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Cant Boot - Bad Sector - Bad MFT - Bad MFT Mirror


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#1
cantbootwindowsxp

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This was my the first thread I started for my problem, but after not much success I was told to start a new thread here and link the the first thread...Maser00 was helping me...this is the link to the first thread...it has all my computer specs and anything you may need to know and what I have already tried...

http://www.geekstogo...moval-boot-cds/

I can't boot Windows XP.

I have tried using various boot CDs, including OTLPE, without luck.

I can't use chkdsk.

This is what happened using OTLPE Test Disk...

Corrupted drive selected listed as -

Disk /dev/sda - 160 GB / 149 GiB - SAMSUNG HD160JJ

When selecting 'Intel Partition', 'Advanced', 'Boot'...

Boot Sector
Status: OK

Backup boot sector
Status: OK

Sectors are identical.

A valid NTFS Boot Sector must be present in order to access any data; even if the partition is not bootable.

When selecting 'Repair MFT'...

There were numerous scrolling massages which were not on screen very long including...

Failed to load MFT, input output error.

MFT has invalid magic.

Failed to startup volume, input output error.

Then the final message was which stayed on screen was...

MFT and MFT mirror are bad. Failed to repair them.

So obviously I was not able to run chkdsk.

I look forward to hearing from someone who could help.

I have a few questions I want to ask...

1...OK so the message...MFT and MFT mirror are bad. Failed to repair them...basically means the hard drive is unfixable?

2...Should I try the free Windows rescue/repair cd from Singapore, and/or the full reinstall CD for $35 from Asus?

3...Will a full reinstall with the CD wipe the whole disk, but also let me still use the computer properly, even though the Bad Sector or Sectors may still remain after reinstall? Even though the files will be lost if there is a possibility of me using the computer still OK with a new reinstall I will try it(and possibly the Windows rescue/repair disc as well before that.)

4...If a full reinstall is attempted, should I do anything first like trying to wipe the disk clean with something like Killdisk, or will the new CD do that anyway? Basically, will all viruses and/or malware be removed 100% with a new reinstall, meaning I could at least use the computer again without having to get a new drive(if the reinstall results in the Bad Sector not causing the same problem with not being even able to startup Windows?)

5...Anything else I should do straight after the reinstall? Like put AVG on straight away, then Service pack 3 etc...any other tips to make sure things go well and stay well?

6...By the way I just saw this...check out the post on the bottom of the page...seems to have worked for this person...
http://icrontic.com/...ead.php?t=52450

7...Should I attempt to try something like HDD Regenerator?

8...How can I tell if the Bad Sectors are multiplying, or more Bad Sectors are occuring over time, and the scan I did when I first told you there was a Bad Sector, when it says Bad Sector and gives a number, does that mean there is only ONE Bad Sector total, or multiple? If there were more than one Bad Sector would it list more than one?

9...If a Bad Sector stays 'bad' even after reinstalling, won't the fresh Windows XP Pro installed just work around it and continue to function as a good working computer, or even after a total reinstall is there a chance the of that Bad Sector either multiplying into more Bad Sectors, and/or other problems developing again like not being able to boot up like now? Having said that is there a chance the full reinstall will be totally fine and allow the computer to be able to run Windows XP Pro OK?

10...Even if I was able to backup files, with over 100 gig of files to be backed up and only about 15 gig free space would it even be possible? Would the large amount of gig worth of files and not much free space make this very difficult, like if I were to bring it to a computer shop could they do it?

11...If the computer ends up being unusable even after the Windows rescue/repair cd and Windows full reinstall cds are tried, then rather than get a new hard drive right away, I will just not use it for now, and instead use one of my Dads computers (its the same computer as the one which has the Bad Sector) but soon I may get a new hard drive, so can you give me a ballpark approx price for that Samsung 160 gig drive, or whatever is the most current similar one at the moment?...I actually failed to tell you that the 100 gig worth of movies and music and pictures that was on the hard drive is all actually also on DVD and CD, but I still want the original avi/mp3 files themselves, so they are not totally lost, but just the actual files themselves are at this stage...so I suppose thats nowhere near as bad as it could have been! This is why as soon as I have one full DVD or CD worth of files downloaded I always burn straight away to avoid losing the movies, pictures and music completely...thank god for blank CDs and DVDs!

