gmb1994
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SMART failure predicted on primary slave, what is the best way to back up this drive without it failing?
I had to shut down my computer with the power button without going through "Start > Shut Down" and now it restarts asking me to "Press F1 to continue the restart" because "WARNING: Immediately back up your data and replace your hard disk drive. A failure may be imminent. SMART failure predicted on primary slave."
I have not had any problems prior to this with any devices on the computer, except for a faulty ALi PCI USB/Firewire combo card. I have kept this PCI card on the computer because the USB ports work even though the Firewire ports don't.
I have a 40GB Maxtor 34098H4 on the primary master and a 120GB Maxtor 6Y120L0 on the primary slave.
The system event viewer shows multiple "IO_WARNING_PAGING_FAILURE
So far, I have disabled the paging file on the primary slave and set the paging file to system managed on the primary master and uninstalled the PIO mode back to DMA mode 2 on device 0 and device 1 (verified). I plan to check the RAM with memtest86 in a little while. I already had write caching disabled on all drives several months ago.
Just prior to the "hard power down", I was running Google Desktop search and had just installed the latest Windows security updates. My system was cleaned of spyware with Ad-aware and Spybot a few days ago.
I'm wondering if this is a legitimate "predicted failure" on the primary slave or an error as a result of the "hard power-down" perhaps while the system was writing to the paging file.
I really need to back-up all of the 120GB of data on that hard drive (primary slave), but as soon as I start to access a shared folder (main folder) on that drive, the computer reboots! It seems that I can still access all the non-shared folders on that drive, however. How can I rescue all my data off the primary slave before the hard drive fails?
System Specs:
Asus A7V Motherboard
800MHz AMD Duron Processor
640MB RAM
WinXP Pro
Follow-up: After un-sharing the folder via MMC, I am now able to access data on that folder without the computer crashing. But, I'm not convinced that my problem is solved. I still want to back-up my data onto a new external hard drive before the old hard drive fails.
What is the best way to back up this drive without it failing?
I have not had any problems prior to this with any devices on the computer, except for a faulty ALi PCI USB/Firewire combo card. I have kept this PCI card on the computer because the USB ports work even though the Firewire ports don't.
I have a 40GB Maxtor 34098H4 on the primary master and a 120GB Maxtor 6Y120L0 on the primary slave.
The system event viewer shows multiple "IO_WARNING_PAGING_FAILURE
So far, I have disabled the paging file on the primary slave and set the paging file to system managed on the primary master and uninstalled the PIO mode back to DMA mode 2 on device 0 and device 1 (verified). I plan to check the RAM with memtest86 in a little while. I already had write caching disabled on all drives several months ago.
Just prior to the "hard power down", I was running Google Desktop search and had just installed the latest Windows security updates. My system was cleaned of spyware with Ad-aware and Spybot a few days ago.
I'm wondering if this is a legitimate "predicted failure" on the primary slave or an error as a result of the "hard power-down" perhaps while the system was writing to the paging file.
I really need to back-up all of the 120GB of data on that hard drive (primary slave), but as soon as I start to access a shared folder (main folder) on that drive, the computer reboots! It seems that I can still access all the non-shared folders on that drive, however. How can I rescue all my data off the primary slave before the hard drive fails?
System Specs:
Asus A7V Motherboard
800MHz AMD Duron Processor
640MB RAM
WinXP Pro
Follow-up: After un-sharing the folder via MMC, I am now able to access data on that folder without the computer crashing. But, I'm not convinced that my problem is solved. I still want to back-up my data onto a new external hard drive before the old hard drive fails.
What is the best way to back up this drive without it failing?
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
I assume that I want to backup my data using the least amount of seeking motion by the drive heads on the platter. Is "ghosting" the least intense (damaging) method of copying my "failing" hard drive or are there other utilities I should look into?
Note: I do NOT need the back-up disk to be bootable; I just need the data.
Note: I do NOT need the back-up disk to be bootable; I just need the data.
ASKER
Could using the hardware diagnostics, PowerMax by Maxtor, on the failing drive cause more damage to the drive or the data on it?
