Advent 4211 recovery - appeal for help!

[Guest pd.ryder]

Addit:- Did you upgrade the BIOS to the MSI version whilst you were at it? Anything over v1.9 gives up to 25% overclocking. Mine runs very stable when o/c meaning I've got a tiny netbook running at 2.1GHz :D

[Guest jackb71]

hiya. newbie here. been scouring this site since last night. my wife has recently been given an advent 4211c to keep if she can fix it. (or rather if i can fix it). when i log on i get a blank screen saying "windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware config prob. could not read from the selected boot disk......"

well i have went into bios and tried all variants to boot from but to no avail so i now wish to try and set up a bootable usb with recovery on it. i noticed pd,ryders post earlier and i am trying to use that as a guide. i have made my usb bootable and am in process of downloading the files needed from megaupload.

i have noticed people talking about pellos recovery guide. could someone pls point me to this guide. i cannot seem to find it.

pls excuse me if i am in wrong place or my post is daft. i'm not that tech minded.

thank you in advance

[Guest ampws]

For all you people needing the USB Backup:

http://rapidshare.com/files/256769691/ADVE..._Key.part01.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256776627/ADVE..._Key.part02.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256743784/ADVE..._Key.part03.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256750240/ADVE..._Key.part04.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256756694/ADVE..._Key.part05.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256763201/ADVE..._Key.part06.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256666577/ADVE..._Key.part07.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256673996/ADVE..._Key.part07.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256679117/ADVE..._Key.part08.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256683883/ADVE..._Key.part09.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256688788/ADVE..._Key.part10.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256693625/ADVE..._Key.part11.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256697974/ADVE..._Key.part12.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256702667/ADVE..._Key.part13.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256707260/ADVE..._Key.part14.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256712123/ADVE..._Key.part15.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256717135/ADVE..._Key.part16.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256721940/ADVE..._Key.part17.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256726746/ADVE..._Key.part18.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256731885/ADVE..._Key.part19.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256737493/ADVE..._Key.part20.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256738178/ADVE..._Key.part21.rar

Enjoy :D

[Guest ampws]

Also found this from Heterodox on MSIWIND.net.Archive (MSIWIND)

Hi

It seems a bit wrong to me that anybody should have to pay for a recovery dvd. I bought an advent 4211

last summer, and was extremely frustrated that the techguys recovery backup program wouldn't make a

backup dvd, only an SD card or USB stick. However i managed to copy files from the hidden recovery

partition to the C partition (the C drive is mounted as V or R in the recovery environment, however is not

browseable through the command prompt, use the open file dialogue in notepad), and using the MS Windows

Automatic Install Kit create a bootable restore DVD. I have used the DVD a few times now, and using it

restores the laptop to factory settings, if you deleted the recovery partition, it will be back again after using

this DVD to restore.

I made some instructions to make your own DVD, obviously you will need a usb dvd writer, and either a copy

of the Windows Automatic Install Kit (1GB+, free from MS), or just the oscdimg.exe (~75Kb, the only part

actually needed, which can be found on its own through google).

1. Reboot into the techguys recovery

2. Choose Advanced options and open a command prompt.

Assuming the main partition (C:) is mounted as V:, and the recovery partition is mounted as R:

You can check the drive letters by opening the notepad, then goto file > open, now you can open 'Computer'

and see which letters are assigned to which partition

3. Make a directory on the main partition with the recovery files we need:

mkdir V:\ISO

cd R:

xcopy /S HDD V:\ISO\

4. Copy over the etfsboot.com file needed to make the DVD bootable

cd Windows\Boot\DVD\PCAT

copy etfsboot.com C:

5. All done in the recovery partition, reboot into xp

6. Check the ISO folder and ensure the directory structure is as follows:

<ISO>

<BOOT>

BCD

BOOT.SDI

<FONTS>

etc etc...

<SOURCES>

BOOT.WIM

<WIMFILES>

XP.WIM

7. IMPORTANT: Make sure to remove any files not listed above. (First DVD I made had a folder labelled EFI,

and not removing it caused an error, and forced restart once inside the recovery environment.)

