Windows can't detect HDD because driver cache\i386 files are missing. PLZ HELP

Discussion in 'Windows XP Drivers' started by TheMaster26, Apr 2, 2015.

  1. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    I recently found some really old discs with demos on them and installed them (but they were obviously lame) so I uninstalled them. During uninstallation, a dialog came up that said something about shared files being deleted. I ended up deleting those files(they were .dll files beginning with mxt or something like that), and everything went fine. After shutting down, I started it up about 2 hrs later and to my surprise it wouldn't boot from the Hard Drive. I searched across the web for help but couldn't find any so I decided to help myself. I connected my hard drive(btw its a SATA hard drive) to my friend's PC and booted from his hard drive(with Windows 7). My hard drive was detected and I found similar files to the ones that got deleted in the DriverCache\i386 folder. Could someone tell me how to get the deleted files back?
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 2, 2015
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  2. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    if you have a name for a file I can see if i have it and can upload it for you.

    you do know that you cannot install xp on a sata drive without sata controllers either slipstreamed with nlite or on a floppy disk to use at the F6 point of a install.::

    or you will have to do a fresh install.
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 2, 2015
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  3. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    I'm not exactly sure about the file names but I do know that they are .dll files and begin with the letter 'm'. About reinstalling windows, I only have sp2 discs but my system has sp3. I tried using the recovery console on the sp2 disc, but it won't detect my hard drive. I have the disc that came with my motherboard(Gigabyte). Could I connect my hard drive to another PC that has windows and use the disc to install the drivers?
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 3, 2015
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  4. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    @samin81, if you download xp off the internet it is most likely illegal.

    @TheMaster26, you can install with sp2 and then install sp3 manually or it is better to slipstream sp3 onto your install cd.

    if you are using sata drives again recovery console will not work. unless you go into the bios and change some settings, i am not sure which to get it to recognize drive.

    what is the make, model and model number of your pc??
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 3, 2015
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  5. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    ON SATA AND RECOVERY CONSOLE:

    If your system has SATA drives (Courtesy of Jose Ibarra)

    If your system of unspecified make and model has SATA drives, the Recovery Console CD (or even genuine bootable XP media) will not be able to "see" the HDD unless you first get into your system BIOS by pressing whatever key you need to press to do so, and temporarily change the HDD interface mode to something the XP startup process does recognize.

    Then you do what you need to do (run chkdsk /r), then change the BIOS back to the original settings when you are done.

    Here are some general purpose instructions that should get you going:

    If you are seeing a message(s) like this:

    Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer.

    Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is
    correct. This many involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program.

    Setup cannot continue. To quit Setup, press F3.

    When you see a message like this, obviously XP Setup is starting to load, but then when Setup needs to go out and find your hard disk it is not finding the hard disk. It doesn't necessarily mean your hard disk is defective and if it was working before, it is most likely still plugged in. It just means the XP Setup is not able to find it.

    It sounds like you need to enter the BIOS on your system by pressing the "Del", F2, F10 or F12 key (whatever key is right for your system), locate the section where the hard disks types and hard disk interfaces are configured and temporarily change the setting so the XP Setup is able to find the hard disk.

    Where to find the adjustment and how to change it depends on your system manufacturer and BIOS version so you may end up having to just look around for it. If you know your system make and model, we can probably help you find a manual.

    You need to locate and change the interface mode for your primary hard disk in the BIOS so that when the XP Setup loads, it will be able to locate the hard disk.

    Before making any adjustments, you should make a note of what the current BIOS settings are so you can change them back when you are finished.

    The adjustment varies so here are some examples I have accumulated:

    The adjustment is made in the BIOS and could be under Integrated Peripherals, SATA Device Configuration, SATA Mode.

    Make a note of what the current settings are before making any changes so you can change them back if things get worse.

    After you make the changes, save them and see how things look now.

    If you find the mode is set to RAID/SATA mode, change the mode to IDE.

    If you find the mode is set to SATA, change the mode to IDE.

    If you find the mode is set to SATA, disable SATA mode.

    If you find the mode is set to AHCI, change the mode to ATA.

