Corrupted Hard Drive?

Corrupted Hard Drive? (Full Version)

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erinswift21 -> Corrupted Hard Drive? (9/28/2004 8:02:41)
Hey all - I've been having hardware issues for a while now and had fixed them, or at least thought I fixed them by reinstalling my OS. That worked for a week or so, but now it's not recognizing an OS when it boots up. I'm thinking that this means that my hard drive is corrupted. Is that a good assumption? If this is the case, am I better off buying a new hard drive or just getting a whole new computer? Thanks for the help. Erin

Giomanach -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (9/28/2004 8:11:39)
Erin I get this occasionaly, I just hit the power button, leave it off for five seconds and then turn it back on. It's purely b'cos the HDD doesn't power-up on boot. If you can, check the power and IDE/SATA connections inside the puter, make sure they connected properly A HDD isn't corrupt untill you constantly get BSOD before windows boots. But then it's a case of finding out whether its a compatability issue, or the HDD

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (9/28/2004 12:36:22)
I've tried turnin the power off and letting the computer sit for a while then booting back up, but I still get the same error. The operating system should be compatible since it is the same operating system that I've been running since XP was released. quote: If you can, check the power and IDE/SATA connections inside the puter, make sure they connected properly Basically open up my computer and check the connections? And what exactly does BSOD stand for? I'm new to fixing my own hardware and software issues. Erin

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (9/28/2004 17:22:59)
Yes, open the case (after unplugging it) and double check that all of your wires are in the right place. It could be a corrupted install too. I've had problems with that in the past where something in the boot record gets lost of corrupted and it won't boot. You might try downloading and burning a Knoppix disk... that will at least let you boot from the CD and you can check your HDD to make sure all of the data is there. BSOD = Blue Screen Of Death [;)]

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (9/29/2004 8:15:18)
Thanks. I'll try tonight when I get done with work.

Giomanach -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (9/29/2004 8:24:45)
quote: Yes, open the case (after unplugging it) and double check that all of your wires are in the right place. Actually, it's better to leave it plugged in and switched off. Why? Static Electricity, it'll do your hardware more harm than good if your full of static and don't have an anti-static wrist band on and plugged it. If plugged it, it will just pass through the hardware and be earthed, if not....well...need I say? I found out the hard way....upgrading from a PII to my current Celeron a few years ago....took the PII Motherboard out...the battery in it charged me...loadsa staic....touched the new Socket 370 Intel Motherboard after I installed...and bang...one of the circuits went...the puter had no power connections...tried the same again with puter plugged in....no problems. The battery in the PII was very powerful....and I don't like using gloves, wrist bands etc. quote: You might try downloading and burning a Knoppix disk... that will at least let you boot from the CD and you can check your HDD to make sure all of the data is there. Bobby and his linux...lol...have to admit...it's saved my bacon a few times has that Knoppix disc of mine...the MandrakeMove one doesn't though[:D] If you have two CD/DVD drives, one being a Burner, you can always boot from the reader and then back-up any valuable data via the Knoppix boot...I did once.

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (9/29/2004 15:04:32)
quote: it'll do your hardware more harm than good if your full of static and don't have an anti-static wrist band on and plugged it. I'm always more concerned about stopping my heart than frying a motherboard... To avoid static discharge, wear rubber gloves, a wrist band, or just ground yourself to something before reaching in... ;)

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 10:01:29)
Hey guys - Sorry it took me so long to respond. I checked the wires internal and everything seemed to be connected. Then I tried booting from Knoppix CD and I couldn't get my computer to boot the CD. Is it time for a new hard drive? Erin

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 10:15:40)
Booting from the CD shouldn't have anything to do with the HDD. Go into your BIOS and make sure that the CD is set to boot before the hard drive... Usually you have to hit F1 or F8 (depends on hardware) during boot to get to your BIOS. From there it's just a matter of changing the boot order in the settings. And you can always exit without saving changes if you aren't sure you've done it right... --- Have you tried sticking your Windows disk in and running a Repair?

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 10:41:41)
I can't get into my BIOS.

Giomanach -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 10:44:55)
Try hitting Delete instead....when you turn the puter on...just hit it... if it still doesn't work..I would say bad Motherboard rather than a corrupt HDD

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 10:47:59)
Okay, I'll try tonight. Thanks.

