Recovery disk question

Good Morning,

I would try a manual chkdsk see if it finds anything. Then maybe a System Restore if there are any restore points available from before the initial problem. I'll have to read a little to see if the non-movable cursor is a uniquely Vista problem or something else. A quick look around didn't provide much definitive info.

From F8 try to get back to the 6 options that include Toshiba Recovery. As it goes through the screens to get there, note the drive letter/location where it finds the Vista OS as shown in picture.


Choose Command Prompt from the list of options. At the command prompt you will run the chkdsk command using the appropriate drive letter probably C: but alter that letter if yours is different.

chkdsk c: /r

Note if it finds any files in bad sectors in the results. Then restart and see if any change.

 

Good Morning,

OkaY, Woke up this morning and it started up fine. It has been running now for a hour or two, but I have not ran any programs like I did last night when it froze.(last night I just opened an Excel spreedsheet to see if it was still there), thats when it froze. The only thing is it seems to be running a little slower than before. Should I restore it to an earlier point, like you said before the problem started? Gotta run out for a few, be back around lunch time.

 

If you are in Windows then I would Create a new restore point. Check for available restore points and run a chkdsk to see if more errors.

So Start and type in Create Restore in the Search box. Select Create Restore Point from the list of results and hit the Create button in the window that opens. Type a name and hit Ok. Close window when finished.

Then Start and type System Restore in the Search box and hit <enter>. See what dates are available for restore points in the window that opens. Don't restore, yet, but check the dates to see if an older one is available.

Then go to Computer and right-click the C: drive and choose Properties. Under the Tools tab click the button Check Now for error checking. Tick both boxes and hit Start. It will schedule for next reboot. Say OK and restart to run the check (Stage 4 will take quite a long time). Note if it finds any errors. It should start Vista again and hopefully run better.

 

One thought is if you never burnt your recovery discs then it might be wise to try to burn them now while you have Vista running, just for insurance. You would need a few blank DVD. In between scheduling the chkdsk and before the restart.

Start>All Programs>My Toshiba>Recovery Media Creator then follow prompts. Page 69 in this pdf file of your user manual: http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...es/su2428485/GMAD00209010_SatA500_09Aug13.pdf

 

I was wondering about making the recovery disc myself. I also have an external hard drive that I though about transferring most of my "extra" stuff on to, just in case.

 

I'm on my way out so I will get back to you.

You're only allowed to burn one set of discs, so if you already burned a set then it won't allow it. If you haven't then it gives you a chance now.

Backing up your important documents is a good idea in any case. There are other bootable CDs that would allow you to run Linux from CD and copy files from the HD to external in an emergency.

I would say, see if we can get Vista running fairly well. If not try a Windows System Restore. If still have problems then backup your important documents and consider doing a factory restore which will format the drive to eliminate any errors and reload the Vista OS. The recovery discs would just be insurance in case the Toshiba recovery option didn't work for some reason which is always possible.

 

Hey I just wanted to say thank you. Not sure if you willcome back and see this, but you helped me save a computer that I was about to throw in the trash. Thank you so much for all your help and everything. I made the recovery discs. I still have not done the chkdsk but may do that tonight. It seems to be running fine now though. If I ever have any other problems I will look you up, again, thank you!!!!

 

You are very welcome!

If it is running fine then you are done. I'm glad you made the recovery discs, recovery partitions are not entirely reliable.

The chkdsk is just a check to see if any other errors in the file system but if it is not particularly slow then you can skip it. Or just do a chkdsk /f which is much quicker and only checks the file system but doesn't scan every sector of the HD. That would be Computer>right-click the C: drive and choose Properties. Under the Tools tab click the button Check Now for error checking. Tick the first box only and hit Start. It will schedule for next reboot. Say OK and restart to run the check. Only takes about 5 minutes.

You don't have to be afraid of chkdsk, I just recommended the Restore Point and Recovery discs out of an abundance of caution since we weren't sure the system was stable.

I'm happy I could help you sort things out.

 

Hello again,

Not sure if it will notify you of this or not, hope it does. Well, the computer is on the fritz again. I am thinking it may have more wrong that first thought. I think I messed something up though. It froze up on me and wouldnt do anything, so I started the recovery with the discs I made but it wouldnt go past the screen that says mocrosoft corporation with that little bar above it that looks like it is loading. So.....I put in that disc you had me make and booted through the cd drive. I accidentally hit hide the hard drive now it keeps saying the hard drive is hidden/deleted. Is there any way to reverse this?

