autochk not found...reboots XP Pro SP2

[rightcoast]

Ok, I have a computer here that started showing some signs of trouble, I think one of the drives in a SATA RAID 0 array is failing (I hear the clicks).

The specs of that PC are:
A7V8X-X Asus Mobo
Athlon 3200 XP
Antec True 430 PSU
2 120 GB Maxtor's in a Raid 0 array
Radeon 9600XT
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 5.1 Soundcard
Sony DRU-510 (530?) DVD-RW
Windows XP Pro SP2, fully updated and absolutely virus and spyware free.
(I haven't opened a file without scanning it first for 6 years, and run spyware firewalls, Kerio etc)

I had a problem with getting the PC to boot properly, it was loading SLOW and the HDD was clicking so I ran chkdsk /r, then did fixboot. It was getting to the dsktop eventually though.

Chkdsk found no errors and the mbr was written correctly. Upon rebooting I got:
"autochk.exe not found Skipping autochk"
The OS never gets to the desktop, after that error it simply reboots, and loops w/the same error.

OK. Here is what I have done:
Can't access safe mode
Can't load LKGC
Googled and found some threads about NTFS being hidden, I don't think it is that. I couldn't find where to change that in partition magic 8.2, or fdisk though, but I did see the type listed as 7, which sounds like 0x7 to me.
Used recovery console to do a registry repair, but it can't find the windows install.
Booted a Live linux distro, and found the filesystem still there on the Windows C:drive.
Dr-Dos sees the files as well.
I then tried a recovery console registry repair, which didn't work because the XP disk can't find the drives. The regular repair option doesn't work for the same reason.

partition magic gives the error "1527 bad update sequence number " on it's scan, along with a single lost cluster, which it claims to have fixed.

My questions are twofold, can anyone help me get it to boot to the desktop. I backup diligently, but there is a group of photos from tuesday I would like to save and burn to disk.

If I can't do that, I have a Windows PC booting PATA drives, on an Abit NF7-S mobo that has a SATA controller. Is is possible to slave that 2 HHD Raid array onto that NF7-S machine, leaving the PATA drive as master?

[EzyStvy]

Is is possible to slave that 2 HHD Raid array onto that NF7-S machine, leaving the PATA drive as master? -> You'd have to recreate the array and loose everything.

[rightcoast]

Oh. Ok I don't want that option, this must be karma. I was boasting about how I couldn't lose a file because of the way I practice parent-child backups and whatnot. I do those on Mondays, but these files were created this tuesday...aghh. I did have it on a seperate partition already as well, but that isn't helping. If it weren't for this one group of pictures, it would be a non-issue. I have the backups from monday ready to roll. My wife's gonna go postal if I lost the pics of her Gram with our baby though. She's terminal and we drove down to Maryland for St. Patty's last Friday and saw her/took the pictures. They aren't on the flash card anymore either, I checked with some file recovery programs.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by rightcoast Oh. Ok I don't want that option, this must be karma. I was boasting about how I couldn't lose a file because of the way I practice parent-child backups and whatnot. I do those on Mondays, but these files were created this tuesday...aghh. I did have it on a seperate partition already as well, but that isn't helping. If it weren't for this one group of pictures, it would be a non-issue. I have the backups from monday ready to roll. My wife's gonna go postal if I lost the pics of her Gram with our baby though. She's terminal and we drove down to Maryland for St. Patty's last Friday and saw her/took the pictures. They aren't on the flash card anymore either, I checked with some file recovery programs.

Try this:

1. Disconnect your RAID array, making a note of how it was connected so you don't do it backwards.
2. Put another hard drive into your machine with the dying RAID array and do a fresh install of XP, with the RAID drivers loaded on.
3. Reconnect the RAID array and try to recover files from it onto the hard drive on which you just installed XP.

Hopefully that should work.

[rightcoast]

I will try that, do you think with SATA being hot-swappable and all, I should do like you said, then plug them in as the pc is running, to see if XP detects a "new device"?

Or connect it all up then boot?

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by rightcoast I will try that, do you think with SATA being hot-swappable and all, I should do like you said, then plug them in as the pc is running, to see if XP detects a "new device"? Or connect it all up then boot?

Definitely do not try to hot-swap. SATA is hot-swappable in theory, but often not in practice, expecially not with a RAID 0 stripe.

[rightcoast]

Will do, I will likely post results late tonight EST. Thanks again.

[rightcoast]

That worked, kudos thefultonhow. I would probably have gotten around to trying that eventually, but was being stubborn and trying to save whatever filesystem was left. I see all the files, and have begun transfering the one I need as we speak.

I am transferring over the network because I had some video I shot Wed. that took a way back seat to the pics, but since it's there I am sending that too. The only spare HDD I had laying around was a 4 GB quantum I pirated from a Mac G3 I found in some corporations dumpster a month ago or so. Not enough room for the Vid...

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by rightcoast That worked, kudos thefultonhow. I would probably have gotten around to trying that eventually, but was being stubborn and trying to save whatever filesystem was left. I see all the files, and have begun transfering the one I need as we speak. I am transferring over the network because I had some video I shot Wed. that took a way back seat to the pics, but since it's there I am sending that too. The only spare HDD I had laying around was a 4 GB quantum I pirated from a Mac G3 I found in some corporations dumpster a month ago or so. Not enough room for the Vid...

Great! Glad I could help.