Kyle Kelasheski Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Hello All, I’m in the midst of having a major hard drive catastrophe: to make a long story short, I found out from the two Dell technicians that I spoke with late last night that with almost 99% certainty, my current hard drive is about to die on me. My computer was so bad yesterday that it was unable to launch the Win OS. I was VERY lucky to call back and get a different technician who was able to walk me through a “backdoor” way to try and get the hard drive to work for another brief period (from a couple of days to a week) just so I can make a backup of our critical files to our external hard drive. He had me run CHKDSK, and luckily the hard drive was intact enough that I could create a new bootsector, as it was corrupted. This allowed the Win OS to finally load so that I could get to our files. I can’t begin to describe to you how panicked I was that we could lose the last three months of our family photos, and not to mention all of our recent work! So, as I race against time to backup up our important documents, I would very much like to have your advice on replacing my hard drive, the type I should get, and suggestions as to where I could purchase it from. Needless to say, we want a manufacturer who is dependable; the hard drive that is now failing us is barely three years old! We want, at the minimum, the following specs for our hard drive replacement: 200 GB 7200 rpm. If I get a replacement drive through Dell, it’ll cost us $144 (this price does NOT include taxes and the cost of shipping and handling). If you know of a RELIABLE parts supplier that could meet or exceed the above parameters, PLEASE list the specific details in your post. We’re in a race against time, and if I have to use the Internet to order the new drive, I’d rather do it through our home system, as I can trust in our Internet security measures. Ideally, I’d have the new drive before the old one fails us completely, that way our down time would be greatly reduced. If possible, I’d love to make our failing drive slaved to the new drive, that way all I’d need to do is copy the documents from the old drive to the new, without even having to rely on our backup that’s sitting in our external hard drive. I’d also greatly appreciate your advice in regards to a reliable and cheap national chain of computer service stores, just in case I’m unable to hookup the new drive properly. I’m talking about stores such as Best Buy, CompUSA, etc., etc. That’s it for now. I thank you in advance for any speedy assistance in this matter. As always, Yours! Kyle March 8, 2006 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtriniman Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I would take any technicians words with a pinch of salt especially Dell technicians. Don't give up on your hard drive yet. 1st thing in any crisis is damage control. You should try to find a way to store your important documents. Since you're backing up to an external hard drive you should be ok. Before this however you need to keep your hard drive intact long enough for this process. CHKDSK only goes so far. I suggest running different tools on your hard drive to fix any errors both common and registry wise as if your registry is bad you could be faced with Mission Impossible.Try CCleaner: http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp After you download , install and launch you will come across a window with the name of the program and under that a small spec list of your PC. If you wish to save any favorite sites, cookies or passwords for sites then uncheck all the boxes underneath Internet Explorer. If you use Firefox click the Applications tab and do the same thing with the boxes under Firefox. Now click Analyze and after the scan is complete click Run Cleaner. You've just fixed your common errors. The next step is to deal with your registry errors. Click the button underneath marked Issues and then click Scan for Issues. After the scan is done click the Fix Selected issues. You will be prompted to backup your registry changes, this is up to you. Your done for the moment. Next you should defrag your hard drive to be able to access critical files much faster as a few days to a week is not a specific time frame and you don't want to be in the middle of transferring files and your hard drive dies (if that is indeed the case). You can use the default Windows defragger if you wish however it requires 15% free hard disk space and is rudimentary at best. I suggest the O&O defragger: http://www.oo-software.com/en/download/index.shtml?product=OOD8PRO which unlike the default Defragger can be set to run in the background (so it doesn't affect your PC response time) while you continue your file transferring and only requires 5% free hard disk space. I also recommend making an image of your hard drive after it has been cleared of errrors for easier transition to a new hard drive rather than the long drawn out process of installing Windows and transferring your files manually. I recommend Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image. (Both come with a fetaure that allows for transferring of the image dierectly to a new hard drive. And you can begin working on the new hard drive even while the image is being loaded. As far as Hard Drives go I recommend Western Digital. I have one and have never had a problem with it. Scout around the Net for different prices for the different sizes that you would