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| Thread ID: 37375 | 2003-09-05 06:59:00 | HELP - Hard Drive dead (I think) | somebody (208) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 173200 | 2003-09-05 06:59:00 | I have a problem. A family member was using the computer at the time, so I don't have too many details. Computer: Running WinXP Home, purchased early last year. The computer suddenly restarted partway through a game of Freecell. It came up with the standard WinXP error message of not starting up properly, and gave the option of "Last known good configuration". It had a 26 second or so countdown, but restarted itself after about 2 seconds. They were worried, so they turned the computer off manually. When I was first told about this, I suspected the Blaster worm. BUT, when I booted up the computer, the BIOS couldn't detect the HDD. I tried going in and manually getting it to detect, but it wouldn't work. I tried booting up with the WinXP CD, but that also couldn't find the HDD. I have opened up the case to have a look. The hard drive does spin when the power is turned on, which is a good sign. I can partially rule out a mobo fault, as the BIOS can still detect my CD Burner. Any ideas? My computer specs: AMD Athlon 1.4ghz (Thunderbird) 256mb DDR Ram 20gb HDD (Fujitsu 7200rpm - in an earlier post someone pointed out that the specific model had a manufacturing fault, and could cause the HDD to fry itself). CD Writer 32mb nVidia TNT video card FIC AN11 Motherboard. Windows XP Home, with SP1, and also all the "Critical Updates" downloaded about 5 days after the Blaster worm was mentioned on the news. |
somebody (208) | ||
| 173201 | 2003-09-06 03:04:00 | I would pint the finger at the hard drive. can you take the system back to where you got it?? ask for repair? otherwise you could do a hard drive replacement your self (its not too hard) |
robsonde (120) | ||
| 173202 | 2003-09-06 03:45:00 | Yes - it is the HDD. I can't take the system back (even though theoretically it's still under warranty) as the company I purchased it from went out of business last year. I have bought a new HDD (Western Digital 80GB 7200rpm - $184 from DSE) and replaced it, and am now in the process of reinstalling Windows. The problem is that I've lost a lot of important files and emails on the old HDD. Is there any software I can use to try and recover those files (prefably free).?? I'm also trying to figure out the possible cause of the hard disk failure. Is it possible for a virus to do such damage? |
somebody (208) | ||
| 173203 | 2003-09-06 03:58:00 | if the BIOS cant see the drive then I dont like your chances. there are some companys out there who do data recovery but it is very expencive. its a bit late for the advice but always backup your data...... |
robsonde (120) | ||
| 173204 | 2003-09-06 08:42:00 | I do occasionally back up my data, but unfortunately the last backup I made was in May. I think after this incident I'll do more regular backups:D |
somebody (208) | ||
| 173205 | 2003-09-06 08:57:00 | This very thing happened to my sister's computer a couple of weeks ago. I replaced the HDD and all was honky dory. As for one of my other sisters, her work computer had a similar problem, costing them $600 to get the data retrieved. I don't know if this is expensive or not foe data recovery? |
Archibald (180) | ||
| 173206 | 2003-09-06 09:50:00 | There is software do a google for data recovery but its not the most reliable method. Computer Forensics could recover your data at a cost of $100's, its more reliable. success depends on what died in the drive. If something on the board has died for eg, then its a simple matter for them to hook it up to a board and copy your data but software could not access the data if that was the problem. Computer Forensics (www.cfil.co.nz) |
Murray P (44) | ||
| 173207 | 2003-09-06 10:20:00 | I think i'll do it the DIY way. The data I've lost isn't highly important, but I have a number of files and emails I wish to keep copies of. The hard drive still spins (I can hear it when it starts up), which is a good sign, so I'll look for some of the software you suggested. |
somebody (208) | ||
| 173208 | 2003-09-06 13:33:00 | Hi again, I have also a new HDDrive (Western Digital 80GB 7200rpm - $184 from DSE) to replace the failed Fujitsu hdd in the machine I'm working on, and am now in the process of reinstalling XP...dodo :). I wouldn't hold too much hope in DIY retrieval of your data off your crashed Fujitsu. I've pretty much been there done that last week. No utils I had could access my fat32 drive anyway. :( NOT EVEN FUJITSU OWN! |
electronhell (3374) | ||
| 173209 | 2003-09-06 20:56:00 | When your Fujitsu drive died, did it physically blow up/smoulder or anything? As far as I can tell, mine still spins when it starts up. However, my HDD was formatted in NTFS, so data recovery from that could be a bit difficult. The data I had wasn't very important (eg. business documents), but I would still like to have them:D What's this Fujitsu util you said didn't work with your HDD? I'll have a go with it some time. For future reference, my fujitsu drive is a MPG3204AH (20gb) |
somebody (208) | ||
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