Computer help

[Gan]

Allright, I need to tap into the l33t PC hackerz that reside here to help me fix a hard drive issue with one of my desktops.

History: (80G Seagate HD running Windows XP home)
2 days ago this desktop locked up while running a java app in IE. A hard reboot was performed (holding down power button until system restarts) and while the system was booting up it would get to a certain point (windows would never load) and then flash an error message real quick then would perform an auto restart, only to repeat this process again and again.

Additional symptoms:
-Same auto restart happened when booting in safe mode.
-Put XP disk in to run diagnostics and it would flash the blue screen of death and flash a pagefile error, then stop.
-Pulled drive and attempted to slave it to another computer to rescue data and replace pagefile.sys file and it would cause working computer to flash error screen and start the restart cycle mentioned above.
-Thought it might be a physical memory error; however, replaced chips with other known working memory and same error occurred.
-Attempted to reload windows and error overrode disk command.


What I need to know is how to access the drive contents as a slave without the pagefile error overriding existing working system. I've ran through all pin settings on the drive in order to keep the bad drive from overriding the primary drive on the 'other' computer.

Any thoughts?

[Gan]

http://forum.gsplayers.com/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gifComputer help (http://forum.gsplayers.com/showthread.php?p=997210#post997210)09-12-2009 02:42 PM my thought is your a moran

Let me help you:

You're not your

Moron not moran


Thanks for the laugh though.
:lol:

[radamanthys]

What's the error message?

I think if you push f8 before it loads, you can also disable automatic restart on error, to get the error message.

edit: you already tried safe mode.

[Tsa`ah]

Simplest solution ... external HD case with USB interface.

[Deathravin]

Could check in the BIOS to see which drive is master and which is slave...

Are they SATA (small quarter-inch wide cable) or IDE (big flat 1.5-inch wide cable?)

[Delias]

Simplest solution ... external HD case with USB interface.

This. It is a cheap and easy solution. I used it when my laptop HD took a shit.

[Tsa`ah]

Computer help 09-12-2009 03:41 PM Simplest solution, grow a brian moran

You should probably stop trying to suck it out of my ass.

An external enclosure let's you just plug in the corrupted HD without messing with the bios, messing around in the case ... it's the simplest solution. Just load the new HD, drag all of your important files from the old HD ... format and you're done.

[Gan]

Forgot to add, I did swap the drive out in my USB/external drive and it took over the other system the same way as cable slaving. *Something about how the pagefile error seems to be the one of the first things that comes up from the corrupted drive.

IDE cable. We've tried it on 4 different system so far and its hijacked every one. Wierdest shit I've seen.

Maybe a bootable disk will work... I'll try that after I finish watching UH beat OSU.

[Deathravin]

It's not hijacking... It's fucked.
The hardware is BSOD/bootloop'ing the whole system even as a slave.

Try plugging it in after windows is booted up on the good box. I have a feeling it will either bluescreen again, or show no hard drive.


Other than that, might try it on a Linux system... Linux would give you a bit more information on what's going on, and won't crash because of hardware issues (neither will windows 7, but Linux is probably easier to come by).

[Gan]

It will hijack a windows system thats already booted up (using the USB drive) and make it reboot/error loop.

I might try and find a linux box and see if I can get in that way. This drive has all my music on it, so I really hate to lose it. :(

[Tsa`ah]

It will hijack a windows system thats already booted up (using the USB drive) and make it reboot/error loop.



I don't think that will happen since it's not a bootable drive at that point ... unless you configure bios to read it that way.

[Deathravin]

I don't think that will happen since it's not a bootable drive at that point ... unless you configure bios to read it that way.

(BIOS's? BIOSI? BIOS?... last word is 'system'... so I guess it would be...) "BIOSs" are all different.


It will hijack a windows system thats already booted up (using the USB drive) and make it reboot/error loop.

I might try and find a linux box and see if I can get in that way. This drive has all my music on it, so I really hate to lose it.

Ya... that's one fucked drive. It's causing hardware errors (BSOD). Your data is probably fine, but the hardware before the platters is gone/dead/malfunctioning. The only way to get the data out would be with a data recovery company.

It's certainly not the 100% answer, but... if you plug it in via USB on an already booted system, and it BSOD's... nothing you can really do at that point. Certainly try a linux box, just to see, but certainly seems fucked.

[Gan]

I don't think that will happen since it's not a bootable drive at that point ... unless you configure bios to read it that way.

Its already hijacked another XP system, vista, and now a windows 7 system using the USB external drive box I have.

USB is NOT a solution at this point.

[The Ponzzz]

How much music you talking about?

[Delias]

As far as data recovery companies go, I got some insane quotes when one of my drives went down, like 3000+. Fry's Electronics did it for 150, and recovered damn near everything. If you have one near you, I'd check it out.

[Deathravin]

As far as data recovery companies go, I got some insane quotes when one of my drives went down, like 3000+. Fry's Electronics did it for 150, and recovered damn near everything. If you have one near you, I'd check it out.

Depends on the data recovery...

If they're just getting data off of a drive that won't boot anymore, that's one thing...

This drive would have to be put into a machine that will read the platters itself... The hardware of the drive is fucked. This is REAL data recovery, not 'the hardware is fine, but the software won't boot' data recovery.

This kind of data recovery would be pretty expensive.

[Gan]

I have a Fry's about 5 minutes away. :)

Lots of music, much of which I dont have CD's for anymore (lost a bunch in my last move).

No porn on it.

I also have all of my work and school data and wife's school data backed up on it. Really did not want to lose that. :(

I've got a friend who's got a Linux box that I'm going to try it out on, then if no luck I'll take to Frys. Any excuse to go to Frys, is a good excuse.

[Delias]

My drive was physically fucked, of the "it doesn't even make noise anymore" variety.

[Gan]

I dont think this drive is physically fucked, unless it was damaged electronically. I believe the issue lies in the pagefile.sys and if I can ever get in to replace that file - everything will be peachy. At least thats my 'dream'....

[Clove]

Your HDD controller board is fucked. It is possible to wire a new controller board on it; however it would require less skill and less money to begin backing shit up :P

[Dwarven Empath]

LoL

I DBAN'd my computer then re-installed everything. Now I have this message everytime I log on.

This copy of windows in not genuine

To funny.