 

Hi,

Which disc did you boot from? The Partition Wizard one?

You have to be specific---there is a difference between partitions and hard drive/disks. I don't think it is possible to hide a hard drive so I would think you mean a partition is hidden.

You had three partitions on your HD, which one is hidden and on what screen in PW does it say hidden/deleted?

 

Sorry about that...yes it was the partition wizzard disc you had me download. It did show three partitions. First I checked them all and they were still at the same active/inactive settings I set them at. Two of them said hidden and the one that looked like the hard drive(said 480GB of space) said not hidden. So, for some stupid reason I switched it to hidden. Now when I put that disc in it just shows what looks like the hard drive with a black line all the way across that says ( I believe) hidden/deleted. I am not at home right now so not sure exactly what it said. The computer had been working just fine, then one day it completely froze and wouldnt do anything at all. I did try the recovery disc before I "hid" that partition and that wouldnt even boot the computer up completely. Sorry I cant be more specific at this time.

 

I was just looking at partition wizard and it seems to get a solid black line you would of had to delete all partitions and then it would say unallocated for the whole drive. You can check the exact wording when you get home.

If that is what it says then highlighting the words disk1 should give you a Partition Recovery option on the left hand menu which should find all your partitions again. Then tick all three boxes in the found partitions window and Finish button. Then click Apply in the main window. Something like this: http://www.partitionwizard.com/help/partition-recovery.html

Let me know the exact wording when you get a better look at the main graph in PW and I can advise you if you need partition recovery or maybe just unhide a partition. But from what I can see a hidden partition is only noted in the PW interface with the word "hidden" in the status column of the partition details. Sounds like you have something else going on.

 

I actually did the partition recovery wizzard, both quick scan and full scan. The full scan took forever. On the third picture down on the link you sent me under status they all said lost/deleted then near the bottom of that same pic where it shows a picture of what looks like the hard drive it was a black line. After seeing this I think I remember it saying bad disc. I will check this again when I get home though so I can be more specific with you. Thanks again.

 

That doesn't sound good. Probably the HD is truly bad. Between the first problem and this problem my guess is the HD is failing.

If this is what it looks like in PW we may have to try another partition software that will try to work with the HD. I'm not sure PW will do much if it doesn't identify the drive like in the pic.



We'll see what the quick scan shows. Since you haven't really done anything substantial to the partitions the quick scan may not fail. The full scan tries to read every sector on the HD and there may be enough bad ones that it just gives up. The quick scan just skips to the end of any partition it finds so it wouldn't find as many errors. It doesn't mean there isn't file system corruption but if Quick scan can identify the three partitions that should be there, then it can write that information to the partition table. At least the partitions would be restored. Then we'd have to figure out what kind of shape the data is in.

 

Okay, well I will run it later this evening and let you know what it says. If it is the HD gone bad in your opinion would I be better off buying a new HD and windows, or would I be better off just getting a new computer? I know its just a judgement call, but just curious what you think since a HD and Windows version would run me a couple hundred dollars or so.

 

okay here is what it shows.......on the screen(same as the screenshot you sent) it shows disk 1....then under the word disk 1 is an *:....then I will tell what each column says.....


capacaty says 465.76 GB
used says 465.76 GB
unused 0 B
file system says Bad Disk
type has a blue square and says logical
status says none

None of this sounds good to me, but who knows.

And at the top it show an image of a hard drive and says (bad Disk) with the black line.

 

Is that info coming from a fresh boot of partition wizard that you just started?

And if so does F8 with no disc give you any options?

 

Yes that is off a fews boot, and I did the quick scan and it still looks the same, even after saving changes.....should I try the reboot with no disc hitting F8 next?

 

sorry meant fresh boot

 

Yes, try F8. And also just try normally with no keystroke. I want to know if either gives you any Windows logo even if it freezes. That would tell us the HD is being read somewhat.

If no HD found comes up both ways then I think the HD is done.

 

Okay, did it with hitting no keys first....it went to a dos screen and said:

No bootable device---insert boot disk and press any key

Hitting f8 makes it beep really loud and then goes to the same DOS screen and says the same thing

I take it the recovery discs are not going to do me any good?

