Tech Support Forum - View Single Post - External HD Died and then Internal did as well!

ksh937 · 07-01-2009, 02:14 PM

My issue is with two drives: My Maxtor One Touch II 300GB External Hard Drive and my Dell m1530 internal hard drive. My laptop runs Windows Vista and is 1 year old.

My Maxtor One Touch II 300GB External Hard Drive started acting up about a week ago. I was able to access some folders and files on the drive, but others gave me the following error message: “Folder XYZ is inaccessible, incorrect function”.

Using a utility CD from Geek Squad (the Geek Squad MRI CD), I booted my computer directly from the CD. From there, I used the Geek Squad file browser program and was able to see most of my files on the Maxtor HD. After Googling a few websites, I thought my problem had to do with a corrupted partition on the external HD. Since the Geek Squad CD has Norton Partition Magic, I used it to repair the partition.

When I opened up Norton, it immediately found two bad sectors and asked me if I wanted to repair. I clicked yes, without thinking which hard drive it was referring to. It must’ve been referring to my laptop’s internal HD because after I “fixed” the bad sectors, I tried to restart my laptop, but wasn’t able to load up my computer.

Now, when you turn on my laptop, you’ll see a page with the Dell Logo and a progress bar. The progress bar will load up and take you to the Windows Vista screen. The progress bar on the Windows Vista screen will freeze and you’ll see a Blue Screen. Then the computer restarts and gives the message “Windows was not able to load” with 4 options: Start in Safe Mode, Start in Safe Mode with Networking, Use Last Known Good Configuration and Start Windows Normally. All 4 give the same exact result: You’re taken to the Windows Vista screen, it freezes and gives you a Blue Screen, and then it restarts and takes you back to the “Windows was not able to load” screen with the previously mentioned 4 options.

When I use the file browser application on the Geek Squad CD (which is still in the laptop), I no longer see any files on my C: drive (my laptop’s internal hard drive).

Do you guys have any idea what happened to my drives and what I should do about it? I was considering taking it into Geek Squad, but I have heard they aren't that good and that I should consider a full-fledged recovery services company. Thoughts/experiences?

Thanks!

07-01-2009, 02:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
ksh937 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4 OS: Vista	External HD Died and then Internal did as well! My issue is with two drives: My Maxtor One Touch II 300GB External Hard Drive and my Dell m1530 internal hard drive. My laptop runs Windows Vista and is 1 year old. My Maxtor One Touch II 300GB External Hard Drive started acting up about a week ago. I was able to access some folders and files on the drive, but others gave me the following error message: “Folder XYZ is inaccessible, incorrect function”. Using a utility CD from Geek Squad (the Geek Squad MRI CD), I booted my computer directly from the CD. From there, I used the Geek Squad file browser program and was able to see most of my files on the Maxtor HD. After Googling a few websites, I thought my problem had to do with a corrupted partition on the external HD. Since the Geek Squad CD has Norton Partition Magic, I used it to repair the partition. When I opened up Norton, it immediately found two bad sectors and asked me if I wanted to repair. I clicked yes, without thinking which hard drive it was referring to. It must’ve been referring to my laptop’s internal HD because after I “fixed” the bad sectors, I tried to restart my laptop, but wasn’t able to load up my computer. Now, when you turn on my laptop, you’ll see a page with the Dell Logo and a progress bar. The progress bar will load up and take you to the Windows Vista screen. The progress bar on the Windows Vista screen will freeze and you’ll see a Blue Screen. Then the computer restarts and gives the message “Windows was not able to load” with 4 options: Start in Safe Mode, Start in Safe Mode with Networking, Use Last Known Good Configuration and Start Windows Normally. All 4 give the same exact result: You’re taken to the Windows Vista screen, it freezes and gives you a Blue Screen, and then it restarts and takes you back to the “Windows was not able to load” screen with the previously mentioned 4 options. When I use the file browser application on the Geek Squad CD (which is still in the laptop), I no longer see any files on my C: drive (my laptop’s internal hard drive). Do you guys have any idea what happened to my drives and what I should do about it? I was considering taking it into Geek Squad, but I have heard they aren't that good and that I should consider a full-fledged recovery services company. Thoughts/experiences? Thanks!