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HardDrive Failure(?)

3K views 23 replies 4 participants last post by  junglejeff 
#1 ·
Recently came home to my pc today (which I never shut down) and I have a blue screen on my computer. It says something to the liking of if I have recently installed new hardware, to make sure it was installed right. If it is installed, then to remove it. Then restart. Well, no new hardware.
I restart my comp, and at the first BIOS screen, I get the message:
"Pri Master Hard Disk: S.M.A.R.T. Status BAD, Backup and Replace
Press F1 To Continue"

I only have one hd on it at the moment (I believe it to be a 160gb western digital 7200rpm drive).

When I run Aida32, it tells me this about the drive:

01 Raw Read Error Rate 51 1 1 32768 Pre-Failure: Imminent loss of data is being predicted
03 Spin Up Time 21 148 146 3133 OK: Value is normal
04 Start/Stop Count 40 68 68 32906 OK: Value is normal
05 Reallocated Sector Count 140 1 1 4096 Pre-Failure: Imminent loss of data is being predicted
07 Seek Error Rate 51 1 1 16384 Pre-Failure: Imminent loss of data is being predicted
09 Power-On Time Count 0 96 96 3040 OK: Always passing
0A Spin Retry Count 51 100 100 0 OK: Value is normal
0B Calibration Retry Count 51 100 100 0 OK: Value is normal
0C Power Cycle Count 0 100 100 682 OK: Always passing
C2 Temperature 0 107 253 43 OK: Always passing
C4 Reallocation Event Count 0 1 1 16449 OK: Always passing
C5 Current Pending Sector Count 0 200 200 0 OK: Always passing
C6 Off-Line Uncorrectable Sector Count 0 200 200 0 OK: Always passing
C7 Ultra ATA CRC Error Rate 0 200 253 0 OK: Always passing
C8 Write Error Rate 51 200 155 0 OK: Value is normal

So there are a few things failing on the drive it seems?? My drive is also described as WDC WD1600BB-22DWA0

Any help on this would be appreciated. Should I buy a second drive and install it? Do I have to install a new drive?

My one that I have now seems to work just fine despite those messages I get...? :confused:

Also, never had any blue screens or hardware errors before. PC is only half year old, tops.

Thanks in Advance!

:::HARDWARE SPECS:::

Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
Internet Explorer 6.0.2900.2180
Computer Name NEW (New System)
User Name Owner
Logon Domain NEW

Motherboard
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4E, 3200 MHz (4 x 800)
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset Intel Springdale i865PE
System Memory 1024 MB (DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type AMI (03/26/04)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter RADEON 9800 PRO - Secondary (128 MB)
Video Adapter RADEON 9800 PRO (128 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (R350)
Monitor ViewSonic E70f+-3 [NoDB] (P17042301135)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio (Asus P4C800/P4P800)

Storage
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive WDC WD1600BB-22DWA0
Optical Drive IDE DVD-ROM 16X (16x DVD-ROM)
Optical Drive VOM-12E48X

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 152617 MB (106866 MB free)

Input
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse
Game Controller Microsoft PC-joystick driver

Peripherals
Printer EPSON Stylus C66 Series
USB Device Logitech Extreme 3D Pro USB
 
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#3 ·
That isn't a good message to get. But, S.M.A.R.T. can make mistakes, too, though rarely.

If your data is important to you, you should back it up immediately. After that, you can just wait and see, or get a new drive to be certain you won't have any complete and sudden failure.

You can do more testing with the floppy that this program creates. Boot from it and run the tests. There is a stress test that you might want to try---it will either come back OK and you will know that you still have some life left in the drive, or the test itself will push it over the edge and answer your questions. Back up before doing the stress test.

http://users.adelphia.net/~abraxas/dl/pccheck5.50.zip (Bootable floppy)
http://users.adelphia.net/~abraxas/dl/PCChk550ISO.zip (Bootable CD)

You could try other testing apps, but they all get their information from the BIOS, so I expect their results will be the same.

Whatever you decide, don't trust that drive with anything important.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I have a lot of information on this drive that I can't lose, such as a lot of dollars worth of music. I have no method of backing up my drive at this moment, as it would take 12398 cd's to back it up. Is it safe to leave my pc running overnight and buy a new drive tomorrow, or should i shut it down?

So I am 100% sure I am buying a new drive. But, how can I create an exact image of my C: drive onto this new drive, and then remove the C: drive thus making my new one the master, so basically I switch drives and don't ahve to change anything. I'm aware of the jumper and cables changes, but Im talking software. So my registry is the same, everything.
 
#5 ·
Shut it down & don't boot it again until you have a backup device installed. I would install the new drive with the old disconnected. After you get the drive formatted & the O/S installed, shut down connect the old drive as a slave & either manually copy or use the utility disk that came with the new drive to copy.
 
#6 ·
I agree that you should shut it down. The motor is always spinning.

You can use this free application to clone your old drive to a new one from a floppy disk or CD. There are others available, many that cost money, but for a simple cloning, this one works just fine.
CloneMaxx---->

Just make the CD or floppy, shut off the machine, hook up your new drive to any unused IDE connection (being sure the drive jumper is set appropriately), boot from the CD or floppy, clone the drive, and shut down again.

