OS X won't boot but Windows will

Hello, today I started having a serious problem with my iMac when booting it up. It won't get passed the apple logo with the spinning wheel, it just stays at this screen. I've times it at well over 20 minutes and it still refuses to start. I hae tried restarting while holding the commandoption+PR keys, I have also tried restarting after unplugging everything and leting it rest for a minute.
At one point I was able to get it to start after leaving it for about 5 minutes, but the computer ran very slowly upon startup. While it was running I tried doing a secure mepty trash because I've heard that might help a bit, and as it was emptying the trash other weird things started happening. My dock dissappeared for no reason at all, I got a message saying something about a conflict with fonts and that they had been moved around or something, then the computer pretty much locked up, not even letting me quit applications or select anything.
I should note that interestingly enough, my windows boot camp partition is functioning normally and fine, and the problems on the mac side seem to have come out of no where. Although I have noticed that upon booting up into the mac side, before the spinning wheel appears, there is a grey status bar that appears where the spinning wheel should be, beneath the apple logo.
I am at a loss for what I should do at this point as nothing seems to be working. Any ideas?

This usually means critical system files are damaged. Try the following:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Similar Messages

Snow leopard won't boot, but windows bootcamp does.

My mac has a partitioned hardrive. I have xp on one side and snow leopard on the other. Starting yesterday, snow leopard won't boot. I ran the apple hardware test and came up with these 2 codes: 4MOT/4/40000003:HDD-1347 and -1352. The mac still runs properly though if started with xp.

That error is the HDD cooling fan I believe.
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair Disk, (not Repair Permissions). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)
If perchance you can't find your install Disc, or are running 10.7+, at least try it from the Safe Boot part onward.
Re-install if that doesn't work.

Mac OS won't boot but WinXp will?!

I have a Mid-2009 17" uMBP which my HDD just failed on me. I was iChatting my a family member and tried watching a file on VLC and it started giving me the spinning beach ball. So I hard resetted the uMBP and now when I try and turn on the uMBP it'll just stay on the Apple load screen with the spinning cursor. But if I load WinXP from Boot Camp, it'll load. I failed in backing up my files using Time Machine since I've had it. Is it too late to recover my files using a DIY method? If it is, is it possible to recover my files through WinXP? Please help. I need my files!!!
The picture above has been like that for the past hour. Any other suggestions?!

If you are getting CRC errors on the drive then your options (at least your "inexpensive" options) are extremely limited.
It's likely that while the drive motor works and spins up the disk, the access arms are no longer accurately positioning the read/write heads above the tracks to read your data. The data is still there -- you just can't get to it reliably.
The cheapest and easiest fix is to buy a new drive and re-install the OS on it and forget about getting your data off the old drive. Regardless of which option you choose you will still need to buy a replacement drive. Even IF you can recover your current drive, the drive itself can no longer be trusted.
If you really want your data, you have two paths. One involves a lot of work for you, the other involves very little work but does involve a lot of expense.
The "easy" path involves hiring a data recovery firm and writing a check while someone else does the work. This is very expensive (e.g. you could buy a new computer for what it will cost to just get your data back). They will open the drive (in a dust-free clean room) and remove the platters, which will be installed in one of their drives. They'll perform a head alignment so their reader can accurately read your data. Then they'll copy all the data off the drive for you. They will then either burn a considerable stack of DVDs or they'll write the data to a replacement hard drive (which you'll buy) and return it to you. The price tag will likely cost the better part of $1000 or more (no kidding!)
The "inexpensive" path involves you have some technical know-how and access to the right gear. A program called SpinRite can usually recover the drive well enough to let you make a copy of it. SpinRite costs about $100. SpinRite boots off it's own media and has it's own OS (FreeDOS) and is completely written in assembly. It controls the drive at very low levels and employs numerous clever techniques to recover the drive. It is usually either completely successful or mostly successful. It can take anywhere from over-night to a few days to recover the drive. But there's a catch... SpinRite needs to be running on a computer that has BIOS. Macs don't have BIOS -- they have Intel EFI. This means you'd have to find an old PC (anything with BIOS will work) that also supports SATA disks. You'd then have to install the failing drive in the PC chassis and boot the PC using the SpinRite media. SpinRite can then get to work attempting to recover your drive. It's $100 IF you happen to have an old machine laying around that can run it. Assuming SpinRite recovers your drive, you should immediately copy off all your data to a new disk. Don't trust using the old drive as it'll probably just be a matter of time before it reverts back to it's corrupted state.
Given the headache involved regardless of which option you choose, an appropriately sized backup disk is the MUCH easier and CHEAPER way to avoid all of this in the future. All my computers run Time Machine throughout the day as well as run "SuperDuper!" to create a bootable clone of my drives once per week. It's cheap. It's easy. You don't even have to think about it -- the backups happen all by themselves if you provide the disk drives.