If you could answer each of these 11 questions individually it would be really appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Edited by cantbootwindowsxp, 20 August 2010 - 08:10 AM.

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#2
Neil Jones

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1...OK so the message...MFT and MFT mirror are bad. Failed to repair them...basically means the hard drive is unfixable?


The Master File Table is a big database of what files are on the hard drive and where they are. If it's corrupt then as far as Windows is concerned, there's nothing on the drive, even though this is usually not the case.

2...Should I try the free Windows rescue/repair cd from Singapore, and/or the full reinstall CD for $35 from Asus?


If you have a Windows CD and the Drivers CD that came with the board, (and your XP licence) that's all you need.

3...Will a full reinstall with the CD wipe the whole disk, but also let me still use the computer properly, even though the Bad Sector or Sectors may still remain after reinstall? Even though the files will be lost if there is a possibility of me using the computer still OK with a new reinstall I will try it(and possibly the Windows rescue/repair disc as well before that.)


If a hard drive has bad sectors, strongly suggest to discontinue using it. The drive will need replacing. Bad sectors are a sign that the drive will die soon.

4...If a full reinstall is attempted, should I do anything first like trying to wipe the disk clean with something like Killdisk, or will the new CD do that anyway? Basically, will all viruses and/or malware be removed 100% with a new reinstall, meaning I could at least use the computer again without having to get a new drive(if the reinstall results in the Bad Sector not causing the same problem with not being even able to startup Windows?)


Makes no difference as you're replacing the drive anyway.

5...Anything else I should do straight after the reinstall? Like put AVG on straight away, then Service pack 3 etc...any other tips to make sure things go well and stay well?


Bad sectors are hardware problems, not software problems.

6...By the way I just saw this...check out the post on the bottom of the page...seems to have worked for this person...
http://icrontic.com/...ead.php?t=52450


The link doesn't work. If it involved putting the hard drive in the freezer, it's only a temporary fix and should never be considered a long-term solution.

7...Should I attempt to try something like HDD Regenerator?


No. Short-term solution only, not a long-term fix.

8...How can I tell if the Bad Sectors are multiplying, or more Bad Sectors are occuring over time, and the scan I did when I first told you there was a Bad Sector, when it says Bad Sector and gives a number, does that mean there is only ONE Bad Sector total, or multiple? If there were more than one Bad Sector would it list more than one?


Technically if a drive is reporting even one bad sector, it will have the best part of half a dozen already by that point. When a drive is made there are spare sectors left over, and what happens is when a drive notices that one sector is defective, it remaps (signposts if you like) that bad sector to one of the spare ones. However there are only so many spare sectors available, and when they get all used up, the drive has no option but to mark it as bad because it cannot remap it anywhere else. If you see reports of only one bad sector, all it means is the drive is out of spare sectors and the only way from here is a road to imminent hardware failure. Bad sectors can multiply like rabbits because they are a sign of a dying drive.

9...If a Bad Sector stays 'bad' even after reinstalling, won't the fresh Windows XP Pro installed just work around it and continue to function as a good working computer, or even after a total reinstall is there a chance the of that Bad Sector either multiplying into more Bad Sectors, and/or other problems developing again like not being able to boot up like now? Having said that is there a chance the full reinstall will be totally fine and allow the computer to be able to run Windows XP Pro OK?


The "work around" has already been done, see previous answer re: remapping. If you do reinstall Windows it will usually fall over again shortly afterwards.


10...Even if I was able to backup files, with over 100 gig of files to be backed up and only about 15 gig free space would it even be possible? Would the large amount of gig worth of files and not much free space make this very difficult, like if I were to bring it to a computer shop could they do it?


Yes. Any computer shop not able to back up data isn't a decent computer shop.

11...If the computer ends up being unusable even after the Windows rescue/repair cd and Windows full reinstall cds are tried, then rather than get a new hard drive right away, I will just not use it for now, and instead use one of my Dads computers (its the same computer as the one which has the Bad Sector) but soon I may get a new hard drive, so can you give me a ballpark approx price for that Samsung 160 gig drive, or whatever is the most current similar one at the moment?...I actually failed to tell you that the 100 gig worth of movies and music and pictures that was on the hard drive is all actually also on DVD and CD, but I still want the original avi/mp3 files themselves, so they are not totally lost, but just the actual files themselves are at this stage...so I suppose thats nowhere near as bad as it could have been! This is why as soon as I have one full DVD or CD worth of files downloaded I always burn straight away to avoid losing the movies, pictures and music completely...thank god for blank CDs and DVDs!


