Bsod

Sorry for restarting this thread, but thought it easier than starting a new one as the history is here.

BSoD has raised it head again with 3 crashes today, so I think its time to think about replacing the hard drive like for like.
Opening the back I see what looks like 2 drives, so I assume 1 is my C (with op system etc and other my D (which I use for storage )
Both seem to be identical so how do I know which is which ?
TIA

 

Run SPECCY and its reports will tell you the names/model numbers of those exact drives. They physically must both have some indication on them.

 

Thanks for that
I have run speccy both drives have the same id
Hard drives
ST9500325AS
ST9500325AS
They do have 2 different seial number and different running temps.
I cant see anything ponting to which is which for the c drive.
Strangely speccy also saying everything good with both drives under the SMART attributes tabs

EDIT
Have looked again and the first listed is actually the c drive
I can now via photies I tool id via the serials.
Thanks, will keep you posted

 

When you open up the ARROWS beside each in Speccy it shows you the size of each drive and more details. I have a 250gb hard drive and a separate 500gb Data drive on this system I'm typing on and it shows mine clearly.

NB: Just seen your edit so hopefully you can now identify which is the failing one.

 

Was just wondering, if I stick a 1tb drive in to replace the 500gb drive would I have to also increase memory? Currently have 8gb memory installed using 2 slots and showing as 40% usage. ?

 

Not necessarily -
If you remember in the original post I suggested you use Partition Wizard, http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/minitool_partition_wizard_home_edition.html so that you can copy the old drive to the new one-regardless of size- just copy the smaller drive as is- don't fit to new disk- then when it is complete, and you use it, you can extend the C: drive to the whole of the rest of the unallocated space.
Originally, your fault appeared to correct itself, once you changed the memory over (a bit of metal/plastic loose in there- I suggest you check in there again, to be sure- also run Memtest http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/memtest.html on the ram, as it should give you a better idea if there is a fault there.

 

Earlier whilst I had the back off and trying to id the drives I gave everything a blow with a hand bulb and once again swapped the memory sticks around.
I also found another piece of copper coloured debris rattling about as I did before.

Re partitioning, I need to do some more reading to understand this terminology and process.
looking at my C drice via speccy, I see it is split into 5 partitions named 0 to 4. I have no idea what this means or what lies within the 5 partitions.

Have ran memtest and no errors appeared during the tests.
Will do again in morning.

Thanks again

 

If you look at the drive in Disk Management, it will tell you what those partitions are. More than likely, System Reserved/Recovery, System, Recovery, etc.

 

As you are wary of partitioning, I would just do a compete copy with Partition Wizard adjusting the copied partitions, without any input from yourself.
The resizing is not going to stop it working (I think Partition Wizard will resize the partitions as it copies to fit the whole of the new hard drive) Just follow the on-screen advice , and it will make no difference .
Mdonah has shewn you a typical setup on a hard drive. If you ran the Partition Wizard hard drive test, you can see if there are damaged sectors on the hard drive, -if it turns out to be clear, then it may be a different problem.

 

This would be the start of a surface test on your hard drive with Partition Wizard(free version)
Red squares will show damaged sectors

 

Just completed the surface test on the drive and it shows 7 errors

 

That would be my signal to replace the hard drive .

 

Cheers, so if my thinking is right I now carry out the following steps
purchase new drive
run minitool partition wizard and run copy OS to new hdd
istall new hard drive and follow prompts ?

 

Yes, you need a external hard drive enclosure, too- or, another tool, if you can afford it that you can insert both hard drives into.-a hard drive duplicator is the best , I use one myself.
You will need to use another computer to do it, as it is harder to do on your the one with the faulty hard drive.
It is almost 10.30 ,p.m here in UK, so I will come back tomorrow to give a full instruction with some pictures to make it easy for you.
One similar to this- hard drive duplicator
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...=hard_drive_duplicator-_-17-801-093-_-Product
External caddy/enclosure similar to this
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...a_hard_drive_caddy-_-9SIA5B532N0811-_-Product

 

Thank you,
When you say "another pc". I have an xp machine and a xp laptop both still in use for some minor recording of shipping duties. Would one of these be ok ?
Also have a slow erratic W7 laptop.

