KnickNut3
asked on
Is my 4 day old HD dead? How can I salvage some of my info?
Hi. I'm in quite a situation here. Among putting in a GF4 and switching to my RAID ports, I think my brand new 80 GB Maxtor HD is dead. It, after drastic changes, would boot once, then give the same error again.
After many large ordeals, my computer kept giving the message "A disk read error occurred. Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart."
I finally became successful by using the XP Pro CD, going into system recovery/restore, then using CHKDSK /p. It "fixed the errors."
I booted up once fine, then on the reboot, I got the original "A disk read error occurred." I went back to XP CD, but this time CHKDSK said "This drive has unfixable errors."
I tried Norton GHOST, taking my old OS partition image and loading it on, and it booted. On the next reboot, however, I went back to square one.
I tried ghost again, but it would not write. I tried XP CD again, but it became a black screen halfway through bootup (during "Checking your hardware configuration") and nothing else happened. Same thing with MaxBlast. Partition Magic can still see the drive, however. I haven't tried to do anything with that yet.
I tried PowerMax for HD diagnostics, and both quick and advanced tests cleared perfectly. My drive is "certified error free." I ran a couple passes of Burn-ins and received no errors again.
I attempted to move my downloads partition over to my other drive so I could format on a low level, but it wouldn't copy over. It gave me the errors:
Error #1608
File record marked used, File 23
Error #1523
Cluster beyond end
Error #1523
Cluster beyond end
Is there any way I can save this partition? This has a lot of my important files on it, and I don't want to lose it.
All my fixes worked once, then never worked again. Is my HD dead? Here's my proposed plan of attack (the only things I can think of left to do). Please confirm or suggest.
1. Use Partition Magic to salvage anything I can/other partitions off of that drive. (How can I salvage my Downloads partition?)
2. Format that drive entirely clean on a low level.
3. Try putting stuff over again and see what happens. If it does it again, return it.
Thanks for all suggestions.
After many large ordeals, my computer kept giving the message "A disk read error occurred. Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to restart."
I finally became successful by using the XP Pro CD, going into system recovery/restore, then using CHKDSK /p. It "fixed the errors."
I booted up once fine, then on the reboot, I got the original "A disk read error occurred." I went back to XP CD, but this time CHKDSK said "This drive has unfixable errors."
I tried Norton GHOST, taking my old OS partition image and loading it on, and it booted. On the next reboot, however, I went back to square one.
I tried ghost again, but it would not write. I tried XP CD again, but it became a black screen halfway through bootup (during "Checking your hardware configuration") and nothing else happened. Same thing with MaxBlast. Partition Magic can still see the drive, however. I haven't tried to do anything with that yet.
I tried PowerMax for HD diagnostics, and both quick and advanced tests cleared perfectly. My drive is "certified error free." I ran a couple passes of Burn-ins and received no errors again.
I attempted to move my downloads partition over to my other drive so I could format on a low level, but it wouldn't copy over. It gave me the errors:
Error #1608
File record marked used, File 23
Error #1523
Cluster beyond end
Error #1523
Cluster beyond end
Is there any way I can save this partition? This has a lot of my important files on it, and I don't want to lose it.
All my fixes worked once, then never worked again. Is my HD dead? Here's my proposed plan of attack (the only things I can think of left to do). Please confirm or suggest.
1. Use Partition Magic to salvage anything I can/other partitions off of that drive. (How can I salvage my Downloads partition?)
2. Format that drive entirely clean on a low level.
3. Try putting stuff over again and see what happens. If it does it again, return it.
Thanks for all suggestions.
Yeah sounds like you may not be able to retrieve much if anything from this disk. Since it is under warranty I would contact the vendor and implore upon them that you have stuff you want from this drive and see if they will do it for you. They may help you then again they may not.
Anyway you might give one of these a try.
easy recovery
Free Version Personal Edition shows you all the files you could recover with a purchased copy of the Personal Edition.