If you have 100Gigs of data now, a 160Gb is going to be very tight. Look for preferably 250, 320 or even 500 as a minimum now.
As to which drive is suitable, need to know more about the machine.

If you could answer each of these 11 questions individually it would be really appreciated.


I'll think about it. :)
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#3
SpywareDr

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There is no software that can fix failing/failed hard drive components. The only sensible solution is to simply replace it.
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#4
cantbootwindowsxp

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Thanks for your replies.

It appears nothing can fix the problem, and chkdsk can't be used whatsoever.

Could unplugging the power cable suddenly out of a power board while the computer is running cause Bad Sectors? Also can having the power cable plugged into a power board with about 9 other devices cause any problems of any kind?

So I can kiss goodbye that hard drive then, along with the 100 gig of files, as I'm not going to spend hundreds for a computer repair shop to attempt backing up the files as it appears there is not a very good chance of even finding the files, not to worry, at least I have all the files burnt to CD and DVD, and about 20% of the most important files backed up to a laptop, plus another computer to use, identical to the one which has failed, so I'll use the 2nd Asus desktop, plus my Toshiba laptop, until I decide which hard drive to get for the problem computer...so it could be a whole lot worse, and I suppose I should be thankful for that.

In regards to my computer specs Neil, here they are, and will a new hard drive in it definately fix the problem, or not necessarily, in terms of being able to boot up and all other functions of the computer? If you could let me know which would be a good hard drive (160, 250, 320 and 500 gig) to get at a reasonable price, that would be great...

Asus Athlon 64 Dual Core Processor 3600+

160 gig(approx 15 gig free space on C drive just before the crash)

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3

Internet Explorer 7

AVG 9.0 Internet Security

BIOS Main Menu:

Legacy Diskette A: 1.44 M, 3.5 in.

Primary IDE Master: TSSTcorpCD/DVDW

Primary IDE Slave: None

Secondary IDE Master: None

Secondary IDE Slave: None

SATA1: SAMSUNGHD160JJ

SATA2: None

SATA3: None

SATA4: None

HDD SMART Monitoring: Enabled

Installed Memory: 1024 MB

Usable Memory: 1023 MB

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Edited by cantbootwindowsxp, 22 August 2010 - 03:55 AM.

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#5
SpywareDr

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Newegg.com > Internal Hard Drives > 400GB - 800GB > SATA 3.0Gb > 7200 RPM > 3.5" > 32MB Cache > Free Shipping
http://www.newegg.co...ING&PageSize=20
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#6
123Runner

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Could unplugging the power cable suddenly out of a power board while the computer is running cause Bad Sectors?

Thats not a good thing to do! The initial surge can destroy any component/board/drive, etc or create issues.

Also can having the power cable plugged into a power board with about 9 other devices cause any problems of any kind?

This would be a problem if the PSU is not up to snuff to handle all the components plugged in. In other words (basicly) to low of wattage.

You have a SAMSUNGHD160JJ. You can verify the drive is bad by running the manufacturers diagnostics. But based on the info given, it is bad.
A link to Samsung diagnostics is in my signature.

For the data, you can try recovery by attaching as a 2nd drive in your other computer or put in a USB enclosure.
Nothing ventured....nothing gained.
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#7
Neil Jones

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Could unplugging the power cable suddenly out of a power board while the computer is running cause Bad Sectors? Also can having the power cable plugged into a power board with about 9 other devices cause any problems of any kind?


Unplugging the HDD when the machine is in use is not a good idea. You don't fill the car up with petrol while it's running, do you? At least, I hope you don't.

Re: the power board, I presume you mean something like this:
http://www.lindy.co....e-2m/70145.html

If so, it shouldn't affect anything inside the computer.
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#8
cantbootwindowsxp

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Thanks for your replies.

Neil obviously pulling the cord out of the power board is not a good thing to do, but unfortunately was the only way I was able to turn the computer off at the time...re my power board - it allows 10 devices, not 4.

