boot from start-up disk failed
 

I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because it would not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error message:"An I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace the disk and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so I decided to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with access to the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted file could be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got another error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry didn't work so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail which, of course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my system to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as press F3 for the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely associated with a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both Normal and Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this stage) Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here. If your HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data before you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the next steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy disk, it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake wrote in
message ...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because it would not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace the disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so I decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with access to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted file could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got another error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry didn't work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail which, of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my system to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as press F3 for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

Mart,
my tried and true fix for that kinda failure has always been to get a new
HD and reinstall ME then use the old drive as a slave, transfer all "need
to save" data to the new drive then take the old HD and throw it as far as
I can into the lake...

:o) its worked everytime I've tried it over the last 10 years...


"Mart" wrote in message
...
From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely associated with a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both Normal and
Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this stage)
Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here. If your
HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data before you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the next steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy disk, it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake wrote in
message ...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because it would
not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error
message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace the disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so I
decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with access to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted file
could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got another error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry didn't
work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail which, of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my system
to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as press F3
for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

Thanks for chipping-in RTS, indeed, I quite agree - subject to CC having
fully satisfied (convinced) himself that he has got a failing HDD. The
important object is to NOT write to, or to read from as little as possible,
the failing disk BEFORE salvaging his (personal) data. Hence my 'Surface
Scan' warning.

However, I suspect that CC may need further advice on (clean) installing
WinMe onto a new HDD.

Mart


"RockyTSquirrel" wrote in message
...
Mart,
my tried and true fix for that kinda failure has always been to get a
new
HD and reinstall ME then use the old drive as a slave, transfer all
"need
to save" data to the new drive then take the old HD and throw it as far
as
I can into the lake...

:o) its worked everytime I've tried it over the last 10 years...


"Mart" wrote in message
...
From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely associated with
a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both Normal and
Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this stage)
Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here. If your
HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data before
you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the next steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy disk,
it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake wrote in
message ...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because it would
not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error
message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace the
disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so I
decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with access
to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted file
could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got another error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry didn't
work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail which, of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my system
to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as press F3
for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

Thanks guys! I recently got a new computer so would be content just to
salvage my personal data off of this one rather than spending money on a new
hard drive. Any help on how to salvage the data? I do have an external hard
drive but it has never been used with this computer before. I also have a
thumb drive with lots of capacity.

"Mart" wrote:

Thanks for chipping-in RTS, indeed, I quite agree - subject to CC having
fully satisfied (convinced) himself that he has got a failing HDD. The
important object is to NOT write to, or to read from as little as possible,
the failing disk BEFORE salvaging his (personal) data. Hence my 'Surface
Scan' warning.

However, I suspect that CC may need further advice on (clean) installing
WinMe onto a new HDD.

Mart


"RockyTSquirrel" wrote in message
...
Mart,
my tried and true fix for that kinda failure has always been to get a
new
HD and reinstall ME then use the old drive as a slave, transfer all
"need
to save" data to the new drive then take the old HD and throw it as far
as
I can into the lake...

:o) its worked everytime I've tried it over the last 10 years...


"Mart" wrote in message
...
From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely associated with
a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both Normal and
Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this stage)
Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here. If your
HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data before
you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the next steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy disk,
it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake wrote in
message ...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because it would
not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error
message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace the
disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so I
decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with access
to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted file
could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got another error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry didn't
work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail which, of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my system
to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as press F3
for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

Two (possibly three) options - both along the lines that RTS alluded, in
that you make your old drive a 'slave' or more accurately an extra drive off
your new computer.

All options entail removing the bad disk from your old machine and one messy
option involves poking about in your new PC and connecting your old drive as
a slave (assuming you have an IDE controller in your new computer) - not
really recommended.

The other easier option(s) *may* cost a few bucks and only entails removing
your old disk from your old computer of course and connecting it to a USB to
IDE adapter - e.g.
http://www.byterunner.com/byterunner...o+IDE+C ables

However, you already have one of these devices - your external hard drive!!

Just open-up the external HD box, remove the existing drive and substitute
the old drive and voila, you've done it for free. You can now read (and
ultimately test) your old drive and recover whatever undamaged files are
still there.

You may find that there are some instructions for replacing/substituting
hard drives in the user manual which came with the external hard drive.

Good luck

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" wrote in
message ...
Thanks guys! I recently got a new computer so would be content just to
salvage my personal data off of this one rather than spending money on a
new
hard drive. Any help on how to salvage the data? I do have an external
hard
drive but it has never been used with this computer before. I also have a
thumb drive with lots of capacity.