 

If you have to replace the HD which is likely then they will come in handy. I believe you said they weren't booting in your earlier post. While your HD isn't being seen go ahead and put the first recovery disc you burnt in and see if it boots. Don't do the recovery just see if it boots to the recovery screen. (Edit: sometimes they are burnt in reverse order so if the first one you try doesn't boot try the second or last one also.)

 

With disc 1 in it said windows is loading files with a white bar that went accross the bottom, after that it just went to a blank screen, then it said microsoft corporation with that "sliding" bar accross the bottom then it just seems to sit on this screen forever with the bar moving accross the screen, like it is trying to load, but there is no sound of the disc running

 

Well, hang on now it brought up a screen giving me an option of TOSHIBA Recovery Wizzard or System Recovery Options

 

Good that means the discs appear to have been burnt properly.

I'd try system recovery options. That is probably the F8 options see if that takes you to the list of five options where you can choose command prompt. I'm curious if diskpart would find any information about your HD.

To be honest, I think your HD is in pretty bad shape. Bad enough that the only real option of salvaging it would be to use the manufacturer's diagnostic to low level format it and then use the recovery discs to try to put the OS back on.

But we can see if we can get it recognized again by other means. It may be something like a bad boot sector or a bad MBR causing the "bad drive" problem but I have a feeling it is worse than that. There are other partitioning discs that may be able to do more than PW.

 

Okay, I did system recovery options and so far it just went to a blank screen, will update you in a minute

 

So far it just had me pick a keyboard layout...US

then it says to select an operating system but it isnt showing anything in the list, just a blank screen and with an option at the bottom for Load Drivers or Next

 

Click next and do the startup repair.
Then if it takes you back to the 5 options before making you restart, choose command prompt.
Type in diskpart and hit <enter>
Then list volume and hit <enter>
Tell me what it says

 

It went to a screen that says startup repair cannot repair this computer automatically

then it gives me two options...

send information about this problem(recommended)

or

dont send


and at the bottom it says view problem details

 

Just hit don't send and see if it takes you back to the choices and see if you can run diskpart and if it can read the drive's partitions.

I think your HD is being seen in BIOS because PW was able to determine its full size 500gb.

Edit: you can hit the details before doing don't send to see if anything of interest. I don't want any details unless there are words like auto failover or something that points to a specific problem or file.

 

okay, when I hit diskpart then list volume here is what it said.....


volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type size status info
------------ --- -------------- ----- ----------- ------- ------- ---
Volume 0 D TI100380V0E CDFS DVD-ROM 3844 MB Healthy

 

That is not good. It is not showing the HD at all. Try list disk and see if it sees the HD.

 

It says Disk 0 online 466 GB (size) 466GB (free)

 

At least the HD is still recognized. I looks like there is no partition information available to PW or Windows. Windows is picky but PW should be better than that.

I was just about to recommend trying Easeus Partition Master but it doesn't have the ability to burn a CD in the free version anymore.

I think I would try Parted Magic iso file and burn it to a CD using imgburn or similar burning software as an image file. It has testdisk which is just about the most powerful partition software available although a bit difficult to use since it is an old fashioned interface.

We would be trying to recover your old partition table. If it showed your Vista files then we would write the partition table and see if the HD will boot. If not then go back to the Recovery Environment and see if it can fix your start up problems or at least sees your partitions in diskpart which would allow chkdsk to look for filesystem errors.

That would probably be tomorrow.

 

okay I will see if I can burn that with this other computer and check in with you tomorrow

 

Should I try the TOSHIBA recovery wizzard in the meantime or will that mess things up?

 

I think the recovery wizard will only give you the option of formatting the current vista partition (wipe all data) and try to install fresh.I think I would hold off on it just now.

The parted Magic CD will give you a quick HD diagnostic which will tell you if the SMART status tripped to bad which means it has several errors and is failing. That would pretty much say the only way to reuse that HD would be to do a low level format and then install the OS.

If it passes the SMART test then trying to recover your current OS might be worth a try because we can't be absolutely sure the recovery discs will work. Sometimes they don't and yours were burnt after you had already been having problems. The burning program should have verified data but I'm just thinking that if the current installation is salvageable it may be worth a shot. It would also give you a chance to save any files you may want need to a flash drive or external HD.

If HD prices hadn't gone up so much because of the floods I would just say buy a HD for $60 or $80 bucks and be done with it but they are a bit more than that right now. It is up to you what you want to do but I would say if the SMART status is tripped, use testdisk to see if you can rewrite your partitions and salvage any files you want and then low level format the drive to get a clean slate. Try the recovery discs to load the OS. If they work then I would go for a new HD, load the OS and keep using the laptop. If the discs don't work then you can decide between a new laptop or a new HD and Win7 installation CD.