123Runner, yeah I was thinking pulling the power cable might be a big factor with what has happened, thanks for that info.
Also these 2 suggestions:
attaching as a 2nd drive in your other computer or put in a USB enclosure.
I'm not really sure how to do either of these. Could you possibly give me a brief rundown of what is involved? I've never really done anything inside the computer apart from clean dust from the fans.

SpywareDr thanks for the link, much appreciated...would this Samsung HD754JJ (750 gig) for $69.99 at the bottom of the page you linked to be a good choice?
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822152227
Seems like a good price for 750 gig...though I heard Seagate is very good, what brand do you think is the best for a computer like my Asus?

Cheers.

Edited by cantbootwindowsxp, 23 August 2010 - 03:40 AM.

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#9
SpywareDr

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I was thinking pulling the power cable might be a big factor with what has happened ...

One of the main jobs of an operating system is keeping track of where all the bits and pieces of the gadzillions of files are located on the hard drive. To do this it uses a type of index. If you yank the power cord while the operating system is in the middle of trying to update this index, the result will be a corrupt index. The files will all still be on the hard drive of course but, the operating system will no longer know where to find all the bits and pieces of all of them. (I.e., a total disastrous mess).

You also need to allow the hard drive enough time to park (move) the heads. If they land on (or even touch) the spinning platters where your data is, goodbye data. :)

SpywareDr thanks for the link, much appreciated...

You're welcome.

would this Samsung HD754JJ (750 gig) for $69.99 at the bottom of the page you linked to be a good choice? Seems like a good price for 750 gig...
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822152227

Don't have any real experience with Samsung, good or bad.

... I heard Seagate is very good, what brand do you think is the best for a computer like my Asus?


I'm a little leary of Seagate. Too many 'early' failures over the years.

IBM/Hitachi and Western Digital are both good.
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#10
cantbootwindowsxp

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SpywareDr - thank you very much, I will check out the IBM/Hitachi, and Western Digital hard drives.
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#11
SpywareDr

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You're welcome. :)
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#12
cantbootwindowsxp

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In terms of taking out the bad hard drive and replacing with a new one, should I get an expert to do it, or is it a fairly easy thing to do? Is it basically having computer power off and unplugged, removing side panel, unscrewing the 2 screws that fix the hard drive in place, unplugging the 2 ribbon cables going to the hard drive, then removing hard drive? Is it that simple or is there anything else you need to do, or anything to be careful of ?

For a computer that old is it more difficult finding an IDE hard drive which is compatible, but for what I need, a SATA hard drive, there is far more of them compatible for an older desktop like my Asus...is this correct ?

Also what is the difference between IDE and SATA hard drives?...for my Asus it is Primary IDE Master: TSSTcorpCD/DVDW and SATA1: SAMSUNGHD160JJ...so does that basically mean my DVD drive is IDE and my data hard drive is SATA? Is that the best setup to have? Please forgive my lack of knowledge!

I was told about a USB dock or USB case for the purpose of extracting files off a problem drive...can anyone tell me how large in terms of storage these USB docks/cases are, and how you actually hook up the problem drive to it, and be able to view on a monitor what files you are selecting from c drive of the bad drive over to the USB dock? Via what kind of cable is the USB dock and hard drive connected? Would this be the only way of attempting to recover large video files from a hard drive which has problems such as Bad Sectors, Bad MFT, Bad MFT Mirror, and not being able to boot, or run chkdsk ?

If moving 100 gig worth of avi, mpeg2, wmv, mp4 video files only, as well as a few Nero Vision documents(timelines of a Nero Vision video project)...how many files, or how many gig worth of files can you move at one time ? Would it take hours, days or weeks to move that amount of gig worth of files ?

When moving video files, and a few Nero Vision documents from a hard drive which may be infected by malware, can moving the files bring the malware across as well ? Or is it highly unlikely for a video file to be infected by malware ?

When I get a new hard drive for the computer, will a new Windows XP CD from Asus work with the original 25 digit Windows XP product key(on the Windows sticker on the computer) ?

On another issue, my other Asus computer, identical to the problem Asus computer, is asking for a password for the BIOS menu which I think was set by my Dads old computer tech...is there any way of bypassing the password without having to reinstall, can maybe the Hirens boot CD do this, with a password cracking kind of application?...it is very difficult getting in touch with the person who set the password, so if I can't get the password I hope there is another way to get into BIOS.

