Unable to boot due to dodgy driver - help?

[alexmchattie]

Okay, I have an Asus c90p with 320g hdd, 4gb ram, e8500 3.16 x 2 processor, nvidia 8600gs graphics.
I have vista ultimate x64 installed, but when i attempt to start up, it tells me to insert recovery disk to repair it. I think this is due to an update i recently instaleld with SP2.

My bios can see my (ide) dvd drive and all usb ports. I have tried booting from copious usb sticks and cds - vista repair disks and installation disks, even an xp one, but every single time it tells me to insert media into the boot device or choose a different one - maybe the bios can not read from the inserted media?

I am fairly sure that all my bios settings are fine, so i think the problem emanates from vista.

After pressing f8 at the bootloader and trying each individual option, none work, and the 'loading windows files' screens from safe mode stops at crcdisk.sys. in gray at the bottom, it asks me if i want to contiue loading sptd.sys. tried leaving it and pressing return for yes, none work. as sptd.sys is used for dvd or cd emulation such as daemon tools, could that be killing my laptop?

Is there any way to format the hdd that i think the problem is coming from without being able to boot anything, or do i need a new or external hdd? however, my gut ffeeling tells me that the problem come from somewhere deeper.

FYI: i recently updated my bios from asus 0604 to 0704; another possible problem.

i'm on my knees, please help?!!?

 

[dreemwarrior]

Okay, I have an Asus c90p with 320g hdd, 4gb ram, e8500 3.16 x 2 processor, nvidia 8600gs graphics.
I have vista ultimate x64 installed, but when i attempt to start up, it tells me to insert recovery disk to repair it. I think this is due to an update i recently instaleld with SP2.

My bios can see my (ide) dvd drive and all usb ports. I have tried booting from copious usb sticks and cds - vista repair disks and installation disks, even an xp one, but every single time it tells me to insert media into the boot device or choose a different one - maybe the bios can not read from the inserted media?

I am fairly sure that all my bios settings are fine, so i think the problem emanates from vista.

After pressing f8 at the bootloader and trying each individual option, none work, and the 'loading windows files' screens from safe mode stops at crcdisk.sys. in gray at the bottom, it asks me if i want to contiue loading sptd.sys. tried leaving it and pressing return for yes, none work. as sptd.sys is used for dvd or cd emulation such as daemon tools, could that be killing my laptop?

Is there any way to format the hdd that i think the problem is coming from without being able to boot anything, or do i need a new or external hdd? however, my gut ffeeling tells me that the problem come from somewhere deeper.

FYI: i recently updated my bios from asus 0604 to 0704; another possible problem.

i'm on my knees, please help?!!?

Greetings alexmchattie,
Are/were you using Daemon tools? Check your nVidia chipset drivers. Did you install XP for a dual boot?Dual HHD's ? It could be a confict with your AHCI driver(SATA Interface). Check to see if your motherboarrd shows SATA IDE Compatibility Mode, or AHCI. SATA IDE Compatibility Mode disables AHCI however it will allow you to install older operating systems such as XP without having to install AHCI controller drivers. Unfortunately, you can't switch modes from SATA IDE to AHCI or vice versa without reinstalling the operating system. This may or may not be the case, but check your chipset drivers. Native Command Queuing could be causing your issues in trying to do a hot Swap.
Just a shot in the dark...let us know.

 

[alexmchattie]

I was using Daemon Tools, yes, but i had been using the same version for over a year without any problems.
I can not boot into Vista so i don't know any way to check my drivers...
I did partition my drive and install XP and Vista at one time, but ages ago i overwrote the XP partition for data usage. My bootloader still shows XP and two Vista options but only one vista option works out of them all.
My motherboard is in SATA IDE compatability mode - in the bios, unfder sata config, sata config is set to enhanced, with a suboption saying configure sata as ide.

I really don't care about the data anymore; I would just like to be able to boot from the dvd drive or usb properly...

Thanks for your help.

 

[dreemwarrior]

Sorry for the delay...stand by for a solution.

 

[dreemwarrior]

After a coulpe of hours of research, this is what I can gather:

Drive Emulation software like Daemon affects registry keys + the driver files.
There have been some reports of problems with sptd.sys driver. but at any rate,you may be looking at flashing your bios. Windows nor any installed software should affect the PC booting to a CD/dvd or USB. If you can see the USB and DVD drives, but it wont let it boot past sptd.sys, which IS part of daemon,you may try using a linux recovery dvd to get you past. So to answer your question, yes, it sems Daemon waS the culprit. Quote from MS ** 'PC users are strongly advised to download the necessary BIOs, drivers, applications, and utilities PRIOR to proceeding with the Vista ultimate upgrade process. ( In relation to Daemon)Failure to do so may result in errors during the upgrading process.
I would suggest a reflash, clean install. Sorry I couldnt bring better news for you.

 

[alexmchattie]

ok will try now. thanks!

 

[alexmchattie]

tried reflashing the bios, but will not boot anything so i am stuck with a 900 quid brick.
got any other ideas ?