#284815 - 25/07/2006 20:10
Hard drive failure....
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old hand
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 931
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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I am having some hard drive issues. I have two hard drives on my computer and the one with WinXP seems to not be booting up. It starts up then after the splash screen, there is a _ in the upper left hand corner and after a little bit, it reboots again. Would it be safe to try to boot from the CD rom and then try to see if I can check the drive or would it try to reformat my hard drive?
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#284816 - 25/07/2006 20:22
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: burdell1]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Yup, after checking inside the case to make sure something silly hasn't happened, like the IDE cable or power connector coming loose, that's the correct course of action.
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#284817 - 25/07/2006 23:01
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: tfabris]
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old hand
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 931
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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When booting from the CD, which option do I choose? also, what might cause a hard drive or a computer to keep rebooting? Is it because that it is trying to load windows from the hard drive and it won't load so it restarts?
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#284818 - 26/07/2006 04:55
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: burdell1]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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The reboot could be caused by many things: hardware failures, driver incompatibilities, corrupted files.
I don't know which option to choose. I'd try the repair option first if it's available to you.
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#284819 - 26/07/2006 05:01
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: burdell1]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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If you care about what is on the hard drive, hook it up to another working computer and try copying whatever it is that you might need off of it. Trying any sort of "repair" option is rarely a good idea, as if it's hosed enough to need repairing, it's bad enough to need a complete reinstall.
Matthew
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#284820 - 26/07/2006 07:08
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: matthew_k]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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Quote:
If you care about what is on the hard drive, hook it up to another working computer and try copying whatever it is that you might need off of it. Trying any sort of "repair" option is rarely a good idea, as if it's hosed enough to need repairing, it's bad enough to need a complete reinstall.
The proper XP repair install is excellent at sorting most corruption issues as long as there isn't an underlying hardware problem. You can also do a repair install with Windows 2000/Me/98/95, you just run the install over the top of the old folder and it repairs/replaces as required, I've done quite a few over the years.
Gareth
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#284821 - 26/07/2006 07:33
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: matthew_k]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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Quote:
Trying any sort of "repair" option is rarely a good idea, as if it's hosed enough to need repairing, it's bad enough to need a complete reinstall.
Matthew
Agree, wasted a couple of hours last week trying to repair an XP install, in the end a clean install was the only solution, took less than 2 hours too.
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#284822 - 27/07/2006 14:59
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: tahir]
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old hand
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 931
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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Thanks for the help...i got it working again...Although I might post this in another thread, what is a good program to use to back up files on a regular basis? I saw Norton Ghost on the shelf, but after reading reviews it seems it can slow your computer down a lot. Which ones do you use? Also, how about for external hard drives (such as 'MyBook')...are they any good?
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#284823 - 27/07/2006 15:28
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: burdell1]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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I use replicator from Karens Tools. I don't back up my system files, I find it easier to re-install if anything drastic goes wrong.
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#284824 - 30/07/2006 15:25
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: tahir]
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old hand
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 931
Loc: Minnetonka, MN
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it happened again, although this time I know why. However, I need to make a Windows Recovery Disk on a floppy...do you know where I go to download it or is it within Windows Xp somewhere?
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#284825 - 30/07/2006 15:42
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: burdell1]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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There should be an option to create a windows recovery disk from within windows itself.
I'm not at the PC right now, I'm on my Mac, but I think it's under control panel, system, advanced, startup and recovery.
Someone correct me if that's wrong.
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#284826 - 30/07/2006 15:46
Re: Hard drive failure....
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Oh right. It's XP...
I don't think you can do a recovery disk on a floppy for XP. I think you're just supposed to use the XP installation CD that came with your computer.
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