Forgive my ignorance here, Just another thought, As my machine has 2 x 500gb drives C and D. The D is used for storing my digital photos only before moving to external drives.
As C is the one with errors could I not just copy this drive to an empty D drive and run OS etc from there and then use the C drive (formatted) as the phto storage area ?

TIA

 

Yes.
You'll then have to change the boot order in the BIOS - D drive should be the first boot device.

 

As Eldon says, you can do that.
However, run the same Partition Wizard test on the D drive, just to be sure.
Assuming the D drive is error free, first you obviously need to save anything you have on the D drive , before formatting.
Then , you can format the D drive , and this is where you could save a few dinero's ($$$s/£££,s)
Use either of your spare systems to do the hard drive copying -
Do not use any other software from the duplicator, or, external hard drive enclosure - Just use Partition Wizard.
You need to install Partition Wizard on one of the other laptop/pc .
Do not start Partition Wizard until you have connected the duplicator/caddy/enclosure.
Switch on the duplicator/caddy/enclosure
Once the laptop/pc has recognised it, then start Partition Wizard.
I will post this then upload some pictures, and more information, to make it simple to understand.

 

Eldon,In copying the hard drive, you will not need to enter bios to choose D, as the new hard drive copy will be C:, as it has copied C:

 

Now, the second hard drive which was C: can be used for storage, if formatted, BUT, as it has errors, I would then use Partition Wizard to create new partitions on that faulty drive.
I have done this , myself, so I know it works, before someone says it will not work.
In Partition Wizard, with the faulty hard drive , run the same check s before, and note where the red squares are.
It will be difficult to guess exactly, but USUALLY, I find the first 30-40 gb has most damage, -if in the middle, or, later part of the hard drive- it means more sorting.
What I would ask, is that you copy the red square result to attach , and send , so that I can help more on that.
If just the first part of the hard drive- Then all you need to do is format it, then create a partition of about 50gb, then hide that partition-all with Partition Wizard-and then create, and format the rest of the unallocated space(450gb) a partition there. This 450 gb will be your new D: drive, when you connect it back to the original setup.

 

I have company (family from Canada visiting) so I will come back in a couple of hours, as I will use my duplicator, and take stages of the above and upload- but I need a little time for my family.

 

Great advice guys, thank you. Enjoy he family time baklogic

D drive has been scanned and is showing 1 error approx 90% in so I guess its a no no.
Will have a browse for new drive in meantime

 

I would not worry about 1 error.
After the scan completed, do a full format of D in Windows (make sure to uncheck Quick Format), and then run ckhdsk on D.

 

Sorry, I was in a hurry, if you use this drive after formatting, it will be the new D: drive.
If you had formed a second partition, as I first said, and then used the 450gb partition, it would be either E:, or a letter following from your d/dvd drive- the hidden drive would be D: as your dvd/cd drive(s) will have been assigned a drive letter, and if you attached other hard drives, they may have been assigned a letter, but I would not worry what letter it was assigned.
As for a single bad sector, sometimes, the manufacturers tool could repair that.
I agree with Eldon, that a single bad sector could be ignored, especially that far along the disk.

 

So regardless of which route I take the faulty C drive still needs to be removed from the machine yes?
Therefore I need a caddy or a drive duplicator some of which are at least half as expensive as a new drive.
Will do some costings tonight
Thanks again

 

Unfortunately, yes - in fact both drives.
Pictures as a guide - drive 2 is say your original, and drive 3 would be the new, or whatever drive you wish to put it on

 

-
Click yes, and then click next- then click the apply button-top left, and wait until it says completed.

