ntoskrnl.exe is corrupted. windows wont open

here is a url that might help and also how to guide

http://support.microsoft.com/default.as ... -us;124550

Thanks for the info roadrage although just posting the link will suffice. There's no need to post the complete article as well.

agreed




Since this is a duplicate topic and to prevent reiteration of the same things, I'm merging this with this one.

Lately I've been getting many private messages concerning this problem. I don't mind helping out but it's best for everyone if you post your problem publicly in this thread. The chances of your problem being resolved are greater if it is posted for all to see.

That being said, I really don't have any other soulutions beyond what's already been discussed. If I do come across other solutions I will post them here. If anyone else solves their 'ntoskrnl' problem by other means, please share your solution.

Thank you

Its not looking too good. I followed those directions exactly that you gave me, deleted my partition, created a new one, and then did the full format option. When it finally hit 100% it said this:

"Setup was unable to format the partition. This disk may be damaged. Make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected to your computer. If the disk is a SCSI disk, make sure your SCSI devices are terminated. Consult your computer manual or SCSI adapter documentation for more information."

This sucks. I think it may not be properly connected or somehow switched off because the hard disk is only about 3 maybe 4 months old. I had to get a new one because My computer was saying "Boot Disk Error" and the guy we brought it to said the hard disk blew and had to be replaced. Its possible he installed it wrong or something. Its practically brand new.

I'm really sorry to hear that. I'd recommend you contact the person that installed it for you. If it was mounted improperly, excessive vibration could cause a failure. Maybe a bad power supply, although other system components would probably fail as well. These are just guesses. A technician would need to troubleshoot your computer.

What are your system specifications? What brand/model hard drive do you have? Are you using more than one drive?

I dont know off the top of my head what brand the hard drive is but Im only using one. Ill have to check when I stop home. Ill contact the guy that installed the hard drive for me and see if he can take a look at it.

edit: Is there an easy way to check the model/type of hard drive I have without opening the case? Will it be listed in the BIOS?

edit: I no longer have the errors anymore (Invalid Boot.ini and missing ntoskrnl.exe). When I boot up it simply says: "Cannot detect an operating system." Im guessing this is normal since I could format the new partition.

Ok I found the model of my hard drive. It is a Maxtor 4K040H2. http://www.maxtor.com Are all hard drives compatable with all computers or no? It is an ATA hard drive by the way.

Yes, since you've formatted the drive, there is no Operating System.



I wasn't questioning the compatibility of the drive. I was going to suggest that you search the web to see if anyone else is having similar problems or maybe search the maxtor website for a diagnostic utility. However, at this point I think it's best if you talk to the guy who installed it. I can't hazard a guess as to what could be wrong.

I found this thread at Experts Exchange:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operati ... 17408.html

After the page loads, just scroll down past the adds to see the solutions.

There may be some things mentioned there you can try.

Also this google search may yield something useful:
"Setup was unable to format the partition." XP maxtor

** Could a Moderater move the posts relating to the hard drive problem to an new thread in the Hardware forum? Thanks.

Given the ongoing subject in light of the new "hardware" problem and after (admittedly) a somewhat quick read of the post, I find it difficult to see exactly what thread replies should be split off. I think it's fine for now as is. If it gets way to skewed towards a hardware matter we'll take a second look.

Maxtor PowerMax

I found this (very long) link which lets you download Maxtor PowerMax onto to a floppy drive. It is made to be booted up with your computer and will check the drive for any and all problems. I dont have a floppy with me so I will run it tomorrow. Hopefully this will give me a clear idea of whats wrong with the drive and maybe how to fix it. Thanks for the help so far I really appreciate it.

edit: fixed the link

You're welcome. lol, that is a long link.

Hope that diagnostic utility helps.

For future reference, you can use to url tags to prevent long links from displaying.

ex:

I put the floppy with the diagnostic utility on it to scan my HD for errors. It began searching for installed devices and it popped up asking me to choose the one that was my HD. Well my hard drive wasnt listed. Under Master there was nothing recognized and under slave there was nothing recognized. The only things recognized were my DVD drive and my CD-RW drives. They were the secondary master and slave.

I opened the lid on my case and found my hard drive easily. It was secure and everything was plugged in tightly. However I couldnt find any kind of "jumper" switch that I've heard mentioned. Why isnt my HD being recognized?

edit: I also tried to do Chkdsk again and now it says "Chkdsk and found one or more unrecoverable problems."

Hmm, I really don't know what to suggest next. Is the IDE cable plugged into the motherboard securely? Perhaps the IDE cable itself is bad. Do you have a spare IDE cable laying around that you might try? Is the Drive plugged into the grey or black connector on the cabe? Typically, the black connector should be plugged into the master drive and the grey into the slave.

Since the drive worked before, it's probably at least connected properly.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else outside the drive and connectors that might cause the problem. Maybe the there is a problem with the onboard IDE controller. I can't really speculate on that.