Question

Very Weird Hard Drive Problem

Asked by: cowgirlky

If the power is turned off to my computer,my IDE Primary Master isn't detected(no hard drive)when I turn it back on. What is so weird is I can "restart" all day long with no problem.It has eventually started in past but now it will not.I ran Norton Rescue Recovery and it says my boot records needs restored,but it has an error that says it can't do it. I have a few things on that hard drive that can never be replaced and I sure hate to lose them.I am running Win 98se.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Asked On
2002-10-10 at 04:30:03ID20371620
Topic

Miscellaneous Hardware

Participating Experts
5
Points
200
Comments
13

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Answers

 

by: saxman99Posted on 2002-10-10 at 10:22:31ID: 7324407

It could be that the battery powering your CMOS could be dead. This will cause the CMOS to "forget" information regarding the hard drive. Check your system time also. If this is also reset, then it could be the battery. If not, then its something else. I'll look into this some more. For now ,I would back up all your important files immediately just in case something is wrong with the drive.

 

by: cowgirlkyPosted on 2002-10-10 at 19:51:34ID: 7325317

Thanks Saxman--My computer finally booted up again.If I keep turning the power on and off it will boot. But it is taking longer and longer to boot or start(this time about 50 tries)no joking. I know the next time power is off,it might not start.When it first started this problem it only took about 10 tries. I checked my CMOS clock (before it started this time)and the time was right.So could it still be my battery? What files are the most important to back up?Also computer runs fine once it starts. Thanks again!

 

by: PHOENIXPosted on 2002-10-10 at 22:36:37ID: 7325664

It could be a timing problem where the hard drive is not spinning up in time to be ready when the computer looks for it. Instead of powering up each time which could just replicate the problem, use C/A/D so the hard drive does not power down while the boot is taking place. If this works you probably still have a problem with the hard drive that should be addressed somewhat immediately.

 

by: ridPosted on 2002-10-10 at 23:26:32ID: 7325750

". I have a few things on that hard drive that can never be replaced..."

I sincerely hope you have copied these things off of this hard drive by now...

The hard drive is definitely a suspect here. It may have problems talking to the BIOS (if BIOS is set to autodetect at startup) or reading the crucial first sectors. There are diagnostic programs that can check the drive for you. Backup all valuable data and run such a program.

Another possibility is the CMOS battery. The fact that the clock keeps time doesn't prove the battery is AOK. If your BIOS is set to autodetect the hard drive at every startup, try setting the entry to "User" and get the proper values inserted for drive parameters.

It just may be a simple thing like a cable hanging almost loose. Pushing all connectors well home into their sockets may help. (Inside the box)

Regards
/RID

 

by: saxman99Posted on 2002-10-11 at 19:51:10ID: 7327737

The next time your computer boots up, run diagnostic software to test your drive for bad sectors or any other problems. Also, see if you can run some diagnostics on your OS and its registry to see if a corrupt registry or system files may be the culprit. There is a good chance that the hard drive is going bad, as PHOENIX suggested. Save all your data now.

 

by: cowgirlkyPosted on 2002-10-11 at 21:05:51ID: 7327885

Thanks again--- everyone---When this problem started I bought a new hard drive and took this one out thinking it was bad. Well the problem was the same , so I put this one back in and evenually it started back.(i still have the new HD but it is of no use)Scan Disk found no problems , but Defrag stops because of an error in drive(not been defragged in a long time). Could it still be a bad HD? Or HD going bad? What about the new one not working either? Also you have said to run a good diagnostic on it. Does anyone know of a good one? I have also checked all connections , and even new IDE ribbons. Me , I think something is messed up with some kind of files,because once the computer does start there is no problems then. I know alot about computers but this has me and alot of others stumped.I try to leave it on all the time,but I live in an area of Ky that has alot of power outages ,especially in the winter. So I'm trying very hard to find the problem. This last episode ,the power company was connecting power to a neighbor's house and keep turnig my power off and on , so it took me 3 days to get it back. I Tried everything.All I finally ended up doing was just keep turning it on and off, till it finally booted.Thanks again for your help, all of you. Good Day!!!P S Please let me know of some diagnostics,if you know of any.

 

by: saxman99Posted on 2002-10-11 at 22:02:53ID: 7328040

One thing that was never told is what OS you are running and what kind of overall config your system is. If a new hardd rive does the same thing, then we should start looking at other components of your computer. Can you boot up with a floppy drive? If so (and assuming your running Win98 atleast) boot up using a WIN98 startup disk, then type fdisk /mbr to clear your master boot record. see if this helps.

 

by: saxman99Posted on 2002-10-11 at 22:03:47ID: 7328045

Sorry. I didnt see that you have already said you are running WIN98se. My bad.

 

by: publicPosted on 2002-10-12 at 04:19:21ID: 7328517

This is a typical symptom of a failing Western Digital drive. Back your data as soon as possible.

 

by: cowgirlkyPosted on 2002-10-12 at 07:03:47ID: 7328769

I tried to do the fdisk/mbr and it came back with an error,I forgot exactly,but it was pertaining to no drive.I have a Quantum Fireball 10GB HD.If this HD is failing, why was I having the same problem with a new one? I'm not saying you are wrong, I just don't understand.What other system info do you need? I have an Award BIOS ,128MB Ram , I don't know what else you need.Do you now of some way I can run a test? I'm desperate , I've been trying to get stuff off I'm wanting to keep.I would like to put my digital photos on a disk,but I keep messing up.I can burn audio with no problem,does it take certain disks for photos? Thanks again for trying to help me,I really do appreciate it.  

 

by: ridPosted on 2002-10-13 at 09:01:06ID: 7331006

The HD manufacturers usually keep some kind of diagnostic program available for download at their site. I'd recommend running such a program. Also I would suggest you examine the cabling and jumpering of the drive. Is it supposed to be set to cable select, or should it be Master/Slave jumpering? some drives distinguish between Master and "Single".

Regards
/RID§

 

by: publicPosted on 2002-10-13 at 20:30:07ID: 7332119

Is this the only drive on the primary ide? also check if you have master only jumpers set.
Quantum was acquired by maxtor, so get diagnostics from maxtor.
No you do not need a special disk for images. Get something like a nero, open then new cd dialog, and just drag over the image names over.

 

by: akbossPosted on 2003-08-17 at 15:01:25ID: 9169978


============================
No comment has been added lately, so it's time to clean up this TA.
I will leave a recommendation in the Cleanup topic area that this question is:
Accept a comment Split between public , rid , saxman99 and PHOENIX
Please leave any comments here within the next seven days.
 
PLEASE DO NOT ACCEPT THIS COMMENT AS AN ANSWER!
 
akboss
EE Cleanup Volunteer
============================

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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