NT not booting after disk failure

[Ayman Altounji]

I have a 4 disk RAID5 array with 36 GA disks. Disk 0 has failed and TN will not boot.

There is no error message just a flashing cursor in the top left corner, this appears after the press f10 question.

I can boot from the NT4 DC and when I choose the repair option it locates the existing TN install on I:\WINNT, I tell it to Inspect the boot sector which it does but after a rebut I still get the flashing cursor.

I have another disk on the way, about 4 hours but I would like to get the system up before then.

Any ideas??

Thanks
Greg.

[Ayman Altounji]

My company has experienced the same symptom (flashing cursor, upper left hand corner) several times. It only occurs on our Proliant 1850Rs with 3200 Contollers. We run the same software on DL380s and the problem never occurs. All attempts to rebuild the server fail and we have had to resort to image recovery in the event of a crash. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Ayman Altounji]

The problem that you have is not so much with the array controller it is with the OS, by this I mean if you boot and can go into f10 that means that you are accessing the drives. However when you get the flashing cursor after the f10 prompt..that is when the nt menu should come up but it does not... the problem is the nt boot sector msft ot fat has become corrupt see the microsoft article Black Screen on Boot [Q155053] posted below:
PSS ID Number: Q155053
Article last modified on 01-17-2000

WINDOWS:2000; winnt:

WINDOWS winnt


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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation
- Microsoft Windows NT Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you restart a Microsoft Windows NT x86-based computer, the computer stops
with an empty, black screen immediately after the power-on self test (POST) is
completed.

CAUSE
=====

The master boot record (MBR), partition tables, boot sector, or NTLDR file is
corrupted.

RESOLUTION
==========

1. Create a Microsoft Windows NT boot disk to start the computer. For additional
information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q119467
TITLE : Creating a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition

If you can start the computer without errors, the damage is limited to the
master boot record (MBR), boot sector, or the NTLDR file. Once Windows NT is
running, immediately back up any data of value. Use Disk Administrator to
verify that partitions on the boot drive are the correct size. If there are
invalid partitions, the best solution is to re-create those partitions and
reformat the affected drives, then restore the data from the most recent back
up tape. If the system cannot be started from a Windows NT boot disk, you
will most likely have to reinstall Windows NT and restore from tape.

2. Run the latest virus scanning software to verify no virus is present.
MS-DOS-based virus software is sufficient for this purpose, even if the file
system is NTFS. MS-DOS-based virus programs can be run from an MS-DOS boot
disk.

3. Ensure the master boot record (MBR) is valid. Boot from a virus-free MS-DOS
version 5.0 or later boot disk with FDISK on it. Run the following command:

FDISK /MBR

WARNING: If your computer is infected virus, using the FDISK /MBR switch may
prevent you from being able to start your computer. Before using the FDISK
/MBR command, you should be certain that your computer is not infected with a
virus.

Before performing this step, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

ARTICLE-ID: Q166454
TITLE : Using FDISK /MBR for Troubleshooting Windows NT Boot Problems

4. If the primary boot partition is a file allocation table (FAT) partition,
boot from an MS-DOS disk, perform a SYS C: command to make the drive MS-DOS
bootable, and then perform step 5 to replace the Windows NT boot sector.

5. Run Windows NT Setup and choose the Repair option. Choose the Inspect boot
Sector and Restore Startup Environment options. If the boot sector on the
boot drive is corrupted, this should repair it.

6. If the system still fails to boot correctly, use Attrib.exe or File Manager
to remove the file attributes from the NTLDR file located in the root of the
system partition. Copy a new NTLDR file from the i386 directory of the
Windows NT compact disk to replace the existing one.

Additional query words: 4.00 tshoot troubleshoot repair

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