Arch x86_64 won't boot, but i686 will. Live USB and HDD.

To be more succinct, what could cause 64 bit arch not to boot when 32 bit arch boots fine on a non-UEFI system that supports 64 bit, when all other variables are constant?
My first response seeing this post would be to immediately assume the noob (me) posting this doesn't know the difference between a 32 and 64 bit system. However, "ubuntu-14.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso" (latest 64 bit ubuntu iso) boots from live USB and installs without error. It also came preinstalled with Windows 7 (64 bit), so I'm relatively sure it supports x86_64.
I wrote "archlinux-2014.08.01-dual.iso" (MD5 verified) to my USB. Selecting i686 boots fine. Selecting x86_64 restarts my system, eventually sending me back to the arch live menu after it posts.
Upon recommendation by a WonderWoofy on reddit, I tried to install arch x86_64 by bootstrapping and chrooting from the 64 bit ubuntu live usb. I ended up with same problem, where attempting to load arch reboots my system immediately.
Right now, I'm assuming it's the same issue booting from the live usb (arch iso) and from the arch installation on my hard drive, since they seem identical to me. I haven't tried recreating the install for i686 to see if it works (mainly because it's late -- if it'll help I'll do it upon suggestion).
Here's the only text that shows once I attempt to boot into arch. This is from the hard drive and using syslinux (which is pointed at my root partition on sda -- I don't have a boot partition).
Loading ../vmlinuz-linux... ok
Loading ../initramfs-linux.img...ok
Probing EDD (edd=off to disable)... ok
Which doesn't look like it's messing up anywhere...
And of course I'm a noob so go easy on me x)
UPDATE: I found this thread but I'm not seeing his error message, so I'm not sure what to do.
Last edited by SirProudNoob (2014-08-13 02:54:24)

It's an Intel Core 2 Quad processor. Are there any more diagnostic commands that would be helpful? I didn't see anything else in util-linux that might help...
Here's the output for "lscpu":
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ lscpu
Architecture: x86_64
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order: Little Endian
CPU(s): 4
On-line CPU(s) list: 0-3
Thread(s) per core: 1
Core(s) per socket: 4
Socket(s): 1
NUMA node(s): 1
Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
CPU family: 6
Model: 23
Stepping: 10
CPU MHz: 2327.537
BogoMIPS: 4655.07
L1d cache: 32K
L1i cache: 32K
L2 cache: 2048K
NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0-3

Mini 2009 won't boot but will boot holding option key...

My mini early 2009 with OS X 10.8.2, won't boot normally, it will show a black screen after a while then will appear in large letters this:
No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key.
So, I unplug the power cord and wait a minute and re-plug it, then I press the start button while holding the "option " key down until the screen becomes grey and there I have the choice to start with the Macintosh HD or the Macintosh Recovery 10.8.2. So I choose Macintosh HD and it boots fine.
After the above, everything is fine. I used Disk Utility to repair permissions and everything was OK then I clicked on repair disk and again everything is ok.
But the problem is still there each time I start the computer.
It started after I opened Boot Camp Assistant to check my Windows XP partition which the icon disappeared from my desktop.
What are my possibilities? Thanks in advance.