Thanks.
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#13
SpywareDr

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In terms of taking out the bad hard drive and replacing with a new one, should I get an expert to do it, or is it a fairly easy thing to do? Is it basically having computer power off and unplugged, removing side panel, unscrewing the 2 screws that fix the hard drive in place, unplugging the 2 ribbon cables going to the hard drive, then removing hard drive? Is it that simple or is there anything else you need to do, or anything to be careful of ?


It's not hard to do. Just be mindful of ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge [static electricity]).


For a computer that old is it more difficult finding an IDE hard drive which is compatible, but for what I need, a SATA hard drive, there is far more of them compatible for an older desktop like my Asus...is this correct ?


Yes, to both questions.


Also what is the difference between IDE and SATA hard drives?...for my Asus it is Primary IDE Master: TSSTcorpCD/DVDW and SATA1: SAMSUNGHD160JJ...so does that basically mean my DVD drive is IDE and my data hard drive is SATA? Is that the best setup to have? Please forgive my lack of knowledge!


Yes to the first question, and probably no to the second. SATA is usually faster than IDE. (Internal SATA CD/DVD burners start at $20 ... with free shipping).


I was told about a USB dock or USB case for the purpose of extracting files off a problem drive...can anyone tell me how large in terms of storage these USB docks/cases are, and how you actually hook up the problem drive to it, and be able to view on a monitor what files you are selecting from c drive of the bad drive over to the USB dock? Via what kind of cable is the USB dock and hard drive connected?


Newegg.com > APRICORN ASW-USB-25 USB 2.0 to SATA Adapter - $19.99 with free shipping
http://www.newegg.co...1-004-_-Product

Posted Image

Plug the SATA end into the hard drive, the USB end into a USB port (on a working computer), then wait a few seconds for Windows to get it setup.

That's it.

You can now load Windows Explorer ([Winkey]+[E] or click My Computer) and start copying files.


Would this be the only way of attempting to recover large video files from a hard drive which has problems such as Bad Sectors, Bad MFT, Bad MFT Mirror, and not being able to boot, or run chkdsk ?


No. If the hard drive is failing mechanically you may need a data recovery service, such as http://www.Ontrack.com. (Note that it can get expensive though).

This old article might be worth read:

200 Ways to Revive a Hard Drive
http://www.scribd.co...ve-A-Hard-Drive



If moving 100 gig worth of avi, mpeg2, wmv, mp4 video files only, as well as a few Nero Vision documents(timelines of a Nero Vision video project)...how many files, or how many gig worth of files can you move at one time ?


All of them, dependant on where they're located of course. In Windows Explorer, [Shift]-click and/or [Ctrl]-click everything you want copied then drag&drop it/them onto the USB-attached hard drive's icon.


Would it take hours, days or weeks to move that amount of gig worth of files ?


Depends on the speed of the USB port, the computer itself and the computer's hard drive. The USB port will probably be the slowest part of that link. With USB 2.0 you should be able to move that data across at about 30 MB/s (MegaBytes per second). As a rough idea of the time, 100,000,000,000 divided by 30,000,000 equals 3,333 seconds. 3,333 seconds divided by 60 seconds in a minute would be 56 minutes.


When moving video files, and a few Nero Vision documents from a hard drive which may be infected by malware, can moving the files bring the malware across as well ? Or is it highly unlikely for a video file to be infected by malware ?


Yes it's possible for video to be infected. Three examples:

Microsoft DirectX DirectShow AVI Processing Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
http://www.securityf...d/15063/discuss

RealPlayer vidplin.dll AVI Processing Heap Overflow
http://www.eeye.com/...ries/AD20050623

Apple iTunes MPEG4 Parsing Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
http://www.securityf...d/13565/discuss



When I get a new hard drive for the computer, will a new Windows XP CD from Asus work with the original 25 digit Windows XP product key(on the Windows sticker on the computer) ?


Probably.


On another issue, my other Asus computer, identical to the problem Asus computer, is asking for a password for the BIOS menu which I think was set by my Dads old computer tech...is there any way of bypassing the password without having to reinstall, can maybe the Hirens boot CD do this, with a password cracking kind of application?...it is very difficult getting in touch with the person who set the password, so if I can't get the password I hope there is another way to get into BIOS.

Thanks.


