Unmountable Boot Volume Error

For Windows XP - Error - Stop: 0x0000000ED (0x866E4C08, 0xC0000006, 0x00000000, 0X00000000)

I've experienced the error Unmountable Boot Volume once myself and once on a friend's machine. In searching the web I found this recommended fix:

Boot up with a Windows XP disk and when the Welcome to Setup screen appears choose R for repair and follow the directions Microsoft gives on its Unmountable Boot Volume error fix page, that is IF you can get this far:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555302

As for me I was NOT able to get that far using either the XP disk or the Windows XP Boot Disks (Using the XP Boot Disks on floppy and checking that the floppy drive was first in boot order in the Bios settings). The machine would boot up to the point where the screen giving you the choice of starting in Normal Mode or Safe Mode appeared. Then, no matter what mode you chose it would not boot further and would loop back to that starting screen.

Unmountable Boot Volume Error VictimIf you have that same experience there is one more fix you can try for a solution to an Unmountable Boot Volume Error:

  1. Open up the computer's case or the panel in a Laptop to access the computer's hard drive
  2. Write down the make and model and serial number of the hard drive
  3. Go onto the manufacturer's website and go to the support or downloads section
  4. Look for the Diagnostic Disk or Utilities Disk (different manufacturers can name it slightly differently) and download it. This is not a terribly large program and usually will fit on a floppy disk
  5. Once you have the Diagnostic Disk for your hard drive, boot the computer up using the Diagnostic Disk.
  6. Follow the instructions for a FULL scan. It could take over an hour so be patient or go away
  7. It should (hopefully) say some sectors have errors and the program would like to try to repair the sectors, and if they cannot be repaired they will be wiped out and the data on those sectors will be swallowed up by a black hole or some other dire consequence. Now chose repair the sectors. You will get a couple of warnings asking if you really want to proceed. You can either heed the warnings and take it into a shop and part with your money or choose to continue. I would choose to continue
  8. Be patient. It may take a while. In both cases for me it fixed the sectors. My friend's computer got hammered after being infected by a bunch of trojans. On my desktop it happened after I got hit with a power surge, then outage (yes I DO have a surge protector)
  9. Hopefully when it finishes there will be a message saying the errors have been fixed
  10. Remove the Diagnostic Disk and reboot the machine
  11. Be patient
  12. Keep being patient
  13. Resist the urge to hit the power button again with all your being. It will seem to hang at one point for an eternity
  14. Write a novel, landscape your yard, or try to bring peace to the Middle East
  15. When you are done, or within an hour or so it should have booted up successfully

This was my experience and your's may be different. But I wanted to put this out there for those who found that they weren't able to boot up at all after getting the Unmountable Boot Volume error. Actually after my first experience with a friend's laptop I immediately downloaded the Diagnostic Disk for my own desktop and had it right in the drawer ready to go.

If you are successful fixing your Unmountable Boot Volume Error I'd recommend running some other utilities once your machine is up and running:

Good Luck!

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