Hi RRFS,
as you mentioned: In System Preferences under Startup Disk do you have your Mac HD selected? Did you lock it in (bottom left the little lock)?
The lock was open on the lower left. Using Disk Utilities, after a few Repair Disk Permissions and Repair Disk and downloading the Mac OOS X 10.8.2 Combo update and the 10.8.2 Supplemental Update, then again Verify Disk Permissions and Verify Disk, everything was OK.
So I started again the computer normally, but it took a longer time to boot, then my Desktop came back normally.
So, the problem has finally been solved for now. Now, it's the latest 10.8.3 update.
Thanks for trying to help with a question.

Firefox won't work but Safari will???

Firefox won't work but Safari will?
Firefox was already loaded on my macbook pro but won't work??

Firefox doesn't come preloaded on new Mac's.
So you must have gotten this machine used and the person set up Firefox with a proxy amongst other "tweaks" that your not aware of, possibly even remote access to your machine.
If this is a used machine you bought, ideally it would be best to backup any files you have to a external drive, c boot off the installer disk the other person should have given you and use Disk Utility > Erase > Zero and format the drive HFS+ Journaled. Quit and install OS X and start with a fresh machine.
If you don't have the disk, a $29 Snow Leopard install disk is avaialble from Apple (no iLife programs, sold seperatly) which you can do the same as above.
If you don't want to do this, then delete Firefox and it's Library > Application Support > Firefox folder and reinstall it fresh from Mozilla.
Just reinstalling Firefox alone doesn't work, the support files need to be trashed as well.

Imac (intel) will boot but nothing will open

Imac (intel) will boot but nothing will open.

Amazingly ..... I solved the problem by taking the batteries out of the wireless mouse.
The mouse seemed to work. The curser would move around and the dock would pop up, but nothing would open.
Everything's fine now.

PB Screen Dead? Won't Boot, But Second Monitor Will

My 7-year-old G4 17" Powerbook won't boot via it's onboard LCD display...but a second monitor will. I'm assuming the monitor should be replaced, or perhaps a video card?
What's typically the problem associated with these symptoms?
Thanks for any help.
Terry D

Step one is to boot the computer and shine a light through the "Apple" window on the back of the display and see if you see anything happening on the display. This may be a little tricky, but the best time to do this is during the boot process when usually things happen in the center of the screen. (I am assuming that you have already tried the brightness control, as I have had problems with the TiBooks going to minimum brightness on boot for some reason as yet unknown to me, though I can still at least see some detail on the screen.)
Now, if the display is actually changing when you are providing an artificial backlight, then you are maybe in luck a little bit, since it is likely that the so-called Inverter Board has crapped out. These can be replaced with varying degrees of difficulty from almost trivial to a little involved. Find your machine here on the iFixit site for more information and a guide to changing the board.
The other possibility is that the fluorescent panel panel has itself died, which would require a much more involved repair and probably would not be worth it.

Msi-865gm3-v won't boot but will power on

Can somebody tell me why my new motherboard MSI 865GM3-V Intel Celeron 2.93GHZ Motherboard Combo won't boot .
i have a new power supply
thank you

>>Posting Guide<<

Computer won't boot after windows 7 install.... :( [Solved]

