Blue Screen After Reboot

[greasydame]

Setup:
- Compaq Presario 6024US
- XP Home Edition w/ SP0
- Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJB (bought May 2009)
- Used a WD external drive to install certain things

A few days ago I posted about how I was planning on doing a factory restore which I did yesterday. Everything went fine. I signed on my restored desktop and then started deleting programs that I didn't need ( Netscape, MSN messenger). After deleting a few programs I was prompted to restart my computer which I did and here comes the problems...After the Compaq screen, I got a blue screen that said:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0x000000ED (0x873D3900, 0xC0000006, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

I restarted the computer hoping for it to go away but no...it didn't. Then I tried putting in the OS CD, pressing R, typing chkdsk /r and /p. This gave me a response "the volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems." Next I tried Fixboot and then I rebooted. It didn't fix my problem but it gave me this on a black screen "NTLDR is missing Press any key to restart." When I pressed a key, nothing happened. I saw the same message. I got fed up with trying solutions so I just did another factory restore.

When I got on to the new desktop I installed a Western Digital diagnostic tool to check if there was something wrong with my hard drive. The test showed that everything was fine. I thought my problems were over so I deleted programs again and rebooted. I got the same blue screen again.
I thought maybe I somehow had a virus so I factory restored AGAIN and tried to install Zone Alarm Security Suite but it said I had service pack 0 and needed SP2 or higher. I then tried to installed SP1a but it wouldn't finish installing. Next, I tried to open Windows Update but it said I had no internet connection. I went to Network Connections but I didn't see my wireless adapter. Next I installed the driver for my adapter and now I was able to connect to Windows Update. It downloaded 2 things and then It prompted me to restart. I crossed my fingers and sadly that was no help because that evil Blue screen returned. I feel so beat. I'm tired of this. I want my computer back. Please explain what the heck is wrong in a way that I could understand it and please provide me with a solution that actually works. Please!

Thanks for reading this long sad post. Thanks in advance for any helpful replies as well.

[Midknyte]

- XP Home Edition w/ SP0

XP without any service packs is also known as XP Gold.

I installed a Western Digital diagnostic tool to check if there was something wrong with my hard drive

You ran the diag from Windows? You should really boot from a cd. Did you run the full diags or just the quick test?

UBCD has the WD diags plus much more. Link is in my signature. You will have to know how to burn .iso files to CD.

[Shinma]

For whatever reason,
Some of the Compaq/HP can be temperamental when factory restore is done.
Before attempting factory restore,
Disconnect all HDDs except the hard drive containing the operating system,
Disconnect any/all USB devices,
Disconnect any/all ethernet cable(s).

After successful factory restore,
Reboot at least twice before any changes are made to check.

With that said, noticed quite a number of fixes listed for Compaq Presario 6024US Desktop PC, among them,
Noticed ROMPaq update, basically a BIOS update dealing with the onboard LAN.
Noticed Proactive Presario Desktops Fix for Windows XP Unmountable Boot Volume Error as well.

[greasydame]

You ran the diag from Windows? You should really boot from a cd. Did you run the full diags or just the quick test?

I tried booting from a CD but it wouldn't work. It wouldn't boot. First I tried a CD with Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for DOS but the I noticed that they had one for Windows so I tried that next. I may have done it wrong...I'm really not sure. I ran the full test and the quick test.

[greasydame]

UBCD has the WD diags plus much more. Link is in my signature. You will have to know how to burn .iso files to CD.

Midknyte, I made the CD and tried to boot from it but i got a black screen that says Missing operating system after the Compaq screen. I took it out and rebooted to see what would happen and i got that stupid blue screen again. Does this mean I made the CD right or wrong? What should I do now? Thanks for your help

[greasydame]

For whatever reason,
Some of the Compaq/HP can be temperamental when factory restore is done.
Before attempting factory restore,
Disconnect all HDDs except the hard drive containing the operating system,
Disconnect any/all USB devices,
Disconnect any/all ethernet cable(s).

Hey Shinma, so i did all the above each time that i did a factory restore...

After successful factory restore,
Reboot at least twice before any changes are made to check.

With that said, noticed quite a number of fixes listed for Compaq Presario 6024US Desktop PC, among them,
Noticed ROMPaq update, basically a BIOS update dealing with the onboard LAN.
Noticed Proactive Presario Desktops Fix for Windows XP Unmountable Boot Volume Error as well.

Thanks for the links. I didn't even go to the Compaq site for help. I'm going to try to run a diagnostic first and then factory restore again so then i will download those updates.

[Midknyte]

If the hardware checks out, then you'd definitely want to install any patches pertaining to the BSOD.

How did you burn the .iso? You need to burn it as an image. If you don't know how to do it, just ask.
http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/faq.html

[greasydame]

How did you burn the .iso? You need to burn it as an image. If you don't know how to do it, just ask.
http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/faq.html

I'm using my sister's laptop and she has a program called Sonic Digital Media LE v7. I clicked "Data Disc", then "Make Bootable." A window popped up and I clicked browse. The default file type was Boot Files but iso files weren't included so I had to select All Files to choose the the iso file. Then I clicked the burn button. I did this on a CD-R btw. Sound ok?

[Midknyte]

No, that's not how you do it. It has to be burned as an IMAGE, not DATA.

Did you look at the link to the UBCD FAQ? There is a section for FREE iso burning programs. Check out Infrarecorder.
http://iso.snoekonline.com/iso.htm

[jdc2000]

I don't think that software is capable of creating a CD from an ISO image.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=44454

However, see the last post in the link above for an alternative.

[Shinma]

Hey Shinma, so i did all the above each time that i did a factory restore....

Never figured out why but
Last time I dealt with a HP factory restore,
I had to go through the entire recovery process twice,
One right after the other to get it running.

[greasydame]

No, that's not how you do it. It has to be burned as an IMAGE, not DATA.
http://iso.snoekonline.com/iso.htm

Aw crap, i totally wasted 3 CDs. Well thanks for letting me know.

I don't think that software is capable of creating a CD from an ISO image.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=44454

However, see the last post in the link above for an alternative.

Thanks for the link!

Okay so I've made the CD...it works! Now I'm going to run the diag. I'll come back when it's done with the results.

Thanks again for everyones help

[greasydame]

The results are in and no errors were found. I'm not sure if I'm happy or dissapointed. So I guess this means the problem isn't my hd? Whatever should I do now?

[Midknyte]

If the drive tests ok, then go back to Shinma's idea about the patches and bios update.

Still, i don't see why SP1a wouldn't install. Are you using the standalone download or are you trying to install via Windows Updates?

If you still don't trust the WD diags, you can try Seatools or Drive Fitness test. I think they can work on non-seagate or Hitachi drives.

[greasydame]

So I did a factory restore for the hundreth time, I downloaded the updates on to my external hd and installed them into my computer. These are the updates:
-Proactive Presario Desktops Fix for Windows XP Unmountable Boot Volume Error
-Presario Desktop Models System ROM Update (This one didn't get installed bc I didn't notice that this one required a floppy disk. My floppy drive is broken so I can't do this one)
-CPQFlash Utility for Presario Desktop System ROM Update

After they installed, I was prompted to restart my computer. I said restart and all the icons and the toolbar dissapeared but the wallpaper stayed. For the last 2 hours all I've seen is the wallpaper and the pointer which i am able to move. This is really annoying. If I manually restart again, I know I will get that friggen bsod. I'm trying to be patient.