hdd prob

[stearnum]

i have a problem i guess my hard drive is dead but i wanna try anyway to get data from it.

it wont boot to disk. i try to format and it says cant read from disk or something. i havent tried a new ide cable yet. but it shows the size of the hard drive and stuff so im not sure what the problem is yet. if anyone has an idea on that let me know.

so i cant even format and setup a partition.

but if im able to get it to recognize that hdd i have 2 partitions and one of them has like 50+ movies on it so i woulda kinda like to keep it. but i tried to put it in my comp as a slave but it wouild get to boot and just say REBOOT or whatever. so i guess the multiple installations of windows is the problem im not sure.

i know that was hard to read but its on te fly. so if anyone can tell me how to format that drive since windows REFUSES to recognize it AND/OR save the data to put on another machine LMK. i would use powermax software to test the drive but it says it wont work iwth nvidia chipsets. its only 3-4 months old so i dont know why it would crash on me with NO warning if thats what has happened.

[stearnum]

117240mb disk 0 at id 0 on bus 0 on atapi

SETUP CANNOT ACCESS THIS DISK


any ideas? i cant even format the thing.....

[Ice Czar]

having windows on more than one HDD isnt an issue
its an easy way to conduct rescue and repair operations

make sure your BIOS boot order is pointing to the "good" HDD
(HDD 0 would be the Master HDD on IDE 0 [Primary IDE Channel])

Running PowerMax is really your best option
got an old computer? It just requires DOS access
anything would do, just need a FDD

[stearnum]

ya its just the hdd i think i ran scandisk tho and NO errors. yet it wont let me even fdisk the thing... but runninghtem both it wont load windows even tho i have it as slave and my primary (good) hdd as master. i guess its time to return, ,just seems odd that it died with NO prior warning after being used for 3 months.

[Ice Czar]

try it on a different channel from the good HDD


its not unusual for a HDD to give up the Ghost early on in its useable lifespan, if it has sustained damage in shipping or installation, thats normally when it will do it, after say a 3>6 month breakin, if its still good it will probably last the remainder of its warranty period or longer with the proper environment and care

see
Which Brand of HDD is most Reliable (http://www.storagereview.com/php/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=BrandMostReliable&PHPSESSID=cc078c7459ff39b9e4410f150a90436f) SR FAQ
&
Seagate Proper Handling Guide (http://www.seagate.com/training/properhandling/munitintro.html)

[stearnum]

ya i tried it on a diff ide channel. i will try it in another computer and see what happens.

[Ice Czar]

HDDs are mighty fragile devices (read that Seagate primer)
hte rotational speeds, the fly height of the head, and the suceptibility of the disk surface all add up to potential disaster
its suprising as many HDDs live as they do

its the luck of the draw before you get the drive (but a used HDD has twice the chance of being drop kicked in shipping) and of course what your "friends" habits are with HDDs

All you can do is be nice to em and givem a clean cool and above all stable home once you get em.

Ive been lucky and havent lost a single "new" HDD Ive bought (12), and I dont trust new or used HDDs until a proper breakin period is up (normally served in a redundant RAID array)

[stearnum]

ya i have 3 in my comp and installled prob upwards of 20 without a failure yet. i guess my streak has run out.

thx for the help tho. keep ya informed.