"Mart" wrote:

Thanks for chipping-in RTS, indeed, I quite agree - subject to CC having
fully satisfied (convinced) himself that he has got a failing HDD. The
important object is to NOT write to, or to read from as little as
possible,
the failing disk BEFORE salvaging his (personal) data. Hence my 'Surface
Scan' warning.

However, I suspect that CC may need further advice on (clean) installing
WinMe onto a new HDD.

Mart


"RockyTSquirrel" wrote in message
...
Mart,
my tried and true fix for that kinda failure has always been to get a
new
HD and reinstall ME then use the old drive as a slave, transfer all
"need
to save" data to the new drive then take the old HD and throw it as
far
as
I can into the lake...

:o) its worked everytime I've tried it over the last 10 years...


"Mart" wrote in message
...
From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely associated
with
a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both Normal
and
Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard
drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup
floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this stage)
Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here. If
your
HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data before
you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the next
steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy
disk,
it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake wrote in
message ...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because it
would
not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error
message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace the
disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so I
decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with
access
to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted file
could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got another
error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry
didn't
work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail which,
of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my
system
to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as press
F3
for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

Thanks Mart! I'll see what I can do, probably tomorrow.

"Mart" wrote:

Two (possibly three) options - both along the lines that RTS alluded, in
that you make your old drive a 'slave' or more accurately an extra drive off
your new computer.

All options entail removing the bad disk from your old machine and one messy
option involves poking about in your new PC and connecting your old drive as
a slave (assuming you have an IDE controller in your new computer) - not
really recommended.

The other easier option(s) *may* cost a few bucks and only entails removing
your old disk from your old computer of course and connecting it to a USB to
IDE adapter - e.g.
http://www.byterunner.com/byterunner...o+IDE+C ables

However, you already have one of these devices - your external hard drive!!

Just open-up the external HD box, remove the existing drive and substitute
the old drive and voila, you've done it for free. You can now read (and
ultimately test) your old drive and recover whatever undamaged files are
still there.

You may find that there are some instructions for replacing/substituting
hard drives in the user manual which came with the external hard drive.

Good luck

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" wrote in
message ...
Thanks guys! I recently got a new computer so would be content just to
salvage my personal data off of this one rather than spending money on a
new
hard drive. Any help on how to salvage the data? I do have an external
hard
drive but it has never been used with this computer before. I also have a
thumb drive with lots of capacity.

"Mart" wrote:

Thanks for chipping-in RTS, indeed, I quite agree - subject to CC having
fully satisfied (convinced) himself that he has got a failing HDD. The
important object is to NOT write to, or to read from as little as
possible,
the failing disk BEFORE salvaging his (personal) data. Hence my 'Surface
Scan' warning.

However, I suspect that CC may need further advice on (clean) installing
WinMe onto a new HDD.

Mart


"RockyTSquirrel" wrote in message
...
Mart,
my tried and true fix for that kinda failure has always been to get a
new
HD and reinstall ME then use the old drive as a slave, transfer all
"need
to save" data to the new drive then take the old HD and throw it as
far
as
I can into the lake...

:o) its worked everytime I've tried it over the last 10 years...


"Mart" wrote in message
...
From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely associated
with
a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both Normal
and
Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard
drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup
floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this stage)
Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here. If
your
HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data before
you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the next
steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy
disk,
it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake wrote in
message ...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because it
would
not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error
message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace the
disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so I
decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with
access
to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted file
could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got another
error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry
didn't
work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail which,
of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my
system
to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as press
F3
for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

One more shot. try scandisk /all from boot disc. Make sure you leave a space
before slash.
--
I mastered Wordstar graphics!


"Chesapeake Chum" wrote:

Thanks Mart! I'll see what I can do, probably tomorrow.

"Mart" wrote:

Two (possibly three) options - both along the lines that RTS alluded, in
that you make your old drive a 'slave' or more accurately an extra drive off
your new computer.

All options entail removing the bad disk from your old machine and one messy
option involves poking about in your new PC and connecting your old drive as
a slave (assuming you have an IDE controller in your new computer) - not
really recommended.

The other easier option(s) *may* cost a few bucks and only entails removing
your old disk from your old computer of course and connecting it to a USB to
IDE adapter - e.g.
http://www.byterunner.com/byterunner...o+IDE+C ables

However, you already have one of these devices - your external hard drive!!

Just open-up the external HD box, remove the existing drive and substitute
the old drive and voila, you've done it for free. You can now read (and
ultimately test) your old drive and recover whatever undamaged files are
still there.

You may find that there are some instructions for replacing/substituting
hard drives in the user manual which came with the external hard drive.