8. Copy oscdimg.exe to C:\Windows\system32 folder (if you've not installed WAIK).

9. Open a command prompt and enter the following:

oscdimg -bc:\etfsboot.com -h -u2 -m -lADVENT4211 c:\ISO\ C:\recovery.iso

If anyone wants a copy (if you no longer have your recovery partition, or can't follow the instructions for whatever

reason), send me a pm and I'll give you a direct link to the .iso file (~1.6gb on 10Mb uplink) which your then more

than welcome to redistribute in any way you please, as I myself am unwilling to use bittorrent etc to distribute this.

Cheers

Hope this helps.

AMPWS

Edited February 14, 2010 by ampws

[Guest pd.ryder]

Good find AMPWS :D I was going to get around to replying to your PM today as well :D

The link in post 54 above is dud - whizzes off to nowhere in particular on this board rather than msiwind forum. I've had problems getting on to the msiwind forum lately so it's nice to see there's still some info coming off that site.

[Guest ampws]

Just edited the post to correct the problem. I didn't think to test the link when I previewed the post. Ooops :D

[Guest busterdan]

Hi all,

I'd really appreciate your help please...

Both my kids have 4211c's that they purchased with their own money that they saved up. Both are now over a year old and one has now decided to die... I thought it wouldn't be a problem as I could recover from the second 4211 but the recovery programme fails.

I have followed the instructions in this thread and have a USB memory stick that will run the 98 startup files to a command prompt. I also have the recovery files that I downloaded over many days. The problem is that when I combine the two onto a 2GB memory card all that happens is that a flashing "_" is displayed.

I'm pulling my hair out with this now and get tired of my kids fighting for access to the one 4211 :P

I'd appreciate any further advice... thanks.

[Guest busterdan]

Hi all,

I'd really appreciate your help please...

Both my kids have 4211c's that they purchased with their own money that they saved up. Both are now over a year old and one has now decided to die... I thought it wouldn't be a problem as I could recover from the second 4211 but the recovery programme fails.

I have followed the instructions in this thread and have a USB memory stick that will run the 98 startup files to a command prompt. I also have the recovery files that I downloaded over many days. The problem is that when I combine the two onto a 2GB memory card all that happens is that a flashing "_" is displayed.

I'm pulling my hair out with this now and get tired of my kids fighting for access to the one 4211 :P

I'd appreciate any further advice... thanks.

[Guest busterdan]

Hi all,

I'd really appreciate your help please...

Both my kids have 4211c's that they purchased with their own money that they saved up. Both are now over a year old and one has now decided to die... I thought it wouldn't be a problem as I could recover from the second 4211 but the recovery programme fails.

I have followed the instructions in this thread and have a USB memory stick that will run the 98 startup files to a command prompt. I also have the recovery files that I downloaded over many days. The problem is that when I combine the two onto a 2GB memory card all that happens is that a flashing "_" is displayed.

I'm pulling my hair out with this now and get tired of my kids fighting for access to the one 4211 :P

I'd appreciate any further advice... thanks.

[Guest busterdan]

Hi all,

I'd really appreciate your help please...

Both my kids have 4211c's that they purchased with their own money that they saved up. Both are now over a year old and one has now decided to die... I thought it wouldn't be a problem as I could recover from the second 4211 but the recovery programme fails.

I have followed the instructions in this thread and have a USB memory stick that will run the 98 startup files to a command prompt. I also have the recovery files that I downloaded over many days. The problem is that when I combine the two onto a 2GB memory card all that happens is that a flashing "_" is displayed.

I'm pulling my hair out with this now and get tired of my kids fighting for access to the one 4211 :P

I'd appreciate any further advice... thanks.

[Guest Crash_Override2010]

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Edited August 29, 2013 by Crash_Override2010

[Guest backstreetb]

Hi New To This But Pretty Good At Fixing Advent 4211 / MSI Wind

So If U Need Help Just Email Me At

[email protected]

And Please Provide As Much Detail As Possible

Don't Forget To Sign Up

Have got the infamous Advent4211 somehow (too many beverages) stuck in " Missing operating system" mode! Think buying the cd from techguys may solve the prob but wrried I may be wasting my cash. Can get it to start in boot menu and have tried usb floppy boot using xp sp2 but will only load 1st floppy. 2nd gives error 7 message. Could be bios prob or..... Any ideas ?? Ta.

