hey i've a little problem with my computer. on turning it on, i get a
black screen asking if i want to open it in safe mode or normal mode
because it wasn't closed down right and whichever you click, a blue
screen pops up. on the blue screen it has some technical information
that i don't understand - ***STOP: 0x000000ED (0x80EF5E30, 0x0000032,
0x00000000, 0x00000000)
i was wondering if anyoner here couldn't help me trying to figure out
what is wrong with it, please? My mother is thinking of giving it to a
guy who says its a harddrive problem and that it has to be wiped clean
which means losing all my work over the last 3years. and don't say it
i know i should have backed them up.
I would really appreciate a hand here,
all thanks... kerry gall
You can look up the STOP error here:
http://aumha.org/a/stop.htm
0x000000ED: UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297185&sd=RMVP
"STOP 0x000000ED (0xaaaaaaaa,0xbbbbbbbb,0xcccccccc,0xdddddddd) UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME
Damaged File System
If the second parameter (0xbbbbbbbb) of the Stop error is 0xC0000032, then the file
system is damaged. If this is the case, restart the computer to the Recovery Console,
and then use the chkdsk /r ..."
So that gives you some idea what the problem is.
There are two activities here. One is saving the user data, and the other is
restoring the disk so it is bootable. The first is the highest priority activity.
When I have problems with disks, I try to "clone" or copy the disk byte by byte,
to another disk. That would be my first priority, and the ease of doing that, varies
with the kind of computer. This does not fix the problem, but it does give a backup
copy of the data. If you are going to put the disk into the hands of a third party,
having a spare copy of the (broken) data is better than nothing at all. The idea
is, if the recovery program or operation goes bad, you still have a "xerox like" copy
of what was there.
When you get a new disk from particular manufacturers, the manufacturer can make
available software for copying the old disk. This is an example of the Seagate
DiscWizard program, free for download, and when I had a quick look through it, I
don't see an option for making a "raw" copy. A "raw" copy method is needed here,
because the disk is unmountable, which means the structure of the disk is no longer
known by the OS. A lot of the procedures listed in the following manual, assume the
old data is in perfect condition.
http://www.seagate.com/support/discwizard/dw_ug.en.pdf
So you need to find someone who recognizes the value of your data (not interested
in "wiping" the drive immediately - you'd be surprised how many users report their
local computer shop does that without consulting them). I'd probably go looking for
a copy of "dd", as I recollect there is a Windows port of "dd" available. That would
be freeware and wouldn't cost a dime. You would need to purchase more than one
new disk drive, as a place to put the data. So that part will cost money. You have to
be careful with this command, so this is a case where you'd hone the syntax of the
command with sacrificial disks first, to make sure you get the format of the command
just right. "dd" takes no prisoners, and if used improperly, the damage is permanent
(it is like erasing the disk). The objective of this program, is to copy the disk
sector by sector.
http://www.chrysocome.net/dd (I'm only mentioning this for completeness -- this
is not a tool for newbies.)
Another lazy man's way of copying a SATA disk, is to connect it to a RAID controller
card. There are some SATA cards, where plugging in two disks, gives an
opportunity to set up a RAID 1 "mirror", and when the array is "built", a sector
by sector copy of one disk is made to the other. That avoids needing to know anything
about dd. Some of those PCI cards cost about $20 or so, so you don't have to
spend a lot for one.
If you have any doubts about the people available in your area to help you,
an expensive option is data recovery. If you don't know who to trust,
some of the big disk makers have a service. Costs may vary, according
to the difficulty of recovery. (Like somewhere in the $1000 range. Some
small operations offer to do it for less, but not that much less.)
I'm sure if you wait around a few minutes, one of the small time
operations will spam this thread, and offer their services.
http://services.seagate.com/consumer_solutions.aspx
Once the data has been secured in some way, then you can go about the second
task, which is to attempt to fix the disk so it is bootable. The assumption
in this case, is that the disk is readable. In which case, you could follow
some of the advice in the Microsoft KB article (297185 above). Or, if you
don't like the advice given there and the amount of detail, use the key words
in the article, to find other web pages that discuss the repair of unmountable
volumes. (Keywords: chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr etc...)
If you ignore the advice to make a backup copy of the disk, and just
follow the Knowledgebase article, then if anything goes wrong, the
data recovery process could be that much tougher. That is your
choice to make, based on your finances, and how expendable the data
is. In the case of the couple disks I've lost, that had no backups,
while I regretted the loss, there was nothing on there worth spending
$1000 on. My two dead disks were beyond simple redemption, one having
snapped the head assembly (loud sproing sound from inside the drive!).
In terms of how dire the state of the disk drive, it is reassuring to look
in the BIOS screen, and see if the disk is detected. On the computer I'm
typing on, when the computer starts, I press the <delete> key to enter
the BIOS setup screens. This is the stage before the OS boots. The BIOS screen
may tell you what to press, or perhaps the computer users manual will tell
you what to do.
The BIOS will normally try to detect the presence of hard drives, and if
one is detected, try to boot from it. It sounds like your BIOS has tried to do
that, which means the disk is not dead. If you look in the BIOS, a good
sign would be seeing the brand name and correct size of the disk. I've
had one dead disk, where the capacity listed was wrong, and that was
actually caused by the fact, that the heads on the drive could no longer
see the platters at all. If the drive is detectable, it means the most
expensive kinds of data recovery (opening up the disk) may not be
necessary. The amount of damage on your disk could be minor.
There are USENET groups that specialize in storage on IBM PCs, but some
of the regulars in those groups are pretty cranky, and they tend to
fight with one another
The group in question is listed at the top of
this returned result.
http://groups.google.ca/groups/search?q=storage
Good luck,
Paul