like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorace Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 The Office Depot and Staples tend to have the best sales on harddrives and other computer equipment. Just look their ads to find the best deals. As for the current harddrive, if it was just the boot sectors that were currupted, it's possible that it might just be a one time occurance. If you do another scan disk and include the surface scan, you'll be able to figure out how badly damaged your harddrive is. If you have multiple bade sectors all over the place, it's probably time to get a new harddrive. If no, it could have just been a fluke. This sort of thing can happen if you turn off the computer while it's accessing the harddrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Kelasheski Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 Hello All, I'd like to vigorously thank everyone who contributed suggestions on the behalf of my ailing computer, my wife and myself. The good news is that I was able to backup all of our critical files, including the last three months' worth of family pictures. Thus far Razorace's comments from LucasForums struck a chord with me. He speculated that "...If you have multiple bad sectors all over the place, it's probably time to get a new harddrive. If no, it could have just been a fluke. This sort of thing can happen if you turn off the computer while it's accessing the harddrive..." What's interesting is the fact that I rebooted my computer BEFORE my wife accessed it. She said that when she went to the computer, it was still on my User Account, which should NOT have been still active since I set it to reboot before I left the room. For some reason, it didn't complete rebooting. My wife, not knowing that the computer was trying to reboot, logged out of my account and she then tried logging into her's, and that's when the computer froze up. When she restarted the computer it would not load up Windows. So maybe Razorace's conjecture is accurate; it only APPEARS that my hard drive is failing because the computer turned off while it was accessing the hard drive. I then also followed up on Dtriniman's advice, I downloaded and ran CCleaner (what a GREAT program, by the way), and then I defragged my system. It needed defragging BADLY, as almost the whole entirety of the analysis bar was red in color! All of this being said, we still need to know if our hard drive really is doing okay, because if it has multiple sectors damaged then we need to get a replacement hard drive ASAP. So now I'm asking for some more advice. How do I execute a SCAN DISK including the SURFACE SCAN? I did a keyword search on Google, and I didn't come across anything that seemed useful. Once more, I thank you in advance, and I look forward to any recommendations you may have in regards to enabling us to do a thorough scan of our hard drive. Yours, Kyle March 10, 2006 : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurgan Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I guess I'd try to burn as much important crap onto backups or stuff them onto zip disks (if you have them) as possible just in case. A registry cleaner might help a little (Registry Mechanic suite RULES), but if the hard drive is going bad, yeah, that bites. I've had a few hard drives fail in the past and still never quite figured out why (could have been jarred somehow I suppose, in transport), though my first IBM drive was part of a batch that was apparently ultra-sensitive to shocks, and a large quantity of them failed (IBM denied any responsibility unfortunately, and refused a recall or refunds). Doesn't Norton Ghost let you do a full backup of your system rather easily? Might be worth looking into. At least you can sort out your data later. I'd focus on making sure your data is backed up first and foremost, then worry about the hardware. It's much easier to replace hardware than the work that's being stored (well usually anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushi_CW Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Assuming you're running WinXP: http://www.duxcw.com/faq/win/xp/scandisk.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtriniman Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I guess I'd try to burn as much important crap onto backups or stuff them onto zip disks (if you have them) as possible just in case. A registry cleaner might help a little (Registry Mechanic suite RULES), but if the hard drive is going bad, yeah, that bites. I've had a few hard drives fail in the past and still never quite figured out why (could have been jarred somehow I suppose, in transport), though my first IBM drive was part of a batch that was apparently ultra-sensitive to shocks, and a large quantity of them failed (IBM denied any responsibility unfortunately, and refused a recall or refunds). Doesn't Norton Ghost let you do a full backup of your system rather easily? Might be worth looking into. At least you can sort out your data later. I'd focus on making sure your data is backed up first and foremost, then worry about the hardware. It's much easier to replace hardware than the work that's being stored (well usually anyway). Yeah thats why I recommended CCleaner Kurg. It fixes registry errors AND common errors together. And yes Norton Ghost does allow you to do that which is why I suggested it (and Acronis True Image). Reinstalling Windows and all your programs is a long drawn out process which is a thing