[JEISEN]

I woke up this morning to find this message on my XP machine:

 

 

Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key.

 

 

It's an ASUS P4S 800D-X XP SP3 120GB HD 4GB RAM. I couldn't get in to safe mode. I tried HD in another machine-it wouldn't show. I tried a good HD in said ASUS machine gave me a long texted blue error screen.

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   JEISEN

 

From the information provided it would suggest that the HDD has failed and needs to be replaced along with a fresh installation of an OS and system drivers etc.

 

As the drive is not detected on another computer any data on it may be lost I'm afraid  we can provide at least one suggestion that you could try in order to access the data on the drive but it will not work on a HDD that has completely failed, do you have data on the HDD that you would like to try and recover.

 

How much free storage space was available on the drive.

Has the HDD been making any odd noises or been slow to access.

 

Regarding the replacement HDD causing a blue screen, you cannot take a HDD out of one computer and use it directly in another unless both computers are 100% the same in every way, this is because the HDD does not have the required MB and other drivers on it etc, can I ask what OS is on the replacement HDD.

 

NB: One HDD repair that is within the capabilities of many people is replacing the drives PCB so have a close inspection of that to see if there are any signs of burning or broken soldering.

[phillpower2]

   JEISEN

 

From the information provided it would suggest that the HDD has failed and needs to be replaced along with a fresh installation of an OS and system drivers etc.

 

As the drive is not detected on another computer any data on it may be lost I'm afraid  we can provide at least one suggestion that you could try in order to access the data on the drive but it will not work on a HDD that has completely failed, do you have data on the HDD that you would like to try and recover.

 

How much free storage space was available on the drive.

Has the HDD been making any odd noises or been slow to access.

 

Regarding the replacement HDD causing a blue screen, you cannot take a HDD out of one computer and use it directly in another unless both computers are 100% the same in every way, this is because the HDD does not have the required MB and other drivers on it etc, can I ask what OS is on the replacement HDD.

 

NB: One HDD repair that is within the capabilities of many people is replacing the drives PCB so have a close inspection of that to see if there are any signs of burning or broken soldering.

[JEISEN]

Thanks phillpower2,

                                 Yes there is info that I would like to have or try to get off of this.

The drive was a120 GB. There was about 18GB free space. It made no odd noises. Web pages were slow to open but files/programs opened normally. All of the machines I have are XP. I just purchased aWin7. The one inquestion that failed-I believe was a Pro edition. The others I have and the replacement I tried was a Home edition. i inspected the failed drive. It doesn't look burnt. Solder looks all in place.

[phillpower2]

Free disk space was a bit low but not drastically for a 120GB HDD, keep in mind for the future that you should keep 20 to 25% free at all times so as to avoid data corruption which can render an OS unbootable.

 

Return the HDD to the computer and see if it can be accessed using Puppy Linux, see below;

 

=================== 

***Required Hardware*** 

CD Burner (CDRW) Drive, 

Blank CD, 

Extra Storage Device (USB Flash Drive, External Hard Drive)  

=================== 

 

1. Save these files to your Desktop/Burn Your Live CD:

• Download Latest Puppy Linux ISO (i.e.: lupu-528.iso) 

  Download BurnCDCC ISO Burning Software 

   

  There are instructions on how to boot from flash drive with puppy here; http://www.pendrivel...e-from-windows/ 

   

   

• Open BurnCDCC with Windows Explorer 

• Extract All files to a location you can remember 

• Double Click BurnCDCC 

• Click Browse and navigate to the Puppy Linux ISO file you just downloaded 

• Open/Double Click that file 

  IMPORTANT: Adjust the speed bar to CD: 4x DVD: 1x 

• Click Start  

• Your CD Burner Tray will open automatically 

• Insert a blank CD and close the tray 

• Click OK 

Puppy Linux Live CD will now be created 

 

2. Set your boot priority in the BIOS to CD-ROM first, Hard Drive Second 

•  

• Start the computer/press the power button 

• Immediately start tapping the appropriate key to enter the BIOS, aka "Setup" 

  (Usually shown during the "Dell" screen, or "Gateway" Screen) 

• Once in the BIOS, under Advanced BIOS Options change boot priority to: 

  CD-ROM 1st, Hard Drive 2nd 

• Open your ROM drive and insert the disk 

• Press F10 to save and exit 

• Agree with "Y" to continue 

• Your computer will restart and boot from the Puppy Linux Live CD 

   

   

 

 

 

3.  Recover Your Data 

• Once Puppy Linux has loaded, it is actually running in your computer's Memory (RAM).  You will see a fully functioning Graphical User Interface similar to what you normally call "your computer".  Internet access may or may not be available depending on your machine, so it is recommended you print these instructions before beginning.  Also, double clicking is not needed in Puppy.  To expand, or open folders/icons, just click once.  Puppy is very light on resources, so you will quickly notice it is much speedier than you are used to.  This is normal.  Ready?  Let's get started. 