[Guest Crash_Override2010]

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Edited August 29, 2013 by Crash_Override2010

[Guest cdtuk]

For all you people needing the USB Backup:

http://rapidshare.com/files/256769691/ADVE..._Key.part01.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256776627/ADVE..._Key.part02.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256743784/ADVE..._Key.part03.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256750240/ADVE..._Key.part04.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256756694/ADVE..._Key.part05.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256763201/ADVE..._Key.part06.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256666577/ADVE..._Key.part07.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256673996/ADVE..._Key.part07.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256679117/ADVE..._Key.part08.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256683883/ADVE..._Key.part09.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256688788/ADVE..._Key.part10.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256693625/ADVE..._Key.part11.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256697974/ADVE..._Key.part12.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256702667/ADVE..._Key.part13.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256707260/ADVE..._Key.part14.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256712123/ADVE..._Key.part15.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256717135/ADVE..._Key.part16.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256721940/ADVE..._Key.part17.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256726746/ADVE..._Key.part18.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256731885/ADVE..._Key.part19.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256737493/ADVE..._Key.part20.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/256738178/ADVE..._Key.part21.rar

Enjoy :huh:

http://rapidshare.com/files/256717135/ADVE..._Key.part16.rar Is no longer there, i got all 20 parts and that one is missing, can anyone upload this part ?? This is a nightmare trying to fix this.

thanks in advance

Edited September 2, 2010 by cdtuk

[Guest Crash_Override2010]

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Edited August 29, 2013 by Crash_Override2010

[Guest mcnumpty]

Here's one source from the MSI Wind forum complete with discussion and directions on how to compile a bootable usb drive.

And here's some very good, straightforward advice regarding what to do with the files... (again Kudos to MSI Wind forum):

I hope that helps folks out of a sticky hole :P

thanks for this you are an absolute star--took 2 days of trying to get the links from mega upload but got there in the end--got a message about the image file and hard drive (8gb usb stick) being wrong size when using odin ignored it and went ahead anyway it then said this would cause file system problems--ignored that as well and completed loading odn file to usb stick--tried to install it and it failed halfway through---but that was enough to get me started tried it again and went into the tech guys tools somewhere and used checkdisk tools to fix file system--rebooted and installed again---totally successfull

this was a life saver--and am willing to upload the files if anyone else needs them as part 16 from rapidshare was missing and getting them from mega upload took 2 days

any one needs them let me know and i will upload them

many many thanks to you

[Guest pd.ryder]

Glad it got you sorted @mcnumpty :D

At least I did something right today... :P

[Guest mcnumpty]

Glad it got you sorted @mcnumpty :D

At least I did something right today... :P

have started uploading the files now to filefactory and am so pleased with your guide will let people who need them download them from my premium account so they get full speed without having to join or put up with adverts or only get so many files in a certain time etc--i get 24gb allowance per day so as long as theres enough gbs left they can help theirselves if it runs out it will renew the next day --will take a while at my upload speed but they should be available in a couple of hours

took me a lot of searching to find this so hope the files help others out

this is the odn file only the programs in the guide are still available from the previos links

password is leon takes 15 minutes to upload each part so about 5 hours for all of them to be ready

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b4879de/n/..._Key.part01.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b487add/n/..._Key.part02.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b487bf5/n/..._Key.part03.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b487d2b/n/..._Key.part04.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b487e31/n/..._Key.part05.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b487f35/n/..._Key.part06.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b487ghh/n/..._Key.part07.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b488062/n/..._Key.part08.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b488151/n/..._Key.part09.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b48821f/n/..._Key.part10.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b4882b7/n/..._Key.part11.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b4883bc/n/..._Key.part12.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b4884b6/n/..._Key.part13.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b4887g5/n/..._Key.part14.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b488a2f/n/..._Key.part15.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b488aba/n/..._Key.part16.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b488b7a/n/..._Key.part17.rar

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b488bh3/n/..._Key.part18.rar

all parts now uploaded

Edited December 2, 2010 by mcnumpty

[Guest teamsmiffy]

have started uploading the files now to filefactory and am so pleased with your guide will let people who need them download them from my premium account so they get full speed without having to join or put up with adverts or only get so many files in a certain time etc--i get 24gb allowance per day so as long as theres enough gbs left they can help theirselves if it runs out it will renew the next day --will take a while at my upload speed but they should be available in a couple of hours

took me a lot of searching to find this so hope the files help others out

all parts now uploaded

I'm currently downloading all these rar files.

