Tech Support Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Problem: is my hard drive dying? How can I tell?

8K views 18 replies 4 participants last post by  BIGBEARJEDI 
#1 ·
My Gateway NE56R is having bad problems involving BSOD, PXE-E61 and PXE-MOF error messages, system crashes and hangs. The trouble started a few days ago after I foolishly clinked on a spam email link that may have been malware/spyware bait. When I realized I may have downloaded a virus, I used my Windows Recovery Partition to delete my entire operating system and restore the computer to factory default settings. The BSOD/PXE crashes came back, though.


I am now wondering if the problem is that my hard drive is dying on me due to age (I bought the computer two years ago) or if malware/virus may have infected the system restore software that resides in the Windows Recovery Partition. I suspect the latter cause, because my computer has never been exposed to any trauma that would break moving parts. I've only been using the computer for two years. Either way, I'm not sure, though.


MY QUESTION


Is there any way I can run some tests to find out which is the problem here? I'm not a techie. I'd appreciate any advice offered.


SYSTEM SPECS


Gateway NE56R
Windows 7 (Service Pack 1)
Intel (R) Pentium (R) CUP B950 @ 2.10 Ghz 2.10 GHz
4.00 GB (3.84 GB available)
64 bit OS


ERROR MESSAGES


1. BSOD - flashes for about two seconds on my screen; I never have time to read all the details before it closes. It says something like, "System shut down due to a problem."


2. When I try to restart the computer, I'm frequently blocked by PXE-E61 (meia test failure, check cable) and PXE-MOF (exiting....?....no bootable device....insert boot desk and press a key).


3. I usually power down after getting PXE, then get the option of restarting in safe mode, etc.


4. When restoring a fresh OS system from the recovery partition (I've done it about two or three times now), I get blocked during "Windows Updates" downloads. I get the "Failure configuring Windows updates. Redirecting changes. Do not turn off your computer."
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Try restarting your laptop, then press the F2 key to enter the BIOS. Once there, see if your hard drive is recognized, if not then your hard drive has failed.

If it is recognized in the BIOS, then download Seatools, burn to a CD, and boot from the CD (press the F12 key to bring up boot order, select CD-Rom). Run both the short, and long tests. Any errors then the drive is failing.
SeaTools for DOS | Seagate
 
#4 ·
The PXE error means that the HDD is not being recognized by the computer or it is failing.
When you enter Setup (Bios) on the Main page, it lists all of your Drives. Is you HDD listed here by Manufacturer part #? (eg) a Seagate drive would start with the letters ST, a Western Digital drive may start with the letters WD.
As alpendiver suggested, on another computer download the ISO image for Seatools in my signature. Burn the image to CD using IMGBurn also in my signature. Put the newly created CD in the troubled computer and restart and press F12, choose Boot Order, move CD rom drive to First Boot Device save and exit. Run the Short and Long tests on the HDD. If either tests fail, the HDD needs to be replaced.
To read the BSOD message, restart the computer and press F8. In the Advanced Boot options, choose Disable Automatic Restart after Error.
 
#5 ·
alpenadiver & spunk.funk: I appreciate the replies.

Here's my BIOS data...I'm giving you everything I think might be relevant. I don't know what it means. Any evidence that's something's broken, or that code has been altered by malware?


INFORMATION

HDD Model Name: Hitachi HTS543232A7A384
HDD Serial Number: (fully listed; I won't repeat it here)
ATAPI Model Name: Pioneer DVD-RW DVRTD11RS


MAIN

Quiet Boot (enabled)
Network Boot (enabled)
F12 Boot Menu (disabled)
D2D Recovery (enabled)
Wake on LAN (disabled)
SATA Mode (AHCI Mode)
Function Key Behavior (Special Keys)


SECURITY

Supervisor password is: clear
User password is: clear
HDD password is: frozen
Set supervisor passord: enter
Set user password: enter
Set HDD password: enter
Password on boot: disabled


BOOT

Boot Priority Order:
1. HDDO: Hitachi HTS543232A7A384
2. ATAPI CDROM: Pioneer DVD-RW DVRTD11RS
3. USB FDD:
4. Network Boot: BRCM MBA Slot 0200 v15.0.11
5. USB HDD:
6. USB CDROM
 
#7 ·
OK the HDD, Hitachi is recognized in the Bios. And it is set to be the first boot device as it should be. I see you have a Hard Drive Password set (Frozen) It may not make a difference, but you may want to Clear this, by selecting and pressing Enter.
To confirm if the HDD is failing, please create a Seatools CD and run the Short and Long tests on the HDD
 
#8 ·
I see you have a Hard Drive Password set (Frozen) It may not make a difference, but you may want to Clear this, by selecting and pressing Enter.
Incidentally, I never established a Hard Drive Password....(Frozen) is simply what I saw listed in BIOS. Might (Frozen) be a password that was forced on my computer by spyware/malware? Might it be something that a cybercriminal put there for the purpose of exercising remote control of my system?

