program to mount a HD with broken index (?)?

  • Thread starter Thread starter cpliu
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cpliu

I have this external USB HD that I only turn it on when needed. One
time, when trying to mount, it asked if I would like to check the HD.
I clicked yes, and it started checking for a while but stopped at 99%.
Maybe I was too impatient, I turn it off and tried to mount it again.
After attempting with disk reading noise, it couldn't. It gave a
message that the HD needed to be formatted to use. The drive changed
its name to "Local Drive." I tried a few programs and it seems that I
can recover files with programs such as R-Studio but I can't mount the
drive. It's rather inconvenient to retrieve files this way. I'd like
to mount the drive and copy some files and then reformat the drive.

Is there a program to mount a HD like the condition my HD is in?

Thanks,

liu
 
Previously cpliu said:
I have this external USB HD that I only turn it on when needed. One
time, when trying to mount, it asked if I would like to check the HD.
I clicked yes, and it started checking for a while but stopped at 99%.
Maybe I was too impatient, I turn it off and tried to mount it again.
After attempting with disk reading noise, it couldn't.
Click to expand...

Not good.
It gave a
message that the HD needed to be formatted to use. The drive changed
its name to "Local Drive."
Click to expand...

That is what it does, if reading the MBR fails.
I tried a few programs and it seems that I
can recover files with programs such as R-Studio but I can't mount the
drive. It's rather inconvenient to retrieve files this way.
Click to expand...

Count yourself lycky you can retrive files.
I'd like
to mount the drive and copy some files and then reformat the drive.
Click to expand...

Not a good idea. Expect it do die completely any time.
Is there a program to mount a HD like the condition my HD is in?
Click to expand...

No. And you can expect that this disk will die completely very soon.

Arno
 
So this is a hardware problem and not a system problem? I can retreive
the files but it takes a long time to compare. It would be nicer if I
can mount it to desktop and compare folder sizes to decide which files
I may not have backup copies.

This is a replacement drive. Gee they give you a refurbished drive
that does not last even more than 3 months. What a crap. I will not
buy any Seagate drive again. None of them survive more than 2 years.
 
Previously cpliu said:
So this is a hardware problem and not a system problem? I can retreive
the files but it takes a long time to compare. It would be nicer if I
can mount it to desktop and compare folder sizes to decide which files
I may not have backup copies.
Click to expand...

I think this is a hardware problem, yes.
This is a replacement drive. Gee they give you a refurbished drive
that does not last even more than 3 months. What a crap. I will not
buy any Seagate drive again. None of them survive more than 2 years.
Click to expand...

They used to be good, just like IBM. However theri new "made in
china" drives are really bad, and that they let them get to
market is a strong reason not to buy Seagate again until their
is good reason to believe they got their act together again.

I think currently you can only buy Samsung or Hitachi. WD
is really as bad as the rumours are, with drives that have
long error recovery latency. And Maxtor, well, don't think I
need to comment. I used to think thet their drive quality would
improve when Seagate bought them, but it seems to have worked
out the other way round.

Arno
 
I think this is a hardware problem, yes.


They used to be good, just like IBM. However theri new "made in
china" drives are really bad, and that they let them get to
market is a strong reason not to buy Seagate again until their
is good reason to believe they got their act together again.
Click to expand...
This one is the 500GB Seagate (ST350064) made in Singapore. I decided
to experiment to see what I can get from this drive. I formatted it
with Vista and it took 7 hours. It probably found many bad sectors but
it still showed 465GB of space. Does windows formatting tool screen
out the bad sectors so data won't be written on the bad sectors? It's
probably not a safe HD to use anyway. What program can I find the
condition of the HD so I can request for a warranty replacement? Under
what condition will they allow replacement?

Thanks for the help,
 
This one is the 500GB Seagate (ST350064) made in Singapore. I decided
to experiment to see what I can get from this drive. I formatted it
with Vista and it took 7 hours. It probably found many bad sectors but
it still showed 465GB of space. Does windows formatting tool screen
out the bad sectors so data won't be written on the bad sectors?
Click to expand...

