Booting Problem m15x

Hey guys i have a really bad problem but im pretty sure its not the end of my m15x.
Quick specs: 8800. 4gigs ram, intel extreme, xp pro.
Okay so i cant boot. at first i couldnt log in, but now when i try to start windows, it says i need to insert the original xp disc ( which i have ).
So i setup bios to boot from cd and im in the xp boot setup. Well the problem is, it says it cant detect my hard drive and cannot repair windows. I googled this and it says it happends a lot, and its not a m15x related problem.
I was told it could be because I have a SATA drive and theres a way to fix the problem in bios but i have found nothing.
I know most people on this forum are really intelligent when it comes to computers so I hope one of you can help!!
EDIT: forgot to post.. the alienware respawn disc alienware gave me are faulty, and do not work. The only thing they did to apologize was they sent me a usb floppy drive.

 

have you managed to successfully install XP? or is that what you're trying to do?

 

That's what im trying to do but it says it cant detect my HD. =[

 

i think you need to load the SATA drivers first.

 

Well thats what i need help with .. i have never done anything with drivers and i have only tinkered with bios. I cant access anything, and i cant even log in through safemode. So how do i install them without logging in?

 

i think this is what you need to do:

http://www.digitgeek.com/how-to-slipstream-sata-drivers-into-xp-cd/

 

I'll make a personalized tutorial for you. Just give me like 10 minutes.

 

ahh yes. i was on this page earlier, and i already have nlite. The laptop im on now has xp media center edition and im trying to get xp pro on nlite...i couldnt really figure it all out

 

Just give me like 5 more minutes to finish. :|

 

okay =). i posted that last post before i knew you were going to make a tutorial ( before refreshing) so dont think im rushing you xD.
thanks though i appreciate the help!

 

times up O.....

 

haha =D dont rush him i need a good tutorial. Im only a amateur when it comes to computers. Trying to teach myself.

 

You'd have to slipstream the XP RAID drivers using nLite.

#1. Download and extract the XP RAID Drivers to a folder. (Click here to download it.)
#2. Download and install nLite.
#3. Pop in your XP CD.
#4. Open nLite.
#5. Click Next.
#6. Click Browse and then locate where the XP Installation files are (i.e. Select the CD drive that has your XP Installation CD in it.)



#7. Now it wants you to select where the modified files are going to be saved. Either make a new folder (on your desktop or wherever) and select it. ( In my example, I made a new folder called "XP" on my desktop and selected it.)



#8. Wait for nLite to finish copying the files. Once it's done, click Next.



#9. You can skip the Presets part. Click Next.



#10. Once you're on the Task Selection screen, click Drivers and Bootable ISO so that the bubble next to them turns green. Click Next.



#11. Now it wants you to select the driver you want to integrate. Click Insert > Multiple Driver Folder and then locate and select the folder where you extracted the XP RAID Drivers.







#12. It now wants you to select a specific driver that you want to integrate. Select Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E/M) and then press OK. Click Next.



#13. Now it asks you if you want to start the process. Click yes! Once it's done, click Next.



#14. Since you selected Bootable ISO earlier, it wants you to make the image. Under "Label", make any name you'd like. ( I had "WinLite" in my example.) Once you're done with that, click on Make ISO. Select where you want the ISO file to be saved and press Save.



#15. Now you're done! You've successfully created a slipstreamed version of the XP CD. Now all you have to do from here on out is to burn the ISO file that was just created onto a CD.

 

You might want to refresh the page. I had to fix a few images. ( Specifically the last two images.)

 

Im copying all the xp files into a folder, thanks so much! plus rep for you both!

 

No problem. Hope that helps.

 

curious....why is a mobile controller different from a desktop?

 

Im having trouble finding where the new iso file is.... thats the only problem i have now eheh

 

It's where you saved it. In step #14 when you make the ISO, you have to select where you want to save it-- it's there.

 

well i just did everything step by step and it didnt work =[ i get a message when booting that goes as follows:

/////////////////////////////////////
Driver name is "optical"

CuteMouse v1.9 [freeDOS]
installed at PS/2 port
Warning: TZ environment variable not found, cannout use UTC times!!

General failure reading drive P
Abort, Retry, Fail?
//////////////////////////////

okay so i type r ( for retry ) and it says this:

/////////
unzip: cannot find either p:/respawn.dat or p:/respawn.dat.zip.
bad command or file name
D:\>
////////////

anyone have any suggestions??? please help!

 

What'd you use to burn the ISO file? And how did you burn it?

