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[iamitp]

I am having the one of the worst pc problem i have faced.....
It all started with my pc restarting(it was a power failure) to show boot device failure, insert system disk, i tried everything, from unplugging usb devices to re inserting sata cables but to no avail, now when i try to reinstall windows the setup recognizes all my partitions but refuses to install into any of them, ubuntu only recognizes one of my hard disk and partition( i have 1 big 500 g hdd as 1 part, and 2 250 g hdds in raid 0). I tried booting from my bart pe created windows live cds but they dont detect any partitions what so ever, windows 7 dvd's repair utility can access my file structure when i browse for drivers, but it wont repair the problem, nor will it install.
Please Help!

 

[Harvey]

It sounds like whatever happened may have damaged your motherboard. If you're lucky, it may be only that the CMOS was corrupted. Try clearing it using the jumper on your motherboard.

You should find which jumper it is in your manual. If you don't have it, you may be able to find it online on the manufacturer's site. If not, it's probably the once closest to the battery.

Have you tried the system with another drive to see if it behaves correctly? If not, it also may be that the electronics in your drive were damaged.

Good luck.

 

[iamitp]

a motherboard failure sounds bad, i was hoping that there wont be a hardware problem, i will try clearing the cmos and qill post the result.

 

[iamitp]

i resetted the cmos, but the problem persist.

 

[Harvey]

I dont't have any further idea, but it may help others to help if you tell us your OS and the make and model of your motherboard.

 

[iamitp]

i had windows xp pro and win 7 build 7100 installed, my mobo is asus p5ne sli, i really hope someone can find a fix.

 

[Harvey]

Partition Magic includes a version that boots to a DOS formatted floppy disk, and check your hard drive for problems and even fix them, if possible. Even before you try to fix anything, it will at least give you some info about the condition of the drive and its partitions.

 

[iamitp]

i dont have a floppy drive, can i use a usb drive?

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: iamitp

i dont have a floppy drive, can i use a usb drive?

You can if your motherboard supports booting from them. You'll also need a utility to make the USB drive bootable to DOS like this HP utility. This is a genuine HP utility that will do the trick. They no longer have it on their site. It contains:

HP USB disk storage format tool V2.0.6 HPUSBFW.exe (renamed hpflash1.exe)
Root directory files for booting to DOS 7 from Windows 98 SE.

Install it, run it, and follow the directions. It will wipe previous info from the drive. Once it's formatted, you can transfer the files you need for Partition Magic. If you use the DOS based version of Partition Magic DOS, my version has a hidden file you have to include for it to run.