I have 2 hard drives. The first drive is my main arch linux install. The second drive I use to install various operating systems. My school was selling windows7 for $30...I couldn't resist the cheap price...now I'm paying for it ><
I unplugged the hard drive with my arch linux install from my computer. (sda) Then installed windows 7 on the second hard drive. I reattached the first hard drive to my computer. (this was so i could avoid having to re-install grub)
My computer would not boot. I decided to install linux mint -- something I was going to do anyway -- that way I could boot into arch linux and fix things. Mint installed fine. But my computer STILL won't boot. I get grub error 22. What's up with that? Is this something to do with windows7?
Hard Drives:
/dev/sda1 ext2 /boot 100 MB
/dev/sda2 extended
/dev/sda5 ext3 arch / 130 GB
/dev/sda3 ext3 arch /home 166 GB
/dev/sda4 swap 1.72 GB
/dev/sdb1 ntfs windows7 65 GB
/dev/sdb4 ext3 mint / 19GB
/dev/sdb2 swap 1GB
/dev/sdb3 ext3 media 900 GB
Should I install grub to the MBR?
I checked to make sure that nothing in my arch linux install was erased using the arch install cd... I really need to get this fixed before classes on monday so any help would be appreciated.
Last edited by Meskarune (2009-10-31 04:26:39)

Xyne wrote:Then again, when you buy Windows, I suppose you're looking for the authentic Windows experience.
I was going to say, even at $30 you still managed to get the full windows experience at first boot!
Meskarune wrote:PS. I heard that windows will override the MBR when it updates... so consequently it is bad to install grub to the MBR in a dual boot system. Will I have to be reinstalling grub all the time?
God i hope not. just stay away from windows if that happens
just thinking about tihs is giving me headaches.
Last edited by toxygen (2009-10-31 03:06:12)

Macintosh HD won't boot, but disk utility says "The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK." How do I repair the hard drive?

I have a MacBook that needs its internal hard drive's Macintosh HD partition repaired, as the boot screen freezes on startup. I am running a separate, working mac OS from an external hard drive in order to run disk utility and repair the MacBook's internal OS. The issue is, it has dismounted the internal Macintosh HD partition, and won't remount. And in addition to that, the Verify Disk option returns with, "The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK." I've run Verify Disk and Repair Disk a few times, all with that same result. And the internal OS still won't boot.
I have attempted to make a disk image of the internal Macintosh HD partition and save it to my external hard drive so I can wipe the internal hard drive clean and restore the image, but I receive errors when trying to create the disk image, and when trying to erase the hard drive (I know, I should try to erase the hard drive when I haven't made an image. When I tried to erase the hard drive, the image wasn't done and I thought it was. I got an error for erase, and I got an error for making the disk image) I have tried making a disk image multiple times and haven't been able to create one.
There is also a boot camp partition on the internal hard drive which is of no importance as to whether it stays or is erased.

Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.

Powermac G5 won't boot - but safe mode works fine!!!

[The computer described below is a Powermac G5 dual core 2.7gHz, purchased in late 2005, running OS X 10.4.11]
Here's an odd thing... a few months back, my powermac stopped booting. It wasn't a power supply issue. I would get the white screen with the apple to come up, but when it was time for the blue screen with the user logins, the screen would go black.
I tried swapping out all the RAM, and nothing worked. Was able to get safe mode to work, once, and then never again. Finally I broke down and took my baby to Tekserve.
Tekserve took a MONTH to get it back to me, and they claimed it was a bad RAM set. This sounded really odd to me, since I thought I had correctly tested several sticks of RAM, and even no RAM, without any success. But I'm not one of the experts, so, hey. My computer was running again and that's all I cared about.
Well, now, about 3 weeks later, my computer will not boot. It started with the loud fans. Now I'm not having any fan noise, but it still won't boot. Here's how I've troubleshot it so far:
- The computer boots FINE in safe mode. I verified the disc in safe mode, and everything checks out. Everything also checks out using fsdk -fy in single user mode. So no disc problem, apparently.
- When I reset the PRAM using crtlopt+pr after the chime, the screen resolution changes from 1200x1024 to 800x600. After the white screen, I do get the blue screen, but WITHOUT any user login, and the mouse cursor does not show up.
- When I reset the NVRAM using open firmware (reset-nvram, set-defaults, reset-all), I'm back to my normal problem of white screen followed by black nothingness (and emotional despair).
Tonight I'm going to try swapping out the RAM again, but if that doesn't work, what's next? I don't know where I put the original Hardware Test DVD that came with the powermac... is there a program I can buy to see if this is my logic board, without bringing the powermac back into tekserve? I live in NYC and have no car; bringing this heavy item into Manhattan is a real issue for me!!!
Anyways, any and all info is greatly appreciated. I really hope I'm overlooking something obvious. Natch, neither Apple nor Tekserve want to give me any advice without me shelling over more of my hard-earned cash. And this all went down 3 months after applecare expired... sigh...

