Help - HDD suddenly stopped to be recognized in the Laptop .

[majithia23]

Hi Guys ...

here is what happened -

I decided to reinstall Windows 7 on to my Netbook .

Popped in the Win 7 install disc and clicked on install now .

It identified the Had drive and its partitions correctly . C , D, M , W .

C is 50 Gb in size and had the previous Windows Installation .

I decided to format C , but then just decided to let the installation proceed as it is on C .

It started and i went to take a leak , and returned to see a message on the screen informing that the installation of Windows failed and gave some error number , which i dint remember .

Unperturbed and not taking it seriously , i again went for the installation but this time the Installation Disc showed -- NO HDD !

I checked in the BIOS , and it showed - NO HDD . !

and the strange thing is , that i can hear the HDD spinning but it is making some weird sounds .

The sound is like -- crickets chirping in low volume , low intensity , like haring them in a distance .

like --- krrrrrk__krrrrk__krrrrrk__krrrrk__krrrrk

it keeps spinning with sound .

Right now running a Ubuntu Live USB .

So my query is --

What is this !!!

What the Hell went wrong ????

and

What are my options Now ????

[ande]

run diskpart command from a prompt.

Then each of these commands, followed by the enter key after each one.

list disk (to show the ID number of the hard disk to partition, normally Disk 0)

select disk 0 (change 0 to another number if applicable)

clean (this deletes all partitions)

create partition primary size=80000 (creates a partition with 80 GB space; to use the entire disk as one partition, omit the “size=value” parameter switch; use a similar command to create more partitions if needed or create in Windows 7 after installation)

select partition 1

active

format fs=ntfs quick

exit

Also usefull :

Windows 7 - SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation.

[mara-]

Well, this looks like to me that HDD is dead. But wait for more opinions.

Cheers ;)

[UnderShadow]

HD is dead; weird noise, not recognized typical of dead HD

It probably died on you at that precise moment because windows install is intensive on HD; would have died later all the same.

Get a new one

[Arachnoid]

If the bios dont see the disk then windows has no chance so Id suggest removing the drive and using an adaptor to see if slaving it to a desktop shows it up at all.If not then it looks like the drive is toast.

[dcs18]

It identified the Had drive and its partitions correctly . C , D, M , W .

This happens to my clients all the time. What I've quoted causes this issue sooner or later.

One should try to keep the number of volumes as low as possible (my personal preference being C/: & D/: with E/: being the CD/DVD ROM)

OK don't worry, if your HDD is not really a coaster just try this:-

1. If the logical drives contain important data, extricate and connect your internal HDD as an external HDD to some other system for the backup (use cut/paste not copy/paste.)

2. If your HDD doesn't get detected as an external HDD, you can still save your data. Flick your Acronis Disk Director into your CD tray (not the latest flavors, they wont detect your HDD) You'll want to use the ADDS (Acronis Disk Director Suite) the one that used to come with Hiren's BootCD 9.6. The idea is to get rid of the M/: & W/: volumes. Please note only the ADDS is able to detect HDDs that become undetectable.

3. After slimming down your volumes down to a bare 2 partitions C/: & D/: shutdown (do not reboot.) While the sub-station is shutting down button-open your CD tray to eject the CD (Hiren's BootCD.) Don't allow the tray to retract, you're going to have to flick your installation DVD into the tray.

4. Start your system now to get on with the installation while you complete your pee in bliss. Your system is sure to detect your HDD, if it doesn't you're royally screwed.

The key issues here are the partitions M/: & W/:

After a fresh installation, if you decide to repartition back into the extra M/: & W/: you'll be pleasantly surprised to find they work fine until one cold winter night . . . . . .

About point no.2 on how to save your data while partitioning is to use the 'Increase Size' option instead of the 'Resize' option.

Remember it's ADDS and not the latest Acronis Advanced Disk Director that will do the trick.

[majithia23]

@6enii, mara , undershadow, archnoid .

thanks guys for your replies .

as i said the HDD is not being recognized either any way , so i dont think DISKPART would work .

@rocketman

thanks for the reply man .

the data on the HDD is not important , as i had already done a back up just 2 days back . So have almost 98% of data with me .

and regards the Hirens , i did try it but the latest , and also opened the Acronis tool in it , but as you already mentioned , it did not recognize the drive .

and so as a matter of fact , nothing in Hirens armory worked . Win XP couldnt find the HDD , no disk tools could find it .

but as you also mention that Acronis tool in previous versions of Hirens namely V 9.6 should be able to find the HDD , i am eager to try it out .

i did download this V 9.6 from Pirate Bay , and installed it onto a USB , but it failed to boot . " Could not find the kernel image . "

So can you link me up to a working link for Hirens 9.6

or

a link to download the Acronis Disk Director Suite ?

