Hard Drive Down!

[Wayfarer 5]

Yesterday our PC started giving us a black screen with just a 'Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key' message. I've been through a number of internet sites on the laptop and as far as I can see the hard drive has failed. I checked in setup and the 'Primary IDE Master' is 'Not Detected', although the DVD/CD drives are. I have disconnected the cables from the back of the hard drive, reconnected and tried again. ( I haven't managed to disconnect the SATA cable from the motherboard because it felt like it was going to break).

I have virtually no knowledge about PCs, the most adventurous thing I have done is upgrade RAM. I know there are some very PC savvy folks on this forum, however, and I just wanted to check that hard drive failure seemed most likely before I start working out what to do about it.

 

And it had been such a pleasant day ... visited Coventry's air museum and Airbase ... toured some aircraft... saw an Avro Anson flying ... saw some of the bits of WW1 aircraft they used to manufacture in Coventry ... even saw a piece of original German lozenge fabric ... got back to eldest daughter saying ' err Dad ...'

 

 

 

 

 

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Sounds like it's Kaput m8....If you cannot detect it in the BIOS...it usually means that it's destined for the Bin...sorry

 

The SATA cable may be broken, but unlikely....any chance you can plug the Drive into another pc?

That would at least give you a difinitive answer

Edited July 3, 2011 by UK_Widowmaker

[Wayfarer 5]

Sounds like it's Kaput m8....If you cannot detect it in the BIOS...it usually means that it's destined for the Bin...sorry

 

The SATA cable may be broken, but unlikely....any chance you can plug the Drive into another pc?

That would at least give you a difinitive answer

 

 

Thanks Widowmaker. I feared it was so. I read that you could try it in another PC. We don't have one but there is one friend I can try. Oh how I wish that I had backed it up to the external hard drive more recently than I did. All my OFF pilot details will have gone!

[RAF_Louvert 101]

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Yes Wayfarer, I'm afraid WM is correct, your HD is likely toast. I feel your pain Sir, as I went through the same thing with my flying computer some time back. But at least an HD is easy to change. As you've already noted, the tough part is reinstalling everything you don't have backed up on an external HD, which in my case, (like yours), was everything I had in my computer. Some lessons are hard learned.

 

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[Hasse Wind 46]

I know how you feel, Wayfarer. I had the same experience last year. I had backups of everything important, except my OFF pilots.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I remember last september, when a University student friend of mine lost her entire dissitation..... I'm afraid, when it comes to hard drives...it's always a case of 'When' rather than 'If'

 

I always think of my HDD as a cruel, heartless fiend...who will destroy your life's work in an instant!....If you let him!...they are not your friend!

Edited July 3, 2011 by UK_Widowmaker

[Olham 164]

There may be only one really safe way to save your pilot(s):

 

You need to have OFF installed on the C: drive.

Now you make a backup of the C: partition with a program like ACRONIS BACKUP (best after every 1 - 3 sorties),

and you need to make it onto a second harddrive or an external drive.

 

This way you have A) saved your whole operational system as you had it set up;

and B) all your pilots.

I keep 3 -4 of these backups, before I delete the oldest.

Such a backup can be written back onto the C:drive, and it helps also, when you have

installed any new stuff, which causes problems. Just write the previous status back,

and you are fine.

[Wayfarer 5]

Thanks everyone for your commiserations and advice. We are fortunate that almost all the important stuff, coursework, photos etc., is saved elsewhere apart from the external HD, but it certainly is a lesson. It's just that this Sunday morning would have been prime OFF flying time!

Edited July 3, 2011 by Wayfarer

[+Piecemeal 450]

I feel your pain brother. I'm in the exact same position as you at the moment.

[Pappy55 1]

YAY im not the only one with bad PC luck at the moment...

It is not nice when a HDD goes to silicone heaven..

 

I'm just preying mine hold out till I can warrent a Solid Stare HDD they are starting to come down in price now.