Another techy problem - hard drive trouble

[Alberon]

I'm having trouble with my hard drive. It stopped booting up after I flashed the bios memory so my SA7 Abit motherboard could cope with a 2.8ghz CPU (which it still doesn't even though the flash worked. When I put the chip in the computer will not even boot the bios up). I took it into work and got all the important files copied.

I had to reformat it and now I can't get Windows XP to reinstall. After formatting the disk the setup program tells me the disk might be bad and refuses to go further.

I've tried using fdisk and format seperately. I've tried putting Windows 98 on instead and I've got nowhere.

I'm currently using a five gig old hard drive which would take Windows XP to get online. So I want to know if my old hard drive is toast before shelling out for a new one.

[gazzyk1ns]

There's probably nothing wrong with it, obviously a freak occurrence or something really coincidental could have taken place... but you must assume that a BIOS flash can't have affected your HD in any way. I mean, a really dodgy BIOS flash could possibly cause your mobo to cause loads of random read/writes to your HD, but they can't damage it or cause it to be unformattable or unpartitionable without physically affecting it. I suppose there might be a one in a million chance that there has been a bizarre write to the master boot record but doing an "fdisk /mbr" and it not affecting things will eliminate that. Assuming you didn't have any problems with your HD for a significant time period beforehand, you can be 99% sure the flash of the BIOS chip and/or mobo is fucky in some way.

[Alberon]

Yeah, I couldn't see how it could have affected my hard drive either. The fact remains is I can't get the damn thing to load any version of Windows. I know I'm a pain for asking, but what should the exact procedure be? I've done it before when Windows 98 buggered up the file system spectacularly twice, but since I've had XP on I've had no trouble. Until now...

[gazzyk1ns]

Flash the BIOS with the previous version, or the version you were using previously, if it'll accept it... physically it's possible, but hopefully nothing is hard-coded into the non-flashable bit of it it which says "don't accept a previous version".

EDIT: Exact procedure for setting up WIndows? Well, after an fdisk /mbr (possibly multiple times if you've had multiple OSs on there, it usually works in multiple 512 byte sectors within the MBR, IIRC...) just set your BIOS to boot from CD and then run "setup", or navigate to /i386 and run "winnt" if it's a version of NT.

[Alberon]

I'm not sure the bios is the problem. I'm using the same computer, just a different hard drive.

[gazzyk1ns]

I'm not sure the bios is the problem. I'm using the same computer, just a different hard drive.

Oh, from your original post it sounds like you kept the HD but changed the BIOS software version?

[Alberon]

I have changed the bios, but it seems to be working fine with this hard drive. My main one will not boot up. I've followed the pattern that's worked before. I fdisk it, format it and install the OS.

It seems strange that it happened immediately after the bios was flashed. I can't believe there isn't a connection. As a last resort I'm going to try taking the hard drive into work again tomorrow connecting it to a machine there and trying to install XP that way.

After it went down the vast ammount of my data was still there. If you connected it as a secondary disk you could see everything. I was able to get all the important stuff off, but there was no way I could make it boot an operating system.

[gazzyk1ns]

You said it, "It seems strange that it happened immediately after the bios was flashed.". Maybe it's a bug which is affected by "large disk support" as Fdisk would call it, and/or one of the cylinder limits? That would explain why your old 5GB disk is fine but your new, +32GB one fucks up the boot process somehow.

[Alberon]

You said it, "It seems strange that it happened immediately after the bios was flashed.". Maybe it's a bug which is affected by "large disk support" as Fdisk would call it, and/or one of the cylinder limits? That would explain why your old 5GB disk is fine but your new, +32GB one fucks up the boot process somehow.

Yeah, it's possible. I'll try it in a machine at work tomorrow and see what it does.

[Alberon]

Okay, I took the hard drive into work and plugged it into a machine there.

I ran a fdisk /mbr and then used the Windows XP setup program booting from the CD to set up a partition and then format it. All went fine until the system files were loaded and the machine rebooted. It just comes up with 'Error loading operating system'.

I'm stuck for any ideas beyond tossing the drive and getting a new one unless anyone can help?

[Alberon]

Last call for ideas. I've just about given up on my hard drive.

I just tried it in a third machine (running on an Abit BE6-II and it still won't boot. I can read and write to the rest of the drive (and it's size is correctly reported) on all three machines (my home one and two at work), but only when it's slaved to another hard drive.

[untitled_london]

I'm not sure the bios is the problem. I'm using the same computer, just a different hard drive.