Personal Edition recovers files from DOS, Windows 3.x, 95, 98 and Me, IDE/ATA/EIDE hard drives, SCSI hard drives, systems, floppy diskettes, Zip and Jaz removable media.
Free Version Professional Edition shows you all the files you could recover with a purchased copy of the Professional Edition.
Professional Edition recovers files from DOS, Windows 3.x, 95, 98, Me, XP, 2000 and NT systems, IDE/ATA/EIDE hard drives, SCSI hard drives, floppy diskettes, Zip and Jaz removable media, and provides advanced data recovery options.
http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecovery/
File Rescue 2.5
Web:http://www.file-rescue.com/
GetDataBack for FAT and NTFS
GetDataBack is safe, because it' s read-only, which means the program will never attempt to write to the drive you are about to recover.
The software enables the regular user to conduct his own data recovery by guiding him through five easy to understand steps, thus gives the advanced user the possibility to interfere with the recovery and improve the results, by examining the scan log, the file system details, file and directory information, by selecting the sector range to be scanned, by choosing excessive search for file systems or search for lost files, by calling Runtime' s DiskExplorer.
GetDataBack recovers data from
Hard Drives
Partitions
Floppy Drives
Drive Images
Zip/Jaz Drives
http://www.runtime.org/
For NTFS
http://www.restorer2000.com/r2k.htm
Fast File Undelete
http://www.dtidata.com/
Undelete
http://www.quantumsoft.co.uk/undelete.stm
File Recover 2000
http://www.filerecover.com/
R-Tools
http://www.r-tt.com/
Lost and Found
Lost and Found recovers data from drives that have been formatted, lost partitions through accidental deletion, etc. This applies to FAT or FAT32 partitions only. If the disk is still capable of spinning, there is a chance of recovery.
Lost and Found only performs read operations on the affected hard disk. Many utilities attempt to repair the hard disk and corrupt data in the process. Since Lost and Found only performs read operations, it does not risk the integrity of the data on the disk.
http://www.powerquest.com/support/primus/id160.html
File Restore
If you've deleted your data and you want to get it back, you need FileRestore.
FileRestore is a simple, easy-to-use tool for recovering files that have been lost or deleted from your Windows system.
Designed for Windows XP, 2000, NT, Me, and 9x
http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/filerestore.asp
Disk Commander
In virtually any situation where you need to recover lost data from a Windows system, Disk Commander is the solution. Disk Commander performs a wide range of data recovery operations.
http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/diskcommander.asp
Drive Rescue
Supported file systems: FAT 12/16/32
Windows. 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 or XP
Free
http://home.arcor.de/christian_grau/rescue/
Tool to check and undelete partition
Works with the following partitions:
- FAT12 FAT16 FAT32
- Linux
- Linux SWAP (version 1 and 2)
- NTFS (Windows NT)
- BeFS (BeOS)
- UFS (BSD)
- Netware
- RaiserFS
http://www.cgsecurity.org//testdisk.html
DFSee
http://www.fsys.demon.nl/
MRECOVER
http://kristenonline.com/lain/cih/mrecintro.htm
Emergency Undelete
http://www.c2000.com/software/download.htm
Unerase
http://www.filesearching.com/cgi-bin/s?q=unerase.exe&t=f&d=&l=en&x=11&y=17
Back2Life
http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/57588.html
Hard Drive Mechanic
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/6.html
It's true. Even if you just re-formatted your entire hard drive, you can still get all of your data back because, unlike what most people believe, formatting does NOT erase your files!
With Hard Drive Mechanic's Unformat Feature, you can restore all of your valuable data in about 10 minutes!
demo version:
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/downloads2.htm
Or
http://www.ontrack.com/datarecovery/
Ontrack offers a full range of data recovery solutions to address your data loss needs. Unlike other data recovery companies, Ontrack provides exclusive and patented solutions that do not require you to send in your media for recovery. In situations where the hardware is functioning normally, our patented Remote Data Recovery service and EasyRecovery software solutions can solve your data loss needs safely and effectively in a matter of hours. If another company claims that there is no alternative to shipping your drive, it's because they don't offer an alternative. For situations in which the hardware is physically failing, our In-Lab services will utilize our Class 100 clean-rooms to retrieve your mission critical data.
