Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
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- StarLounger
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Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Every now and then when I turn on an XP PC I get A "Boot Disk Failure".
I found that if I hit the restart button, the PC boots up without any problems.
Doesn't happen all the time.
Maybe once in every ten start ups.
I have scanned the WD HD with scan disk, defraged it and found nothing.
Have a feeling the HD might have a bad sector or something.
The only thing that has changed in this PC is the CPU.
Could the XP OS have an occasional problem recognizing the new CPU?
Any idea's as to what might be happening
I found that if I hit the restart button, the PC boots up without any problems.
Doesn't happen all the time.
Maybe once in every ten start ups.
I have scanned the WD HD with scan disk, defraged it and found nothing.
Have a feeling the HD might have a bad sector or something.
The only thing that has changed in this PC is the CPU.
Could the XP OS have an occasional problem recognizing the new CPU?
Any idea's as to what might be happening
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- PlatinumLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
If you do a scandisk you should see the result that tells you if there's a bad sector(s). If you don't know where to look after a reboot, go to Event Viewer and Applications and look for Winlogon. It'll tell you if there are any bad sectors.Catz wrote:...Have a feeling the HD might have a bad sector or something.
Also, when you changed the CPU did you go through any procedures to let Windows know that the CPU has changed? If you did, that should not be a problem.
I suspect an impending hard drive problem but it's hard to pin down at this stage if it's sporadic.
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- Administrator
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
I don't think it's the CPU. There might be a problem with your disk.
First, make sure that you have a recent backup of important files.
The following may take a long time.
Close all applications (so you may want to print or write down these instructions first)
Start Windows Explorer or My Computer.
Right-click the C: drive and select Properties from the popup menu.
Activate the Tools tab.
Click Check Now... in the Error-checking section.
Tick the check boxes Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Click Start.
First, make sure that you have a recent backup of important files.
The following may take a long time.
Close all applications (so you may want to print or write down these instructions first)
Start Windows Explorer or My Computer.
Right-click the C: drive and select Properties from the popup menu.
Activate the Tools tab.
Click Check Now... in the Error-checking section.
Tick the check boxes Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Click Start.
Best wishes,
Hans
Hans
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- StarLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Thanks for your reply Hans and Doc.
All my files are backed up on a separate slave HD and the only thing I have on the master is the OS and programs.
I went to My Comp to the C drive>tools> and tried to scan but was told I had to do it on a start up.
Re booted and the CHKDSK ran....for a looooog time.
It found and replaced 5 bad sectors.
When it was done the PC rebooted with no problem.
Hope it stays that way.
How do I tell the OS about the new CPU?
I thought it would recognize it in order for it to boot up the PC.
Could the bad sectors that were replaced be the reason for the boot disk failure?
All my files are backed up on a separate slave HD and the only thing I have on the master is the OS and programs.
I went to My Comp to the C drive>tools> and tried to scan but was told I had to do it on a start up.
Re booted and the CHKDSK ran....for a looooog time.
It found and replaced 5 bad sectors.
When it was done the PC rebooted with no problem.
Hope it stays that way.
How do I tell the OS about the new CPU?
I thought it would recognize it in order for it to boot up the PC.
Could the bad sectors that were replaced be the reason for the boot disk failure?
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- PlatinumLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
If it's your boot disk you are checking, it will probably tell you that it will need to restart and the disk check will be made at boot-up.HansV wrote:I don't think it's the CPU. There might be a problem with your disk.
First, make sure that you have a recent backup of important files.
The following may take a long time.
Close all applications (so you may want to print or write down these instructions first)
Start Windows Explorer or My Computer.
Right-click the C: drive and select Properties from the popup menu.
Activate the Tools tab.
Click Check Now... in the Error-checking section.
Tick the check boxes Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Click Start.
It should recognize the new CPU automatically so that should be OK.
The bad sectors it found were MOST PROBABLY the cause of the boot failures.
BOB
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If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.
