tons of crc errors

Working on a p3/733 Dell Optiplex gx110 with a 15g IBM h.d. with xp 128mb memory. A desktop model.

Problem originally at boot up stated disk 1 not found and it goes no further than the xp splash screen. Upon using xp console system dies at 4% and never goes any further. Running PC Certify Pro diagnostics and it also dies at 4% when searching for bad sectors with nothing but crc errors and displays in garbage variable almost like in the real old days when a boot sector virus nailed the partition. When attached to another machine as the slave and I try to access drive it tells me drive is not formatted and ask if I want to format it. When I try to install another copy of xp in a different folder it wants me to format the drive almost like its never been formatted.

Have used all the tools I know of to try and recover the data but no luck in seeing the drive. Drive also makes clicking noises.

Wondering if anyone knows of another way to maybe save my clients data ??

 

Sounds like the disk is on the way out, or already out.
I guess a repair install doesn't work? Maybe don't try that because if the repair doesn't complete then the system may not boot.

I've never tried this, but I've read (a number of times) that removing the drive, placing it into a plastic bag to protect it from moisture, and then placing it in a freezer for several hours has enabled the drive to function long enough to get critical data off.
Keep this as a last resort after more sensible suggestions have been exhausted.

 

Paul

I will have to give the freezer thing a try. Tried to install another copy of xp into a different folder but even the xp doesnt see that there ever was an operating system there. It wants to format the drive. So whatever happened to it wiped out all traces that there was anything ever there. Like I said the crc error details look like something nailed the master boot record like a big time bug from the old days. Hundreds of sectors were found to be bad and that was only at 5% of diagnosing the h.d.

 

Have you tried fdisk /mbr at the dos prompt of a boot floppy?

Otherwise, Nortons disk editor (runs in dos) is worth a try.

 

It has a ntfs partition so my dos things arent working so well. But did use the xp cd and went to the console and ran chkdsk. It first came back and said partition was okay then I ran chkdsk /p to go through anyway and it never got past 4% let it run for hours and it never got any further.

 

fdisk /mbr at the dos prompt will work on NTFS partitions.

 

Sparrow

Okay going to appear a little dumb here but I am an old dos person from way back and when I use my dos boot disk and even try to access c: on a ntfs hard drive it tells basically not there. This is a 98 boot disk not and old dos 6 disk does that make a difference ???

 

Fdisk is the only DOS program that modifies the HDD independently of the file system on the HDD; it can see an NTFS partition but knows only that it's not a DOS partition.

The /mbr parameter or argument just instructs fdisk to replace the mbr, which the CPU must be able to read to boot the OS on the disk, but fdisk doesn't need to know what file system is on the HDD.

This takes place in the twilight zone between running the BIOS POST and starting the OS on the disk.

 

I will give it a try. The freezer trick didnt work nor did just tapping the drive. Just brings up the xp splash screen and then reboots. This is constant. Whomever built this machine put ntfs on a 15g drive. Personally because this user has no need for the added benefits of ntfs I would have put fat32 on it. More diag programs to use on a fat32 system. In my opinion anyway.

Thanks.

 

"I would have put fat32 on it "
So would I!

There's no need for NTFS on an individual's computer except as an additional partition for a special function - certainly not on the system partition!

 

I totally agree there.

Okay heres one for you on the subject. Large h.d.'s over the fat32 limit do you just do ntfs with w2k or xp or do you use say the western digital cd and let it do its thing in partitioning in fat32 ???

Have done a couple times but it sure looks weird to see 98 with a volume size of 80g or more. Western Digital cd does seem to work but not sure how other things within 98 might or might not react.

 

gghartman

If you use fdisk, there's no fat32 limit for any HDD I'm familiar with; any limit is in terrabytes. The fat32 limit in XP is artificial, suspected to be a result of M$ marketing.

Personally, I make the OS partitions around 10-15 GB (so scandisk etc. don't take forever), and data partitions around 40-50 GB, and these are all fat32. I make one NTFS partition of 10-20 GB for holding files larger than 4 GB (the fat32 file size limit), especially if I want to burn to DVD.

 

Okay now I'm confused here. My understanding is that fat32 has a formatting limitation of 32g.

The way you configure your machines maybe therotically correct but I work with mom and pop type users that get really confused when there is more than a C: drive other than the cd rom drives. What your talking about would be to confusing for my client base and for that matter anyone not in the business. In my opinion. I have worked on many a system where the primary drive is totally utilized and yet there is nothing on the other partition or drive. Have learned that for the people I work with the simpler you make it the less problems one has. I dont create boot cd's using ghost for them I rely on the restore cd's from the vendors but I do show them how and what to back up to cd just in case the drive does crash. The way you configure your systems is not even done in corp america that I'm aware of. I used to work for ge and none of their machine were ever setup like that. To much maintenance for the help desk to remember.

Again my opinion.

 

Right! I said "personally ".
For a beginner I do the same as you, but if the drive is larger than 40GB I will make the system disk that size and expect that they will not fill it up, or they will learn to use at least one other partition.

2000 GB If I recall correctly.