repair

Win 7 x64,i5,6GB, msie 9 I have tried 4 brands of cds to create a repair disc>Start, security,backup my computer,create repair disc. The disc burns but after F12 for boot order, nothing appears. I tried the os disc>repair but it says to contact the manufacturer. I tried F8 repair which said to use the os disc with error 0xc000000e. I ran SFC and chkdsk. I can access my usb drive via Acronis(F12) so it appears that is working I have read on line a lot of trouble with repair disc since Win updates. Incidentally,I get SidebySide errors in event viewer. I can access my usb drive and run restore points which is good but the inability to repair with either F8 or the os disc is a concern. Obviously this all started with the inability to successfully create a repair dis which I had done before. Thank you Peter

until a more experienced windows user replies peter, my thoughts are and not 100% sure about them because i can't remember using repair discs before, but i don't think you use the F8 key to start an os repair from either the repair discs or the original xp disc if you have one. i believe you just put the discs into the drive and boot them, then the os repair option/function starts. are you sure the F12 key is the correct key you need to keep tapping when you start up the pc/laptop to get to the boot order menu? the correct key may be something else like F2 and not all pc's/laptops have such a function key and with those you need to enter bios to set boot order.

until a more experienced windows user replies peter,
my thoughts are and not 100% sure about them because i can't remember using repair discs before,
but i don't think you use the F8 key to start an os repair from either the repair discs or the original xp disc if you have one.

i believe you just put the discs into the drive and boot them, then the os repair option/function starts.

are you sure the F12 key is the correct key you need to keep tapping when you start up the pc/laptop to get to the boot order menu? the correct key may be something else like F2 and not all pc's/laptops have such a function key and with those you need to enter bios to set boot order.

>>Terry, thank you for replying.-Dell Inspiron 15 R , N5010,i5, 6 gb.
I think the F12 shows the temporary boot order to set one time and F2 gets into the bios where you can change the boot order
When I tap F8 the option to repair is there as it is with the os disc but when I click on it it says something is missing.
I get the error 0xc000000e.and it seems there is a problem internally.I read where someone tried to solve it with a format and reinstall but it failed. Someone said to set the boot order to 1-cd,2-hard but when I check my desktop hard is first.
I am reading a lot of opinions but have serious issue in that I cannot repair nor can I create the Win repair disc which I did before and it was so easy. Now the disc burns but it does not display anything.
The F12 also allowed me to run a diagnostic check and all is ok with hardware. it seems system rstore and Acronis aren't going to help. I do have the two dvds i made when i got the machine. it seems to be a configuration issue and when i read the referals to MS, it is a difficult process to fix.
Hope this clarifies things and others might want to join in if you are stuck.
Peter .

Good work so far! Peter, when you burn the "repair disk" what speed is your burner software running at? It used to be that CD/DVD burners did best (created fewer or no errors) when run at X2 or X4 speed, even if default speed was higher. I do believe that lower speeds when burning will still produce fewer or no errors, but these days some of the more advanced optical burners will not allow speeds as low as x2 or x4. But they still do have a "slowest speed at which they will function". Please consider re-burning the Disk, using either x2 / x4 or the slowest speed that your optical drive manufacturer specifies for that drive.

to be honest peter i'm a bit lost here, have you got 2 problems?

1st problem,
you can't boot any cd/dvd's before getting to your windows os?
if you can't find the correct key to change your boot order on startup then go into your bios and set it to boot the cd/dvd drive first then you should find you can use your repair discs you made without any trouble, and you won't really notice much difference with the change in boot order on start up. if there's no bootable cd/dvd in the drive it will boot from your hard drive into your windows os as usual.

2nd problem,
when you use your laptops inbuilt repair/restore boot options by tapping a certain key ( F8) your mbr is corrupt and they don't start the process from a hidden partition like they should do?
if so then it's not an easy thing to fix,

yes i could probably fix it by using a linux live cd to find the correct backup mbr file on the hidden partition and then copying it back into the mbr of the hard drive,
but it's not a process i am confident i could fully explain here so that anyone could follow and fix the problem,
there was to much trial and error involved the one and only time i needed to do such a thing.
or by another way of installing a linux os on the hard drive and getting grub to chainload the hidden partition, i could then boot to it and have the restore process start up, and be able to restore to factory state, but again this method is also not something i'd be happy to recommend or explain so you can try it yourself, to many ways for things to be made worse than they already are if you get it wrong.

also it may not be the mbr that's corrupted but the hidden restore partition itself, and there is no way to fix that except with a full set of restore discs, either made by you when the laptop was new (first thing everyone should do with a new laptop/pc) or bought from dell.

I do have the two dvds i made when i got the machine.

if you can get these to boot on startup then i think they should fix all your problems but you will probably lose all your data and any programs/updates you've installed since new.

