UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_DRIVE Windows cant start it just keeps rebooting!HELP

[yossidahan613]

Hi all!

Well in my great wisdom (or lack of it ) i turned off my Sony VAIO A417S by the mains (forced shutdown) during a recent windows crash!
Now every time i turn on a get the following message:

A PROBLEM HAS BEEN DETECTED AND WINDOWS HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO YOUR
COMPUTER.

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_DRIVE

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

***STOP: 0X000000ED (0X86F38590, 0XC0000006, 0X00000000, 0X00000000)

The computer then restarts and the whole process repeats. Loading windows in safe mode or any other mode does not help - it just keeps rebooting.

I beleive there is a way out of this porblem without reformatting my hard drive and re-installing all my software, but i dont know how to get the computer to give a DOS option so i can run the c:chkdsk option to repair the computer... tapping the "r" key doesnt seem to help.

If anyone can help i would really appreciate it - it would save the hours and possible days it would take me to restore my computer and all the software! (no to mention the loss of valuable data!)

[kee-lo_]

Some advice from Kelly:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_u.htm

[Blencogo]

Hi yossidahan613,

If all options in the boot menu fail, you will need to borrow a XP Pro installation disc. Alternatively Google may take you to a download to create a bootable disc.

Boot your Vaio with this in the drive and follow the prompts until you get the "Welcome to Setup" screen. At this point just press R and you should be taken to the Recovery Console. You will need to log on as an administrator.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/recovery_console_over...

[yossidahan613]

Well, tried downloading a recovery boot CD tried loading it, and now the computer does nothing when i turn it on!
The screen stays black, but the power light is on and the CD drive spins. But thats it!

[kee-lo_]

All signs point to the hard disk failing