Very interesting... they're telling me (at Tekserve) that this problem is caused by bad sectors in my SECONDARY drive. Doesn't make any sense to me at all, but that's what they're saying... pretty sure the RAM and video card are fine. I tried resetting NVRAM and PRAM, and that did nothing... safe mode works fine, as I mentioned... even got it running in normal mode for about 30 seconds one time.
It's the shop now, so we'll see, when I get the computer back, what the real problem was. It makes me flabbergasted that bad sectors in my secondary drive could have any effect whatsoever on boot!

MBP Won't Boot to Windows/CD

I have a late 2011 15inch MBP running OS X Lion 10.7.4 with a 100GB Windows 7 partition that I access using either Bootcamp or Bootchamp. I've had the laptop for 4 months. I need to use Windows for certain applications that don't have a Mac version.
This week (believe it was Sunday/Monday) I can no longer boot to Windows using either Bootcamp/champ.
When I boot using camp I hit the alt key, access the drive selection screen and select the Windows HD. Once I click on the Windows HD, the screen freezes and I have to do a hard reboot. The same scenario happens when I try to boot from a CD.
When I boot using Bootchamp I will select "restart to Windows", it freezes on a grey screen and I no longer have to access to my second monitor. I also have to do a hard reboot.
I have Apple One Care and called Apple tech support tonight. I was told that my initial support expired 25 days ago and would have to pay $249 for a 1 year support package, pay $50 for single issue support, or take it into the nearest Apple store and "they might be able to help you".
This is my first non-Ipod/Touch/Pad/Phone and honestly I'm very frustrated due to the lack of solutions/support. I've found comments on the web with similar symptoms, but no consistent solutions.
I would welcome any suggestions/solutions from the community in order to regain my ability to boot to Windows, because I am absolutely not getting it from Apple.

Hi there ,
I would be happy to assist you. As there are many models of HP Notebooks, I would need the model number (How Do I Find My Model Number or Product Number?) and Which Windows Operating System you are running. What led up to you needing to download the AMD HD 7690m XT Driver? Were you having an issue with your Notebook?Where did you download the AMD HD 7690m XT Driver from? Have you tried to boot into Safe Mode instead of starting Windows Normally? Please note remove any and all USB devices. Disconnect all non-essential devices connected to your Notebook, as these could cause some issues.
Please re-post and let me know.
Look forward to hearing from you!

Please help Mum's Acer Aspire 8.1 won't boot to windows even with a windows disc BSOD

Hi. I am sooo very frustrated. My mum has an ACER Aspire E1-522 series. She's been having probs with it since last summer as it turned very s-l-o-w and would take forever to do its updates...however, the internet is messed up here sometimes and hard to 'jump onto' with Wifi as she's not 'hardwired' to the internet. Anyway, I had cleaned out her system a few times, no probs...Then AFTER the last update from windows ( approx. a month ago) and the computer shut itself down. Whenever she turned it on, it would 'interrupt' her after sign on screen for Windows and then say it was fixing itself. I told her I would try to fix it (as we CANNOT afford to take it to repair for $100+) So I bought a 16g usb to do a back up on (it has never been done) as the back up would not go onto discs (??) Now, that I invested $ in that, the darn thing will ONLY come on with logo, and IF I'm lucky, will come on with blue screen "windows encountered an error, wait for repair..." then it goes black (or sometimes blue) for days...WHAT can I do?? How do I fix this? I don't know how to get the battery out either, but I don't want to damage the computer in case it does have to go to the shop. And how does one even 'get in' for the RAM in case that is the problem? PLEASE PLEASE help!! ( it's not even 2 yrs. old... but it is out of warranty...) Thank you for reading my rant! (OH-PS: We tried to boot to windows with a disc and NO luck..)

