TestDisk can't find problem

Using TestDisk to repair the filesystem
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Author
Lito
Posts: 83
Joined: 08 Sep 2012, 06:58

Re: TestDisk can't find problem

#11 Post by Lito »

Your firs port of call would have to be the Lenovo website. Somewhere in the site should a list of drivers and updates for your particular machine. You will need information like Model number, Serial number, etc to identify the laptop.
Check your BIOS for an option like Quick Boot or a similar option that stops the machine displaying a lot of information about memory, disks and ports when it boots. Disable that. When you next reboot, as soon as POST starts, press the Pause-Break key. The process should freeze until you press another key (probably Enter).
In the screen you should see your BIOS make, number, version, etc. Write the information down and have at hand to download the correct Update from the Lenovo site. A wrong BIOS update might brick your machine, so caution is a good policy. Double check everything. Take your time.
Lenovo should have information about how to proceed. The flashing process is normaly carried out from a floppy.
I do not know if you have a floppy drive. An option would be an external Floppy Disk Drive (USB). This will also work for running Windows XP Pro Setup from floppies. You can download the set (7 i think) from Microsoft.

Best of luck

DaveI
Posts: 7
Joined: 28 Mar 2013, 00:07

Re: TestDisk can't find problem

#12 Post by DaveI »

Thanks much. I did find the info on the Lenovo site but there were no BIOS upgrades/updates of any significance. As a last resort I will "update" the BIOS just to make sure it hasn't become faulty somehow (which I think unlikely). It seems simple enough to do, you download an .iso to burn to a cd, boot the cd and follow on-screen directions.

If that doesn't work, I'll donate the machine to a friend who uses Linux exclusively :)

whitewolf60
Posts: 2
Joined: 20 Apr 2013, 05:52

Re: TestDisk can't find problem

#13 Post by whitewolf60 »

Another possibility to consider regarding the erroring-out of the installation and other discs (and your problem description seems to allow this possibility) is that I have seen some optical drives that seem to have a problem reading in certain data ranges on discs, i.e. reads without error to a point, then errors out...this would occur with any discs that carry sufficient data to cause the drive to read in that range. Discs carrying less data might read completely without error because the drive mechanism doesn't enter the range where errors occur.

I would definitely try swapping the optical drive as an easy way to eliminate that possibility. If I have misconstrued your explanations, please feel free to disregard this message : )

ww60

DaveI
Posts: 7
Joined: 28 Mar 2013, 00:07

Re: TestDisk can't find problem

#14 Post by DaveI »

Yes that is plausible. I have another identical Lenovo T60 and I did swap the optical drives. No change.

Lito
Posts: 83
Joined: 08 Sep 2012, 06:58

Re: TestDisk can't find problem

#15 Post by Lito »

You said that there were not many significant updates for your machine
in the Lenovo site. You can try this site.

http://www.wimsbios.com/

Also check this page:

http://www.theeldergeek.com/clean_insta ... ows_xp.htm

In particular the framed "The Role of the F5 Key and Shutdown Problems" towards the bottom
of the page. The same site carries advise on how to do your own slipstreamed Install CD.
The advantage of this is having access to later or improved drivers.
It is also possible to add drivers specific to your machine, like Graphics card, Chipset,etc.
This site provides further information about this.

http://winsupersite.com/windows-xp/slip ... pack-3-sp3

The combined information of the sites should be enough to show you what is achievable.

More tips:

If your BIOS have the option, choose Non Plug and Play OS.

Like I mentioned before, disable (until the problem is solved) the BIOS option to either
Quick Boot, Silent Boot or similar, that suppresses messages being echoed to the screen.
By pressing Pause/Break every so often during POST, you might be able to spot an error message.

I do not know the layout of keys close to the screen for your machine. But working in a
friends laptop (VAIO) a similar problem cleared by pressing a "Video Mode" key close to the
screen and a key for choosing a default screen "S1". A bit hit and miss, but it might help.

If the battery pack is good, you could try running only on batteries.

If you have a friend that owns an external USB DVD drive, you could borrow it
at least to give a try. Other than that you could update the firmware for the machine's
internal DVD.

You can consider building the DiskInternals Boot CD and see if that boots.
You will need a machine connected to the Internet, your XP Pro Installation CD. plus a folder
with your own choice of utilities, if any , for example a decompressed copy of the latest TestDisk,
32 bit version. Some of the Sysinternals tools might also run, some do not. Get it from:

http://www.diskinternals.com

Best of luck

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