Windows XP is the most preferred Windows operating system in the world. This fact holds good even after the emergence of more advanced versions such as Windows 7 and Vista. Windows XP supports almost every hardware component and software application. However, at times the XP system corrupts because of various reasons such as virus infections, power outages, corrupt file system, etc. In such cases, you should perform appropriate methods to rectify the problem. If you are not able to resolve the issue, then you should use third-party data recovery software to perform data recovery.

Consider a scenario wherein when you attempt to start your Windows XP system but unable to do so. An error message is displayed, that is:

“Unmountable Boot Volume”

Cause: There could be various causes for this error message. They are: • Instead of the 80-wire, 40-pun cable, you have used a standard 40-wire connector cable to connect the UDMA (Ultra DMA) drive to the controller. • The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) settings are defined so as to force the faster UDMA modes. • The file system of the system is damaged. Hence, you are unable to mount it.

Resolution: To resolve this error and boot the system properly, you should use the following methods: • Check if it is a connector cable problem. If yes, then replace the 40-wire cable with an 80-wire UDMA cable. • Check if this error has occurred because of incorrect BIOS settings. If yes, then load the Fail-Safe settings and then reactivate the most frequently used options. • Check if the error has occurred because of corrupted file system. If yes, then perform the following steps to rectify the problem: • Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM in the disk drive, and restart the system. • Press 'R' in the Recovery Console when the “Welcome to Setup” screen appears. • Select the system drive that you want to repair. • At the command prompt, enter chkdsk /r , and then press Enter. • At the command prompt, enter exit , and then press Enter to restart your computer.

The aforementioned methods should be able to address the situation. However, if you are not able to solve the issue then you should use data recovery tools to do the needful. Such data recovery tools are read-only in natures that do not overwrite the original data while scanning it.