Ghost or better, acronis trueimage are probably the best way to copy the complete disk without damaging anything. I prefer acronis because with ghost I have had problems now and then, but not with acronis.
http://acronis.com/
Just to rule out other possibilities, I'd remove the disk and slave it to another PC and image it there.
The powermax diagnostic can damage your disk, but only if you handle it wrongly. There are simple diagnostic tests which don't write anything to HD. This test you will need to get a error output which you can then use to RMA the disk with maxtor if you still have warranty on it. There are further tests which write to the disk and those will of course damage your data.
SMART is a technology which monitors your HD and warns you ahead of the disk failing, but it isn't completely fool proof. So sometimes even if you get SMART warnings, your HD might still work another year, or it might break down totally the next seconds. So if such warnings show up it is a good idea to remove your data from the disk. You could still use it for unimportant things...
Sometimes such errors also show up if you have a powersupply or powercable connector problem. Try using another power connecting cable to the HD, or change the PSU.
http://acronis.com/
Just to rule out other possibilities, I'd remove the disk and slave it to another PC and image it there.
The powermax diagnostic can damage your disk, but only if you handle it wrongly. There are simple diagnostic tests which don't write anything to HD. This test you will need to get a error output which you can then use to RMA the disk with maxtor if you still have warranty on it. There are further tests which write to the disk and those will of course damage your data.
SMART is a technology which monitors your HD and warns you ahead of the disk failing, but it isn't completely fool proof. So sometimes even if you get SMART warnings, your HD might still work another year, or it might break down totally the next seconds. So if such warnings show up it is a good idea to remove your data from the disk. You could still use it for unimportant things...
Sometimes such errors also show up if you have a powersupply or powercable connector problem. Try using another power connecting cable to the HD, or change the PSU.
since you don't need a bootable copy of your disk, i would simply copy the data folder by folder to your external drive.
What you can do is install another disk drive with an OS onit (XP?), hook up this drive as slave, and do the copying.
This will access your drive the least, since the OS used is now on the "new" drive, ond not the OS f-rom the dyiing one.
What you can do is install another disk drive with an OS onit (XP?), hook up this drive as slave, and do the copying.
This will access your drive the least, since the OS used is now on the "new" drive, ond not the OS f-rom the dyiing one.
ASKER
To clarify, I do NOT have an OS on the failing drive (primary slave), it's just there for storage.
Since your primary slave only contain data, that means your O/S is functional. Simply attach a new 120GB HDD as a secondary slave (assuming secondary master is being use as CDRom), copy whatever files you need.
Cheers
Cheers
ASKER
Could SpinRite6.0 be used for any data repair or recovery?
any software would be good, provided it does the job. Are you unable to copy the data?
They all recover in a different way, so can have different results.
i suggest testing out till you find one that does what you want; Here some links :
http://www.runtime.org/ GetDataBack
http://www.stellarinfo.com/ Stellar
http://www.software-recovery.com/ Magic recovery
http://www.bitmart.net/ Restorer 2000
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html Restoration
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/activeundelete.html Active undelete
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm pc Inspector
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/smartrecovery.html flash recovery
http://www.ontrack.com/ ontrack
http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecoveryprofessional/ Easy Recovery
http://www.cgsecurity.org Test Disk + utils
http://www.z-a-recovery.com/setup.exe zero assumption
http://www.stompsoft.com/recoverlostdata.html Recover Lost Data
http://www.recovermyfiles.com/ RecoverMyFiles
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-1051391.html# Disk Commander
http://us.mcafee.com/root/package.asp?pkgid=105 EasyRecovery
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10031 VirtualLab Data Recovery
They all recover in a different way, so can have different results.
i suggest testing out till you find one that does what you want; Here some links :
http://www.runtime.org/ GetDataBack
http://www.stellarinfo.com/ Stellar
http://www.software-recovery.com/ Magic recovery
http://www.bitmart.net/ Restorer 2000
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html Restoration
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/activeundelete.html Active undelete
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm pc Inspector
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/smartrecovery.html flash recovery
http://www.ontrack.com/ ontrack
http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecoveryprofessional/ Easy Recovery
http://www.cgsecurity.org Test Disk + utils
http://www.z-a-recovery.com/setup.exe zero assumption
http://www.stompsoft.com/recoverlostdata.html Recover Lost Data
http://www.recovermyfiles.com/ RecoverMyFiles
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-1051391.html# Disk Commander
http://us.mcafee.com/root/package.asp?pkgid=105 EasyRecovery
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10031 VirtualLab Data Recovery
ASKER
In regard to a PSU problem.
