[Ham-Computers] RE: Apparent Hard Drive Failures

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

Jim,

It's possible that software (malware, virus) could be the cause, but it's easier to test the hardware.  Determine the hard drive manufacturer and then go to that manufacturer's website.  (although the PC is a Dell, you won't find hard drive specific diagnostics there).  On the manufacturer's website, download their drive diagnostic utility:

  Seagate and Maxtor - Seatools
  Western Digital - Data LifeGuard Tools
  IBM / Hitachi - Drive Fitness Test

If the drive is from a different vendor, see if they have similar tools (good luck with Toshiba!).  If given the choice between DOS or Windows based tools, I prefer the DOS based version.

Once you have downloaded the utility, create the diagnostic floppy disk and boot from it.  Then follow the instructions.  Generally, I do a "quick" diagnostic which will find most "major" drive problems.  If the "quick" comes back clean, then do a "thorough" or "comprehensive" dignostic (as long as it is *non-destructive*.  This will find more subtle problems.

If a problem is found, the software may tell you what you should do.  Often, you'll be directed to backup the drive, then re-run the software and perform some type of drive wipe or media analysis.  This process generally zeroes every sector on the drive and re-maps bad sectors.  If a bad sector was to blame, then the remapping should make the the drive usable unless there are so many bad sectors that there are no more "spare" sectors available.  At this point, it's time to toss the drive (or get it replaced under warranty).

If the problem was due to bad sectors, then be prepared for the same problem to occur again in the future.  Bad sectors are often caused by media flaws and these flaws sometimes "grow" over time.  You map out the sectors in flawed areas today, but when the flaw grows, adjacent sectors become affected.  This doesn't always occur, but in my experience, it often does.

For reference, most newer drives automatically map out bad sectors as the drive detects them (replacing them with a "spare" sector).  Therefore, you should never "see" a bad sector unless the remap table is full or the drive has a serious mechanical problem.  Hopefully, the "media analysis" diagnostic will make the drive usable, but I wouldn't trust my critical data on it.

BTW, the text message you're getting at boot isn't a DOS message - it's being posted by the system BIOS.  It's telling you that it can't find a "bootstrap" (aka boot sector) on any connected device marked as bootable.

Good luck with your diagnosis.  Let us know what you find!


73,

  - Aaron Hsu, NN6O (ex-KD6DAE)
    {nn6o}@arrl.net
    {aaron.hsu}@nbcuni.com
    No-QRO Int'l #1,000,006
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