of the past now. Just make an image and you're good to go. And yes it's easier to replace hardware than all the work you've done. Follow the link provided above in the previous post to run your scndsk. Glad the programs helped you out Kyle. You should defrag once every month or once every two weeks depending on the size of your hard drive. Get the O&O Defrag i mentioned before. You'll be glad when you have less than 15% free space and you want to defrag.Also get one of the 2 image programs I recommended Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image and make a backup of your entire drive. Norton has a feature that allows you to make a partition on the fly so you can save the image there if you like. Both programs have a compression option and also allows you to choose the size breakdown of the images e.g 100 mb zip drives, 700 md cd drives or 4.7 gb dvd drives. So if you do wipe your hard drive you can just use your image to restore everything back to the time when you made the image. All your programs will be back just like you left it. The shortcuts on your desktop, all your software even your wallpaper will be just like before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtriniman Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Acronis True Image 9 - Acronis True Image 9.0 provides you two backup options in one software: 1) Our original disk imaging backup option which enables you to create an image of your entire hard disk drive, including the operating system, applications, user settings, and all data. Use the image to restore your PC to a known working state without any reinstallation. 2) A new file-based backup option which enables you to backup and restore individual files and folders, like your My Documents folder or a specific file, like your latest tax return. A software wizard walks you through all of the steps. And then Some! Acronis True Image 9.0 makes restoring your system even faster with the exclusive new Acronis Snap Restore feature. It also provides several additional enhancements. Exclusive Acronis Snap Restore — Lightning-speed restore of your PC from an image. You can start working in seconds while your system is still being restored. Exclude files — Save space when creating backups by only backing up the types of files you want to keep Differential backup — Decrease the number of backups you manage. Differential backups capture the changes made since your last full backup Expanded Acronis Drive Snapshot technology — We've expanded the no reboot feature to include backing up specific files and folders. We can even backup system files and open files with no issues. No matter which option you select, you can continue to use your PC during backup. Windows System Restore management wizard — If you run Acronis True Image 9.0 regularly this feature in your operating system is redundant. Free up to 10% of your hard disk drive by disabling this default feature in your operating system using Acronis True Image 9.0 software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtriniman Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Disk imaging, a process that creates an exact copy of a hard disk's contents, used to be the exclusive domain of system administrators, programmers, and other techie types. However, with the advent of large, inexpensive, high-speed external hard drives, it's become an ideal way to create robust backups that can get you up and running quickly if disaster strikes. Realizing this, Symantec has transformed Norton Ghost 10 from a mere disk utility into a general-purpose backup solution, clearly distinguishing it from Acronis True Image 9. Norton Ghost 10's usability and feature enhancements include data encryption and better tools for managing backed-up data. These make it a unique and powerful backup application, even for novice users. Users of Ghost 9 will definitely want to upgrade to version 10. Norton Ghost 10 delivers a slew of new features and usability enhancements--users of Ghost 9 will definitely want to upgrade. The software's clever design gives you a great deal of power and flexibility, creating a complete backup each month and updating that backup daily. It lets you recover from serious mishaps, such as a virus infection or a hard disk crash, or more minor troubles, such as accidentally deleting a file or a folder. You can even retrieve a file from a few days ago if you don't like the changes you've made in the meantime. Norton Ghost 10 can also serve as a time machine. It lets you easily explore the contents of your disk as it was a day or a week ago, retrieving older versions of files that have changed or been deleted. You can also restore your entire disk to the state it was on a given day. The software can create restore points based on trigger events, such as installing a new piece of software or adding a certain amount of data to the disk. Also new in Ghost 10 is optional password-based AES 128-bit, 192-bit, or 256-bit encryption. This is especially useful for keeping data secure if you are making backups onto removable media, since external hard drives are vulnerable to theft. In addition to backup, Ghost 10 offers a Copy My Hard Drive function that replicates the complete contents of one hard drive onto another--very helpful if you are upgrading your system drive to a larger hard disk. Key Features * Backs up everything on your computer - digital music, photos, financial documents, applications, settings, operating system, etc. - in one