   

  3a. Mount Drives 

• Click the Mount Icon located at the top left of your desktop.  

• A Window will open.  By default, the "drive" tab will be forward/highlighted.  Click on Mount for your hard drive. 

• Assuming you only have one hard drive and/or partition, there may be only one selection to mount. 

• USB Flash Drives usually automatically mount upon boot, but click the "usbdrv" tab and make sure it is mounted. 

• If using an external hard drive for the data recovery, do this under the "drive" tab.  Mount it now. 

 

3b. Transfer Files.

•  

• At the bottom left of your desktop a list of all hard drives/partitions, USB Drives, and Optical Drives are listed with a familiar looking hard drive icon. 

• Open your old hard drive i.e. sda1 

• Next, open your USB Flash Drive or External Drive. i.e. sdc or sdb1 

• If you open the wrong drive, simply X out at the top right corner of the window that opens. (Just like in Windows) 

• From your old hard drive, drag and drop whatever files/folders you wish to transfer to your USB Drive's Window. 

 

For The Novice:  The common path to your pictures, music, video, and documents folders is: Documents and Settings >> All Users (or each idividual name of each user. CHECK All Names!) >> Documents >> You will now see My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos. 

 

Remember to only click once!  No double clicking!  Once you drag and drop your first folder, you will notice a small menu will appear giving you the option to move or copy.  Choose COPY each time you drag and drop. 

 

YOU ARE DONE!!!  Simply click Menu >> Mouse Over Shutdown >> Reboot/Turn Off Computer.  Be sure to plug your USB Drive into another working windows machine to verify all data is there and transferred without corruption. Congratulations! 

 

 

 

 

 

[JEISEN]

Thanks for the detailed Linux instructions. There was another problem. The ASUS machine's monitor would not light up this time. It usually shines blue before the desktop shows. It stayed amber like it was off. So power source problem-MB problem? The fans were running. I chose to put Puppy on a flash drive. This was my first attempt at using Linux-I liked the interface.  I put the ASUS drive in question in to my best XP machine as slave. I know this was not part of your instructions-but I didn't know what else to do. Booted into Puppy from the flash drive. Under drives all it shows are the XP machine's HDD and the flash-not the ASUS one.

[phillpower2]

More or less confirms that the HDD has failed 

 

As an outside chance that it may work, do you know anyone that has a HDD enclosure or adapter that you could try, failing that data recovery services are the only other option, they are very expensive and do not guarantee any/all data recovery.

[JEISEN]

The guy I got the computer from was nice enough to come over with what reminded me of an 8-track tape player-Google it Young'uns!! He plugged the HHD drive in to it outside of the ASUS case.  It didn't show up in that either. Although there were projects on it I was working on-they are not important enough to spend data recovery service money on.  So I'm guessing something like the Sabrent USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Hard Drive Converter would be just as useless? I was watching a few Youtube "take apart your hard drive" vids. I don't know if I'm that brave. But at this point it doesn't look like I would be hurting my new paper weight.

 

[phillpower2]

Swapping the PCB is one thing but anything else requires a clean room, that is why the recovery services are so expensive.

 

NB: I remember my dad having Fleetwood Mac and Genesis among others on 8 track and which he played in his car 

[123Runner]

The problem with swapping boards is that they have to be 100 % identicle drives. This per a guy I knew that works in drive recovery.

[JEISEN]

Swapping boards-I'm tapping out!! Clean room-not in this place! J/K I know what a clean room is! 8 Tracks sucked! Having to time it right to hear your favotire song. I hope they don't come back the way vinyl did!!

[JEISEN]

I thought about it-swapping boards is not beyond me. I just have to find another exact one. Would one of those hard drive duplicator dock systems duplicate a 'dead' drive?