Hi,
Would you please first check if the system can startup into Safe mode?
Then, please try the startup repair in Advanced menu after you boot your computer via installation media.
How Run "Automatic Repair" to Fix Startup Issues in Windows 8 and 8.1
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2843-automatic-repair-run-windows-8-a.html
Then, if the issue still persists, try to boot PC in WinRE, and enter command prompt to run following commands:
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos
bootrec /rebuildbcd
Detailed steps, please refer to this link:
Windows 8 Boot Issues? Try Fixing the Master Boot Record (MBR) or Boot Configuration Data (BCD)
http://www.techspot.com/guides/630-windows-8-boot-fix/
Note: This response contains a reference to a third party World Wide Web site. Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. Microsoft does not control these sites and has not tested any software or information found on these sites; therefore,
Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. There are inherent dangers in the use of any software found on the Internet, and Microsoft cautions you to make sure that you
completely understand the risk before retrieving any software from the Internet.
Keep post.
Kate Li
TechNet Community Support

Windows won't boot! Windows protection error.

I just upgraded my mother board to a MSI and now I can't boot to Windows at all! I'm using two different versions of windows on seperate hard-disks (never at the same time) and both won't boot. I can get to Safe-mode in Win98. My system was fine before I upgraded.
System:
Motherboard - MSI, K7N2 Delta, Nvidia nForce 2 based.
CPU - AMD XP 2400+ T-bred.
CPU Cooler - 2 x 8000-rpm fans on Kanie Hedgehog (big heatsink).
Memory - Kingston 256Megs, two sticks for 512megs. (Says: Kingstort /VR, KVR266X64C25/256. I don't know much about memory.) It fits the DDR1 slot.
Graphics - Nvidia 5600.
Power supply - New, Allied brand, ATX-style, 450Watt.
OS - Windows 98, Windows XP (SP1)
(Win98 and WinXP are on seperate hard disks. Never used at the same time).
Problem:
1. When I boot to Win98 it just says "Protection Error, you will need to restart your system".
2. When I boot to WinXP it says "A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer."
Fixes and diagnostic:
1. Diagnostic lights on mother board cycle and and say OK.
2. I can get to Win98 Safe-Mode or Command prompt.
2. I don't have any other PCI cards installed except video.
3. I'm using only one of the memory sticks just to rule out the other (tried both).
4. I have most of the on-board peripherals disabled (sound, ethernet, serial. parallel, etc...).
5. Tried upping the voltage on memory. Same problem.
6. Tried setting memory for 100mhz. Same problem.
7. Tried reseating the memory. Same problem.
8. CPU temp is well within range at around 109F.
Questions:
What could the problem possibly be? I will try anything!
1. Is there some kind of safe mode for the hard drive settings?
2. Is there some kind of safe mode for memory speed?
3. Give me some hints! Upgrading the MB shouldn't be this hard! What am I overlooking? Thanks for any replies!

Quote
Originally posted by Falconis Progmadn
This can easily be caused by not setting the jumper pins correctly when having both of the HDDs installed on the same IDE cable.
Obviously you would have to change the jumper short every time you retry each HDD.
I am not following your line of thinking here. Win98 needs to on the primary drive, primary channel in most cases, yet XP can boot from any location, and any drive letter. So why would there be a need to constantly swap jumpers? Only thing needed is the Boot.ini file on the main drive, and it will boot from any OS listed there.

OS X won't boot but Windows will

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