Boot disk failure, insert system disk and press enter


  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 professional 32 bit
       #1

    Boot disk failure, insert system disk and press enter


    Disk boot failure. Please insert system disk and press enter
    I have recently ran into some serious trouble with my Western Digital Caviar GP 1 TB Hard drive. In order for anyone to help me you must be updated with everything I have tried and the circumstances surrounding it.

    Two weeks ago I switched off my pc and also switched the power off as I was going on holidays.Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Now when I'm back, I turn on the computer and I get this error saying "DISK BOOT FAILURE."

    I am running two Operatings Systems. XP on a WD 320GB and Windows 7 on the Caviar 1 TB. I decided to keep XP just in case, but also that HDD fails to start up. It's making a clicking noise and after a while it gives the same error (I have tried to boot from both drives independably).

    I have tried almost every suggested solution to this problem (replaced battery, checked cables, checked BIOS where the 1st boot is the cd/dvd drive). I really do not want to reformat my hard drive (couldn't even do so as the sytem is not going any further than the error message). I have valuable pictures and memories that I need.

    An important note. The hard drive is recognized in the Bios.

    I have tried to swap out SATA Cables (both drives are SATA btw) I have swapped SATA slots. I have tried to run off of the CD, however when asking which OS to select none are present and therefore none of the repair programs fix anything.

    I have also tried the Bootrec.exe commands and I get an "Element not found" error on 3/4 commands. the only one that works is the /FixMbr which says (command successful, or something to that effect).

    I have created a livecd (or I think I have) GParted -- Live CD/USB/PXE/HD but it doesn't seem to work. When inerting the disk, straight away I am getting the error message. I have also downloaded the minitool partition manager but I'm not sure how to get this going on my pc. Should I save it on a USB and then reboot? I guess that won't work as the USB is not bootable?

    Any help provided is appreciated!
    Greetz,
    Luursje

    Any help is greatly appreciated .

    Update: I was able to use mini tool partition manager and I can see the disk with its partitions(volumes). They're all set to "none" for status. I suppose this should be active? I have rebuild the MBR with this tool but I still can't load my Win 7. Setting my volume 1 to active gives me the following error message when rebooting: NTLDR is missing. Press alt+ctrl+del.
    Anybody who knows how to proceed from here?
    Luursje
    Last edited by luursje; 01 Aug 2013 at 05:29. Reason: Used mini tool partiton manager and am able to see the disk with its partitions. All volumes are set to none
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,007
    Winndows 7 32 bit
       #2

    luursje said:
    Disk boot failure. Please insert system disk and press enter
    I have recently ran into some serious trouble with my Western Digital Caviar GP 1 TB Hard drive. In order for anyone to help me you must be updated with everything I have tried and the circumstances surrounding it.

    Two weeks ago I switched off my pc and also switched the power off as I was going on holidays.Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Now when I'm back, I turn on the computer and I get this error saying "DISK BOOT FAILURE."

    I am running two Operatings Systems. XP on a WD 320GB and Windows 7 on the Caviar 1 TB. I decided to keep XP just in case, but also that HDD fails to start up. It's making a clicking noise and after a while it gives the same error (I have tried to boot from both drives independably).

    I have tried almost every suggested solution to this problem (replaced battery, checked cables, checked BIOS where the 1st boot is the cd/dvd drive). I really do not want to reformat my hard drive (couldn't even do so as the sytem is not going any further than the error message). I have valuable pictures and memories that I need.

    An important note. The hard drive is recognized in the Bios.

    I have tried to swap out SATA Cables (both drives are SATA btw) I have swapped SATA slots. I have tried to run off of the CD, however when asking which OS to select none are present and therefore none of the repair programs fix anything.

    I have also tried the Bootrec.exe commands and I get an "Element not found" error on 3/4 commands. the only one that works is the /FixMbr which says (command successful, or something to that effect).

    I have created a livecd (or I think I have) GParted -- Live CD/USB/PXE/HD but it doesn't seem to work. When inerting the disk, straight away I am getting the error message. I have also downloaded the minitool partition manager but I'm not sure how to get this going on my pc. Should I save it on a USB and then reboot? I guess that won't work as the USB is not bootable?

    Any help provided is appreciated!
    Greetz,
    Luursje

    Any help is greatly appreciated .

