disk read error/ smart did not trip/will not boot

acer emachines

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Exact model please.

i get disk read error

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Turn it on and write down the exact error you see then post it here.

How many of the diagnostics did you run from Seatools? Did you run the Quick and Full tests as well? You must run the Full drive scan.

power on........a disk read error occurred press ctl-alt-del to restart.....................
if i use f2 it asks for a password i never put on in...

i have an acer emachines e442-v889

as i know seatols ran all of them

jamesphillips said:

as i know seatols ran all of them

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What does that mean? Please remember to use full sentences, grammar and spelling on these forums.

Seatools doesn't run any diagnostics by itself. You have to choose which ones to run. How long did Seatools take to run the tests?

Here's the guide for Seatools, it's the Long Test you need to run: http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/201271en?language=en_US

i ran the long test

Do you have access to a Windows 7 disc to run a chkdsk or use any of it's repair options?

i do not have access to windows ......I ran all seatools tests now i have smart tripped my system recovery will not finish

So now you have a SMART error? If so the drive is garbage and you will need to purchase a new one and purchase recovery media from Acer to reinstall Windows.

i am worried about loosing the computer contents.......so smart tripped is a bad thing

SMART means that the drive is failing, or already failed. The Disk Read error already hinted at a failing drive.

You have no choice, the drive is failing and needs to be replaced. As for the 'contents' of your drive, at least of that has already been lost, refer back to Disk Read Error". You may still be able to recover some or all of your personal data, or maybe none at all. That will depend how badly the drive has failed. I assume from your concern about the data that you have not made those all important backups of your important files?

thats right i did not have the money for an external...i was just about to purchase one

Cloud Storage; most companies offer a very decent amount of storage for free. I use 3 different cloud storage services to store my important data aside from in house backups. But even a backup drive at $60 is cheaper than hundreds or thousands that it can cost for professional data recovery, if it even works.

You will need to connect the hard drive to another computer and see if you can access your files, you may get lucky and be able to simply copy off the data you need. Do you have access to another desktop computer? If not you could buy a new hard drive, get the recovery discs and reinstall onto the new drive, then connect the failed drive as a secondary drive and try getting data off it then.

i am worried about loosing the computer contents.

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And that is why you never have your one and only copy of important items on a hard drive!
You should have been saving files to USB sticks and/or burning CDs of data.

Hard drives do fail and the more important the information, the greater the chance you will lose it if you only ever keep one copy.

I have files all over the place. I put some on my google drive, others on paid storage I've had for about 8 years. I have CDs full of programs and data. I have things on USB sticks, sd and micro sd cards and on one very old external hard drive.