Okay seeing as I am new to this thread (via a request from Allan) let me try and clarify some info,
If this is the only error message that you receive and you have previously experienced problems with the current BIOS not properly identifying the HD I would suggest several things.
Firstly, if the bios were not identifying the HD its not likely you would make it past the post bios test and your system would halt at that point.
The fact that you are making it past that point shows that the bios is recognizing the HD "to an extent" well enough to get past the post testing stage.
Soooo
here would be my questions…
1st) If you are able to boot to the recovery console, have you run the following?
chkdsk(space)/r (hit enter)
This will run the most thorough scan of the disk and repair the most errors.
2nd) What format is on your HD? How was it formatted? Did you do a clean install of XP initially or did you upgrade it from an existing OS? Did the XP setup perform the format? Was it the "quick" format?
I've found that (especially on older drivers) the NTFS format can become easily "broken". This can often be fixed using the /r switch in the RC with chkdsk.
However I would reccomend that the disk surface be wiped, setup with fdisk and formatted prior to installing XP. I'd also suggest resetting your systems CMOS to the factory preset
before booting the system for the first time with the newly formatted HD.
If you have a problem with the BIOS setting the drive up, make certain that "1" the bios auto HDD is set to auto and if that doesnt work get the drive parameters off from the HD, they will be on a label.
You'll need Cyclinders / Heads / Sectors
I'd be a little concerned though if the drive is not ID'd automatically that…
1.) There is an error in the BIOS (check for an update) or
2.) There is a problem with the firmware on the actual hard drive. (check with the HD manufacturer for a firmware update).
Bottom line so far? If the RC doesnt fix the problem then the file is crapped, you can try to manually restore the file. But this is dependant on the disk format and the version of XP you have.
Try going to the RC and navigating to…
D:\WINDOWS\system32\config
Delete software (no file extension) then rename software.sav to software (again no file extension)
from that directory type…
del(space)software (hit enter)
ren(space)software.sav(space)software (hit enter)
See if that restores the last working file...