The Crazy One
Anyway you might give one of these a try.
easy recovery
Free Version Personal Edition shows you all the files you could recover with a purchased copy of the Personal Edition.
Personal Edition recovers files from DOS, Windows 3.x, 95, 98 and Me, IDE/ATA/EIDE hard drives, SCSI hard drives, systems, floppy diskettes, Zip and Jaz removable media.
Free Version Professional Edition shows you all the files you could recover with a purchased copy of the Professional Edition.
Professional Edition recovers files from DOS, Windows 3.x, 95, 98, Me, XP, 2000 and NT systems, IDE/ATA/EIDE hard drives, SCSI hard drives, floppy diskettes, Zip and Jaz removable media, and provides advanced data recovery options.
http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecovery/
File Rescue 2.5
Web:http://www.file-rescue.com/
GetDataBack for FAT and NTFS
GetDataBack is safe, because it' s read-only, which means the program will never attempt to write to the drive you are about to recover.
The software enables the regular user to conduct his own data recovery by guiding him through five easy to understand steps, thus gives the advanced user the possibility to interfere with the recovery and improve the results, by examining the scan log, the file system details, file and directory information, by selecting the sector range to be scanned, by choosing excessive search for file systems or search for lost files, by calling Runtime' s DiskExplorer.
GetDataBack recovers data from
Hard Drives
Partitions
Floppy Drives
Drive Images
Zip/Jaz Drives
http://www.runtime.org/
For NTFS
http://www.restorer2000.com/r2k.htm
Fast File Undelete
http://www.dtidata.com/
Undelete
http://www.quantumsoft.co.uk/undelete.stm
File Recover 2000
http://www.filerecover.com/
R-Tools
http://www.r-tt.com/
Lost and Found
Lost and Found recovers data from drives that have been formatted, lost partitions through accidental deletion, etc. This applies to FAT or FAT32 partitions only. If the disk is still capable of spinning, there is a chance of recovery.
Lost and Found only performs read operations on the affected hard disk. Many utilities attempt to repair the hard disk and corrupt data in the process. Since Lost and Found only performs read operations, it does not risk the integrity of the data on the disk.
http://www.powerquest.com/support/primus/id160.html
File Restore
If you've deleted your data and you want to get it back, you need FileRestore.
FileRestore is a simple, easy-to-use tool for recovering files that have been lost or deleted from your Windows system.
Designed for Windows XP, 2000, NT, Me, and 9x
http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/filerestore.asp
Disk Commander
In virtually any situation where you need to recover lost data from a Windows system, Disk Commander is the solution. Disk Commander performs a wide range of data recovery operations.
http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/diskcommander.asp
Drive Rescue
Supported file systems: FAT 12/16/32
Windows. 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 or XP
Free
http://home.arcor.de/christian_grau/rescue/
Tool to check and undelete partition
Works with the following partitions:
- FAT12 FAT16 FAT32
- Linux
- Linux SWAP (version 1 and 2)
- NTFS (Windows NT)
- BeFS (BeOS)
- UFS (BSD)
- Netware
- RaiserFS
http://www.cgsecurity.org//testdisk.html
DFSee
http://www.fsys.demon.nl/
MRECOVER
http://kristenonline.com/lain/cih/mrecintro.htm
Emergency Undelete
http://www.c2000.com/software/download.htm
Unerase
http://www.filesearching.com/cgi-bin/s?q=unerase.exe&t=f&d=&l=en&x=11&y=17
Back2Life
http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/57588.html
Hard Drive Mechanic
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/6.html
It's true. Even if you just re-formatted your entire hard drive, you can still get all of your data back because, unlike what most people believe, formatting does NOT erase your files!
