I have an old computer that has a blue screen with the error message. I was going to sell it but am thinking I may fix it. Anyhow I tried going to safe mode to fix the blue screen but it won't allow that either. To fix it Best Buy wanted 200 dollars when I explained the problem. I thought there was some disk to unistall and then install again so I called dell because I lost my disks. They said it would not work and that I would need to have it fixed and then they quoted me a price. Is this true or are do they just want me to sign up for their repair? Is there a disk I can buy at the store other then through dell? It is a dell inspirion laptop. Thank you for your help.
Blue Screen and Disk?
- Thread starter DaniellaG
- Start date
Twinbird24
Member
Can you tell me what is on the blue screen of death? The blue screen of death may be caused by hardware failure, in which case Dell would be correct in saying that a recovery disk or OS disk would not fix your problem. However, viruses, corrupt drivers, and even poorly written programs can cause it.
Aastii
VIP Member
Dell were telling lies 
http://www.computerforum.com/184833-windows-stop-error-guide.html#post1544398
Code: 0X000000ED
Message: UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME
Cause: There are 2 possible causes for the problem, both of which are related to the hard drive.
The first, some IDE hard drives will write data to the cache out of order to increase the speed at which they work. This can cause integral parts of a program or the operating system itself to become damaged if the system loses power, or there is an unexpected shutdown.
The second is if the SATA controller is toggled from ATA to AHCI, or vice versa, in the BIOS. ATA and AHCI need different drivers, so swapping from one to the other will cause problems, as the drivers are not installed
Fix: You will be able to tell which problem you have, by the type of hard drive that you have
If you have the problem with the IDE drive, you must first run the windows repair tool. To run this, put your Windows installation disc into the disc drive and boot from it. There will be an option to repair/fix a windows installation. Do so, then try rebooting into windows.
You should now be able to boot into Windows. Disable write caching. To do so:
Right-click My Computer, then click properties
Click the Hardware Tab
Click Device Manager
Click the + sign next to Disk Drives
Right click the drive which has your operating system installed on it, and click properties
Click Disk Properties tab
Uncheck the Write Cache Enabled box
If you are running Windows Vista/7, Device Manager is in control panel as its own area, you don't need to go to system
If it fails to fix it, and you can not boot into Windows at all, you will have to format your hard drive and reinstall Windows, as it is too badly damaged.
If you are experiencing the problem with a SATA Hard drive:
Go into the BIOS, and change the SATA controller configuration back to whichever it was by default. Boot using your windows installation disc, and run the repair tool and let it fix any errors that may have been created, then try to boot into Windows.
If that does not work, run the hard drive utility for your hard drive. Each manufacturer has their own, which should be used for their drives only, and no other utility for a different manufacturer's drive should be used. Go to their website to find it. Remember that each is bootable, so you will either need to burn the file to a disc in a bootable file format, to a floppy disc, or to a USB device, should your motherboard BIOS support booting from a USB device. If it fails, your hard drive is dead, and you will have to get a new one. First contact your manufacturer if the drive is still under warranty, as they will replace it for you free of charge should it be faulty, and is still under warranty.
If the test passes, but you can not boot into Windows, you will need to format your hard drive and reinstall Windows
http://www.computerforum.com/184833-windows-stop-error-guide.html#post1544398
Code: 0X000000ED
Message: UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME
Cause: There are 2 possible causes for the problem, both of which are related to the hard drive.
The first, some IDE hard drives will write data to the cache out of order to increase the speed at which they work. This can cause integral parts of a program or the operating system itself to become damaged if the system loses power, or there is an unexpected shutdown.
The second is if the SATA controller is toggled from ATA to AHCI, or vice versa, in the BIOS. ATA and AHCI need different drivers, so swapping from one to the other will cause problems, as the drivers are not installed
Fix: You will be able to tell which problem you have, by the type of hard drive that you have
If you have the problem with the IDE drive, you must first run the windows repair tool. To run this, put your Windows installation disc into the disc drive and boot from it. There will be an option to repair/fix a windows installation. Do so, then try rebooting into windows.
You should now be able to boot into Windows. Disable write caching. To do so:
Right-click My Computer, then click properties
Click the Hardware Tab
Click Device Manager
Click the + sign next to Disk Drives
Right click the drive which has your operating system installed on it, and click properties
Click Disk Properties tab
Uncheck the Write Cache Enabled box
If you are running Windows Vista/7, Device Manager is in control panel as its own area, you don't need to go to system
If it fails to fix it, and you can not boot into Windows at all, you will have to format your hard drive and reinstall Windows, as it is too badly damaged.