Oh, from your original post it sounds like you kept the HD but changed the BIOS software version?

that's how i read it too...

okies, what type of drive are e looking at - i have a similar issue with one of mine but its a scs and that comes with the turf.

i guess we're looking at regular IDE here

have you hit any proper tech forums for advice...

off the top of my head - i use ARStechnica, though their forums may still be down, and 2CPU are very technically minded too (& alot more friendly than ars if truth be told)
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if iwas in your boat, i'd slave it, and install the OS to it that way, then when you whip it out, sling it back onto the flashed Mobo and use the repair this  install feature (not the first one but the second one) on the XP/ 2003 install.

i'd blame it on the bios flash too, tbh, go back to the original one is my 2p

[Alberon]

The hard drive stopped working after I flashed the bios, though a smaller older hard drive I installed after my trouble began works fine.

I've tested the hard drive that stopped working in two other machines. Neither can get it working. Neither can complete the XP installation program and it seems to fail at the same point.

[gazzyk1ns]

What make is it? Seagate and Maxtor both have little diagnostics programs on their sites, called Seatools and PowerMax respectively, if memory serves. I've used both of them and they both seemed to report a high level of potentially useful info. I think they'll work with any HD too, it's just that they claim they are "better" with their own make, or somehting similar... I can't remember, it's been ages. Give 'em a go, anyway.

[TTT]

Sorry for jumping on your thread, but does anyone know if it is possible to combine two NTFS partitions. They are both on the same physical HD. I cant really format the partitions as i need to keep all of the files.

Ta
TTT

[Timmay]

Partitionmagic 8.0 can do it. Available from all good P2P resellers.

[untitled_london]

regardless of f-disk have you checked to see wheter the mobo can support a drive of that size, i'm limited by my mobo, you might be too.

at what point does the XP (whatever) install fail, if it can get past the scanning for hardware bit, you're all but good to go, after that some brute force (read as tricks) can normally get the bugger on.

its not over yet...


count to ten 1......2.....


hahahhaha

i hate hardware probs, but, at the same time - i love them just as much.

[Crazy Penis]

Alberon, have you checked your CMOS settings in your BIOS?

The flash may have changed the CMOS to CHS mode. It should be LBA.

The message you had was the same I received on a mates computer. That was the problem.

Don't throw the HD away if any solutions here don't work, it is a problem that can be sorted out, but it's one which you may have to try many 'solutions' to sort it. If you must get a new HD quickly, keep the old one as it isn't completely dead.

[Alberon]

The hard drive is the same one I've been using for the last two years, so it has worked with the motherboard for a while.

The point where the XP install fails is after it's copied the files from the CD to the hard drive and then rebooted. This happens on my machine and on two different ones at work. The only thing the same is the hard drive.

I'll try a new hard drive. If that doesn't work I'll try flashing the bios back to the old version. If that doesn't work I'm going to pay a company to fix it as I'm fed up with banging my head on the wall.

[Crazy Penis]

sorry, yeah I just realised that I mis-read one of your posts and you said it wasn't specific to just one computer

[untitled_london]

The point where the XP install fails is after it's copied the files from the CD to the hard drive and then rebooted. This happens on my machine and on two different ones at work. The only thing the same is the hard drive.

cool that you've sorted that its not the bios - handy to have eliminated that.

okies, so windows has spotted it, as has the bios.

have you got a spare XP CD???

is anything in the BIOS preventing a low-level install procedure?

i.e. anti-virus/ security features - i spent a ten hour stretch staring at the first 5 mins of windows installs over and over again, before i rembered this one.

if its neither of those - i say slaving it to another drive will be the quickest way to get at the data.

have you got a machine with server 2k3 on it?

if so, simply slave it, enable the secondary hdd in the bios (if it doesn't auto spot it)

slave the drive.
-----------------------
in 2k3:

start| run| compmgmt.msc|

goto:

disk management

right click on blank disk | change drive letter & paths

add & give name

---------------------

that should spot the dirve in windows and allow yuo to format it/ access any data on it.

this hass worked for me in the past - ymmv.
i cant verify wether XP pro has the same functions, i think it should as the admin toolset is quite good.

[Alberon]

Thanks for all the help. I've managed to salvage the important data from the hard drive, but I won't bother putting it back on just yet. After two days working on this I'm just going to play with my computer. At the moment if I never saw the inside of a computer again it would be too soon.

Anyway. I got a new 80gig harddrive and it installed first time. I've had my 40gig hard drive for a few years now I think about it, I'm sure when I got it 40 gigs seemed like a lot, so I'm not too bothered it's gone. All of it is still readable, it just won't boot. So I might install it as a slave drive and put easily replaceable software there, if I need it.

Right now, I'm going to install my Geforce and soundcard drivers and do windows update and then I'm going to install City of Heroes again and go relieve my tension beating up some villans. Thanks again for the help and ideas.