With Hard Drive Mechanic's Unformat Feature, you can restore all of your valuable data in about 10 minutes!
demo version:
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/downloads2.htm
Or
http://www.ontrack.com/datarecovery/
Ontrack offers a full range of data recovery solutions to address your data loss needs. Unlike other data recovery companies, Ontrack provides exclusive and patented solutions that do not require you to send in your media for recovery. In situations where the hardware is functioning normally, our patented Remote Data Recovery service and EasyRecovery software solutions can solve your data loss needs safely and effectively in a matter of hours. If another company claims that there is no alternative to shipping your drive, it's because they don't offer an alternative. For situations in which the hardware is physically failing, our In-Lab services will utilize our Class 100 clean-rooms to retrieve your mission critical data.
The Crazy One
You say that you "switching to my RAID ports". Could you please explain this and whether switching back continues this error?
ASKER
OK. I changed my IDE drives and put them in my separate, built in IDE-RAID ports. I had the same problem when I returned it to IDE, but I'm keeping it in IDE now for simplicity's sake.
ASKER
OK. I changed my IDE drives and put them in my separate, built in IDE-RAID ports. I had the same problem when I returned it to IDE, but I'm keeping it in IDE now for simplicity's sake.
Well, I take it this is a FastTrak-Lite RAID from Promise? I have that too and it's great. If you've got two drives the same size, use the mirroring capability so the next time a hard drive dies you can keep working on the other one until the replacement comes. OK, Win2000 and XP do software RAID 0,1, and 5 but the hardware accellerated Promise controller is a LOT faster. Software RAID is muderous on CPU load during IO. I guess levels 0 and 1 are not too bad, but you have to be nuts to use software level 5.
So if you were using the built in RAID, are both drives giving this read error or both? I take it both were matching 80s?
So if you were using the built in RAID, are both drives giving this read error or both? I take it both were matching 80s?
2) Use the maxblast or Power Max to wipe the drive AFTER you have gotten any data you want off of it.
There should be a write test that will totally wipe the drive.
If not , then download the Delpar program from www.bootdisk.com and use it to wipe the drive.
If the drive passes the PowerMax testing, then you can probably be sure that it is NOT a hard drive problem, but that does not eliminate an IDE/motherboard/RAM problem.
I hope this helps !
There should be a write test that will totally wipe the drive.
If not , then download the Delpar program from www.bootdisk.com and use it to wipe the drive.
If the drive passes the PowerMax testing, then you can probably be sure that it is NOT a hard drive problem, but that does not eliminate an IDE/motherboard/RAM problem.
I hope this helps !
If the drives were on the RAID controller as a stripe or RAID-0 then the data is completely lost because of how it was written in the first place. Alternating clusters are written to alternating drives, so one drive has only half the data with no parity to reconstruct the missing half.
Make sure that the drive geometry is being detected properly. The Cylinders, heads etc,. need to be properly configured otherwise the drive might seem like it's working fine, but when you start to read/write data you get error messages similar to what you have.
If you had the BIOS set to USER DEFINE for the drive, make sure you let it auto detect.
I know this might seem basic, but I have ran drives ok for a few hours, and got problems after the OS install due to this oversight on my part.
If you had the BIOS set to USER DEFINE for the drive, make sure you let it auto detect.
I know this might seem basic, but I have ran drives ok for a few hours, and got problems after the OS install due to this oversight on my part.
what mobo are you using? is it Abit with onboard highpoint controller? or ( tell us here::))
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YensidMod
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YensidMod
Community Support Moderator @Experts Exchange
Just a quick note:
I had a similar problem after installing a new mobo with my 80 gig Maxtor.
Turned out to be the power supply. I replaced my 250 w with a 400 w supply
Problem solved.
I had a similar problem after installing a new mobo with my 80 gig Maxtor.
Turned out to be the power supply. I replaced my 250 w with a 400 w supply
Problem solved.
Of course, if you have time on your hands to mess with it, you can't do any further damage. A LLF using the vendor's LLF utility may get you going again but I'm going to guess that any success will be temporary.
I'm also going to speculate that any data on the drive is compromised. Since you've only had it a few days, how much NEW stuff might you have accumulated?