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unmountable-boot-volume
February 17, 2010
10:42 AM
10:42 AM
preterosso
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can anyone tell me what unmountable-boot-volume is thanks
February 17, 2010
3:04 PM
3:04 PM
Pwnana
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It means the volume containing the default OS cant be loaded properly. Could you possibly be having this problem? http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555302
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February 17, 2010
3:15 PM
3:15 PM
sean
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using my google-fu I found this article that seems to do a good job explaning how to fix it http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2605/fixing_the_dreaded_unmountable_boot_volume_error/
basically, your boot partition is corrupted.
March 5, 2010
9:30 PM
9:30 PM
yourpalal
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BTW Where is a really easy to understand article for us non-tech savvy on partitioning?
Especially as related to this thread, if the “boot partition is corrupted,” could this be corrected or damage minimized by keeping the OS & (what else?) on a separate partition, as to make restoration less complicated & more likely successful (along with proper backups, having rescue disks, etc.)??
Thanks
Al
Life is just a phase you're going through…you'll get over it.
March 9, 2010
11:43 AM
11:43 AM
Gvape
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When it comes to Windows, you generally only need one partition. If i'm not mistaken however, Windows 7 makes a separate hidden partition for this. It's generally an easy fix too, just search up on Google.
As for a tutorial/basics, try out this article:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/hard_drives_01.htm
When you get to the end of the page, there are multiple pages which continues the topic and covers more subjects.
Guh-vah-pay
March 9, 2010
6:19 PM
6:19 PM
karen
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I think what you meant was that you only needed one boot partition, not one partition. Windows (or any OS, usually the first one you install on a machine) does create a hidden boot partition which contains this info.
As for how many other partitions you need, you can put Windows and all your data on one partition. Lots of people do. On the other hand, lots of other people like to keep their data and their OS on separate partition (or better yet, separate drives) so that it is easier to reinstall the OS without having to worry about the data.
March 9, 2010
6:21 PM
6:21 PM
karen
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There is freeware called EasyBCD which can help you repair a Windows boot partition. I've used it before to switch which is my active, system partition (where it looks for an OS first) and it was fairly easy to use.
March 9, 2010
7:35 PM
7:35 PM
Pwnana
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You are only allowed one boot partition at a time, but I think 3 (not sure about the exact number) primary partitions and unlimited secondary ones. I dont know why primaries are limited, but thats what PartEdMagic told me. PartEd can also switch which is boot, primaries, secondaries, etc. and also has some recovery options. It really is an extremely useful tool.
Also lookup BartPE and WinPE for recovery and repair purposes.
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March 9, 2010
8:01 PM
8:01 PM
Locutus
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Four primary partitions. Also, Windows can't install to a secondary one (Linuxes can).
Oh, the site that was :(
March 9, 2010
11:23 PM
11:23 PM
yourpalal
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Thanks to all so far. Recent GOTD & other d/ls may either cause initial problems, or start system not responding/errors/crashs, etc. (like threatfire did, started OK, then began erratic behavior & freezing, had to REVO).
I’m trying to use Ahraf’s review/suggested Paragon B/up recovery 10.1 free, & it said mountable= assigned drive. My main purpose is what Karen referred to:
“lots of other people like to keep their data and their OS on separate partition (or better yet, separate drives) so that it is easier to reinstall the OS without having to worry about the data”
But OS must know for sure which partition (& order) --to boot from, & in case of failure/crash…..may need to boot from rescue disk (CD, or some may accept flash drive/memory stick-). We all want to avoid data loss & whole new install. So just want best & fastest recoveries possible.
Thanks
Al
Life is just a phase you're going through…you'll get over it.
March 10, 2010
3:33 AM
3:33 AM
yourpalal
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Locutus said:
Four primary partitions. Also, Windows can't install to a secondary one (Linuxes can).
Obviously 1 is for the OS; is another one of them the recovery partition of your hard drive?, or is that part of the primary partitions?
Life is just a phase you're going through…you'll get over it.
March 10, 2010
3:54 AM
3:54 AM
yourpalal
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I can see that even 'experts' get confused--just go to GOTD & with only 8 comment so far, they've been back & forth at each other about Paragon Virtualization Manager, & I just mentioned Paragon B/up recovery 10.1 free a few hours ago! I couldn't have known what they were going to offer for today--& I'm not Ashraf--so I couldn't get that kind of heads up now could I?
There's much to be learned about the diff between backup, virtualization, partioning, system restore, recovery, sandboxing,…………………..
Seems to me that alot of it is all about finding/getting info & data, keeping it, hiding it, getting rid of it, & recovering it!!!
Regards
Al
Life is just a phase you're going through…you'll get over it.
