Re: A disk read error occurred. Press ctrl+alt+del to restart.

I had this very error tonight. I booted from the XP cd and ran the
recovery console. I ran the command FIXBOOT and it worked. The very
odd thing I can't seem to pinpoint is, each of the instances of this
error I have found online are from WD drives. Mine was also a WD
drive.

Best of Luck

"R. McCarty" <RMcC_nspam_@mindspring.com> wrote in message news:<uo7BgV0ODHA.1908@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl>...

> From your description, I would say it is a data corruption problem
> that effects part of the XP boot code. I would suggest you boot to
> the Windows XP CD, take the Recovery Console. Once you get
> a prompt type Chkdsk C: \R
> This should locate and repair any un-readable clusters. If this works
> you should immediately image the machine. I would download the
> WDC diagnostics tool and verify the drive is not defective.
>
>
> "Mac" <mac@theoffice.net> wrote in message
> news:bd81d16b.0306250959.7eebf5fb@posting.google.c om...

> > I'm having a problem with a computer. It has Windows XP Professional
> > (spanish edition) installed.
> >
> > The problem is that windows does not boot. This computer has been
> > working for a year. Bios recognizes harddisk. The boot process goes
> > well, the bios tests memory, detects disks and cdroms and then windows
> > should start but instead of that, a message is show that reads "error
> > de lectura de disco. Presione ctrl+alt+supr para reiniciar".
> >
> > I've found ppl with a similar problem and seems that the exact text of
> > the english versión of XP is "a disk read error occurred. Press
> > ctrl+alt+del to restart"
> >
> > If tried to boot admin console with XP CD, but unfortunately this PC
> > has not an administrator user so I'm unable to log in. Anyway, XP CD
> > recognizes windows and knows that windows is installed on c:\windows
> > so it seems that the disk works.
> >
> > Harddisk, spins correctly and does not make any unusual noise. It's a
> > one year old 40GB Western Digital Caviar. So it's still in warranty.
> >
> > I've seen postings of people with the same problem but I've been
> > unable to find a solution.
> >
> > My question is: is it a SOFTWARE or a HARDWARE error? Maybe
> > reinstalling windows the problem get's fixed but that computer is not
> > mine and I don´t want to have the same problem again in a few weeks.