Yes Terry. There are two issues. [could be 3 as the pc runs hot -also reported in MS forums by others] I cannot repair with either F8 or the os disc. Secondly, I cannot create a repair cd like I use to. The process is so simple but does not work. Because the machine works otherwise I have to decide whether to leave it as is or use the 2 dvds I made when I got this. There was a lot of talk in the MS forum about people who had the same pc and the same problem. Some said recovering did not fix the trouble and only one person said he recovered but excluded Mcafee totally. I removed McAfee when I first got the pc. I'll let you know what comes of this and thank you for the information.

Good work so far!

Peter, when you burn the "repair disk" what speed is your burner software running at?

It used to be that CD/DVD burners did best (created fewer or no errors) when run at X2 or X4 speed, even if default speed was higher.
I do believe that lower speeds when burning will still produce fewer or no errors, but these days some of the more advanced optical burners will not allow speeds as low as x2 or x4. But they still do have a "slowest speed at which they will function".

Please consider re-burning the Disk, using either x2 / x4 or the slowest speed that your optical drive manufacturer specifies for that drive.

>>Doug- When you burn the repair cd(start,securuty,,backup my computer-on the left you see ,"Create a repar disc", there is no provion to change burner speed. I can change speed with my burning program but don't know how to set the speed within the pc.
You cannot create the disc with your program as it is a click at the site ,"Create a repar disc", that creates it.
.
While trying to find out on my own I did try a repair with F8 again and was given the same error that a change to hardware or software has been made and "Staus is 0xc000000e.When prompted to use the os disc, that results in a message that something is missing.

I allowed Windows to try to repair the dvd rw but the repair disc still fails to read after being burned.
Does this sound like a BIOS issue?
I hope this helps to clarify the issue.
Peter

Hi Peter,

I removed McAfee when I first got the pc.

Yeah. Maybe or Maybe not.

Did you use the McAfee Uninstall Tool?
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS101331

2.Download and run MCPR.exe: a.Download the removal tool from http://download.mcafee.com/products/licens…atches/MCPR.exe.
b.Click Save, and save the file to a folder on your computer.
c.Navigate to the folder where the file was saved.
d.Ensure that all McAfee windows are closed.
e.Double-click MCPR.exe to run the removal tool.

NOTE: Windows Vista users must right-click MCPR.exe and select Run as Administrator.

f.Restart your computer after receiving the message CleanUp Successful.
Your McAfee product will not be fully removed until the system is restarted.

Open up your Device Manager.
Select to "Show Hidden Devices"
Scroll through to inspect for residual McAfee

I recently uninstalled McAfee from a friend's machine, using:
– first - Control Panel - Add/Remove
– second - McAfee Uninstall Tool

Then I looked in Device Manager only to find (7) seven McAfee processes "running actively"

I therefore deleted each of those processes manually via Device Manager (right-click - Uninstall)


*** Note: When you use the McAfee Uninstall Tool and subsequently uninstall McAfee processes from Device Manager….
You "will" loose all configuration of McAfee – Including your product activation code (If you purchased McAfee or received it free from some provider)
You "will not" be able to reinstall McAfee without that product activation code.

Though presently I can think of no good reason a computer owner would wish to re-install McAfee on their machine.

did you use the F2 key to go into your bios and set the dvd drive as first boot option?

Dooug I did run the McAfee uninstall tool when I first got it and have not found any remnants even with hidden folders exposed. I made an goof by installing Norton as it was free from Comcast and later had to get rid of it to go to MSE. Terry, I am confused about boot order. My desktop has the hard drive as the first one and the dvd as the second as does the laptop. The 2 pcs are quite identical. The desktop has no trouble repairing or creating the rescue disc and the laptop never had trouble eitther. As the error code indicated, there seems to have beeen a software or hardware change somewhere. Would you still advise changing the boot order? I'll do what it takes. Those 2 dvds I made with the recovery partition when I got the machine are looking better but it would be an awful waste to recover everything and still have the problems due to an internal issue. P PS Thank you both for taking an interest.

Boot order doesn't matter when your creating a CD or DVD, only when you want to boot from one. Will any CD or DVD boot for you?

Terry, I am confused about boot order.
My desktop has the hard drive as the first one and the dvd as the second as does the laptop. The 2 pcs are quite identical.
The desktop has no trouble repairing or creating the rescue disc and the laptop never had trouble eitther.

As the error code indicated, there seems to have beeen a software or hardware change somewhere.
Would you still advise changing the boot order? I'll do what it takes.
Those 2 dvds I made with the recovery partition when I got the machine are looking better but it would be an awful waste to recover everything and still have the problems due to an internal issue.
P

PS Thank you both for taking an interest.

my thinking from what you've said so far is,
1:- that the laptop has a problem, and you wanted to do a repair install.
so to do a repair install you need to make the dvd drive the first boot option(either by a F key or in bios) and then restart the laptop and boot your repair discs.

now i do not know what options your going to get when you boot your recovery discs, they may offer to do a non destructive repair as well as a full restore to a factory state, if they only offer to do a full factory restore then you should just be able to exit them without going any farther so making no changes to your laptops hard drive.