Try removing the BIOS battery for a few minutes. With any luck doing so will erase the BIOS settings, (reset to factory defaults).

FWIW notes:

  • Some motherboards have a BIOS reset jumper. Exactly how you use it though depends on the BIOS manufacturer. With some, you simply move the jumper from pins 1-2 to 2-3 for a few seconds and then move it back to pins 1-2. On others you short pins 2-3, boot up the computer, the computer's BIOS tells you it's been reset and to power back down and place the jumpers back on 1-2. There are also other variations.
  • The BIOS password on many IBM/Lenovo computer's (laptops) cannot be deleted. You must return the computer to IBM/Lenovo to have it done. However, if the hard drive was encrypted using this password, you would now NOT have access to drive's encrypted contents. (There is no 'backdoor').

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#14
cantbootwindowsxp

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Thanks for all the great info!

Re my first Asus computer with Bad Sector - So if copying files across using the SATA to USB connector, 56 minutes for 100 gig - wow! I thought it would be way longer...would you risk copying the files across and risk bringing malware with it? To do the transfer of files, you basically remove the hard drive from infected computer and plug it in? Is there a big chance though that if the disk is not readable when its in the infected computer that the other computer you transfer to will also not read it and see any files? With ESD, can there be a risk not only to the electrical elements of the machine, but a risk of electric shock even severe enough to kill you? How can ESD happen if you have the power turned off when removing the hard drive? Also is there a chance replacing the hard drive will not necessarily make the computer usable again, and there could be additional problems not allowing the computer to boot up and/or be used properly with all functions?

Re my second Asus computer with BIOS password needed - I can't believe my bad luck...I want to explain everything I have done on this computer over the last 24 hours so you know the situation and why it is problematic...
first of all this computer had been known to have problems not restarting properly, and yesterday when I started it up it was great...I put AVG on it, updated Windows, and downloaded IE7 with 44 other Windows updates, as well as getting rid of IE7 command bar, and google search box which I find unnecessary...and it was all good, and it asked to me to restart after the updates and sure enough when I tried to restart it shut down out of Windows but did not restart properly, instead it just sort of hibernates, not totally powered off and not trying to restart either, and I had to press power button to boot...then everything was OK in Windows, so I tried restarting again but it did the same as before so I pressed power button again...

then I tried shutting down altogether via Start button, but it would not, so I researched it and I checked the BIOS to see if there was anything there that could be affecting restart and power down, but BIOS asked for a password which I didn't have, so then back in Windows I followed 2 different registry fixes that were the following...

fix#1...in regedit: HKEYCURRENTUSER, Software, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, Explorer...the value of CleanShutdown needs to be changed from 0 to 1...

fix#2...in regedit: HKEYLOCALMACHINE, Software, Microsoft, WindowsNT, CurrentVersion, WinLogon...the value of PowerdownAfterShutdown needs to be changed from 0 to 1...

I did these 2 fixes OK, tried to restart the computer which again did not restart properly, but then when I was back in Windows I tried restarting, and it then restarted the way it should, then I tried powering down fully via Start and it did! So the registry fixes solved that problem...I then dowwnloaded all the media players and apps I would normally have on a computer, including the free version of Malwarebytes Anti Malware which often picks up alot of malware and viruses and trojans that AVG paid version misses, and then transferred some video files into my documents using full AVG USB scan each time I importing files via USB...then I power down fine and went to bed...

today it powered up fine, then I tried installing a Nero CD which would not accept the serial number I entered because Nero was already installed on the first Asus Bad Sector computer, and Nero only allows one computer to run it at a time, but I can;t uninstall off the first computer as its inaccessible...so I gave up trying to install Nero on the second computer and will wait for their response,

and then just hours ago I downloaded a Windows Update for Cumulative Update for IE7, and update for security for IE7, they downloaded fine then it asked me to restart...the restart problem came back again...however this time when I tried to boot up using the power button the LG monitor says 'Power Saving Mode' for a few seconds then goes black and stays as a black screen...when I attempted to plug the first Asus Bad Sector computer with exact same cable and with a different cable and with different power boards all times the video output of the first computer was recognised by the monitor (even though it was just the Bad Sector computer saying disk not readable) - and it was not in 'Power Saving Mode' and had the LED light power display as green the way it should be...but this 2nd Asus computer with the restart problem when I boot up it only stays on green for a few seconds and then goes straight to 'Power Saving Mode' and stays there with an amber colour on the LED meaning it is in sleep or hibernation mode...