Good luck

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" wrote in
message ...
Thanks guys! I recently got a new computer so would be content just to
salvage my personal data off of this one rather than spending money on a
new
hard drive. Any help on how to salvage the data? I do have an external
hard
drive but it has never been used with this computer before. I also have a
thumb drive with lots of capacity.

"Mart" wrote:

Thanks for chipping-in RTS, indeed, I quite agree - subject to CC having
fully satisfied (convinced) himself that he has got a failing HDD. The
important object is to NOT write to, or to read from as little as
possible,
the failing disk BEFORE salvaging his (personal) data. Hence my 'Surface
Scan' warning.

However, I suspect that CC may need further advice on (clean) installing
WinMe onto a new HDD.

Mart


"RockyTSquirrel" wrote in message
...
Mart,
my tried and true fix for that kinda failure has always been to get a
new
HD and reinstall ME then use the old drive as a slave, transfer all
"need
to save" data to the new drive then take the old HD and throw it as
far
as
I can into the lake...

:o) its worked everytime I've tried it over the last 10 years...


"Mart" wrote in message
...
From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely associated
with
a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both Normal
and
Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard
drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup
floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this stage)
Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here. If
your
HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data before
you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the next
steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy
disk,
it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake wrote in
message ...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because it
would
not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error
message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the .\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace the
disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so I
decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with
access
to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted file
could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got another
error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry
didn't
work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail which,
of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my
system
to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as press
F3
for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

NOT UNTIL critical (personal) data has been salvaged - the /all switch may
attempt to write to the 'faulty' drive and make things worse. Hence my
suggestion not to do a surface scan in my first reply, thus preventing any
attempt (at this stage) to write to the disk. Alternatively use the
/checkonly switch.

Repairs should only be attempted if/when data is no longer critical.

Mart



"Corday" wrote in message
...
One more shot. try scandisk /all from boot disc. Make sure you leave a
space
before slash.
--
I mastered Wordstar graphics!


"Chesapeake Chum" wrote:

Thanks Mart! I'll see what I can do, probably tomorrow.

"Mart" wrote:

Two (possibly three) options - both along the lines that RTS alluded,
in
that you make your old drive a 'slave' or more accurately an extra
drive off
your new computer.

All options entail removing the bad disk from your old machine and one
messy
option involves poking about in your new PC and connecting your old
drive as
a slave (assuming you have an IDE controller in your new computer) -
not
really recommended.

The other easier option(s) *may* cost a few bucks and only entails
removing
your old disk from your old computer of course and connecting it to a
USB to
IDE adapter - e.g.
http://www.byterunner.com/byterunner...o+IDE+C ables

However, you already have one of these devices - your external hard
drive!!

Just open-up the external HD box, remove the existing drive and
substitute
the old drive and voila, you've done it for free. You can now read (and
ultimately test) your old drive and recover whatever undamaged files
are
still there.

You may find that there are some instructions for
replacing/substituting
hard drives in the user manual which came with the external hard drive.

Good luck

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" wrote in
message ...
Thanks guys! I recently got a new computer so would be content just
to
salvage my personal data off of this one rather than spending money
on a
new
hard drive. Any help on how to salvage the data? I do have an
external
hard
drive but it has never been used with this computer before. I also
have a
thumb drive with lots of capacity.

"Mart" wrote:

Thanks for chipping-in RTS, indeed, I quite agree - subject to CC
having
fully satisfied (convinced) himself that he has got a failing HDD.
The
important object is to NOT write to, or to read from as little as
possible,
the failing disk BEFORE salvaging his (personal) data. Hence my
'Surface
Scan' warning.

However, I suspect that CC may need further advice on (clean)
installing
WinMe onto a new HDD.

Mart


"RockyTSquirrel" wrote in message
...
Mart,
my tried and true fix for that kinda failure has always been to
get a
new
HD and reinstall ME then use the old drive as a slave, transfer
all
"need
to save" data to the new drive then take the old HD and throw it
as
far
as
I can into the lake...

:o) its worked everytime I've tried it over the last 10
years...


"Mart" wrote in message
...
From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely
associated
with
a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both
Normal
and
Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard
drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup
floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this
stage)
Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here.
If
your
HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data
before
you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the
next
steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy
disk,
it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably
your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake
wrote in
message
...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because
it
would
not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error
message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the
.\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace
the
disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so
I
decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with
access
to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted
file
could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got
another
error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry
didn't
work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail
which,
of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my
system
to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as
press
F3
for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.

boot from start-up disk failed
 

Unfortunately my external hard drive does not have screws or another way to
open it without breaking the case. I decided to get someone who has the
needed equipment and has done something like this before to help me with the
task. Many thanks to all of you who have given me advice in this situation.
I'll let you know whether we are able to save the data. Regretably my back-up
is a few months old. Lesson learned.

