Windows XP Stop 0xED Unmountable Boot Volume Error

Overview

The STOP 0x000000ED UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME error is likely to occur on Dell™ systems when the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system NTFS file system has been corrupted. To repair the file system, perform the following three steps: install the Recovery Console, restart the computer to the Recovery Console, and then run the CHKDSK /R command against the volume.

• Install the Recovery Console
• Restart the Computer to the Recovery Console
• Run the CHKDSK /R command

Click the links above for detailed instructions.

NOTE:

The instructions in this document may include using the Operating System, Drivers and Utilities, or Tools CDs that were shipped with your system order. Dell no longer ships these items with every system order.As an alternative to using the CDs you can do the following: You can locate hardware drivers for your Dell hardware by searching the Downloads section on <>support.dell.com. You can use PC Restore if you need to reinstall your operating system, drivers, and Dell installed software. For information about PC Restore refer to Dell Knowledge Base article: “What is Dell™ PC Restore by Symantec and what will it Restore on My Computer?”

Additional Information

NOTE:

The rest of this article covers topics and/or procedures that are not covered by Dell’s limited warranty or supported by Dell’s technical support staff.These guidelines are provided as a courtesy to you; Dell technical support neither guarantees nor assists customers in completing these steps. If you need help with the remainder of this article, or if you need help with your hardware, software, or peripherals as a result of actions taken because of this article, you can visit the Dell Community Forum. The Community Forum provides a free, virtual location for customers to discuss problems, pose questions, and offer solutions to a myriad of issues. Also, you can call the Dell HelpDesk anytime if you need help. For a fee, HelpDesk technicians are trained to answer “how to” questions on many third-party software applications and popular electronic products, as well as offer assistance to help clean up your computer and teach you how to protect against virus and spyware attacks. To learn more about Community Forums, visit the Dell Community Forums website. To learn more about HelpDesk, visit the Dell HelpDesk website. To learn more about Dell’s limited warranties, visit the Dell Warranty website.

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Install the Recovery Console

Prior to booting to the Windows XP Recovery Console, you must install the Recovery Console. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD drive.Click the Start button and then click Run. The Run window appears. In the Open: field, type the following line:
   X:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
   where X is the drive letter of the CD drive.
2. Click the OK button.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish setup.
4. Click the Start button, click Turn off the computer and then click Restart.

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Restart the Computer to the Recovery Console

To restart the system so that it boots to the Recovery Console, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD.
2. Configure the computer to boot from the CD drive.
   The prompt Press any key to boot from CD… appea

NOTE:

To learn more about configuring your system to boot to the CD drive refer to Dell Knowledge Base Articles: “How do I configure my Dell™ Dimension™ series system to boot to the CD or DVD drive?” “How do I configure my Dell™ OptiPlex™ system to boot to the CD drive?” “How do I configure my Dell™ Latitude™ C-series, D-series, or L-series portable computer to boot to the CD or DVD drive?” “How do I configure my Dell™ Inspiron™ series portable computer to boot to the CD or DVD drive?”

1. Press the space bar.
   The system will start the Windows XP setup process and at the bottom of the screen the following prompt briefly appears:
   Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver…
   The Welcome to Setup screen appears.
2. If Windows XP does not natively support the hard drive controller that is in the system, press the <F6> key and proceed.

NOTE:

Windows XP supports most hard drive controllers natively. If yours is supported, skip to step 6.

1. If you pressed the <F6> key in the last step, press the <S> key when prompted and then load the appropriate driver off the floppy disk with the hard drive controller driver.
   The Welcome to Setup screen appears.
2. Press the <R> key. The Recovery Console starts and presents a numbered list of Windows installations that it detected on the hard drive. On most systems there will be just one choice.
3. Press the number corresponding to the installation you are troubleshooting and then press the <Enter> key.
4. Type the administrator password to log onto the installation. If there is no administrator password, press the <Enter> key.
   The Recovery Console command prompt appears.

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Run the CHKDSK /R command

To run the CHKDSK /R command, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD drive.
2. Boot the system from the CD drive.
   The prompt Press any key to boot from CD… appears.
3. Press the space bar.
   The Welcome to Setup dialog box appears.
4. Press the <R> key to repair Windows by using the Recovery Console.
5. Select the number that is associated with the Windows installation you want to log on to, then type the administrator password (or press press the <Enter> key if no administrator password exists).
6. From Recovery Console, type the following command:
   CHKDSK /R
7. Press the <Enter> key.
8. From the Recovery Console, type the following command:
   exit
9. Press the <Enter> key to restart your computer.
10. If the system still will not boot to the hard drive, attempt to run the CHKDSK /R command again. Depending on the corruption on the hard drive, it may take several tries to achieve a complete repair.

NOTE:

If the system is slow after performing the CHKDSK/R, then run the Disk Defragmenter application against the hard drive. This will defragment the file system after the repair.

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