard drive.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

"I have two hard drives in RAID 0"

Ouch! Are you sure of this? This is the WRONG raid level to be using. Raid0 is two drives stripped together to make it look like one drive. Either drive dies/malfunctions/hiccups you lost everything.

Never did see the results of a chkdsk.


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi Guys,

Apologies for not getting back to you sooner, I've been very busy.

@AlberMC2: 
I've run the diagnostics tool on both my drives (Western Digital) with no errors found.

@Wand3r3r:
Yeah, they're in RAID 0 as the drives show up as one 500GB drive instead of 2 250's. Unfortunately the computer was bought almost 7 years ago when I knew very little about such things and assumed 500GB meant 500GB with no 'tricks'. Needless to say I'd never use RAID 0 myself.

As posted above I can't run chkdsk as I get a 'The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems' error message. Could this be down to the RAID configuration??

Is there any guarantee that re-installing windows would fix this problem? I'm starting to think that this might have to be considered (although it's my last resort!)

Once again, thanks for you help! ray:


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

You need to go play the lottery Raskolnic. I have never ever seen anyone so lucky to run raid0 for 7 years without catastrophic loss.

Since the drives checked out the problem can't be them or the raid array. Otherwise the drive checks would have failed if it was either.

Usual next step is come up in safe mode or better yet recovery console and run chkdsk /p to get the file system checked out.

if you do decide to reinstall set the raid level as mirrored [raid1] not raid0


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## Raskolnik (Jan 3, 2011)

Haha! Yeah, I probably should've done something about it a while ago, but when everything's running fine you get a bit complacent! I'm just lucky I've been able to get access to backup my data. (By the way, is it significant that the Ubuntu live CD seemed to recognise the RAID ok? I.e. it showed one 500GB drive)

I've tried running chkdsk /p, but get the 'The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems' error.

Tapping F8 to try getting into safe mode does nothing, I simply end up at the same 'corrupted screen'.

It's a strange problem!!


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## AlbertMC2 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi

I have spoken to raptor_pa (who I have been told is the resident TSF hard drive expert/guru). He agrees that it looks like a file system problem. Further more because the RAID volume is also the boot volume, he thinks that there is a good chance a reinstall might be in order. 

Since this has already taken 16 days and we still haven't got you up and running it might be time to consider reinstalling your Windows and also to take Wand3r3r's advice about your RAID options - if a RAID system is necessary.

Since you can boot with an Ubuntu Linux CD, which sees the RAID, you can therefore backup your data to an external drive. Let us know if you cannot get the data off.

Once you have backed up your data and have come to the point where you have decided to reinstall you still have the option of doing a *repair install*. This option might not work because of the file system problem but you have nothing to lose.

Let us know what you are going to do and if you need anymore help.


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