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 11:26:32)
quote: I can't get into my BIOS. F1 F8 Delete ... The list goes on and on... you should see a message during boot that says something along the lines of "Press ____ to enter settup" If it doesn't, try searching online for your PC model number or motherboard model number and you should find instructions for getting there... Usually they ship defaulted to floppy, HDD, CD (boot order). You just need to change the order so that CD comes first. (It will only boot to CD if ther'es a bootable disc in the drive at startup) the BIOS are pretty simple once you figure your way around. It's all text based and pretty straight forward.

Giomanach -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 11:28:15)
BIOS = Boot Initiated Operating System....just FYI... Windows & Linux are loaded after boot, not on Boot

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 11:29:07)
I've worked in the BIOS before. I was just saying that the dialog that is suppose to say what key to press doesn't show. I tried F1, I'll try F8 and delete tonight.

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/4/2004 12:59:16)
Try delete first... if memory serves F8 may take you into boot options for Win XP (safe mode, etc) On older hardware / OS F8 used to be an option for the BIOS. I still have one machine that uses it.

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/5/2004 10:12:49)
I finally got to my BIOS last night but when I went to put in my Knoppix disk, I realized it was cracked and unusable. If the Knoppix would have worked, what would that have meant?

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/5/2004 11:02:50)
The only reason I recommended checking it out with Knoppix is that it will let you know if there is another problem unrelated to your hard drive... If Knoppix won't boot, it's not the HDD - as long as the disc is not cracked ;) Also, if you do have a problem getting into your data (because of a corrupted disk) you can use Knoppix to go in "Live" (booted from CD) and may be able to rescue your important data. Example: I had a massive HDD failure a year ago. It was while I was trying to Ghost my HDD to a new one (all the warning signs were there, I knew failure was imminent)... before I could succesfully get it backed up it went poof I took it to three different computer shops, none could help me. I then booted into Knoppix and I was able to save all of my photos, music, website files, emails, etc. to CD-ROM via Knoppix Linux. Then after reinstalling Windows on the new HDD I simply copied the files back from the CD's. (you need two CD drives for this... one to boot into Knoppix and one to burn the disks) I personally know two others who have done the same... It saved me a ton of heartache and headache... even though I spent about three days doing it... ;)

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/5/2004 11:29:08)
So where can I get a new Knoppix disk from?

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/5/2004 11:32:56)
download the ISO image from www.knoppix.com and burn it to a CD-R. Or you can order them from various sites...

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/11/2004 16:24:29)
Hey - Problem solved. My office bought me a new computer for my home. I'm still going to try the Knoppix trick though so that I can get all my old data from my other computer. I would hate to lose all that data. Thanks for the help. Erin

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/11/2004 16:35:37)
Wahoo! One thing you might try... that may be easier than transferring via Knoppix and CD... Try switching the jumpers on your drive to "slave" and install it next to the new one... As long as the data is in tact, you may still be able to retrieve it that way (make sure to scan it first, using the new PC, before moving things over... just in case)

erinswift21 -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/11/2004 16:54:25)
Can you explain this for me?

bobby -> RE: Corrupted Hard Drive? (10/11/2004 17:45:21)
Sure... On the back of your HDD you'll see two sets of small pins, with a small plastic piece placed over some of them... (may be only one set of pins, depending) Somewhere on the drive should be a sticker that shows where to place the little plastic piece to set it to "Master" (primary drive) or "Slave" (all other drives). There will be a few other options too, but you don't need to worry about those. Set it to "Slave" using these pins (aka jumpers) If there's no diagram, you should be able to google for it. Next, crack open your new PC and look down the IDE cable for another IDE connector and power supply connector. One of these may even be labeled "slave" but where you put it shouldn't matter... Now when you reboot the machine you'll have your new HDD (primary) that the system boots into... and you'll see the other drive listed as F: or G: (letter will depend on what else is on the system, etc) Scan this new drive using your AV software (maybe run spyware detectors too) and then open it up... Many times a drive will corrupt in the "boot sector" so that your system can no longer boot into it, but the data is still there. If that's the case here, you should still see all of your old folders and files... you can simply drag-n-drop them to the new HDD (C:) I would do this before you get too involved with the new system... in case anything is corrupted and causes problems with your new machine you can rebuild more easily from this point... [;)] On the off chance that your new machine uses SATA drives there will be a few other things we may need to do...

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