1. Check your computer for viruses. According to the website A Consuming Experience, do this by scanning with a virus checker or an anti-spyware program.
2. Try altering drive letter assignments. As the article on A Consuming Experience instructs, start by making sure all removable and media drives have a connection to your computer. Then go to 'My Computer,' right-click it and press 'Manage.' Once you're in that window, press 'Disk Management.' Then look for 'Change Drive Letter and Paths' and choose a different letter than the one that is now in your system. Then save any changes you have made.

3. Remove all disks, drives and USB cords. As the Microsoft website points out, Windows might produce this error message if it's trying to boot up from the removable items you have on your computer rather than from the hard disk.
4. Clear all prior files lists, documents and folders. According to A Consuming Experience, the problem might be that the presence of your removable media combined with lists from prior usage is confusing your computer.
5. Check your hard drive. If your hard disk is partially corrupt and you possess Windows XP, you may be able to fix it by installing a repair program, as the Windows website points out. However, if it's your entire hard disk, it's time to replace it.