Dead HDD?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by OjBinge, Oct 28, 2006.

  1. OjBinge

    OjBinge Private E-2

    So, my computer (self-built) starting acting fishy a couple weeks ago. I got a MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION BSOD, but I was able to reboot and continue normally. I chose to backup my files, clean my case of dust and double check component connections, reformat, and reinstall Windows.

    This all went to plan, but as I was copying my backed up files (about 25gb worth) from my laptop to my desktop, my desktop froze. Just as I was about to hit the reset button, I got a KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR BSOD. After rebooting, the computer made it to the Windows load screen (with the progress bar at the bottom). It stayed on this screen for about five minutes before freezing. I rebooted twice and got the same result each time.

    So, I reformatted and reinstalled Windows again. It ran well for a while, but as soon as I started trying to copy and/or move around files, it got a little sluggish. Finally, the computer froze again. I restarted before and BSODs popped up and got a "disk read error" when my hdd was supposed to boot. On the next and subsequent reboots, I get a message that "Windows\System32\Config\System" is missing and that I need to repair Windows. Frankly, I don't feel like reinstalling Windows again if it will only fail again. So, does this sound like a hard drive problem?

    I'm using the Western Digital Caviar SE WD1200JB 120GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 hdd I bought when I built the computer about three and a half years ago. The motherboard is a Gigabyte with nForce4 with an AMD processor (3500+, I believe). Vid card is an nVidia 6800gs.

    I didn't notice any strange sounds coming from my hard drive, but it seems unlikely that Windows would install improperly two times in a row. It also seems odd that my computer has been failing while copying items. Any insights? Thanks.
     
  2. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek

    Reseat your memory & run mem test, loose or failing memory can cause "KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR BSOD"


    If worried about HDD test it
    WD has free HDD diagnostics utilities, "Data LifeGuard tools"
     
  3. hopperdave2000

    hopperdave2000 MajorGeek

    I agree with ASUS.. it sounds more like a RAM issue than anything else...
     
  4. Dan Penny

    Dan Penny Specialist

  5. OjBinge

    OjBinge Private E-2

    Well, I tried to reinstall windows again today to test my RAM, but the setup cd fails to format my hard drive every time. It says it's either corrupt or not properly connect. As far as I can tell it's completely connected. I'm taking it to my college's computer repair center to have it looked at tomorrow. Thanks for the recommendations. I'll keep you posted if it's anything particularly interesting.
     
  6. OjBinge

    OjBinge Private E-2

    Got my computer up and running again and promptly ran memtest. After one pass, it had found no errors, so I esc'd out and continued booting. I then ran the WD diagnostics. The quick test stops running after a few seconds and the extended test stops running after a few minutes with the message "Test Error Code: 08- Too many bad sectors." I booted up this morning and after it ran for ten minutes or so I got another BSOD:

    DRIVER_UNLOADED_WITHOUT_CANCELLING_PENDING_OPERATIONS

    STOP: 0x000000CE (0xF7AB7537, 0x00000000, 0xF7AB7537, 0x00000000)

    It says PartMgr.sys is at fault.

    So, assuming it's a hard drive problem, could this be something as simple as a faulty ide cable? Or is it just a dead hdd? Thanks for the continued support.
     
  7. TimW

    TimW MajorGeeks Administrator - Jedi Malware Expert Staff Member

    This is a probem with partition manager ....would run a chkdsk /f/r/ on the drive.
     
  8. OjBinge

    OjBinge Private E-2

    Assuming you mean chkdsk /p /r... If so, that's what I just ran in the recovery console. It ran for a little under an hour and reported that one or more bad sectors had been repaired. After restart I ran the WD diagnostics again and received the same results.

    Test Option: QUICK TEST
    Firmware Number: 17.07W17
    Capacity: 120.03 GB
    SMART Status: FAIL
    Test Result: FAIL
    Test Error Code: 06-Quick Test on drive 1 did not complete! Status code = 07 (Failed read test element), Failure Checkpoint = 65 (Error Log Test) SMART self-test did not complete on drive 1!
    Test Time: 18:52:34, November 07, 2006

    Test Option: EXTENDED TEST
    Firmware Number: 17.07W17
    Capacity: 120.03 GB
    SMART Status: FAIL
    Test Result: FAIL
    Test Error Code: 08-Too many bad sectors detected.
    Test Time: 19:06:13, November 07, 2006

    WD lists these diag codes as indicative of a defective drive.
     
  9. TimW

    TimW MajorGeeks Administrator - Jedi Malware Expert Staff Member

    Hope you are shopping for a hard drive ....sometimes a complete reformat may help ....but if it is reporting bad clusters ....get a new drive.
     

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