If not, what do I do to "clear" the Hard Drive Password? Simply put my cursor on (Frozen) and follow BIOS instruction to "clear" it?



To confirm if the HDD is failing, please create a Seatools CD and run the Short and Long tests on the HDD
Okay...is it absolutely necessary to do this on a different computer? Is that a precaution we're taking to circumvent the possibility that malware (if it's on my system) would infect and subvert the Seatools test?

Finally, do I have to use a CD to burn the Seatools image, or can I use a memory stick?

I assume I can use a small, cheap CD -- a disk with minimal storage capacity -- to burn the Seatools image onto, correct?

Thanks again.
 
#9 ·
The HDD password, may actually be Frozen as in not changeable, and not the actual password. Meaning, it can't be changed or set. You can select it with your arrow key, and press enter, to see if it is an actual word, and then you can set it to Clear.
If you can boot your computer normally, then you can burn the CD on the troubled computer. If the HDD fluctuates or there is a problem booting, BSOD,Windows acts weird etc, then the CD might not burn correctly. All CD-R discs have the same capacity, 700MB, rare ones are larger. Seatools is only a few hundred MB's. Yes, you can burn Seatools to a USB Flash drive. How To Create Bootable USB Disk For Seagate SeaTools For DOS | Megaleecher.Net
With the Flash Drive plugged in, boot into Setup (Bios) go to Hard Drive boot order, not to be confused with Boot. The Flash Drive should be one of the Hard Disks choices, move it to First Boot Device. Save and Exit
 
#10 · (Edited)
I went through all the steps -- as best as I could (categories in my BIOS didn't exactly correspond to what you wrote in your instructions) -- and Seatools indicated "no hard drives found." Maybe I did something wrong? Test results are at the bottom of this post.

Here's what I did:

1) I read the instructions in your Seatools/USB link. I downloaded the correct images/folders, and successfully installed Seatools onto my USB flash stick.

2) Leaving my USB flash stick inserted in the computer, I restarted my system, pressing F2 simultaneously to bring up BIOS.

3) Once I was in BIOS, I did not see anything corresponding to Hard Drive boot order that you describe. The closest I came to that was by going to Boot on my BIOS menu. From there, I found the following sub-menu:

Boot Priority Order:
1. HDDO: Hitachi HTS543232A7A384
2. ATAPI CDROM: Pioneer DVD-RW DVRTD11RS
3. USB FDD: (the name of my USB flash stick was listed here)
4. Network Boot: BRCM MBA Slot 0200 v15.0.11
5. USB HDD:
6. USB CDROM

4) I assume you meant that I should select #3 (listing my flash stick), and move into the #1 position (to that it replaces HDDO: Hitachi etc). I did this. Note that I did not see a First boot device.

5) When prompted by BIOS, I saved my change and exited.

6) The computer rebooted, and I saw the grey Seatools screen. It said the following:

SEATOOLS FOR DOS

SELECTED DRIVE INFORMATION
No hard drives found
If you believe this to be incorrect, check cables, drive power connection and jumper setting and then try again.

TEST INFORMATION AND RESULTS
Scanning for controllers...
No controllers detected
Device scan complete
 
#12 · (Edited)
You did all the steps perfectly. You created your USB Flash drive perfectly using Win32DiskImage, you moved your USB Flash drive to the First position in the Boot order in the Bios,All Bios's are different, so you see different results, so my description might vary from yours.
Seatools booted from the flash drive, meaning you did all of the previous steps perfectly, however,Seatools cannot detect your HDD, which occasionally happens when you reboot your computer. This is a bad sign.
You can try some other diagnostic software to test the HDD. Click on the link for Drive Fitness ISO image in my signature. Burn the image with the Win32DiskImager or Rufus And see if that sees your drive. Or you can download the DataLifeGuard ISO image link in my signature and do the above to see if that sees your drive.
If all the tests fail to see your drive, then it needs to be replaced.
 
#13 · (Edited)
You can try some other diagnostic software to test the HDD. Click on the link for Drive Fitness ISO image in my signature. Burn the image with the Win32DiskImager or Rufus And see if that sees your drive.
I clicked on your Drive Fitness link, but all it gives me is a Nero Back It Up & Burn Essentials tool. Nero only gives me the option of burning something onto my D drive. It doesn't feature anything resembling Drive Fitness ISO test software.

Are you sure your Drive Fitness link is connected to the right software?

The same thing happened when I tried your DataLifeGuard link...I only got another Nero burn tool.

I must be missing something here...
 
#14 ·
These links are for ISO image files, you must Save the file, not run it, to your desktop and then Burn the file to a CD using IMGBurn in my signature, or you can use your Default program for burning ISO images, Nero. If you don't want to burn it to CD, then use the previously mentioned programs to burn the saved ISO file to USB Flash drive
 
#15 · (Edited)
Apparently none of these burning tools -- Nero, IMGBurn, or Rufus -- allows me to burn DataLifeguard and DriveFitness onto a USB flash stick. Do you know of any other image burning that might do the trick?