2:- the way you've been trying to make more repair discs uses the software on your hidden partition and that can not be accessed because of a problem with your mbr or something, and that is also why the F8 key gives you the error message.

my understanding is there's no actual problem with the dvd drive itself and it works fine for burning anything else when you use your burning software, eg. to burn a video cd of one of your recordings.

also i thought you had acronis backup images of your hard drive from before this problem so you should be able to use them to restore your pc back to a problem free state, but again your going to need to make the dvd drive first boot option(either from the F12 key if it works) or in bios to start the process.

i'm a bit wary of your images tho, because if memory serves you've been using the same one with incremental updates to it, so the mbr change/problem (if that's where it is, like i think) may have been added to your image, so if you use it, you may find it didn't fix the problem and your still in the same position as now.

i'm not sure what you think "an internal issue" may be, but from what you've been saying there's nothing wrong with your hardware in my opinion (unless it's hard drive specific)

lets see if i can explain this so you can understand where i think the problem is.

think of your hard drive as a street of houses, now the first five houses are invisible but are there if you know how to see and enter them, the F8 key and your create repair disc program used to know how to get into them but now can't for some reason.

this reason may be because the keys to those houses that used to be kept in the mbr of the hard drive have been removed or because the houses have been knocked down.(hard drive crash or corruption)

if the problem is the keys have been removed then a repair should put them back without you losing any of your data, but a repair won't rebuild the houses if that is the problem, so you'd still be in the same boat as now.

an acronis image (if it was made before the keys were removed or the houses got demolished) will fix both problems and keep your data upto the point when it was made.

a full factory restore with your dvd's should also fix both problems but of course this way you loss all your data and have to rely on your backups to put it all back.

so anyway in summary i believe the only problem you have is to do with your hidden partition and access to it.
does this sound correct to you?

any other techs think this sounds like where the problem is? no idea at the moment how the create repair discs software works or if it access the hidden partition, memories playing me up.

Boot order doesn't matter when your creating a CD or DVD, only when you want to boot from one.

Will any CD or DVD boot for you?

>>It is satisfying to know that the reason I canot repair from F8 or the os disc is because of sp1 being in my system and I don't have a slip stream disc - not that I coud create one.

*To answer your qustion, I can boot cds and dvds from my laptop and the drive seems to be ok.
It is so frustrating after all this digging not to be able to create that repair disc. It has nothing to do with sp1.
It would be interesting to resolve this last issue.

I wonder if the problem is due to some of the Roxio or Norton folders I renamed.
I ran SFC whch was ok. Does that mean the folders are not the problem?

>>I opened the cd and there were three files; boot mngr, boot sources and boot - when I opened boot I noticed it said it does not support VLC which is my media player. I do not know how to burn so vlc is not involved. Perhpas if it were Win media palyer it would have played?

I wonder if this link is the right one for the repair disc i have been talking about http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-…ir-install.html

>>It is satisfying to know that the reason I canot repair from F8 or the os disc is because of sp1 being in my system and I don't have a slip stream disc - not that I coud create one.

your confusing me.
where'd you get that info from peter?? sp1 or sp2 should make no difference to the use of the F8 key function. it should give you the advanced menu options when you tap it on startup and any of those options you choose shouldn't give you an error like you said, they should just complete the task they say they do. like restore to factory condition.

from your link.

You cannot use a OEM Windows 7 "Factory" Restore/Recovery type of installation disc that came with or created from a store bought computer to do a repair install with. These can only be used do a clean install instead.

so yes that may be a reason why you can't do a repair install if you've booted them, and all they offer is the choice to do a full factory restore, but you haven't said if that's the reason why you can't do a repair install, i thought it was because you couldn't boot some repair install disc you had.
so are the discs your trying to make system repair discs (not the same as repair install discs because again according to your link, you cannot do an install with them ) or are they just full pc recovery discs to install the os to an as new condition?

I wonder if the problem is due to some of the Roxio or Norton folders I renamed.

yes if it's the roxio program that's used to create the recovery cd's, norton shouldn't make a difference.

Hi Terry
Sorry about the confusion but I am trying every resource I can think of and it gets messy..

I did an Acronis as far back as I could and the inability to repair still persists but this time I can be clearer.
I tapped F8 and it said to insert the os disc. That gave the following error;
Boot manager generic failure 0xxc000000e.
Is there a way to fix this?

The second issue about not being able to create a repair disc I will put in another post if I am allowed so there will be less confusion.
Thanx for hanging in
Peter