easy step. * Recovers your system and data even when you can't restart your operating system. * Makes incremental backups to maximize space and save time. * Makes backups on the fly, without restarting your system. * Backs up to almost any media, including CDR/RW and DVD+-R/RW drives, USB and FireWire® (IEEE 1394) devices, and Iomega® Zip® and Jaz® drives. New Features * Automatically creates an initial backup schedule based on your computer's configuration. * Automatically detects storage devices, analyzes your system, and offers "best practice" backup advice during installation. * Automatically monitors and optimizes backup disk space. * Triggers backups on key events, like new program installations or user logins. * Creates new backups on demand with One Button "Back Up Now". * Encrypts backups to help keep them secure. * Task-based interface simplifies management and monitoring. * Displays all scheduled backups - plus the degree of backup protection for each drive on your computer - in one convenient view. * One-step setup wizard makes installation and configuration quick and easy. * Begins backing up to Maxtor external drives by simply pressing the Maxtor OneTouch™ button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Kelasheski Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 Hello All, Well, I'm 95% sure that my hard drive is going to soon fail. I went and updated my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 driver, yet no matter how often I uninstalled/reinstalled it, my computer refuses to produce any sounds. What's ironic is that had I NOT tried to update my driver, I most likely would still have sounds being produced. But the "up side" of this, if you can call it that, is that I once again called Dell. They had me run an IDE diagnostic, and for the third time it came back with a one word summation of the state of my hard drive: "Failed." According to the Dell tech, the most likely reason why the SoundBlaster driver isn't working is that it's being written to a bad sector, and/or the old driver is being "removed" from a bad sector, and since the sector's bad, it's not being uninstalled correctly (Windows' "Add or Remove Programs" utility is listing that Sound Blaster Audigy 2 is STILL installed, even though I "uninstalled" it using Creative Mediasource, Sound Blaster's manufacturer's utility program. I have also run CCleaner numerous times to try and counter any kind of internal error, and all to no avail. After all of these attempts to get SBA2 working, I tried a System Restore to a couple of days back; now every time it tries to startup Windows it takes me to a black screen with white font, giving me about 7 different startup options. The only ones that work are "Safe" and "Safe with networking." I have attempted restoring to earlier and earlier dates, all to the same effect. My understanding of why these System Restores aren't working for me is due to the fact that they are trying to undue "alterations" that are, in fact, failures. They can't undue the effects of bad sectors. I'm no longer able to access my external hard drive, as my computer states that it can no longer find it, nor does it recognize blank CDs or DVDs. And for some reason, when I load up in "Safe Mode with Networking," I'm only able to use the Internet haphazardly; most of the time the computer's unable to connect. At this point in time, I see no other option other than to get us a new hard drive as soon as possible. I double checked who manufactured my current hard drive, and I know that this is going to be difficult for many of you to believe, but it was Seagate. So now I'm in a REAL quandry as to who to purchase it from, because supposedly Seagate is "the best," and it failed me. Just a note for clarity: I BABIED my hard drive. Not once have I so much as bumped it while it was on, or off, but it's still dying. I certainly did not need this new expense, especially in light of having a 7 month old baby. Thanks for all of your help on this matter. I'm certainly open to any more advice until my current drive fails me. I just want to be clear to all of my modding teammates and companions that if it seems like I suddenly disappeared off of the face of the earth, it's definately not due to a lack of interest. I'm just racing to scrounge up the funds to get a new replacement drive so I can once again contribute towards these worthy endeavors. Yours! Kyle March 14, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorace Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Kyle, don't worry about it. I've had a harddrive kick it on me as well. Sometimes stuff just breaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Kelasheski Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 Can DBAN destroy more than my hard drive? verifying Gutmann Hello All, I just downloaded the latest beta of Derik's Boot And Nuke (a.k.a. "DBAN", and its forum is found here: http://www.snugserver.