    Update: I was able to use mini tool partition manager and I can see the disk with its partitions(volumes). They're all set to "none" for status. I suppose this should be active? I have rebuild the MBR with this tool but I still can't load my Win 7. Setting my volume 1 to active gives me the following error message when rebooting: NTLDR is missing. Press alt+ctrl+del.
    Anybody who knows how to proceed from here?
    Luursje

    Hi luursje,

    Welcome to Seven forums.

    I understand you have done an extensive troubleshooting for this issue. However, I would still like to start with basics. Please check if there is CD inside the drive or a media card inside the card reader.

    As you have left for holiday there is chance you might have left it. Both the drives giving the same issue is highly unlikely.

    Run the diagnostics on the hard-drive one by one to check their integrity:

    WD Support / Downloads / Select Product

    Also, make sure that harddrive is set to first boot device under boot sequence in BIOS.

    Keep us posted with the results so we can advise you further.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 professional 32 bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Hi Sandeep,

    Thank you for taking the time to read and respond. As for your suggestions, no discs or removable devices were in my pc. In the meantime I got it going again. As mentioned earlier I used the mini tool partition manager to set a volume to active. I also restored the MBR using this tool. When I rebooted I got the error NTLDR is missing. Googled this and found a solution and as said I got it going.
    I still have my other issue though; the clicking sound of my other HDD with XP installed on it. Tried to boot again from this drive but as said earlier also here I have the error boot disk failure. I will try to use the same steps as my other drive but this won't solve the clicking noise. I guess it's on it last legs? I read somewhere to put the drive in the freezer for a couple of hours but will this not damage the drive and pc when it starts to warm up and will have condensation appearing on it?

    Luursje
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 280
    Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
       #4

    What you're hearing is known as the "click of death". At this point, you have little or nothing to lose by trying the freezer trick. I've never done it, but I've seen it referenced is several places, including textbooks, so it's probably worth a try.

    Put it in a plastic bag and close the bag around the cables when you hook it back up to keep down on condensation.

    Good luck with it.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 professional 32 bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Hi Pricetech,

    Thank you for your response.
    I'll try that. Tried to access the drive with the steps previously taken by me for the other drive but I can't access it. Mini tool partition manager sees it as a server. Odd???
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 professional 32 bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    To all,

    I have solved my issues. Both drives are working again and both are accessible
    For the "clicking" drive I'm not sure what exactly I did to get it going again so I guess it was more luck than anything else but what I do know is that it doesn't click anymore. i did put the drive in the freezer for about two hours but after taking it out and checking it, it still clicked. I then attached the other drive, went into the BIOS and changed the boot sequence. BUT...I didn't see the clicking drive then. I still rebooted the pc with my 1 TB drive as a first boot and to my surprise I was able to access my clicking drive which doesn't click anymore. As a test, I went into the BIOS again and now I COULD see my clicking drive and set it as my first boot. And voila, my pc now boots again from my now non-clicking drive and all is working again! Yay!
    So in the end, with a bit of looking around the web I've solved it myself.
    Maybe this information may help someone else with this issue.
    This is where I found my info regarding my NTLDR message:
    NTLDR is Missing-Windows 7 Fix

    Luursje
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1,007
    Winndows 7 32 bit
       #7

    luursje said:
    To all,

    I have solved my issues. Both drives are working again and both are accessible
    For the "clicking" drive I'm not sure what exactly I did to get it going again so I guess it was more luck than anything else but what I do know is that it doesn't click anymore. i did put the drive in the freezer for about two hours but after taking it out and checking it, it still clicked. I then attached the other drive, went into the BIOS and changed the boot sequence. BUT...I didn't see the clicking drive then. I still rebooted the pc with my 1 TB drive as a first boot and to my surprise I was able to access my clicking drive which doesn't click anymore. As a test, I went into the BIOS again and now I COULD see my clicking drive and set it as my first boot. And voila, my pc now boots again from my now non-clicking drive and all is working again! Yay!
    So in the end, with a bit of looking around the web I've solved it myself.
    Maybe this information may help someone else with this issue.
    This is where I found my info regarding my NTLDR message:
    NTLDR is Missing-Windows 7 Fix

    Luursje
    Hi Luursje,

    Its great to hear that both the drives are working fine now. However, we would advise you to make a backup of the data from the drives as it would be useful in their failure in future.

    If you have any queries in future, please feel free to contact us.
      My Computer


 

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