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If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.
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- Administrator
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
The new CPU should be recognized automatically.
If you're lucky, the problem has been solved by the repair of bad sectors, but they might be the forebode of more problems to come... Keep your fingers crossed.
If you're lucky, the problem has been solved by the repair of bad sectors, but they might be the forebode of more problems to come... Keep your fingers crossed.
Best wishes,
Hans
Hans
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- StarLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Hans, what type of problems should I look out for?
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- PlatinumLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
One problem of major proportion is that the hard drive might at some time completely crash and not be bootable OR readable. It's always hard to tell about these things, but I would be sure that you maintain backups on a regular basis.
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- Administrator
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
What Al says...Catz wrote:Hans, what type of problems should I look out for?
Best wishes,
Hans
Hans
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- StarLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Update.
So Far no Boot Disk Failure at start up.
Turned it off and on around 15 times since yesterday.
One more thing.. How often can that CHKDSK be performed?
Thanks Again guys.
So Far no Boot Disk Failure at start up.
Turned it off and on around 15 times since yesterday.
One more thing.. How often can that CHKDSK be performed?
Thanks Again guys.
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- Administrator
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
It's best not to perform it TOO often, as it can lead to increased wear on the disk components.Catz wrote:...How often can that CHKDSK be performed?
Daily is far too frequent, weekly may be a bit too frequent, monthly is perfectly reasonable but may not detect errors before they have an impact.
StuartR
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- StarLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Thanks StuartR.
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- StarLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Have a question about the five bad sectors that CHKDSK found and replaced.
Are those bad sectors still there?
What happens to them and how were they created?
Can they be accidentally used again?
Could they have been there from the day the HD was made?
Are those bad sectors still there?
What happens to them and how were they created?
Can they be accidentally used again?
Could they have been there from the day the HD was made?
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- Administrator
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
It depends - if it was just a bit that had fallen over, the damage was not serious, and the sector can be used again. If there is physical damage, the sector will have been marked as such, and it won't be used again.
Best wishes,
Hans
Hans
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- StarLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Thanks Hans.
One of these days if I ever have a dead HD, I going to open it up to see what makes them tick.
One of these days if I ever have a dead HD, I going to open it up to see what makes them tick.
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- Administrator
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Watch out for loose bits falling out of the enclosure!
Best wishes,
Hans
Hans
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Bad sectors are typically caused by surface damage to the metal oxide that is used to record the bits. This damage would be far too small for you to see with the naked eye. The firmware in the disk drive will have been instructed to use some of the spare sectors set aside for this purpose instead of the bad sectors, so it will never attempt to access the bad sectors again, even if you send a command to read the exact spot that was bad.Catz wrote:Are those bad sectors still there?
What happens to them and how were they created?
Can they be accidentally used again?
Could they have been there from the day the HD was made?
Any bad sectors that existed when the disk was manufactured will have been discovered when the drive was first formatted, and already 'replaced' with spare sectors, so the ones you have detected went bad some time later.
If the number of bad sectors increases over time then this suggests that the surface of the disk is deteriorating, and you should replace the disk as soon as possible to prevent catastrophic failure leading to loss of your data.
StuartR
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- PlatinumLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Check out this link.Catz wrote:Thanks Hans.
One of these days if I ever have a dead HD, I going to open it up to see what makes them tick.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=what ... 2afbebc69a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A whole bunch of videos showing what's inside a hard drive and some showing a drive in "action" without the cover on.
BOB
______________________________________
If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.
______________________________________
If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.
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- BronzeLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
Fascinating clips.
Regards,
Paul
The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts his sails.
Paul
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- GoldLounger
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Re: Occasionally at start up I get a "Boot Disk Failure"
But, none of the listed videos showed ANY bits falling out from the case!viking33 wrote:Check out this link.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=what ... 2afbebc69a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A whole bunch of videos showing what's inside a hard drive and some showing a drive in "action" without the cover on.
I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living