    If you find the mode is set to AHCI Emulation Mode, change the mode to IDE Emulation.

    If you find the mode is set to SATA, disable SATA mode and/or change the mode to ATA.

    If you find the mode is set to SATA Native Mode, disable SATA Native Mode.

    If you find the mode is set to RAID/Autodetect AHCI, change the mode to Combination.

    If you find the mode is set to RAID Auto/AHCI, change it to RAID Auto/ATA

    The WWW says this works on some Dells: "I had to set my SATA Operation to ATA instead of AHCI"

    After making the adjustments, ACCEPT and SAVE the changes, and restart the system and see if it will now boot on the Recovery Console CD.

    Here are some additional ideas about changing the BIOS to recognize the SATA drive to boot from CD:

    http://www.mydigitallife.info/commo...install-unable-to-detect-sata-harddisk-drive/
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 3, 2015
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  6. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    I found out what exactly happened. I installed Ulead VideoStudio 3 SE and uninstalled it. During the uninstallation some shared files were deleted. Some names are: msvcp50.dll; ra32sipr.dll etc. If i download and copy those files to my hard drive, will it work? BTW my mobo is a Gigabyte and I don't exactly know the model.
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 3, 2015
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  7. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=d7389b68b3a275ad

    I have uploaded the msvcp50 file, I do not have the other file on my system.

    you would do better to install the program, copy the needed files to a separate location and then uninstall the program again.

    ===========

    not the maker of you motherboard, the maker of your pc, unless it is a self built pc.

    for example, mine is a Dell Dimension 3000
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 3, 2015
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  8. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    I am going to try and slipstream the sata drivers with xp and hopefully that works.
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 4, 2015
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  9. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    Will I be able to use the recovery console if I burned the iso to a cd and booted from it?
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 4, 2015
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  10. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    yes if you made it bootable

    I have the xp rec con file on my onedrive if you wish to download and burn with imgburn.

    nlite is good for slipstreaming sata drivers.

    you can use the recoveryconsole on a sata machine if you adjust bios as described in my last reply.

    depending on what you want to do in recovery console, you would do better to run hirens boot cd which does not care if drive is sata or not.

    also if you have not allowed the SET command from within windows you will not have the full function of the recovery console.
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 4, 2015
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  11. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    What's hirens boot cd? Would it be able to repair my system?
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 5, 2015
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  12. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    Make yourself a Hiren's Boot CD which you can download from here:

    http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/

    The ZIP file is large, so the download will probably take a little while to complete bit it is worth it. Then unzip the download to extract the Hirens.BootCD.ISO file that will be used to create your new bootable CD.

    Creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file is not the same as just copying the .ISO file to a blank CD. You have to use software that understands how to burn a .ISO file to a CD to create a bootable CD.

    In the Hiren's ZIP file are the BurnToCD.cmd file that you can double click to launch it, but I have never used it and prefer to use ImgBurn.

    If you need a free and easy CD burning software package, here is a popular free program:

    http://www.imgburn.com/

    When installing ImgBurn, DO NOT install anything from UniBlue or the Ask toolbar (never install the ASK toolbar for anything).

    Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:

    http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61

    It would be a good idea to test your new bootable CD on a computer that is working.

    You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk.

    These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.

    When booting on the Hiren's CD you will see a menu of options. Choose the Mini XP option. Then it will appear that Windows is being loaded and you will be presented with a desktop that has the look and feel of the Windows Explorer interface you are already used to using.

    One way to check the disk for errors is to open My Computer and right click your afflicted drive and choose Properties, Tools, Error-checking, Check Now... put a check mark in both the boxes and then Start.

    Sometimes that doesn't work, so you can also click Start, Run and in the box enter:

    cmd

    Click OK to open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command (assuming XP is installed on your C drive)

    chkdsk c: /r

    This disk checking can take a long time (perhaps several to many hours) depending on the size of the volume, the amount of data on the volume and what the disk checking finds to do.
    Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find.

