Name: Lizette Date: April 13, 2008 at 13:12:07 Pacific Subject: Mystery harddisk OS: WinXP CPU/Ram: P4 3.2Ghz
Comment:
Hi all! I have a very, very weird harddisk problem, so here it goes.
I have a Samsung 500gig SATA HD (HD501LJ) which I use in a Sharkoon SATA USB enclosure. Everything was working fine till this afternoon. Every time when plug the HD in my desktop, it just reboots. First I thought that it was the USB port, so I installed a PCI hub which I had lying around. But still the same problem.
So, eventually I removed the HD from it's enclosure and installed it into my desktop. With the HD connected, Windows wouldn't even load; the pc just keeps on rebooting. So at this moment, I cannot even reach my data :(
I also ran both Samsung's hd utility check and PowerMax, but both came out clean (extended test) I updated my BIOS, changed cables and SATA connectors; no luck. I have absolutely no idea's anymore, so ANY thoughts appreciated. Specially how to recover my data....
Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz Asus P4P800-E Deluxe Kingston 2GB PC3200 Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP WD Raptor 37 GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB Asus E616P1 Plextor PX-740A Reserator 1
Yes, during post and also in BIOS both drives are recognized. I do not have the 500gig HD as the startup disk, but a Western Digital SATA.
The thing that bugs me the most is that my pc reboots when im connecting the usb enclosure. The enclosure itself is (probably) not defective because an other SATA drive is working well in it. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz Asus P4P800-E Deluxe Kingston 2GB PC3200 Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP WD Raptor 37 GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB Asus E616P1 Sony DRU-700A Plextor PX-76
What drive fitness test did you run on the 500GB? If the drives are both recognized at startup it sounds like a Windows or USB problem.
With both drives connected the computer reboots. You may be connecting the two SATA drives as some form of RAID or have some other issue with the cconfiguration of those drives. You need to read the manual to use the correct SATA ports and to set the BIOS settings correctly.
Have you tried to boot into Safe Mode? Also try connecting the 500GB SATA IN PLACE of the normal boot drive and leave the normal boot drive disconnected from both the data and power cables. This should result in a non-system boot error.
Check the USB listings in Device Manager to see if anything is amiss there.
"What drive fitness test did you run on the 500GB? If the drives are both recognized at startup it sounds like a Windows or USB problem." -I used Samsung Drive Diagnostic Utility and Powermax. Both the DOS-ish verions.
"With both drives connected the computer reboots." -That's correct
"You may be connecting the two SATA drives as some form of RAID or have some other issue with the cconfiguration of those drives. You need to read the manual to use the correct SATA ports and to set the BIOS settings correctly." -Have disabled the RAID configuration and used the "non-RAID" SATA connectors
"Have you tried to boot into Safe Mode?" -Yes, tried and no luck. Keeps rebooting after choosing the Safe Mode option.
"Also try connecting the 500GB SATA IN PLACE of the normal boot drive and leave the normal boot drive disconnected from both the data and power cables. This should result in a non-system boot error." Ah! haven't tried that yet. Am at my dorm till friday and desktop is at home. Will try asap
UPDATE: I have connected the drive via the USB enclosure to my Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop (Vista x86) and everything seems to be working OK; no reboots and drive is recognized in Windows. But connecting to a (different) XP laptop it causes the reboot again! (Which it didn't before) So...can I conclude that it's either: Xp, SATA connector on MoBo or USB ports on MoBo?
Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz Asus P4P800-E Deluxe Kingston 2GB PC3200 Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP WD Raptor 37 GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB Asus E616P1 Sony DRU-700A Plextor PX-76
Is the 500GB SATA a 3.5" drive, and is your enclosure AC powered?
If the USB enclosure causes a reboot on two computers that would tend to point to a problem with the enclosure or the drive itself. That is why I asked what drive fitness test was run.
The 500GB causing rebooting of the desktop while connected internally MAY indicate an issue with how Windows is configuring the two drives. If you can sit in the startup screens or in the BIOS screens without incident then that would indicate a Windows issue of some sort.
Check to see if any autoupdates were installed just prior to the first issue with the USB drive. The updates can be viewed in Add/remove programs. Tick the show updates box and look at the dates.
"Is the 500GB SATA a 3.5" drive, and is your enclosure AC powered?" -Yes, it's 3.5" and AC powered
"If the USB enclosure causes a reboot on two computers that would tend to point to a problem with the enclosure or the drive itself." -I tried a different harddrive (Western Digital 250GB) and it worked. Also, the drive and enclosure are working on a Vista laptop. Is this enough info to rule out a defective enclosure?