The monitor is LG L192WS-SN
http://newchocolate....duct-profile#LG

The computer has identical specs to the first Asus in post 4 of this thread.

Also I can't access the monitor menu when its in this mode...so it is not a fault of the monitor as it can see the output of the first Bad Sector computer 'disk unreadbale press ctrl-alt-del' screen, but cant see the output of the 2nd computer that has restart problems...from the actions I have done in the last 24 hours on the 2nd computer above, what is the most likely cause for this 'Power Saving Mode' to stay on the whole time?...Is there any way I can turn off 'Power Saving Mode'?...if it is a cooling problem how do I fix that, and if it is a matter of unplugging video graphics card then plugging it back in again will that alter anything or any settings in the computer?...Boot CDs are no good because nothing from this 2nd computer is being output to the monitor while the 'Power Saving Mode' is happening...could it be powerboard issues or something else?...it could very well be IE7 download problems, particularly the IE7 cumulative update, as I got problems with both computers just after changing IE7...with the first bad sector computer my problem began hust after uninstalling andthen reinstalling IE7, and then this 2nd computer has problems just after the IE7 update...If you have any advice at all, please let me know...

If you think I should create a separate thread for my second computer(with restart problems and power saving mode problems) please let me know and I will so that it is separate from my first computer problem with bad sector, bad mft, and bad mft mirror. Sorry for so much info but I wanted to be thorough to increase my chance of fixing the problem. Thanks.

Edited by cantbootwindowsxp, 25 August 2010 - 12:26 PM.

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#15
SpywareDr

SpywareDr

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Thanks for all the great info!


You're welcome. :)


... would you risk copying the files across and risk bringing malware with it?


No.


To do the transfer of files, you basically remove the hard drive from infected computer and plug it in?


Yes.


Is there a big chance though that if the disk is not readable when its in the infected computer that the other computer you transfer to will also not read it and see any files?


Yes.


With ESD, can there be a risk not only to the electrical elements of the machine, but a risk of electric shock even severe enough to kill you?


Highly unlikely.


How can ESD happen if you have the power turned off when removing the hard drive?


If you're full of static, like this little kid is:

Posted Image

and you don't ground yourself first, there's no telling what all you'll zap when you start messing around inside the computer.


Also is there a chance replacing the hard drive will not necessarily make the computer usable again, and there could be additional problems not allowing the computer to boot up and/or be used properly with all functions?


Yep, there is that possibility.


...however this time when I tried to boot up using the power button the LG monitor says 'Power Saving Mode' for a few seconds then goes black and stays as a black screen...what is the most likely cause for this 'Power Saving Mode' to stay on the whole time?...


The monitor is not receiving a video signal.


Is there any way I can turn off 'Power Saving Mode'?...


Turn off the monitor. :)

The monitor is going into what it calls "Power Saving Mode" simply because it is not receiving a video signal.

There is no need to waste electricity if there is nothing to display on the screen. So, it displays the message and then turns off the screen, (i.e., low-power/power saving mode).


if it is a cooling problem how do I fix that,


Clean the heat sinks and fans and apply a new layer of thermal grease between the CPU and heat sink. If that doesn't help, try installing more, or more efficient fan(s).


and if it is a matter of unplugging video graphics card then plugging it back in again will that alter anything or any settings in the computer?


It shouldn't if you plug it back into the same slot.


...could it be powerboard issues or something else?...


Yes it could be the motherboard, but I'd try a different, known-good PSU (Power Supply Unit) first.


it could very well be IE7 download problems, particularly the IE7 cumulative update, as I got problems with both computers just after changing IE7...with the first bad sector computer my problem began hust after uninstalling andthen reinstalling IE7, and then this 2nd computer has problems just after the IE7 update...If you have any advice at all, please let me know...


Recommend applying ALL updates from Microsoft Windows Update, including IE8.


If you think I should create a separate thread for my second computer(with restart problems and power saving mode problems) please let me know and I will so that it is separate from my first computer problem with bad sector, bad mft, and bad mft mirror. Sorry for so much info but I wanted to be thorough to increase my chance of fixing the problem. Thanks.


Might be a good idea.
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