1. You are viewing our forum as a guest. For full access please Register. WindowsBBS.com is completely free, paid for by advertisers and donations.

Hard drive clunk

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by spankydata, 2005/09/22.

  1. 2005/09/22
    spankydata

    spankydata Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2002/01/14
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hi
    1. Been having a lot of problems with my computer lately, lots of blue screens. the latest one is a clunk which appears to be coming from my hard drive only now and again. When this happens the computer freezes and i have to reset. Im thinking that the hard drive is failing and I should buy another and clone the drive. Does that seem a reasonable diagnosis?
    2. I already have a hard drive that I cannot access, but contains digital photos I would like to recover. This went **** up about a year ago I have tried Ontrack recovery to no avail. Is there another recovery prog which would be suitable to try?
    thanks
    Steve
     
    spankydata,
    #1
  2. 2005/09/22
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    Yes, it sounds like your hard drive is about to die - do hope you have all your important data backed up.

    You can confirm the hard drive state by downloading disk diagnostic software from the hard drive manufacturer's website.
    Is this fitted to the computer and, if so, is it seen in BIOS?
     
    PeteC,
    #2


  3. to hide this advert.

  4. 2005/09/22
    spankydata

    spankydata Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2002/01/14
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    0
    thanks
    no its not fitted to the computer, but when it was it was detected by the bios
     
    spankydata,
    #3
  5. 2005/09/22
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    If the drive is also seen by Windows there are several freeware file recovery programs available - Google for File Recovery.

    I have used PC Inspector Smart Recovery successfully, but for jpegs Smart Recovery would probably be better.
     
    PeteC,
    #4
  6. 2005/09/23
    spankydata

    spankydata Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2002/01/14
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    0
    Ive now changed the IDE cable and I havent experienced the clunk yet.
     
    spankydata,
    #5
  7. 2005/09/23
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    For your own peace of mind go to the drive manufacturer's website and download their disk diagnostic software and run the drive through it.
     
    PeteC,
    #6
  8. 2005/09/23
    mattman

    mattman Inactive Alumni

    Joined:
    2002/06/10
    Messages:
    8,198
    Likes Received:
    63
    Run the harddrive manufacturer's utilities on both of the drives, they should be able to tell you what the problem is with both of them.

    Watch out for thrashing of the drive heads. This happens when the drive has to access a lot of data from across the platters. It can be caused by not having enough RAM and the system has to use the pagefile on the harddrive instead, or, the drive is badly defragmented and the heads have to search all over the platters for the data. You can notice it by a lot of activity of the HDD LED when you ask the computer to perform a function.

    For the second problem, when you exit the HDD manufacturer's utilities it should leave you at the A: prompt. Change drives (example: Enter D: ) then Enter DIR . If the drive is not formatted as NTFS, you may find you can access your files.

    Matt
     
    mattman,
    #7
  9. 2005/09/23
    spankydata

    spankydata Inactive Thread Starter

    Joined:
    2002/01/14
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    0
    I ran the utility which found no problems with the current drive. However attaching my old drive to the computer resulted in a no show in the bios and nothing in windows, so the utility cant see it. Presumably that means professional help or nothing.
     
    spankydata,
    #8
  10. 2005/09/23
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

    Joined:
    2002/05/10
    Messages:
    28,896
    Likes Received:
    389
    Looks rather like it, I'm afraid.

    FWIW - always back up important data to DVD or CD - my photographs are all backed up to an external hard drive and finished images to DVD as well. Nothing like 'belt, braces and a piece of string' :)
     
    PeteC,
    #9
  11. 2005/09/23
    mattman

    mattman Inactive Alumni

    Joined:
    2002/06/10
    Messages:
    8,198
    Likes Received:
    63
    You did run that drive's utilities? There is a small possibility that the boot sector information is scrambled and although the BIOS and Windows cannot see/identify the drive, the manufacturer's utilities still might. (This can happen when there is a Dynamic Drive Overlay present that has been corrupted). Very slim chance though, considering Ontrack was unable to read it.

    Matt
     
    mattman,
    #10

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Accept Learn More...