I think it does on a long (slow) format. The problem is that
a large number of defects in a modern HDD is very likely not due
to surface defects, but some other problem, i.e. the defects are
not done with when they are mapped out, but new ones will
appear.
It's
probably not a safe HD to use anyway. What program can I find the
condition of the HD so I can request for a warranty replacement? Under
what condition will they allow replacement?
Click to expand...

The easiest solution is to get an RMA number from the website. If the
procedure there requires a failed SMART status or other failed status,
sometimes it helps to claim the disk is not detected anymore (they
usually do not check the disk, just send you a replacement).

If you really have to kill the drive, any tool that writes data to it
in a loop should to, though some amount of random access helps. I did
this once by decompressing Linux kernel sources to a drive and then
deleting them again. Loop until drive fails. A disk wiper set to
maximum number of overwrites may also do the trick. This approach is
best done with a test system or left running when at
work/shool/whatever. Took 3 days to kill the drive permanently in my
case (old maxtor 200GB drive).

Arno
 
The easiest solution is to get an RMA number from the website.  If the
procedure there requires a failed SMART status or other failed status,
sometimes it helps to claim the disk is not detected anymore (they
usually do not check the disk, just send you a replacement).
Click to expand...
They didn't ask last time. That made me wonder about the quality of
refurbished drives. Do they go through strict testing and fix things
before putting them out as refurbished drives? This drive is still
formattable and probably will resurface as a refurbished drive again
soon. What I'm getting back is probably just as bad or worse. Is my
concern valid? I never had a refurbished drives (4-5 so far) lasting
more than one year so far. And all of these were not used as main
drives. They were turned on only when needed. Is there a program you
can test to make sure it's a good drive after getting a drive?

Thanks for the advice!
 
Arno Wagner said:
I think it does on a long (slow) format.
Click to expand...

Nope, the drive itself does, not Win.
The problem is that a large number of defects in a modern HDD
is very likely not due to surface defects, but some other problem,
Click to expand...

Always, not very likely.
i.e. the defects are not done with when they are mapped out,
Click to expand...

The english makes no sense there.
but new ones will appear.
Yep.
Click to expand...
The easiest solution is to get an RMA number from the website. If the
procedure there requires a failed SMART status or other failed status,
sometimes it helps to claim the disk is not detected anymore (they
usually do not check the disk, just send you a replacement).
Click to expand...
If you really have to kill the drive, any tool that writes data to it
in a loop should to, though some amount of random access helps.
I did this once by decompressing Linux kernel sources to a drive
and then deleting them again. Loop until drive fails. A disk wiper
set to maximum number of overwrites may also do the trick.
This approach is best done with a test system or left running
when at work/shool/whatever. Took 3 days to kill the drive
permanently in my case (old maxtor 200GB drive).
Click to expand...

I killed one with a lab power supply. Surprisingly hard to kill but I
did eventually manage to blow the side right out of one of the ics.
 
They didn't ask last time. That made me wonder about the
quality of refurbished drives. Do they go through strict testing
and fix things before putting them out as refurbished drives?
Click to expand...

Yes, but if the fault is intermittent, it may not be visible when they do that.
This drive is still formattable and probably will
resurface as a refurbished drive again soon.
Click to expand...

Not if they can see the problem when it gets back to them.
What I'm getting back is probably just as bad or worse. Is my concern valid?
Click to expand...

No, some refurbished drives have been properly fixed.
I never had a refurbished drives (4-5 so far) lasting more than one year so far.
Click to expand...

How long do the new ones last ?
And all of these were not used as main drives. They were turned on only when needed.
Is there a program you can test to make sure it's a good drive after getting a drive?
Click to expand...

Not with an intermittent fault.
 
