Dell PC Restore by Symantec Issue

Hi, Applesoup:

The message, "Loading PBR for descriptor 1...Done" indicates a problem with one of your partitions, possibly the restore partition. There is a way to fix the restore partition. This site has lots of help.

Please post back and let me know if you were able to get this working.

Hi, Ospray4:

 Thanks for the prompt reply, I did go to the site for help and there were a lot of help there.

The DSRFIX Showed  that  everything was good with exeception line 5 and the last line.

Line 5: .INFO : pbr descriiptor 4 is type  00

Last Line .Alert : reference partition not in sync.

After  running DSRFIX  /F. this is the result.:-

.Disk 80 found, master device at port 01F0

.48-bit user secs    : 78140160 (40 GB)

.48-bit max secs     : 78140160 (40 GB)

.i13/48 user secs    : 78140160 (40 GB)

.disk cyls/hds/secs/:4864/255/63

.good : boot code matches dell mbr v1.

.good : pbr descriptor 1 is type DE

.good : pbr descriptor 2 is type 07

.good : pbr descriptor 3 is type DB

.info :  pbr descriptor 4 is type 00

.good : pbr1 is fat16, lable is DellUtility.

.good : pbr3 is fat32, label is DellRestore.

good : reference partition table in sync.

A:\>

Where do i go from here.

I tried the Ctrl+F11 again but came up with the same result.

Loading PBR for descriptor 1...Done

Loading DRMK vertsion 8.00...

Thanks

Hi, Applesoup:

This doesn't make sense. The PBR message indicates a problem with one of the boot records, but the number doesn't correspond to the restore partition.

My suggestion would be to give up and reinstall from scratch. Here is the procedure for reinstalling XP. It takes a bit longer but you'll probably end up with a faster system than restoring the original image.

The problem is that the program used to initialize the computer after it has been restored has developed a problem.  Once the restore is done, the MBR is modified to boot the computer from partition 1 so that the user can again enter his name in the blanks for ownership.  Once this is done, the MBR will again be changed so that the boot will occur from partition 2.

If you dig a bit deeper into Dan Goodell's page, you should come across the info that you can change the partition table with a partition table editor to make the 2nd partition active and bootable.  Your computer should then boot into Windows as it should.

Thanks guys,

I have already install Windows XP on the main partition.

Meaning i did not Format the whole drive, the recovery patition is still intact.

I was able to use Ctrl+F11 after installing  windows XP on the Main Drive.

But with the same problem am trying to fix. I just don't want to loose,

Dell PC Restore by Symantec from the hard drive.

But for now windows is working fine.

JackShack,

For me to change the 2nd partition i will need a step by step Instruction.

am not very good at this.

Thanks again. 

My post was more educational than practical.  It takes a bit of study and work to put the theory into practice.

With the right tools, it is a simple fix.  See this part of Mr. Goodell's page:  Fixing PBR Descriptor Alerts.  Naturally, the devil is in the details.  The partition table editor mentioned by Mr. Goodell requires a DOS boot disk having the program on it.  Once you have that, you boot into DOS and execute PTEdit.  As you can see on the linked page, you need to have the value "80" in the second column that is associated with the partition you need the computer to boot to.  There are exceptions, but for most of the Windows XP installations, the correct boot partition is the second one.

The larger part of the problem for most of us is building the necessary boot disk.  If you have the Dell Resource Disk for your computer you already have a disk that boots to DOS.  It is possible to download PTEdit, expand the zip file, and write the files to a CD.  Theoretically, you could boot to the Dell Resource CD, substitute a CD having PTEdit on it, and execute the file from that disk.  Dan cautions that using PTEdit is difficult without a mouse driver, however, and I can't remember if the resource CD loads a mouse driver.  This is something that must be done at boot time with the help of the config.sys and autoexec.bat files usually found on a DOS boot disk.

With the additional things that need to be learned and tools that need to be created, it is nearly as much work to fix the MBR as to perform a clean installation.

I'm sorry this isn't more help; I simply thought you might like to understand the problem better.  If you want to learn more, see this page on Mr. Goodell's site:  Fixes.

Thanks for bailing me out, Jack.