March 10, 2010
6:38 PM
6:38 PM
Pwnana
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yourpalal said:
Locutus said:
Four primary partitions. Also, Windows can't install to a secondary one (Linuxes can).
Obviously 1 is for the OS; is another one of them the recovery partition of your hard drive?, or is that part of the primary partitions?
A recovery could be any type, primary or secondary. The computer can boot Windows from any primary partition, and by default will boot from the Boot primary partition, so if you have less than 4 windows installations a primary could be a backup or a Linux or your personal files or whatever. So it depends what kind of recovery it is. If its a Windows based recovery then it will be on a primary partition; if its a linux or other based recovery it could be on any type.
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March 10, 2010
8:15 PM
8:15 PM
Ramesh Kumar
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Pwnana said:
yourpalal said:
Locutus said:
Four primary partitions. Also, Windows can't install to a secondary one (Linuxes can).
Obviously 1 is for the OS; is another one of them the recovery partition of your hard drive?, or is that part of the primary partitions?
A recovery could be any type, primary or secondary. The computer can boot Windows from any primary partition, and by default will boot from the Boot primary partition, so if you have less than 4 windows installations a primary could be a backup or a Linux or your personal files or whatever. So it depends what kind of recovery it is. If its a Windows based recovery then it will be on a primary partition; if its a linux or other based recovery it could be on any type.
Perhaps Preterosso in his post number 1 wanted to understood what partition means – drive or a part of your drive & how it looks. Why only Preterosso I'd like to understand it as well, please. Also what is primary & secondary? Where can we see these settings inside our comp? When should we tweak these settings & how?
Grateful for your kind help
Ramesh 
March 10, 2010
9:06 PM
9:06 PM
Pwnana
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A partition is like a division of your hard drive. The operating system views all the partitions as separate drives, but they are actually just one (or more) divided into separate parts. They act separately, too, so you can format an entire partition without formatting the whole drive. I don't know what makes a primary partition primary, but you can only install Windows to a primary partition. One of these will be assigned the 'boot' partition, which is the default OS. Any other partition is a secondary partition, and there is nothing special about them.
for the most part you wont have to change any of these partition types, except maybe which primary partition you want to be 'boot'. This can be done by clicking Start, and typing "msconfig" into the search bar and pressing enter. Click on the "Boot" tab and you can see all the OSs installed on your system. To make a partition 'boot', select the OS installed to it and click "set as default". I believe that if there is linux on a secondary partition, then you CAN make the secondary partition boot. Can anyone verify this?
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March 10, 2010
9:16 PM
9:16 PM
Ramesh Kumar
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Pwnana said:
A partition is like a division of your hard drive. The operating system views all the partitions as separate drives, but they are actually just one (or more) divided into separate parts. They act separately, too, so you can format an entire partition without formatting the whole drive. I don't know what makes a primary partition primary, but you can only install Windows to a primary partition. One of these will be assigned the 'boot' partition, which is the default OS. Any other partition is a secondary partition, and there is nothing special about them.
for the most part you wont have to change any of these partition types, except maybe which primary partition you want to be 'boot'. This can be done by clicking Start, and typing "msconfig" into the search bar and pressing enter. Click on the "Boot" tab and you can see all the OSs installed on your system. To make a partition 'boot', select the OS installed to it and click "set as default". I believe that if there is linux on a secondary partition, then you CAN make the secondary partition boot. Can anyone verify this?
Thanks friend! I got it.
Man you have a very sharp brain
Ramesh
March 10, 2010
9:20 PM
9:20 PM
Ramesh Kumar
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Any good html link you can provide which explains the concept of primary & secondary?
Also is the OS partition what is know as Master Boot? In another thread (Steeler6 System Dump thread) you had pointed out that only 2 things are not related to Windows OS issue:-
- Master Boot
- Bios
Ramesh
March 13, 2010
5:40 PM
5:40 PM
Pwnana
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The Master Boot Record is a very tiny partition that comes first on a partitioned hard drive using the (very aptly named) Master Boot Record Partition scheme. The MBR is like the directory of your hard-drive; it contains all the locations and sizes of partitions and bootable OSs. It is used by most OSi (mixing it up =P) and is installed outside of any OS, so it is independent from Windows(etc.).
Im gonna try one last time, but you should just read the links below, they actually know what they're talking about. A physical hard drive can be split into only 4 partitions. These are the primary partitions. One of these primaries will be flagged "active" or "boot" and will contain the default OS (and a few other things, I think). These 4 partitions can be split into 22* extended (secondary) partitions. However, these secondary partitions can act separately from the primary partitions on which they reside.
*I assume 22: 1 for each letter of the alphabet minus the 4 for the primary partitions.
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