    Depending on the the speed of your system, the size of the volume, the amount of data on the volume and what chkdsk finds to do, it may take a long time for chkdsk with error correction to complete (several to many hours) or it may appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the HDD light is still flashing, chkdsk is doing something so don't interrupt it. It will finish eventually one way or the other. Keep an eye on the percentage amount to be sure it is still making progress. It may even appear to go backwards sometimes.

    You may have to run the chkdsk c: /r more than once.

    =========================

    hirens is very useful for accessing a pc that will not boot.

    ================

    Several environment rules are in effect while you are working in the Recovery Console. Type set to see the current environment. By default, these are the rules:

    AllowAllPaths = FALSE prevents access to directories and subdirectories outside the system installation that you selected when you entered the Recovery Console.
    AllowRemovableMedia = FALSE prevents access to removable media as a target for copied files.
    AllowWildCards = FALSE prevents wildcard support for commands such as copy and del.
    NoCopyPrompt = FALSE means that you are prompted by the Recovery Console for confirmation when overwriting an existing file.

    from here
    ==========
    You want to set these to true and it has to be done from within windows!!

    This method will work for BOTH versions as long as you can boot normally in order to run regedit.

    you can enable the SET command using:

    1. Copy / Paste the following (bolded and between asterisks (but not including them) and INCLUDING the blank line after SecurityLevel) to a RCSet.reg file:
    *******************************************
    REGEDIT4

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Setup\RecoveryConsole]
    "SetCommand"=dword:00000001
    "SecurityLevel"=dword:00000001

    *******************************************

    2. Merge the RCSet.reg file with your registry by double clicking the file, or run regedit /s path\to\the\file\RCSet.reg (substituting the actual path to where you saved the file)
    3. Shutdown and restart your computer.
    4. You can now make use of the following Environmental Variables by typing the bolded text at the recovery console command prompt:
    * set AllowWildCards = true - Enable wildcard support for some commands (such as the DEL command).
    * set AllowAllPaths = true - Allow access to all files and folders on the computer.
    * set allowremovablemedia = true - Allow files to be copied to removable media, such as a floppy disk.
    * set NoCopyPrompt = true - Do not prompt when overwriting an existing file.

    NOTE: If you DO NOT wish to also enable Automatic Administrative Logon to the Recovery Console, delete the following line from the RCSet.reg created above: "SetCommand"=dword:00000001

    I do recommend enabling it because on some machines you can't start the Recovery Console because it won't recognize your password. This registry edit causes the Recovery Console not to ask for a password. This works for both XP Home and XP Professional.


    you can do the settings manually also.

    ==============

    https://www.google.com/#q=review+hirens+boot+cd

    read several threads on the capabilities of hiren's, :)
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 5, 2015
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  13. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    I tried the xp sp3 + sata and it still can't detect my hard drive. I'm gonna download hiren's bootcd and hopefully it works
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 6, 2015
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  14. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    If I use hiren's bootcd, would my files be deleted?
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 6, 2015
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  15. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    no, you are booting to the cd, not the hard drive.

    this will allow you to see the hard drive and either copy files or adjust the OS.
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 6, 2015
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  16. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    Thanks for all the help. I hope hirens bootcd will work for me.
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 6, 2015
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  17. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    me too, let me know if you have any other questions, will do my best to help :)
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 6, 2015
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  18. TheMaster26

    TheMaster26

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    Will the chkdsk command replace the missing files? And could you please explain the set command procedure with the regedit and RCSet in a simpler way; I'm confused about that part
     
    TheMaster26, Apr 6, 2015
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  19. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    below from here:

    the set command allows you to copy to a usb media , access to more directories, it gives you wildcard function, in other words you get full function of the recovery console

    the two registry edits allow you to log onto the recovery console without a password and change the set command to TRUE versus FALSE.

    If you downloaded it the RCSet is a .reg file that when double clicked will merge the file with the registry. It is easier this way but I like to manually edit the registry myself.

    have you ever edited the registry before??
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 6, 2015
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  20. TheMaster26

    Elizabeth23

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    EDIT: checkdisk is the first step in trying to boot your system, once we get your system to boot then we can work on which files need to be replaced, you might need to copy all your data and then reinstall the os
     
    Elizabeth23, Apr 6, 2015
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