"Mart" wrote:

NOT UNTIL critical (personal) data has been salvaged - the /all switch may
attempt to write to the 'faulty' drive and make things worse. Hence my
suggestion not to do a surface scan in my first reply, thus preventing any
attempt (at this stage) to write to the disk. Alternatively use the
/checkonly switch.

Repairs should only be attempted if/when data is no longer critical.

Mart



"Corday" wrote in message
...
One more shot. try scandisk /all from boot disc. Make sure you leave a
space
before slash.
--
I mastered Wordstar graphics!


"Chesapeake Chum" wrote:

Thanks Mart! I'll see what I can do, probably tomorrow.

"Mart" wrote:

Two (possibly three) options - both along the lines that RTS alluded,
in
that you make your old drive a 'slave' or more accurately an extra
drive off
your new computer.

All options entail removing the bad disk from your old machine and one
messy
option involves poking about in your new PC and connecting your old
drive as
a slave (assuming you have an IDE controller in your new computer) -
not
really recommended.

The other easier option(s) *may* cost a few bucks and only entails
removing
your old disk from your old computer of course and connecting it to a
USB to
IDE adapter - e.g.
http://www.byterunner.com/byterunner...o+IDE+C ables

However, you already have one of these devices - your external hard
drive!!

Just open-up the external HD box, remove the existing drive and
substitute
the old drive and voila, you've done it for free. You can now read (and
ultimately test) your old drive and recover whatever undamaged files
are
still there.

You may find that there are some instructions for
replacing/substituting
hard drives in the user manual which came with the external hard drive.

Good luck

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" wrote in
message ...
Thanks guys! I recently got a new computer so would be content just
to
salvage my personal data off of this one rather than spending money
on a
new
hard drive. Any help on how to salvage the data? I do have an
external
hard
drive but it has never been used with this computer before. I also
have a
thumb drive with lots of capacity.

"Mart" wrote:

Thanks for chipping-in RTS, indeed, I quite agree - subject to CC
having
fully satisfied (convinced) himself that he has got a failing HDD.
The
important object is to NOT write to, or to read from as little as
possible,
the failing disk BEFORE salvaging his (personal) data. Hence my
'Surface
Scan' warning.

However, I suspect that CC may need further advice on (clean)
installing
WinMe onto a new HDD.

Mart


"RockyTSquirrel" wrote in message
...
Mart,
my tried and true fix for that kinda failure has always been to
get a
new
HD and reinstall ME then use the old drive as a slave, transfer
all
"need
to save" data to the new drive then take the old HD and throw it
as
far
as
I can into the lake...

:o) its worked everytime I've tried it over the last 10
years...


"Mart" wrote in message
...
From here, your problem would seem to be far more likely
associated
with
a
'failing hard drive' than with memory issues. WinMe (in both
Normal
and
Safe
Mode) is trying to load corrupted or damaged files from your hard
drive
(HDD) and consequently, failing to boot.

I would suggest you run scandisk c: from your (emergency) startup
floppy
disk, but beware!! DO NOT let it do a surface scan (at this
stage)
Instead,
just take a note of any/all error reports and report back here.
If
your
HDD
is failing, you may wish to try to recover your (personal) data
before
you
try booting into WinMe again. Somebody will advise you of the
next
steps.

BTW - You cannot boot into WinMe directly from the startup floppy
disk,
it
can only be done from the main system (failing?) HDD (Probably
your C:
drive).

Mart



"Chesapeake Chum" Chesapeake
wrote in
message
...
I decided to boot my Windows Me from the start-up disk because
it
would
not
boot normally or in Safe Mode but instead displayed the error
message:"An
I/O
subsystem driver failed to load. Either a file in the
.\iosubsystem
subdirectory is corrupt or the system is low on memory. Replace
the
disk
and
then press any key." The system has lots of memory available so
I
decided
to
boot from the start up disk and select the option to boot with
access
to
the
CD drive where I had my Windows ME CD. I thought the corrupted
file
could
be
replaced from the original Windows ME CD. Instead, I got
another
error
message saying cannot find sector Drive C. The option to Retry
didn't
work
so
I selected Abort and after that didn't work I selected Fail
which,
of
course,
didn't help. Any suggestions for what I might do next to get my
system
to
boot up? When I try to boot normally it often gets as far as
press
F3
for
the
configuration utility. But when I press F3 nothing happens.