 

Okay, I will hold off on the recovery then. When I had it running before I did transfer everything I needed to an external HD so there is nothing I wouldnt want to lose left but I will try the other way and see what that does. I will look for you tomorrow, may not be until the evening if you will be around.

 

I'll be around tomorrow evening.

If you have nothing you really want to save then the Toshiba recovery may be an option. It should have a full image of the HD on disc and will format the whole HD and rewrite both the recovery partition and the OS partition.

The only downside is if the recovery discs don't work you will be left with no OS. Right now you have no OS. It is just a matter of if testdisk can recover your current OS and if it is stable enough to run.

I think a full recovery using the discs is going to be needed. I just don't want to leave you with no options other than buying a HD and installation disc if there is the possibility to salvage. Salvaging may end with an unstable OS and the need to try recovery anyway. If you want to go straight to recovery that is fine and may be a good option depending on how you want to spend your time. It seems there must be something wrong with the very beginning of the HD that is causing partition problems. A full rewrite of the HD should fix that so it is a definite possibility to save time.

 

I think for now I will just do the full recovery to save us both some time. I have a feeling this computer is too far gone to spend too much time on it. I would hate for us to spend hours on it then have to do the full recovery anyways. I will let you know what happens.

 

I'm fine either way. Let me know if you have any problems with the recovery or change your mind about Parted Magic. I'm interested in how things turn out.

 

Well, I tried the TOSHIBA recovery wizzard twice.....both time it gave me an error that said:

ERROR: 05-0172-045D

An error has occurred
Please press [OK] to turn off the computer.


Then when I press okay it ejects the disc and shuts off. Doesnt look good at all huh? It gave me the warning screen and I chose restore to out of box state, ran for a minute or so then brings up the error. You have a Louiville Slugger bat I can borrow?

So, I take it that it is time to either buy a new HD or scrap the computer?

 

A quick search says that is a HD error.

It is really up to you. It could just be that you did something to the partition table in PW that testdisk could fix. Or it could be that the HD is bad.

If you burnt the Parted Magic disc boot from it and it has an icon for Hard Drive Diagnostic on the desktop. It is just a quick summary of the SMART status but that would tell you if the HD is reporting itself as bad. If it says bad then probably best to just get a new HD.

You could also let testdisk write a new MBR to the HD to see if that makes any difference. Or even try to find the lost partitions.

 

Okay, I will burn that and boot from that and let you know what it says

 

When I try to boot with that cd in it says:

No DEFAULT or UI configuration directive found!
boot:_ <--------flashing cursor

I checked the disc in this laptop and it says it has folders for:

boot pmagic mkgriso

Funny thing is I have another Toshiba laptop, that is old and doesnt work either, if nothing else could I just try putting the HD from that one in this one and see what it does?

Does the message I received mean it is a bad HD?

 

That is a Linux boot error, it has nothing to do with HD. It hasn't loaded fully enough to even look for a HD.

Try to boot the CD a couple of times and see if any difference. Did you burn the CD as an image file to make it bootable?

Do you happen to have an empty USB flash drive to try booting parted magic from that?

 

I burned it with ImgBurn, not sure if I made it bootable or not, I just opened it, selected the file and hit burn

 

Did you use "Write Image File to Disc"? It is different then "Write files and folders to disc".

 

Yes I hit write image file to disc, and yes I do have a USB flash drive

 

There are couple of things you could try.

An older version of Parted Magic. I like version 5.10 as it tends to work on more computers. http://sourceforge.net/projects/partedmagic/files/partedmagic/Parted Magic 5.10/

Or you can try burning another CD of the one you have and see if it was a bad burn.

Or try putting the one you have on USB flash. The usb flash has to be FAT32. So if you have to format it, anything on it will be erased. This program works: http://www.linuxliveusb.com/en/download

Basically five steps.

Have USB key connected. Start program.
Step 1 choose the key/drive letter.
Step 2 choose ISO and browse to your partedmagic.iso
Step 3 persistence won't be available
Step4 check the first two boxes and leave the boot in Windows box unchecked
Step 5 hit the lightening bolt to write files. Takes about 5 minutes.

See if you have better luck booting from the USB.