If you are experiencing the problem with a SATA Hard drive:
Go into the BIOS, and change the SATA controller configuration back to whichever it was by default. Boot using your windows installation disc, and run the repair tool and let it fix any errors that may have been created, then try to boot into Windows.
If that does not work, run the hard drive utility for your hard drive. Each manufacturer has their own, which should be used for their drives only, and no other utility for a different manufacturer's drive should be used. Go to their website to find it. Remember that each is bootable, so you will either need to burn the file to a disc in a bootable file format, to a floppy disc, or to a USB device, should your motherboard BIOS support booting from a USB device. If it fails, your hard drive is dead, and you will have to get a new one. First contact your manufacturer if the drive is still under warranty, as they will replace it for you free of charge should it be faulty, and is still under warranty.
If the test passes, but you can not boot into Windows, you will need to format your hard drive and reinstall Windows
Sorry to butt-in Aastii,
But I've never had an issue with getting the hard drive working again after getting the unmountable boot volume error.
Alot of times incorrectly shutting down the computer will cause this error to appear and all it takes is scanning the drive with the drive manufacturer's disk diagnostic utility to fix the errors and then boot into windows and then windows will detect other errors and fix them and will boot back into windows just fine.
A lot of users don't understand that they actually have to press start, shutdown to safely shut down the system. I've seen users flip the switch on the power supply or the power strip while they were still logged into windows. This is an abrupt kill of power to the system causing errors on the hard drive.
But I've never had an issue with getting the hard drive working again after getting the unmountable boot volume error.
Alot of times incorrectly shutting down the computer will cause this error to appear and all it takes is scanning the drive with the drive manufacturer's disk diagnostic utility to fix the errors and then boot into windows and then windows will detect other errors and fix them and will boot back into windows just fine.
A lot of users don't understand that they actually have to press start, shutdown to safely shut down the system. I've seen users flip the switch on the power supply or the power strip while they were still logged into windows. This is an abrupt kill of power to the system causing errors on the hard drive.
Thank you both for your help. I have lost my windows disk. Can I just buy one at a store? On my dell it is an older program of XP.
On a spearate note I was going to just sell the laptop. Online I saw a site called laptop for cash where you send the laptop in and then they pay you what it is worth. They said they clean your info out for you. Is this safe to do or should I clean the info out myself? If I should do it can someone explain how? Thank you
On a spearate note I was going to just sell the laptop. Online I saw a site called laptop for cash where you send the laptop in and then they pay you what it is worth. They said they clean your info out for you. Is this safe to do or should I clean the info out myself? If I should do it can someone explain how? Thank you
Try scanning the hard drive with the drive manufacturer's disk diagnostic utility first, as most likely I highly doubt you'll need to reinstall windows. What brand of hard drive is it? If you don't want to open the laptop up to get it, you can go into the bios and if it detects it, it should list a model number for the hard drive.
Aastii
VIP Member
I agree I've not had the problem, however I know people that had the error caused not by incorrect shut down, but the hard drive failed. They were getting deteriorating performance/BSODs (including unmountable boot volume error)/Corrupt data, and eventually the drive went completely.
I know though that there isn't a definitive fix, because the errors, altough they give a fairly narrow range of possible problems, there are still a fair few it could be, with different fixes. If you PM me what you think is missing, or what you have done differently to fix the error, I'll edit it into the fix for it. It is never perfect, so don't be sorry for butting in, nice to have feedback, even if it is negative
Thank you all for your help. My dell is insprion 1501 but I think I am just going to sell it.I just got a new laptop. So if anyone can tell me how to erase my data I would appreciate it. The company you send the laptop to said they erase it but do you think it is safer to do it on one's own? Thank you again. Sorry for all the confusion.
TulsiAtDell
New Member
Dell Support
Hello DanielleG,
I am from the Social Media Group handling Customer Queries through Face Book, Twitter and blogs across the Globe. I would be glad to look into this and assist you,kindly message the order # or service tag # of your computer to [email protected]. I will send the steps to restore your system that will erase all the information.
Regards ^TG
Hello DanielleG,
I am from the Social Media Group handling Customer Queries through Face Book, Twitter and blogs across the Globe. I would be glad to look into this and assist you,kindly message the order # or service tag # of your computer to [email protected]. I will send the steps to restore your system that will erase all the information.
Regards ^TG
You most likely won't be able to format it without fixing the errors on the drive first, providing the hard drive is still good.