"Check to see if any autoupdates were installed just prior to the first issue with the USB drive. The updates can be viewed in Add/remove programs. Tick the show updates box and look at the dates." -I'll take a look at it as soon as I get home. In any case, thanks for all your help so far. I'll keep you posted
Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz Asus P4P800-E Deluxe Kingston 2GB PC3200 Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP WD Raptor 37 GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB Asus E616P1 Sony DRU-700A Plextor PX-76
I would guess that two other harddrives functioning properly in the USB enclosure would indicate the enclosure is functioning properly. That comes down to the harddrive then. If you can't boot into Windows with the 500GB connected there are some other options available to determine if the data is intact and if it can be copied.
Despite what the Samsung drive fitness program showed it does appear there is a problem with that drive.
I would suggest that you download Knoppix. Knoppix is a live version of Linux. Knoppix installs to and runs from one CDR disk. You boot to that disk and Knoppix can configure all your hardware. You should be able to copy any accessable data to any place you have available. optical media, harddisk, USB external, Network, etc.
Knoppix is 700MB so a fast internet connection is necessary. You can also pruchase pre-burned disks for a few dollars if that works better for you. There is no guarantee Knoppix will be able to access any data on the drive but it is worth the try. Google for Knoppix.
More thoughts on the USB drive. When you removed the USB drive from your system did you use the remove safely icon in the tray by the clock? Failure to do that can result in data corruption. I don't know why the drive would stop you from booting into Windows though, even if it were corrupt.
Another thing you could try is to download Testdisk. This utility may shed some light on the problem. Find it below.
"When you removed the USB drive from your system did you use the remove safely icon in the tray by the clock?" -Yes I always safely remove the disk or remove it when the computer is shut down.
At the moment, I managed to connect the drive to my Vista laptop and it's recognized and accessable. I'm copying data as I type just in case. Will experiment some more with the desktop when I'm at home again.
OTheHill, again, thank you very much for your help.
Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz Asus P4P800-E Deluxe Kingston 2GB PC3200 Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP WD Raptor 37 GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB Asus E616P1 Sony DRU-700A Plextor PX-76
Are you stating you have the 500GB in the USB enclosure and you are accessing the drive in Vista?
Someone else here recently posted about issues with USB port memory. Connecting to a DIFFERENT port than before seems to cause WinXP to not be able to access the device. If you use the same port for multiple devices that could possibly be the issue.
If you are not running WinXP service pack 2 I suggest you upgrade your OS to SP2.
"Are you stating you have the 500GB in the USB enclosure and you are accessing the drive in Vista?" -Yes, the USB in it's enclosure is working in Vista.
"Someone else here recently posted about issues with USB port memory. Connecting to a DIFFERENT port than before seems to cause WinXP to not be able to access the device. If you use the same port for multiple devices that could possibly be the issue. If you are not running WinXP service pack 2 I suggest you upgrade your OS to SP2." -I tried all USB ports including a PCI USB hub. I also have SP2. But not recognizing a (usb) disk should not led to an instant pc reboot, right?
Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz Asus P4P800-E Deluxe Kingston 2GB PC3200 Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP WD Raptor 37 GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB Asus E616P1 Sony DRU-700A Plextor PX-76
Hi OTheHill, I thought I'd give you an update about my weird harddisk. I was able to copy all data through the Vista laptop. After that, only connected the harddisk to my desktop as you suggested. PC went through post and got the boot device message. So far so good. Since I already copied all my data I decided to format the drive. After the format, the drive was recognized in Windows XP and Vista as well in the USB enclosure. No reboots. So....I *hope* this won't happen again any time soon. Thank you very much for your help and patience.
~Liz
Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz Asus P4P800-E Deluxe Kingston 2GB PC3200 Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP WD Raptor 37 GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB Asus E616P1 Sony DRU-700A Plextor PX-76
The information on Computing.Net is the opinions of its users. Such
opinions may not be accurate and they are to be used at your own risk.
Computing.Net cannot verify the validity of the statements made on this site. Computing.Net and Computing.Net, LLC hereby disclaim all responsibility and liability for the content of Computing.Net and its accuracy.
PLEASE READ THE FULL DISCLAIMER AND LEGAL TERMS BY CLICKING HERE