How much voltage should the PSU supply to a system that includes 2 hard drives, 2 CD/DVD players/burners and all slots loaded (video card, 2 x ethernet cards, modem card, USB/Firewire adapter card)? I currently have a 300W LCT power supply unit (Model: MPA-300C NO. 98) which reads 300W max (145W max and 9.6W max). I have had this unit since 2000. I want to rule this out as a problem first; so what capacity of PSU would be recommended for my system?
How much voltage should the PSU supply to a system that includes 2 hard drives, 2 CD/DVD players/burners and all slots loaded (video card, 2 x ethernet cards, modem card, USB/Firewire adapter card)? I currently have a 300W LCT power supply unit (Model: MPA-300C NO. 98) which reads 300W max (145W max and 9.6W max). I have had this unit since 2000. I want to rule this out as a problem first; so what capacity of PSU would be recommended for my system?
The "Voltage" isn't what you are looking for, it is "Wattage". Check the following link to calculate what you need, but give it some extra to be prepared for the future and deteriorating hardware.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
and allow for a margin of 50-100 Watts
ASKER
Yes, my mistake, I wrote voltage, but meant wattage.
ASKER
According to the calculator I need at least 320W of power ... my current PSU is rated at 300W!
Often things will work with a lower rated supply, as not all devices need as much power as is mentioned, and not all devices will be running at one time. Nevertheless you should still get a new PSU to get your system to run stably.
i would recommend 400 W or more.
ASKER
Ok, I bought a new Western Digital 120GB hard drive today to backup the old Maxtor 120GB. I will report on my progress soon.
ASKER
Well, now I've got another problem ...
I formatted the new hard drive under the following conditions, and all went well:
Primary master: 40GB bootable hard drive (WinXP already on it)
Primary slave: I disconnected the old 120GB hard drive from this position, temporarily to avoid the SMART error message
Secondary master: CD player
Secondary slave: new 120GB hard drive that needed formatting
I turned the computer off and re-attached the old 120GB hard drive to the primary slave position. Then, when I turned the computer back on, BIOS only sees the old 120GB hard drive attached to the primary slave position and nothing else. I get the "NTLDR file missing" message now because there is no OS on the old 120GB hard drive so nothing boots.
How should I attach the hard drives and CD player so that they will will be seen and function properly?
I formatted the new hard drive under the following conditions, and all went well:
Primary master: 40GB bootable hard drive (WinXP already on it)
Primary slave: I disconnected the old 120GB hard drive from this position, temporarily to avoid the SMART error message
Secondary master: CD player
Secondary slave: new 120GB hard drive that needed formatting
I turned the computer off and re-attached the old 120GB hard drive to the primary slave position. Then, when I turned the computer back on, BIOS only sees the old 120GB hard drive attached to the primary slave position and nothing else. I get the "NTLDR file missing" message now because there is no OS on the old 120GB hard drive so nothing boots.
How should I attach the hard drives and CD player so that they will will be seen and function properly?
ASKER
Ooops, I just figured out why the primary master failed to be seen ... the cable had slipped out while re-attaching the primary slave's cable. But, why can't I still see the secondary slave 120GB hard drive?
ASKER
Ok, I disconnected everything and reconnected everything and all is working as expected.
ASKER
So far, I've successfully backed up my data to the new drive. I'm using ActiveSMART to monitor the drives and it's still showing a "sector re-allocation" error message so I'll be putting the old drive on the shelf. Thanks for your help.
After you have all your data on a new hard drive, now you can use the Ultimate Boot CD hard disk diagnosis to test your hard drive.
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
Good luck!