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=6&sid=bfd6973e441f64fae0569235f004239d ), and I'm hoping that a few of my questions can be answered before I use it. Needless to say, I'm nervous about using such a powerful and ultimately thorough tool, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated! (1) Does DBAN target only the hard drive? I'm extremely nervous that DBAN will somehow "spill out" and shred/destroy other devices, such as the CD/DVD drive, the floppy drive, printer, monitor, etc., etc. I'm especially nervous that it'll also attack my Dell Dimension XPS' bootup and diagnostic (via the F2 and F12 keys), which loads up before the Windows XP operating system does; I've been told that this Dell feature is on its own chip, but I cannot say with absolute certainty that this is so. If it does also destroy the Dell bootup, is this something to be concerned about, or is it something that I can reinstall via the software they supplied to me? (2) How can I verify that all of the passes for the Peter Gutmann 35 method have been properly executed? I don't want to interrupt this process prematurely. (3) If I use the Gutmann method on my 200 GB hard drive, how long might it take to complete all of its passes? (4) I was recommended to use DBAN in a last ditch effort to save my "dying" hard drive. I was told that it can be used to completely remagnetize the hard drive, possibly saving it from failure. Thus far, my hard drive is NOT producing any kind of mechanical failure sounds, so is it possible that DBAN can restore it to a "pristine" state so I can later reinstall the OS, software, and my backed up files? Having to buy a new hard drive will really push our finances near the edge, so I'm hopeful that DBAN can help me avoid a new and costly purchase. Just so it's known, I have posted a copy of this help request on DBAN's forum, but I'm hoping that your extra know how will also lend some additional light on this matter. Yours! Kyle March 17, 2006 :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurgan Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Next you should defrag your hard drive to be able to access critical files much faster as a few days to a week is not a specific time frame and you don't want to be in the middle of transferring files and your hard drive dies (if that is indeed the case). You can use the default Windows defragger if you wish however it requires 15% free hard disk space and is rudimentary at best. I suggest the O&O defragger: http://www.oo-software.com/en/download/index.shtml?product=OOD8PRO which unlike the default Defragger can be set to run in the background (so it doesn't affect your PC response time) while you continue your file transferring and only requires 5% free hard disk space. Hey thanks for recommending those files. Is O&O defragger safe to use in Win2KPro? The last few times I've tried to defrag my system have ended in tears (crashes, hard drive errors, though I've always only used the windows default one in Win95B, 98SE or 2k). Do I risk doing any damage to my system if I run it in the background while web surfing or something? Though it's probably best, I typically can't just let my computer run for 12-24 hours without touching it (heh). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtriniman Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Operating System: MS Win NT 4.0, 2003/2000, XP And yes it can work in the background. It has a specific function to allow you to do this without slowing down your system like the default defragger. EDIT:I also recommend http://www.oo-software.com/en/products/oodriveled/ PM or IM me about using the full version if you find the demo is doing the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Kelasheski Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hello All, This hearty "Thank you!" is directed to all of those who spent some time trying to assist me with my failing hard drive. I deeply appreciate all of the advice. Unfortunately, we had to cough up $104 to replace our hard drive with a new one. The upside of this untimely investment is that I'm not getting any "dll" error messages with every startup, the system seems to be running slightly faster and smoother than before. I only have one remaining question: my old hard drive is slaved to the new one. It had a couple of viruses that seemed to be beyond redress from either Zone Alarm or Microsoft's updates (this is in spite of the fact that Zone Alarm said that Microsoft's fixes would work on the viruses). Perhaps my hard drive's gradual errosion played a role in hindering their intended removal, but whatever the case, my question is this: Do I have to worry about the viruses from the old drive infected my new one? One tech that I spoke with said that as long as I don't run any actual program off of the old drive, and as long as the files I'm bringing over are free of the viruses that I have nothing to worry about. Is this an accurate statement, or...? I still have to finish scanning/bringing over a ton of files to the new drive, letters of recomendation to write for students of mine hoping to receive some grants/scholarships, and a resume to update and send out before I'll be able to deeply dive back into any of the modding endeavors I'm currently a member of, but I hope to be over this hurdle soon. I miss not being active in the modding community! Again, thank you for all of your time and effort. As always, Yours! Kyle April 7, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushi_CW Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 I agree with the tech... just make sure you don't run any execs on the old one, and sanitize everything you bring over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtriniman Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 1st things 1st. Get rid of your AV and FW. Get Kaspersky Anti Virus (KAV) & Tiny Personal Firewall (TPF). You'll sleep a LOT better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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