'Drive 1 not found'

computerstu

New Member
I get this error message when I boot up. I push F1 to continue and everything seems to boot ok. What's causing the error message?
 
Someitmes things get a little buggy with the mbr and boot information or the bios won't fully detect the primary/host OS drive. If the battery on the board is weak and needs replacement depending on how long the board has been in use minor problems start to be seen while starting a system up or while running programs.

For XP having the option of booting upto the recover console allows the use of the "Fixboot" and "Fixmbr" commands there to see a boot log and new entry into the mbr created. For Vista simply booting up with the installation disk now sees the repair tools section as an option where the automatic fix startup problems tool is found.
 
I have XP, but am not sure how to boot into the recover console. When the computer boots, it stops with the error message, and my choices are to continue, at which it loads Windows, or to enter setup.
 
If you have an XP installation disk you would set the cd rom option as first in the boot order unless you see the option for a boot device menu when the system is first turned on. On many boards that will be the F8 key or perhaps F12 or other preassigned F key to press fast to see that come up instead of entering the bios with the Del key or proceeding on.

If that menu is found with the disk in the drive you simply choose that drive from the cd/dvd catagory depending on how the menu is setup. Some see floppy then hard drive then that while others are a simply vertical list of drives.

Once you select the correct drive and press enter like you would for installing Windows you look for the "press R for recovery console" option rather then proceeding the install now screen. That will reach a dos type command prompt where you simply enter those commands there and press enter after each. Once done simply type in "exit" and the system will restart as soon as you press the enter key.

You can even install the recovery console as a boot option in XP. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654 That will save the need for booting from the installation disk there.

One article on the recovery console includes screen shots of how that looks while booting up to it. http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ss/rconsole_3.htm
 
the "drive 1 not found" has nothing to do with windows. its probably that you have your RAID controller turned on without having an array configured or something. please dont do anything with your windows disk, you are just going to mess something up. either see if you can find out what in the BIOS is causing this problem, or just live with it. but i assure you it has nothing to do with your windows
 
Like said above a bios error Drive 1 not found has nothing to do with windows. I bet you just need to reset your boot order in the bios. I would say your primary drive is Drive 0 and its set to boot to Drive 1.
 
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How to Repair the Boot Sector:
If XP won't start it may be due to a damaged boot sector or a missing or corrupt ntldr or ntdetect.com files.

To replace damaged ntldr and ntdetect.com you can copy fresh files from the XP CD using the COPY command. Boot with the XP CD and enter the Recovery Console (as above). At the Command Prompt type the following (where "X" is your CD-Rom drive letter) allowing the files to overwrite the old files
COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C:
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:

To repair a damaged Boot Sector at the command prompt type FIXBOOT and press Enter. Then answer "Y" http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm#How%20to%20Repair%20the%20Boot%20Sector:





http://vig.pearsonptr.com:8081/samplechapter/0789731495.pdf
 
PCeye the error is a bios error, after he pressed F1 it boots into windows just fine, there nothing wrong with the boot sector of windows. This is a boot bios error.
 
If the default boot order has remained the same all this time then the boot information has been damaged maybe even pointing at the mirror drive instead of the host or simply lost or now made inactive. By going in and changing the default order you are likely to "put a monkey wrench into the works" there.
 
what mirror drive? nobody said anything about RAID. i wish we could report incorrect information like we can report spammers.
 
sounds like a bad back up battery for the BIOS and it is resetting back to default, hence the settings have been reset press F1 to continue or DEL for setup.
 
sounds like a bad back up battery for the BIOS and it is resetting back to default, hence the settings have been reset press F1 to continue or DEL for setup.

Weak battery, failed drive itself, or corrupted boot information. I've run into all three at one time or another with that messsage coming up where XP was involved.

Fortunately the usual 2032 for the number lithium coin sized batteries are a common $2-$3 item found in the calculator/watch or battery section in most retail chains and 24hr. pharmacies.
 
the "drive 1 not found" has nothing to do with windows. its probably that you have your RAID controller turned on without having an array configured or something. please dont do anything with your windows disk, you are just going to mess something up. either see if you can find out what in the BIOS is causing this problem, or just live with it. but i assure you it has nothing to do with your windows

what mirror drive? nobody said anything about RAID. i wish we could report incorrect information like we can report spammers.

Does that answer your question? Since computerstu hadn't specified how that system was setup there whether a single OS drive or an array is in use you have to look in both directions.
 
well depending on your BIOS depends on the situation. My BIOS, for some retarded reason, by default keeps the SATA controller in RAID mode instead of IDE mode. So, when my battery starts to go out, it will tell me that the disk failed because its trying to boot from a RAID mode, when there is no array set up to begin with.
 
Even with XP on the more recent build now used after having replaced the first board and reinstalled Windows there I ran into the same error after having not booted in XP for a good period of time for some unknown reason.

I have the present Vista install on an ide drive set as the default while XP sits on a sata model. The last build saw XP on both types there without running into this problem likely from having to reinstall both editions of XP as well as Vista for the multiboot at the time while the board in the previous build ahaaa... it loved batteries!

Besides boot problems try memtest reporting error on defect memory and giving the appearance of a failed cpu! Lately when tossing in a new battery suddenly the fsb can be set to 200mhz on that old board? You never know! But at least with knowing a new battery is going in you expect to be in the bios making any needed changes afterwards from factory defaults.
 
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