 

Thanks again
Would the following kit be ok ? the one linked earlier id US based and I prefer a UK seller.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Syba-Dual-...&qid=1500959247&sr=1-2&keywords=syba+sata+iii

 

I don't know anything about that type- possibly
I use a Connectland docking station, similar to this one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/External-D...-170&keywords=sata+hard+drive+docking+station

 

I would go with the external dock too. Half the price and it's portable.

 

The reason I also gave this one was because it will copy without connecting to a pc, too (has its own cloning ability - which would be useful, as long as you put the hard drive to be copied in the correct slot-is also usb 3, -usb2- and usb 1.1compatable that might make using I, but I would think that it would only clone same size drives- so if using different sizes, then , I recommend Partition Wizard, myself to copy - ) with an XP system particularly helpful-so choose which one you feel you can use best.
At the moment, it is at a reduced price.....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/External-Docking-Station-Duplicator-Function/dp/B01G9YR4JK?

Product description
Size Name:Dual Bay USB 3.0 SATA

Dual bay docking station for 2.5 & 3.5 inch HDD / SSD
Compatible with 2.5 & 3.5 inch SATAI, II interface HDD & SSD, it allows users to mount 2 hard drives at the same time, 12V4A power adapter provides stable power supply, which enables reliable connectivity between HDD and host computer.

SuperSpeed USB3.0, full speed and data at once
With USB3.0 SuperSpeed connectivity, data transfer speed could reach up to 5 Gbps, 10 x greater than USB2.0 that allows users to enjoy amazing speed to transfer data in seconds, backwards compatible with USB2.0 and 1.1, bring full speed and data at once to you, never fall behind.

1 to 1 Clone function without host
There is a switch on the back, pull to activate clone function, you are allowed to clone between disks without a host computer, much easier to copy data from one drive disk to another.

Tool free installation, no drive needed
It can be external on the desktop, Plug and Play, no driver installation needed, easy to use, suitable for home and office use, power adapter provides a stable power supply, compatible with most major operating systems such as Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix and etc.

 

Great, will order that kit. Looks like my weekend is sorted for me now. Wish me luck

 

Recap/update.
Ok drive replicator purchased and will attempt task tomorrow.
are these my next steps ?
D drive copied to exthd
D drive to format and rescan for errors.
if ok, D drve to remove and place into target slot of duplicator
C drive remove and place into source slot of duplicator
Run/start duplicate.
When finished check place both drives back into laptop.
Format "old" now empty C drive checking for errors

 

Thank you for the swift reply.
IIRC the bad sectors were all in the last 40% of the scan.
Maybe another scan needed to confirm ?

 

You may get away with it, by partitioning with 55% , then 45%,so that the last part is hidden, and not used.
Start up Partition Wizard, and format, and then create partition for the whole drive.
Click the apply button, and wait until it finishes.
Then shrink partition to say -280gb -you can see a slider at the top of Partition Wizard- SLIDE FROM THE RIGHT TO THE LEFT TO GET THE SIZE.
Then, with remaining section, you can create another partition.
Then click on HIDE PARTITION.
Click the apply button, and wait until finished
The new Partitions will be D:, and the hidden drive could be anything from E, to G, or, even H, depending on your dvd drive(s)-but you can just forget about it.
You will have around 280gb to use for photo's and whatever.
You can replace this hard drive whenever you want/can afford to- it can last a fair time. I would check that drive , say, once a month with CHKDSK /F, JUST TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT, and reduce possibility of losing data that you value.

 

OK both discs placed into duplicator and cloning started as it should with progress bar flashing the scale.
But, now I have the progress bar lights solid at 75% and the source disc light flashing.

The target light solid.
Been at this state for 2 hours now. should i be concerned ?

 

Something has gone seriously wrong here.
When I went back to dual device 100% was illuminated as were 25% and 50%. (75% not)
I turned it off but the xp machine was not seeing the drives but partition mngr was.
Both drives then returned into lap top.
Now lap top wont boot up and goes to recovery page.
"pc needs to be repaired, app or op system could not be loaded as required file missing.

error code 0xc 0000102""

 

Another update
Have returned the drives to their original position.
Got into op system boot via a recovery disc I had made. But, if I take this out the machine shuts down.
Managed to browse both drives and they look identical. Will try getting into bios and see if I can get system to boot from hd.
Need to know whats gone wrong here.