 

I just used a cd-r and my comps cd writing wizard..thats all i know

 

Ah. Well, you can't drag and drop the file and burn it that way.

Download and install Active ISO Burner from here.

When you open it, specify where the ISO file is (with the "..." button) and then burn the ISO file onto a CD-R.

 

ahh.....well now i know.
i created a new folder just for the iso file but when i saved the iso file it made a whole bunch of files and folders...trying to find the individual file though.

 

Yeah. The ISO file is just one single file. It should have been created during step #14. I suggest you go back and see if you've created the file correctly.

If not, I could make it for you once I get back home and I'll have it uploaded for you.

 

no no i found it, and im in xp repair log trying to fix my boot files...but not it says ntdlr is missing.. i COULD reinstall everything...but would i lose all my stuff??

 

I wouldn't suggest reinstalling everything unless you aren't able to fix it.

Here's an article that might help you resolve that issue.
http://blog.ryantadams.com/2008/05/24/how-to-resolve-the-ntdlr-is-missing-error-on-windows-start-up/

Good luck!

 

Yeah thats what i had to do...
=[ and i tried the /rebuild thing...thats what caused it to corrupt in the first place.
the thing that makes me mad is, yesterday it worked fine, and then this morning when i got on it did all of this. And i cant seem to figure out why

 

double posting..
Well....i just got back into windows but EVERYTHING is gone. Literally. all my files, games, and everything else ( including alienwareFX )
so now im pissed. When booting up im given 2 options:
Windows XP pro
Windows XP pro.

selecting the first one will take me to the empty xp nightmare where nothing is there except the basics.
the 2nd one takes me to a message reading:
Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware config problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware.

What do i do 0.0

 

I'm pretty sure everything is still there. You're probably just on the Administrator account. I'd go to your Documents and Settings to see if your other user accounts are still there.

 

I did and theres nothing...

 

correct me if im wrong ... you need to put in the xp disc and select the repair option and then your MBR so it will fix your boot path to your good xp option

 

I tried all that... and im pretty sure my original partition is gone.
like for good...and when i logged into the new one i went to C:/
and it said i have a total of 2 gigs hard drive space...TOTAL

 

that means it installed on your partition ?!?!? if you have 2 gigs left means your partition is still seperate and you need to relabel the other partition so it shows up

 

no no...it only recognizes it as 2 gigs..not 2 gigs left...but it thinks my hard drive is a 2 gig hard drive... any suggestions? i would LOVE help.

 

double posting again//

okay so i looked again and it says i have 2 hard drives when i dont....
i feel a little better now because i believe it just created a new partition...because one says it has all my space..
i just wanna get back to my old one! anyone know what to do?

 

i told you. you installed xp again on the other patition and it wrote over your MBR and your other xp install bootpath got wrote over. so the one you dont want is the one that boots the right path.

can you edit the boot path in control panel<system<advanced system settings < startup and boot? ihaven't had to do this before....


any way you should be ableto acess all you old files i would copy them to a backup hard drive and reinstall the OS. easiest for you to do i think

 

well im not able to do it that way....
but is it possible thru run> msconfig?
there are boot options there

 

you can acess all your files now i would just back them up and reinstall vista it will sort out your boot problems

 

..i dont have vista i have xp.
and i cant access my files thats the problem

 

you said you could see both "hard drives" which means you can see both partitions and thus acess your files. if there not there then you proably deleted them... can you post a screen shot of my computer?


im extemely lost at this point. you got windows installed now or not? your problem now is you cannot find your files?

 

i would but i cant access internet on my alienware. im on a completely different computer right now. it shows 2 hard drive options in my computer however, it shows my main as having nothing on it. so i have come to the conclusion that it has been deleted.

 

that would be safe to assume lol you must have formatted it sometime

 

it seems like its getting worse before its getting better....
edit: now i cant log in to either partition.... is going on! i didnt do anything...
is there any other way to just get my m15x back to original factory settings? including all the drivers

 

no not if your cd is buggy, reistall xp on a clean format. all the drivers are on the alienware website in one place its easy or you can look here

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=342331

 

Hmm. I wanted to do a follow-up on your case but you weren't on AIM so I wasn't able to contact you directly.

How are you faring with your notebook? Are you currently or are you still experiencing issues with it?

 

Yeah its like normal again =)
I havent played any of my games yet because I have been in class allll day.
But as soon as i get home tonight I will be testing them out and letting you know if it works properly

 

Sure thing. I'll look forward to hearing from you.