it can of course be an indication of a dying drive
but i have had a  case where it was a BIOS update that was needed (i suppose for the disk controller) - so check that
to be safe - test the drive with the proper disk diag; i recommend UBCD for thsi :
Hardware diagnostic CD    UBCD

go to the download page, scroll down to the mirror section, and  click on a mirror to start the download eg :   ubcd527.iso (522 MB)
Download the UBCD and make the cd   <<==on a WORKING PC, and boot the problem PC from it
Here 2 links, one to the general site, and a direct link to the download

since the downloaded file is an ISO file, you need to use an ISO burning tool
if you don't have that software, install cdburnerXP : http://cdburnerxp.se/

If you want also the Ram tested - run memtest86+ at least 1 full pass,  - you should have NO errors!
 
For disk Diagnostics run the disk diag for your disk brand (eg seagate diag for seagate drive)  from the HDD section -  long or advanced diag !  (runs at least for30 minutes)

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/                        ultimate boot cd
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html             download page

Thanks. Appreciate your input!
I have already imaged the HDD as a precaution.

But my main question was why/what is the message referring to when it says...
"Device\Harddisk1\D"

The system drive is Harddisk0 - that shows in disk manager - what is Harddisk1 when there were no other HDDs connected?

Have not checked yet - have to do this between other duties. :))

I do know the BIOS is reasonably up to date but perhaps 1 release behind.
Will check further as soon as I can.

you can always look if the bios update adresses your problem

Not much of an update - sorry but can advise that there have been no further occurrences of any DISK errors, so far. Will update further as possible.

in my case, it took sometimes weeks to occur

The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk1\D
D could hold key here
I believe you have a USB problem?
I would lean towards ignoring it but try right clicking my computer>manage> disk storage and you can see what is drive 1 etc when you have a USB drive connected?
Is this what you were imaging to?
If it helps use this as reference as it's kind of similar
Windows 7: The driver detected a controller error

Your failing disk is the CD/DVD drive which is disk1.  On most laptops, there is one screw holding it in; after which, it slides out like a drawer.  They're also dirt cheap, these days.

What is the make and model of the laptop?

Thanks for ALL the posts - but especially the most recent ones. More on track I think!!

Rindi
A very good - and basic point. I have a device listed as Disk1 as a removable drive "H". I will check further into this but there are limited options. At the same time (oddly) I do not believe there has been any media loaded when the errors have occurred. At the same time the error is specified a 'controller' error. Will advise.

Merete
Appreciate the comments about "D" but I am certain I have seen this type of a message before and concentrating on the "D" was a bit of a goose chase as it did not relate. No worries though, I am not ruling out anything.

Davis...
DVD rarely in use but also not reported as Disk1. It is reported as CD-ROM 0 but it is assigned as drive D.

For all...
This problem has been highly infrequent and still has not shown itself to be anything more than very infrequent error messages in the system log. This was the reason for inquiring about a positive identification of the source - so I at least know WHAT to watch! :))

Am checking into what mounts as HDD-H next as Disk Management shows it as Disk1 and there is a direct correlation.

Daniel, did you ever check for a bios update, as i suggested in my first post?
what PC model, or motherboard is this?

Yes, I did actually - and I applied it as well.  As I had also mentioned it was fairly up-to-date and in fact better than I had thought. The product is mature and the BIOS update was for only a single minor issue. There have been similar error entries since but only two - close together and none for Dec.

At the same time - from my original post - I only wanted to be sure of the source of the error. Even though tips to resolve are always potentially helpful it was a positive ID of the source that I needed - at least at first.

General update...

HDD-H was mounting as Disk1 as above. Ignored it before because there did not seem to be a reason for it to be the source.

However it is an Express Card 21-in-1 memory card reader. I have removed it from the system for the time being to see if the error may be removed. It was normally always left installed previously but was only used very occassionally. That alone could be a reason for the infrequent error as well.

when the card reader was removed, did that change anything to the disk error
maybe you did not have one yet?

Dunno yet. Had been no errors anyway in Dec at all. I may actually reinsert and use MORE frequently as an alternative if I can - that will also help nail it down if event freq increases. In any case it may take some time due to the nature of the error in the past.

that's exactly what i had, it could run several weeks, before it occurred

Davis

No worries. The DVD drive will be next if needed but it IS disk manager that has reported the HDD-H (express card) as being Disk1 as also mentioned above.

We'll see...

Was it there when Windoze was first installed?
It may well be; but, devices detected by the BIOS will displace devices detected by Windoze.

Just updating...

The issue was not BIOS, CD-DVD drive or a bad HDD.

I was able to test with an alternate ExpressCard (2x USB3 ports) and received similar event log errors (hundreds, actually) for the new card with an attached HDD. The HDD itself works OK on USB2 and passed all H/W scans/tests.

So the bottom line was the device was accurately identified as HardDisk1 although the "\D" portion of the error message is not clear as it was not a mounted drive letter. The device did however show correctly in disk manager and was originally a memory card reader in the ExpressCard slot that was returning the error. Although I do not know whether it is the connector or an internal hardware issue, the issue has been identified as a problem with the ExpressCard expansion slot. There are no driver updates to apply so it is not as simple as that.

Thanks to all who tried to assist.
I will be wrapping up the question shortly.

since you did not give any setup data, we cannot know, however, i said in the first sentence "it can of course be an indication of a dying drive"  which was pretty near
anyway, i'm glad you found and identified the problem

And I believed in my comment @ http:#a39716411 
The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk1\D
D could hold key here
I believe you have a USB problem?

Very sorry for the additional delay - but the positive aspect is the issue is confirmed as being the Express Card Reader, not BIOS, CD/DVD or HDD. The biggest key was not "/D" (still do not know why that is there <grin>) but the identification in Disk Manager that did accurately point to the offending device.

In this case the Express Card is not used frequently and was not a suspect as I expected an actual storage device issue, considering the "hard disk error" message, not the interface driving it!

Anyway - all is well - and has been since removal of the card.
Thanks!

tx for the feedback