Missing Operating System
I just installed Disk Director 2011 Home, and was going to increase the size of the boot partition [C:] on my Pentium P4 computer running under Windows XP, SP3. The first step was to create an unallocated block to reside just after the C: partition. This was created by taking some free space from two other partitions [E:, and F:] on the same drive. This operation went fine. Next, the unallocated block was turned into an NTFS formatted partition, with a new drive letter[H:]. This operation went fine. Finally, the C: and H: partitions were to be merged into a new and larger C: partition. This would have been the last step in the process, however, when the system rebooted in order to carry out the Disk Director script, there were errors that flashed by on a blue background screen, then a black screen, with "Missing Operating System"and "Press any key to reboot". Pressing any key results in the same black screen, with the same message, and the computer is hung in this condition. It would seem that the MBR has been corrupted or changed by the attempt to merge the C: and H: partitions. The question is... "How do I cure the computer of this condition?".
Thanks.
I created a new partition and merged it (attempted) because the program should be able to do it, in spite of the fact that I now know that you dislike the Split and Merge features. They do obviously cause too many problems.
I did boot from the DD CD, and the first partition is now larger than before, indication that the merge portion of the request was acted upon. However, there is still a small partition (60Mb) after the C: partition. A summary is:
1st partition: Primary MBR, not formatted, Healthy (Active)
2nd partition: Logical MBR, NTFS formatted, Healthy
3rd partition: Logical MBR, NTFS formatted, Healthy
4th partition: Logical MBR, NTFS formatted, Healthy
So, my original question still applies..."How do I cure the computer of this condition?".
Thanks again.
David
P.S. Why is it that attempts to contact Acronis Customer Support ( a probable misnomer) by live chat and email have been totally futile for the past four days?
I agree that the Split and Merge features should work properly. I'm sure they do in many cases. I've run tests with them before and they worked just fine. My problem with them is just from the mess they can make when they corrupt the partitions on a drive. The other problem is that everything these two features do can be done manually using the safer features of DD. This also allows the user to verify each step has finished successfully before proceeding.
I'm not sure about why you're having problems contacting support. I've used those services before and they worked okay (it's been a while, though).
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Are the Logical partitions all intact? Can you browse them (you can use DD) and see your files okay?
The Primary partition may be corrupted. Being seen as not formatted is not good. You may be able to delete the partition and then use the Partition Recovery Wizard to see if it finds the correct one. You could also try just changing the partition type to NTFS and see if anything shows up (assuming it's not showing as NTFS already). Some people have had to resort to data recovery software.
This is why I asked if you had created a backup image. I always recommend creating an Entire Disk Image before making partitioning changes. If there is nothing of value on the drive then this isn't as important. Having an image lets you recover easily if something goes wrong.
Thank you for your support and assistance. The logical partitions appear to be intact, and I also have backups of them. I do not have an image of the first partition though, since it contains mostly application programs that I can reinstall, if need be. The most ominous development is the lack of a format on the first partition. Since I started with NTFS partitions on both the C: and H: drives before the merge, and the merge appears to have worked, I think that I'll try to install the NTFS format through the DD CD, then if that doesn't work, I'll try to delete and recover the partition... it's worth a shot.
If you can raise anyone over at Acronis Customer Support, please have them chime in... my present review of their service rates them at zero stars, based upon there total lack of response regarding this matter.
Just check that the partition type is NTFS -- don't reformat it. If you format the partition you will probably lose any chance of recovering the original partition.
I will put in a request for Acronis Support to respond.
Hello David and Mudcrab,
Thank you for your posts and especially for your kind help Mudcrab.
David, I will do my best to assist you. I was able to find your case in our system, I will notify our Management team to get this handled. Could you please tell me about the Chat support sessions, were you getting any errors at all?
In the meantime, would you mind sending me the Acronis Report 51 output so that I could take a look at your partition structure, it could provide us with useful information about why your computer is not booting.
I am sorry for any inconvenience and if you have additional questions, please let me know.
Thank you.