Osprey:

It was my pleasure, but Dan Goodell did most of the work.  I've had more than one occasion to be glad he made that essay available.

John, this problem occurs due to an error in the first disk partition.  What is supposed to happen is that the Master Boot Record is modified so that the system is booted from the first, Utility, partition.  In addition to diagnostics this partition has the "Sealing" program that is started when you boot the computer for the first time after receiving it from Dell.  For reasons I don't know, this process occasionally gets stalled, leaving you with only the message that the DRMK operating system has been booted.  If things had continued properly you would be getting messages asking you to enter your information onto the computer and recommending you register the computer with Dell.

The short method of correcting this is to use a partition table editor to mark the second disk partition with a code showing the appropriate partition type and showing it active.  Dan Goodell's paper, mentioned in my earlier post, is still available here:  Inside the Dell PC Restore Partition.  My shortcut to the section of the essay showing how the partition table needs to be fixed is no longer good, but you should be able to find it again with a bit of reading.  If you still have questions after reading Dan's essay, please post back.

Wait now I looked at it , it says priority.sorry I thought it said partition.now that you mentioned it , how do I find partition when I pressed f2 ?

I'm not certain what you're doing from the description you have given me, so I don't know how to make things more clear.  In order to fix your present hard drive you are going to need to understand how the hard drive is organized; Mr. Goodell's essay assumes that you already know.

A short version of this is that a hard drive is partitioned in a number of sections when the drive is initialized.  The Master Boot Record scheme of partitioning allows up to four of these divisions, called partitions.  In the laptop you have, there will be at least three partitions.  Partition 1 is the Dell Utility partition which is normally hidden from the operating system unless you choose to boot it up using the one time boot menu that is accessed by pressing F12 during the Dell logo after you start the computer.  Partition 1 is also the partition that contains the DRMK operating system and the "sealing" program that is used to help you set up your laptop after you first receive it from Dell.  This is a "run once" program that is not supposed to run again unless the computer is restored from the PC Restore partition.

Partition 2 is the largest partition on the hard drive, is formatted as NTFS, and holds the Windows operating system and all your folders.

Partition 3 is normally the PC Restore partition containing the image that is used to replace the contents of Partition 2 when PC Restore has been selected.  If your laptop has Media Direct, Partition 3 may be the Media Direct partition, and your restore partition will instead be in a fourth partition, Partition 4.

Once you have received your laptop and started it for the first time, the sealing program changes the active partition from Partition 1 to Partition 2 and restarts the computer so that Windows can boot up.  As long as the laptop works properly you will only use the Windows partition and the Media Direct partition (if you have one).

If you need to use PC Restore, pressing the CTRL and F11 keys at the right time during startup causes the code in the Master Boot Record to mark the PC Restore partition as Active, making the partition bootable.  At the same time it changes the marks in the second, Windows, partition to make that partition inactive and non-bootable.  The laptop is then restarted, booting to the PC Restore partition, and running the restore program that copies the restore image to the Windows partition.  This is why you are warned that any data in the Windows partition will be removed; when the restore image is written to the Windows partition, all the existing data and file markers will be overwritten by the data in the image.

When PC Restore completes the copying of the image, the program again changes the active partition to the first partition and restarts the computer.  The DRMK operating system is booted and the sealing program is supposed to run.  This is where you're stuck.  If you have a partition table editor on a bootable CD you can use that program to change the marks on the first partition to make it inactive, and the second partition to make it active.  If you do that correctly you should be able to restart the computer and have it boot to Windows as it always did in the past.

Mr. Goodell's paper has the information required to accomplish what I have described, but you may find it easier to perform a clean installation.  To do that you will need the Windows installation CD and the installation CDs for your applications that Dell should have sent along with your laptop.  If you do that you will lose the PC Restore partition and the ability to restore it, but that is not normally a large concern provided you also have the disks that allow you to install your applications.

If you are still determined to press on with the restore partition I will try to assist.  When you say that you are pressing F2, what is the computer running when you perform that action?  Pressing F2 during the Dell logo when you first start the computer takes you to System Setup.  This is the page that sets the information used by the BIOS during startup, such as what device to use to boot the computer.  If you are pressing this key after the computer is already up and running I need to know what application is being run in order to figure out what action is to be taken as a result.