You will notice that there is no booting into Windows, which would increase the possibility of incorrect drive letters being assigned.

After the cloning, remove the old drive (you may want to save it to clone your new drive to occasionally---it will be a backup at least till it quits), put the new one in where the old was (checking jumpers again), and boot it up.
 
#7 ·
Elvandil:

So if I am understanding you correctly, do this in the following order:

1. Download, install, run prog and make cd-rom.
2. Shut down PC
3. Install NEW harddrive as SLAVE
4. Boot to cd-rom, run prog, clone master onto slave(new).
5. Unhook master and switch jumpers on slave, consequently making it the master.
6. Boot my computer as normal and it should run like it didn't even know I changed anything.

Correct?

And can I also keep my failing drive as a backup until it goes? Just hook it up like normally? However, if I hook it up as normally, it will detect two seperate, but identical installs of WINXP...so do I have to format the dying drive?

Also, will this cloning clone Windows XP and such over as well?
 
#8 ·
Yes. You have the idea.

If you want to use your old drive as a backup, hook it up as a secondary and clone the new one to it occasionally, in the same way you did the first cloning, only in reverse. Put it in the closet for that dire emergency (but don't bet all your data on it since it's dying). No need to format it or anything since the cloning will overwrite everything that is on it and you won't be booting into Windows, anyway, with it attached.

And, yes, the "clone" is an exact copy of your drive as it now is, programs, data, operating system, and all.

Personally, I find this free program simpler and easier to use (not to mention more reliable) than the software from the drive manufacturer. The drives don't even need to be identical for the cloning to take place---the only requirement is that the new drive be as large or larger than the original.
 
#11 ·
Quick Question: I am going to buy my hd right now, and my case is a bit of a pain to work inside, as the wiring is tight.

Can I switch the jumpers on my old HD to slave, and set my new one to master before I do the clone? That way just boot it to floppy and run the floppy, or do I have to switch them after I perform the clone?

If I can switch them before I do the clone, it would be much easier, as I wouldnt have to install the hardware, clone it, shut down, remove both hds and switch em.
 
#12 ·
Managed to find a Western Digital 250GB 7200RPM Harddrive at Best Buy for 129.99!!!!! It had a $50.00 mail in rebate, pain in the butt, but worth it, as the 160gb HD was 119.99 after a $20.00 mail in rebate. So not really a difference. Gonna go through it now, and let you know how it goes.
 
#15 ·
You would certainly be safer and better off if you used the DOS version of Data Lifeguard since the success rate with that seems to be higher than with the Windows version.

What does the Disk Management say about the new drive (Right-click My Computer, Manage, Disk Management)?

In order for explorer to use the drive, it will need to be partitioned, formatted, and a drive letter assigned to it. All this can be done through the right-click menu in Disk Management.

But the drive should not have to be recognized by Windows for the cloning to take place.
 
#16 ·
It had said all was running smoothly but there was no drive letters or anything assigned to it. However, I just ran some software I found on the cd-rom, and it set it up.

Do you recommend using the DOS version of it? The WD site said use the windows version. However, only problem is my floppy drive seems to be rejecting any floppy i put in there...i dunno...its reading it...but says to insert a floppy when i click drive...so i think i am forced to use the windows version...unless you can think of a quick fix?

And also, do you know why when I click the properties of my drive it would say that 71.7mb is used, but only 232gb is free, when the drive is 250gb? Is that just the way windows sees it? Its not a big deal...but just curious...and i cant tahnk you enough for your time too!
 
#17 ·
Better stick with the reliable drive for now.

At this point it makes little difference what Windows thinks about the drive, but do you have SP1 or 2 installed (needed for drives over 137 gigs) and are you sure your mainboard supports a drive that large?
 
#18 ·
I am running Servicepack 2.

Yes, my motherboard supports a drive that large. It is now detected and running on my computer.

My computers motherboard is Asus P4P800SE.

Am I okay to go ahead and clone the drive now through the Western Digital program through windows, as I cant seem to create a floppy to do it.
 
#21 ·
I am running Servicepack 2.

Yes, my motherboard supports a drive that large. It is now detected and running on my computer.

My computers motherboard is Asus P4P800SE. I just checked the manual again, and see no limits as to hard drive size. Just RAM size (2gb)

Am I okay to go ahead and clone the drive now through the Western Digital program through windows, as I cant seem to create a floppy to do it??
 
#23 ·
I have a problem.

I used the Western Digital Drive 2 Drive clone tool through windows. It copied all but 3 files, which the Western Digital prog said were not needed in order for the operating system to run.

So I turn off pc, remove failing hard drive, change jumpers, and set new one to main. Start up my pc, windows xp loads, and the logon screen comes up. I enter my username/password, and then it says Loading Users Settings...then it just stays on that and keeps loading...doing nothing.

So, obviously something is missing. How can I fix this? Should I just wipe the new drive and try again?

(im back on my old, quickly dieing drive) :(
 
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