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Thread: Partition Table Error #108

  1. #1
    Ultimate Member x51out's Avatar
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    Partition Table Error #108

    I've tried to run System Recovery on an old Sony Slimtop that will not boot into Windows, but it says: "Harddrive not found. Must delete non-dos partition to continue..."! But when I boot into A: PM7 recovery floppy, it says: "partition table error #108 found". Of course, if I try do do anything at all, it gives me ERROR #4 bad argument/parameter. HELP!! I'm at a loss! What do I do now!?? P.S.:Per PowerQuest:"...Cause(s) of the problem
    Many operating systems won't have a problem with this error and will work with the drive normally. For PartitionMagic / ServerMagic / VolumeManager, however, this error can pose a problem, so the error is flagged. There are several possible causes of this error. The first is a translation error. This is caused when the translation under which a partition was created has changed, and the new translation doesn't match the old. The second is if a drive overlay isn't loading properly before the PowerQuest program is executed. This will be the case most often when you are booting directly to a floppy. You will need to allow the overlay to load before the floppy does. The third is a legitimate change in the head or sector value at the end of a partition..." I don't even know what the heck that means.
    Last edited by x51out; 04-21-2002 at 08:50 PM.

  2. #2
    Extreme Member! BipolarBill's Avatar
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    Know what I do when this happens? I take all of the data off of the partition in question and move it to a folder on another partition. Now I delete the #$@! partition and recreate it, moving the data back afterward.
    MS MCP, MCSE

  3. #3
    Ultimate Member x51out's Avatar
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    Man, I wish I could even get that far. Windows is gone, System Recovery can not get started, PartitionMagic off a floppy can't delete the one and only partition and just gives me the above error. It also says that the disk may not be bootable. Is there someway to reset the harddrive? Maybe take it out and move it into my new machine and work on it from there? Hey, that's an idea... what the heck happened to this thing?? I can't even delete the non-dos partition. Nuts.

  4. #4
    Extreme Member! BipolarBill's Avatar
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    Nothing will be able to start if it can't be found. When you lose the partition table, you lose track of where everything is. If you were using Norton Utilities Rescue, you would be able to svaethis. Ghost Imaging fixes these problems too - if you've imaged the drive when it was healthy.

    You could try using:

    FDISK /MBR

    from a DOS floppy, but that's a stretch.

    You will need to use either FDISK or Zap to clear the disk and start over. Get Zap here:

    http://www.storage.ibm.com/hdd/support/download.htm

    Sorry...
    MS MCP, MCSE

  5. #5
    Senior Member rextex's Avatar
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    What this specific explanation
    This will be the case most often when you are booting directly to a floppy. You will need to allow the overlay to load before the floppy does.
    means is:
    If the drive was originally using say: EZ-Drive (now called Data Lifeguard) or Disk Manager,etc.
    You would have to wait for the boot to get to the point where that stuff loads.
    With the Data Life guard / EZ-Drive you would see a screen at the boot that says something about "Boot to C: or insert disk A:"
    Then you would insert disk.
    Those older type tools were usually used to support older OS's like Win 95a which didn't recognize larger than 2.1 Gig drives.Or for systems that the bios doesn't support larger than @8gig drives.
    If you get a boot disk of one of these programs it can tell you if that is one the boot sector of the drive.All these similar tools have a code written to the block identifying the maker and type with a number.
    You can use similar tools to peek at the hidden info to access the type and the posibility of reparing from the copies of the MBR.If the MBR backup doesn't match the current MBR it gets tricky.
    A guy like me or the average savvy tech would get about a 50/50 chance if that is the case.I'd have to pick whether to do so or not.Unless I knew the history of what had been installed and @ when.

    Now if you find a really good older Tech they can usually figure it out.Find a guy who has been around since early DOS and who is good with a Hex editor, etc.Just ask them: Do you know how to Debug?I mean Dos level stuff.
    The layout of the bytes on the first hidden sectors of the disk contain the hex codes with all the info.That is where your chance of repair lies.It is not that difficult.But most of us just don't study it anymore.The fact is that even if a few bits were missing a good old hacker, I mean a "real hacker" could edit it back in with a reasonably estimated guess!

    If its not that (or some other error or issue you may not grasp) then you need someone who specializes in data recovery.They charge a lot of bucks.But they will probaly be able to fix it.

    I'd advise taking it to someone and doing nothing else for now if the data is valuable to you.
    The chances are that whenever something like this happens, if the user does any alterations of the boot records,etc. The bytes may be overwritten and really make it impossible to fix easily.

    This is one reason I don't use Partition Magic and so forth like everyone seems to.
    I was warned about these types of problems early on by someone who knew all about it.
    Don't get me wrong I'm not knocking PM its a superb product.Its just that you should be aware that there is risks involved if you ever have a lower level issue like this.So you have to back up your Data (Like we all should and I usually don't!) regardless.Back it up to another Media where it is kept seperate from your primary hard disk!

  6. #6
    Ultimate Member x51out's Avatar
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    I think I'll try and *ZAP* it though, as there was nothing but XP on there (no other data) to begin with... so nothing lost. But I'm beginning to see the dark-side of PartitionMagic, or actually that's not quite fair, a hammer is a good tool too but you can also break stuff with it. Thanx for the input guys, this has been enlightening.

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