How to Test Drive that Prevents Startup

  • Thread starter Thread starter jim evans
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J

jim evans

When I tried to startup this morning the process stalled looking for
drives. It would not boot from a floppy (which has my drive test
disk) or a CD. It simply stalled.

I have 3 hard drives and I discovered that one of the drives was the
problem and by disconnecting it the computer booted and operated
properly -- except for the apps that are on the drive I disconnected
of course.

I cannot test this drive because the machine will not boot with it
connected. Is there a way to test the drive and possibly repair it?
I would like to retrieve the files that are on it.

-- jim
 
jim said:
When I tried to startup this morning the process stalled looking for
drives. It would not boot from a floppy (which has my drive test
disk) or a CD. It simply stalled.

I have 3 hard drives and I discovered that one of the drives was the
problem and by disconnecting it the computer booted and operated
properly -- except for the apps that are on the drive I disconnected
of course.

I cannot test this drive because the machine will not boot with it
connected. Is there a way to test the drive and possibly repair it?
I would like to retrieve the files that are on it.

-- jim
Click to expand...

Hi,

Did you check the boot order in your BIOS? Maybe the computer was
trying (for whatever reason) to boot from the drive you removed.

If it's PATA, try using a different cable and letting it be the only
device on its own channel.

If you can't get the computer to boot with the drive (and assuming it
isn't dead), I'd get a hard drive enclosure so you can plug it in via
USB or firewire after booting. If your partitions are gone I'd try
recovering them with Acronis Disk Director.
 
jim evans said:
When I tried to startup this morning the process stalled
looking for drives. It would not boot from a floppy (which
has my drive test disk) or a CD. It simply stalled.
Click to expand...

It might boot if you wait long enough. It can take minutes if one
of the drives doesnt respond to a poll of the drives at boot time.
I have 3 hard drives and I discovered that one of the
drives was the problem and by disconnecting it the
computer booted and operated properly -- except for
the apps that are on the drive I disconnected of course.
Click to expand...
I cannot test this drive because the machine will not boot with it
connected. Is there a way to test the drive and possibly repair it?
Click to expand...

Worth trying on the other ribbon cable by itself, cables can and do go bad.

Worth trying a different power connector too, the metal tunnels the
pins go into can open up over time and stop making solid contact.
I would like to retrieve the files that are on it.
Click to expand...

Might be detected if its the only drive on the cable.

You could try a logic card swap with an identical drive if none of that works.
 
If it's PATA, try using a different cable and letting it be the only
device on its own channel.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to add that the drive should be set as "single drive" or
"master" and be at the end of the cable on its own channel.
 
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