HOWEVER chunk 06 is missing!!!!

Can anyone help?

Edited January 30, 2011 by teamsmiffy

[Guest teamsmiffy]

I've tried part six again this morning and managed to download it.

Ive extracted the ODN file to to a USB stick and copied the Odin software on too. I've booted the PC with a BartPE disk.

Using Odin I've managed to restore the ODN file over the entire drive.

When I reboot the TechGuys splash screen is followed by option to do a full destructive recovery.

When I take this option, it gets to stage three and the says that the image is missing!

Any one know what I can try next?

When the laptop reboots it says BootLoader Error

[Guest teamsmiffy]

I'm all sorted now - just needed a USB stick to boot and my Cruzer stick wouldn't work.

Thanks to the host of the RAR images.

[Guest mcnumpty]

I'm all sorted now - just needed a USB stick to boot and my Cruzer stick wouldn't work.

Thanks to the host of the RAR images.

glad the files helped you out--you are the 1st person out of all those who have downloaded them to take the time to let others know that the files work ok

[Guest teamsmiffy]

glad the files helped you out--you are the 1st person out of all those who have downloaded them to take the time to let others know that the files work ok

No problem. I thought I'd be able to skip a step or two as I have a bootable Win PE disk and a USB DVD drive. It took a while to realise that the image was the whole drive.

I made the Windows 98 bootable memory stick from one of the first posts. I checked that booted to Win98 DOS. I then put the ODIN image on that disk. ODIN didn't like the USB Stick under W7, so I was able to boot the Windows PE and then use ODIN to dump your image onto a USB stick.

I then booted the USB stick into the Tech Guys image recovery mode, that seem to have put back both the hidden recovery and the main XP partitions complete with all the pre-installed software.

I'm just going though the windows updates etc etc.

So thanks again.

[Guest mcnumpty]

No problem. I thought I'd be able to skip a step or two as I have a bootable Win PE disk and a USB DVD drive. It took a while to realise that the image was the whole drive.

I made the Windows 98 bootable memory stick from one of the first posts. I checked that booted to Win98 DOS. I then put the ODIN image on that disk. ODIN didn't like the USB Stick under W7, so I was able to boot the Windows PE and then use ODIN to dump your image onto a USB stick.

I then booted the USB stick into the Tech Guys image recovery mode, that seem to have put back both the hidden recovery and the main XP partitions complete with all the pre-installed software.

I'm just going though the windows updates etc etc.

So thanks again.

yeah it is a bit fiddly and time consuming--but main thing is it gets it all back in the end

i was thinking there must be a simpler way of doing it--so when i have the time i will look to see if its possible to make a bootable ghost image that contains the hidden recovery partition as well as the operating system partition and do away with the odin image altogether--i seem to remember needing a floppy drive to make bootable ghost images so will have to find my old external floppy or see if newer versions of ghost can make it bootable without one--that way all the updates could be added before making the image as there were a lot of updates to do

[Guest pringlex3]

Hi folks hope somebody can help - i have just spent nearly 4 hours downloading the 35 seperate parts from the megaupload site mentioned earlier on (in post 42 i think) and i have tried to unzip it and i get an error message at about 53% saying

"! C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\advent usb\ADVENT4211_USB_Whole Key.z21: CRC failed in ADVENT4211_USB_Whole Key.odn. The file is corrupt"

so i am now completely stuck - can someone send me the completed odn file so that i can complete the set up of a usb stick alternatively can someone send me the files i need to copy onto the bootable usb stick so that i can sort the machine out - kind regards - dave edwards

Edited July 25, 2011 by pringlex3