Previously cpliu said:
They didn't ask last time. That made me wonder about the quality of
refurbished drives. Do they go through strict testing and fix things
before putting them out as refurbished drives? This drive is still
formattable and probably will resurface as a refurbished drive again
soon. What I'm getting back is probably just as bad or worse. Is my
concern valid? I never had a refurbished drives (4-5 so far) lasting
more than one year so far. And all of these were not used as main
drives. They were turned on only when needed. Is there a program you
can test to make sure it's a good drive after getting a drive?
Click to expand...
 
Previously cpliu said:
They didn't ask last time. That made me wonder about the quality of
refurbished drives. Do they go through strict testing and fix things
before putting them out as refurbished drives? This drive is still
formattable and probably will resurface as a refurbished drive again
soon. What I'm getting back is probably just as bad or worse. Is my
concern valid? I never had a refurbished drives (4-5 so far) lasting
more than one year so far. And all of these were not used as main
drives. They were turned on only when needed. Is there a program you
can test to make sure it's a good drive after getting a drive?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice!
Click to expand...

Wellm for modern drive the only thing you can do is a long
SMART selftest. Not too reliable, unfortunately.

Arno
 
cpliu said:
I have this external USB HD that I only turn it on when needed. One
time, when trying to mount, it asked if I would like to check the HD.
I clicked yes, and it started checking for a while but stopped at 99%.
Maybe I was too impatient, I turn it off and tried to mount it again.
After attempting with disk reading noise, it couldn't. It gave a
message that the HD needed to be formatted to use.
Click to expand...

www.hddguru.com has some diagnostics, including the self-booting MHDD.

Is it possible to remove the HD from the USB enclosure and plug it
directly to a parallel or serial IDE connector so that the HD
manufacturer's own diagnostics can be run on it? Could the HD itself
be OK but the USB enclosure be the problem? Some enclosures have
internal power supplies that are terribly built.
 
Arno said:
They used to be good, just like IBM. However their new "made in
china" drives are really bad, and that they let them get to
market is a strong reason not to buy Seagate again until their
is good reason to believe they got their act together again.

I think currently you can only buy Samsung or Hitachi. WD
is really as bad as the rumours are, with drives that have
long error recovery latency. And Maxtor, well, don't think I
need to comment. I used to think thet their drive quality would
improve when Seagate bought them, but it seems to have worked
out the other way round.
Click to expand...

Is Samsung quality really OK? Because I recently bought a Samsung
750GB model HD753LJ, and the first sample vibrated more than any other
HD I've tried, except for a Buffalo external USB drive that contained
a 250GB Samsung. The second Samsung 750GB sample has been fine,
though, and I like the 5-year warranty.
 
Arno Wagner wrote in news:[email protected]
Not good.
Click to expand...
That is what it does, if reading the MBR fails.
Nonsense.


Count yourself lycky you can retrive files.
Click to expand...
Not a good idea. Expect it do die completely any time.
Click to expand...

Utter nonsense. That's what you should expect of any drive.
That's why one does backups.
Really?

And you can expect that this disk will die completely very soon.
Click to expand...

Only because it was shutdown while it was writing.
Oh Babblebot, you're insights are the greatest.
 
Arno Wagner wrote:
Click to expand...
Is Samsung quality really OK? Because I recently bought a Samsung
750GB model HD753LJ, and the first sample vibrated more than any other
HD I've tried, except for a Buffalo external USB drive that contained
a 250GB Samsung. The second Samsung 750GB sample has been fine,
though, and I like the 5-year warranty.
Click to expand...

I have several Samsungs, and yes, most of them vibrate. It is
an issue when installing more than one (you get very annoying
inteference), but it does not seem to affect reliability.
The oldest one I have still in use is about 4.5 years old,
vibrates and is perfectly fine otherwise.

Arno
 
Rod Speed wrote in news:[email protected]
Yes, but if the fault is intermittent, it may not be visible when they do that.


Not if they can see the problem when it gets back to them.


No, some refurbished drives have been properly fixed.


How long do the new ones last ?
Click to expand...
Not with an intermittent fault.
Click to expand...

Nonsense.
With intermittent faults one uses the exerciser portion of a diagnostic.

Or just use Bart's DiskTool.
 
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