The Win32DiskImager I used to burn Seatools to my flash stick seems configured only for Seatools, and not for DataLifeguard or Drivefitness. Is there a way for me to find a Win32DiskImager that's USB compatible for Datalifeguard and/or Drivefitness?

Concerning saving DataLifeguard and DriveFitness, I assume you mean that I should save their links to my desktop (right click the mouse and chose "Save link as...")
 
#16 ·
Nero, and IMGBurn are used to Burn ISO images to CD, they do not burn to a USB flash drive. The previous program you used to burn the Seatools USB Flash drive, Win32DiskImager.exe, from the Seatools bootable USB kit's zipped folder, which you downloaded earlier, works very well and you were successful burning the image file with that program. If you have problems with that then, Rufus works very well too
Step 1: click on the link in my signature for the image you want to download, SAVE the ISO image file to your desktop.
Step 2:put the USB flash drive into your computers USB port.
Step 3: if you have installed Rufus , or Win32DiskImager.exe, Startthe program, and BROWSE to the saved image file on your desktop,
This will erase the USB Flash drive and install the program to the flash drive.
 
#17 · (Edited)
It's just not working. Here's what happened when I tried to execute your instructions. I think the problem is that when I click your links, I cannot save the files on my desktop as ISO images.

Step 1: click on the link in my signature for the image you want to download, SAVE the ISO image file to your desktop.
When I left-click on the link, file downloads to the lower left-hand side of computer screen (for example, Diag504fCD.iso). It takes a few seconds to download. Then, when I click on the file in order to save it, I get the following options:

open
always open files of this type
show in folder


If I click on open or always open files of this type, I get the Nero burn imaging box, but no ISO image file. Clearly, this doesn't work.

Alternatively, if I right-click on your link, I get the following sub-menu:

open in a new tab
open link in a new window
open link in incognito window
save link as...
copy link address
inspect element


The only menu choice that here that corresponds to your instructions is save link as..., so I click this, and then I get the option of saving the link on my desktop. After that, I see that the file (Diag504fCD) appears on my desktop as a CD icon. Obviously it is an image file, but there's no indication that it has saved as an ISO image.

Step 2:put the USB flash drive into your computers USB port.
This step was executed successfully. I put the USB memory stick into the USB port. Afterwards, when open Rufus or Win32DiskImager.exe, I can see the name of my memory stick in burning tool next to "E" drive. So, there are no problems with this step.

Step 3: if you have installed Rufus , or Win32DiskImager.exe, Startthe program, and BROWSE to the saved image file on your desktop,
This will erase the USB Flash drive and install the program to the flash drive.
When I attempt this step using Rufus, I set the button to ISO image, and I press on the browse icon to find the image file on my desktop. When I find the image, I select it so that it uploads to Rufus. That's when I get the following error message from Rufus:

UNSUPPORTED ISO
This version of Rufus only supports bootable ISOs based on bootmgr/WinPE, isolinux or EFI.
This ISO doesn't appear to use either...


I guess the problem is that the images saved on my desktop are not really ISO images (they don't have the .iso extensions). Why can't I save your links as ISO images when I click on them?

As for Win32DiskImager.exe, when I press the browse button to find the image to upload, it doesn't even appear in the open box. Again, that's probably because the saved images on my desktop aren't ISO images.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Creating boot images on USB flash drives is not the easiest thing to do; even with Spunk's very good instructions. I would recommend you do 2 things:

1) try to burn the ISO image files to a CD drive as you did with your Seatools diagnostic *Seatools can't test a Hitachi drive, Hitachi is now HGST, part of Western Digital; Seagates' biggest competitor*.
The Drive Fitness Test and DLG are the 2 windows tools from the drive manufacturers that should work with the drive you have. If you can't make the USB version of the diagnostic work *which is for advanced users and Techs primarily*; go with the CD route; it's the easiest to do.:smile:

2) If you cannot test the drive with either the usb flash drive or cd methods we've outlined for you, you will need to use linux tools; which are even more advanced than what you've been trying. :ermm:If you do this, you'll need to google and download "GSmart Control" and create a linux boot disc. I think there may be a Windows version of this program but I've never used it. You can also find the "GSmart Control" on the "Partition Magic" section of the UBCD Linux toolset CD you can download for free from the link in my signature below. This requires even more skill, so if you can borrow one from a friend or computer tekky this will save you a few weeks. :ermm:

3) If all of this is starting to make your head spin, you may consider taking it to your local Computer Pro and paying them to diagnose and repair your computer. Get an estimate first before you authorize the repair how much the parts and labor will be. Even if your hard drive is proven bad by testing, you still have to do data recovery to get your stuff off of it pior to installing a replacement drive *unless you already have your stuff backed up onto external media*. And if your hard drive is not the fault (it passes the tests), you could have other hardware components that have failed that are keeping the laptop from booting;:cry: such as faulty RAM memory sticks, or a faulty Motherboard. So, diagnosing your hard drive as faulty and replacing it still may not produce a bootable laptop! :cry::facepalm:

BIGBEARJEDI
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top