MFT Corruption

What is the cause of a corrupt master file table and the following messages?
Corrupt master file table. Windows will attempt to recover
master file table from disk.

Windows cannot recover master file table. CHKDSK aborted.

Run the Manufacturers Hard Drive Diagnostics.

TestDisk

?

I am not receiving these messages.
I want to know if anyone knows the cause or causes.
Hardware problems are reported by the Power On Self Test, aren't they?

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Hardware problems are reported by the Power On Self Test, aren't they?

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Some are, note I said only some.
That is why we do hdd diagnostic test, test our ram, look for bad caps, etc.
Could even be something real crazy like bad video drivers causing the problem.
So yes, we have to experiment and find out what is causing the problem.

All problems found by the POST are reported by the POST aren't they?

Not all are found. But yes, the ones found are listed in a very generic manner and have to be interpreted.

Seem my share of goofy reports from post.

Wikipedia: Power-on self-test > IBM-compatible PC POST

If the CMOS setting for the hard drive was set to "Not Installed" or similar, would that cause this problem?

The CMOS must be able to detect the hard drive before anything else can.

Does anyone know if these messages appear running chkdsk using Recovery Console or Recovery Environment (after booting with a Windows CD) when the CMOS does not detect the hard drive?

chkdsk will not run as no Hard Drive was detected to run it on. Have you done Post #2 and/or 3 yet?

Correct.

1. First the CMOS/BIOS _must_ detect the drive, (simply because you won't be able to access the drive with anything else until it is detected).
   
   
2. Then in order to run CHKDSK:
   1. the drive must have at least one partition compatible with the Operating System containing your CHKDSK,
      
      
   2. that partition must have a format compatible with the Operating System containing your CHKDSK,
      
      
   3. that formatted partition must then be assigned a drive letter compatible with the Operating System containing your CHKDSK
      
      
   4. and now you are finally ready to boot the Operating System containing the CHKDSK you want to run.

Note: Since running CHKDSK on a drive that has failing hardware can actually do more harm than good, (scramble data), I highly recommend running the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostics first.

SpywareDr,
Is that a yes?
A manufacturer's hard drive diagnostics will not operate on a drive that is not set up correctly in the CMOS or detected by the BIOS, therefore if receiving this message, I would check the CMOS settings for the hard drive first.

No, you cannot run CHKDSK (or any other software against the drive) until you get Step 1 above to work. If Step 1 fails it won't do any good to even attempt Step 2 because it simply won't work . . . until the drive is recognized by the BIOS in Step 1.

Before condemning the drive however, I'd try connecting it to at least one other computer with a known good cable. If you can't see it in the BIOS there either, more than likely the drive has a hardware problem. And unfortunately, once the hardware is worn out and/or damaged, the drive is pretty much useless.

I thought that the chkdsk command can load into RAM and run from an XP installation CD.

Can't you run chkdsk /p after booting a Windows XP installation CD?

If not, what is the purpose of using Recovery Console program on the CD?

I understand that the drive being checked has to be set in the BIOS.

If it isn't however, don't you get the messages from chkdsk?

I found the following instructions in the Windows XP Inside Out Book:
To start the Recovery Console from the Windows CD follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows CD and restart your computer.
Follow your computer's prompts to start from the CD.

2. Follow the setup prompts to load basic Windows startup files.
At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to start the Recovery Console.

3. Enter the number of the Windows installation you want to access from Recovery Console.

At this point, I thought if you entered the number 1, you would see the messages.

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Originally Posted by Robert M

I understand that the drive being checked has to be set in the BIOS.

If it isn't however, don't you get the messages from chkdsk?

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If you try to tell CHKDSK to check a non-existant drive, you'll get the standard

Cannot open volume for direct access.

error . . . because there is no disk for CHKDSK to check.


.

You need to re-read and re-think the Posts---you're completely missing the point.

The first step,

that cannot be skipped,

is that the BIOS _must_

recognize the drive.



If that step fails,

that's it you're done.



There are no other steps to take

until yoiu get the first one working.