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Hard drive failure?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:42 pm
by thewolfe
Symptoms:
No boot device available
SATA0: Installed
SATA1: Installed
SATA2: None
SATA3: None
SATA4: None
SATA5: None
=====================
Please select the device:
CD/DVD
Boot to utility partition
System set up
Diagnostics

========================
Boot device priority
First boot device = CD/DVD

Brought it home and hook it up using SADA to USB and it won't show.

This is my sister-in-law's hard drive and she never shuts it down but because she was on vacation she did and four days later it would not boot.

That seems to happen more with those who don't shutdown their computer. Just a coincidence?

Hard drive failure?

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:53 pm
by Krom
Does BIOS see the drive? If no: Cable check? Power check?

Does the drive spin up and make the proper calibration noise? Does it work if connected to a different port / controller?

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:18 pm
by thewolfe
Does BIOS see the drive? If no: Cable check? Power check?

Does the drive spin up and make the proper calibration noise? Does it work if connected to a different port / controller?

I think my original answers your questions, Krom.

Drive make some noise sometime but not spinning up as a good drive would. And I can't see it at all when attached to my computer with SATA to USB. If drive was working shouldn't I be able to see it cabled to my computer?

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:24 pm
by Aus-RED-5
What brand and model number is the drive?

Seagate has had some problems with their Barracuda drives. Firmware related.

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:32 pm
by thewolfe
WD 5000AAKS

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:35 pm
by Aus-RED-5
hummm... nope. I'm no help. :(

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:29 am
by Krom
Firmware failures happen to western digital drives too, but if it isn't spinning up right it could also be a mechanical failure. But basically the drive is dead, only way to find out why would be to send it to a recovery outfit and have them pull it apart. But I wouldn't recommend that unless the data on the drive is worth $1000-1500 for you.

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:43 am
by thewolfe
I ck'd it this morning and it spins up, clicks a few times and quits spinning and as I said I can't see it cabled to my computer,

I did have a backup program backing up her docs to another computer but will have to see if that was working properly.

You guys heard of Spinrite and if so have you used it and if so, what do you think of it?

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:08 pm
by thewolfe
Wow! Just tried to buy another HD at my local Frys so I could get'ur done quickly but because of the disaster in Japan they had no 500GB HD and thought it might be April or May before they would.

Got one on-line.

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 7:49 am
by Heretic
A lot of tech mags have been saying there would be a hard drive shortage due to flooding in Thailand which makes about 70% of the worlds hard drives. Also laptop prices were to raise due to the flooding also but that was back in Oct of last year. Depending on the how soon the monsoon season ends it could take a while to clean up the mess. I think CompTia sent out a SmartBrief about it, it was also mention along with a Microshaft partner news letter.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/242807/p ... iland.html

http://www.on-sitetechsupport.com/news/ ... -going-up/

Re: Hard drive failure?

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 10:12 am
by Heretic