 

Shut xp machine off -Two hard drives now have same operating system, and can be confusing the pc/laptop.
Remove second hard drive, leaving original in place.
Re-start
----------
It should start as normal, as this hard drive was original, and we have only copied it.
If so, then shutdown,and remove the original drive ,and replace with the copy drive.
Restart - again, if it copied fully it should start.-If not , try restart,pressing F8 button, and try safe mode.
Come back, and let us know how you get on
If the original is still O.K when tested to use, but the second hard drive is not, then the copy might not be completed fully
It can be tried again

 

Thanks for you patience.
Before you replied I had run chkdsk with repair and system booted ok although the d drive is not visible even in disk management.
so,, now, original C drive back in its original slot rebooted ok
C removed, D put in C slot alone, will not boot with message, "a required device isnt connected and cant be accessed"

C now in original slot, D out and in a bo for now.

 

Well done-
As I usually copy different size hard drives, I have always just copied , and ticked the fit to new drive box, so- Just thought on this-As your two hard drives are the same size-If you shrunk the second hard drive-it might not have had enough space, if you have more than 280gb n the original Crive.-Hence the 75% etc:,and long wait.
Try copying again, BUT , on the old D:drive, Delete present partitions, and, create single partition, before copying original C: drive to old Drive. With luck that single error on that drive will not be noticeable -

 

Just read that my duplicator will not copy 2 drives of the same size,and the target drive should be larger, mine are both 500gb ??

Also to progress this, how do I now delete or format the D drive? the lap top aint seeing it. Could I use the duplicator kit in PC mode attached to lap top ?

 

Use the Duplicator, but if the duplicator will not copy same size hard drives- do not use it's software - Use Partition Wizard, on another pc/laptop, other than the one they came out of.

 

Use disk management on your XP machine -
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...gement-to-configure-basic-disks-in-windows-xp
Partition Wizard should see the D: Drive, from a pc/laptop.

 

I have currently got the d drive formatting via the duplicator in pc mode attached to a W7 machine.
The xpmachine was just not seeing the drive
The W7 machine does see it but will not open it but a right click gives option to format

 

OK update now I have time to try again.
Trued duplicator route again and same results of 75% completion and source light flashing forever.

Attempt to use partition wizard copy disk function on the XP Desktop and get following error.
"The specified disk is GPT and you OS does not support GPT

 

If the drive you are copying from is the source file- the one you want to make a copy of, then you have to be careful, but it is possible.
If the drive that is showing as GPT file system is the drive you are copying to- then, it is pretty straight forward.

 

They both (source and target) showing as GPT drives in partition wizard.
I am now once again formatting the "d" drive ready for a further attempt, (with what tool Im not now sure),

 

XP doe not support GPT.......

IF your XP machine will not allow you to do any of those with Partition Wizard, then you will need to use the Windows 7 machine to format that one
Partition Wizard has the ability to change GPT TO MBRR, AND MBR TO GPT.
I have meant to try it myself, but have not done so, as yet - but if you look at the top line, and select the 'disc' feature, and click it will give a dropdown list, and you will see a choice to 'convert MBR to GPT, or ,Convert GPT to MBR.
Or, You could just try
IF IT IS THE TARGET DISC.......the original 'D' hard drive
From the same dropdown box, you can
1/ Delete all partitions- then click apply
2/ Then Wipe disc - then click apply
3/ Create a partition
4/ Then try----- Rebuild MBR
If the drive is still showing as GPT then you should be able to use thee ------ convert to MBR
Until you have this disc ready, I would not work on the source drive (old ' C ' hard drive)
I will be around for an hour , or, to, so come back with any progress, and we can continue.

 

Cheers.
The format last time took around 8-10 hrs using the W7 machine ( I left it going whilst in my pit) so I will post back progress sometime tomorrow all being well