On a little optimistic side , the laptop is still under warranty . So if the HDD is dead , i should get a replacement . ( i think so . ...)

but on the flip side , i have lost the invoice / bill for this laptop .

So i dont know if the Service Guys will honor the warranty in the absence of proof of sale record or not .

well lets see.....

The service center is located in another town , so i will be heading over to it this week end .

And before that i would like to try out what ever i can .

so what else ....

[majithia23]

..... can you tell which version of ADDS suite you are talking about ?

EDIT --

ADDS 9.0.554 it is i think . the one in Hirens 9.6 .

now downloading 9.7 , as it too has the same version of ADDS . Lets see ...

and wont any other versions of ADDS work other than this .?

[dcs18]

Firstly, I'm glad you're not gonna be losing precious data.

Secondly about ADDS, there are 2 of these in the Acronis brood:-

1. Acronis Disk Director Server:

This is a useless one and needs to be avoided (also no point in further description.)

2. Acronis Disk Director Suite v10.0.2160

This is the one we're interested in. It's the only flavor that detects borked up HDDs. Unfortunately, Acronis decided to discontinue this edition which otherwise remains the de facto tool that most Professionals continue to use (for obvious reasons.)

There are installers available for Acronis Disk Director Suite v10.0.2160 but what we need is the BootCD and I have never come across an independent & exclusive Acronis Disk Director Suite v10.0.2160 BootCD. It always seems to be available as an integration into Hiren's CD.

BTW, you're right about the v9.7.

[majithia23]

ok , so after a lot of hits and trials with various versions of Hirens that had this ADDS 10.0.2160 , i was finally able to successfully boot into Hirens 10.1 .

fired up the ADDS and my bad luck is still to run out coz it too could not detect my HDD !

All it showed was the pendrive from which Hirens was running . and nothing else .

So i suppose i will have to gulp down the fact that the HDD is Kaput ? !

gone . dead . nuked .

or

is there still something else i could try ?

if nothing , then i am at the mercy of the Service Center . dont know how the stupids will react !

[dcs18]

If it's not voiding the warranty (by potential breaking of any seal,) I'd try getting the HDD out and re-seating it back after ensuring the terminals are clean and firmly attached to the contacts.

Another thing to tryout is whether the BIOS is accessible and then set it to "Load optimized defaults."

[majithia23]

@rocketman

naa ... cant access the HDD without breaking the seal sticker .

i ll let the service center guys have that fun .

will be visiting them tomorrow .

and regards the BIOS , i already resetted it to default values , but nothing .

well , i ll post the update after the visit .

[dcs18]

Oh yeah, wish ya all the best. One day, we probably might look back at this thread and say "That was the best thing to have happened."

Good-luck for your new HDD, we all tried our level best. :)

[Arachnoid]

Dont know about your country but in the UK warrenty does not require the use of a reciept.BTW if you purchased it with a credit/debit card it will show up on your account billing anyway,

[majithia23]

@rocketman

thanks man for all your help .

i ll post the update ! :)

@arachnoid

yes you are right . here also , usually the receipt or invoice is not required to avail the warranty . most of the times .

but except if you happen to encounter some a@@hole service centers !

so lets see ....

[LiLmEgZ]

Just get a SSD for ur laptop, u will be more pleased with its stability over a mechanical HD any ol day :)

[rudrax]

The krrrk sound means some mechanical displacement was taken place in the HDD or may be the vacuum seal is leaked.. :rolleyes:

And, Guru, don't worry, everything will be just fine. :)

[majithia23]

@lilmegz

yeah SSDs are sure the future . but i ll rest it atm . may be a a new laptop with all SSD some time soon .. ;)

@rudrax

yeah might be . but what ever it crashed !

update --

the service center guys got the laptop registered under warranty .

so luckily i should be getting a new HDD free of cost .

delivery time given 1 week .

let see ...

[dcs18]

Dont know about your country but in the UK warrenty does not require the use of a reciept.BTW if you purchased it with a credit/debit card it will show up on your account billing anyway,

Yes, I myself send a lot of these laptops for claims where the Client is invariably unable to locate the invoice & receipts (sometimes also due to mortgaging.) Fortunately enough, the Service Centers are able to check all aspects of the warranty status instantly upon plugging the affected laptop onto their network grid. :)

On an aside, when the Thailand flooding skyrocketed the prices of HDDs, I had dispatched a Clients (desktop) HDD to Western Digital. Those guys arranged to pickup the HDD from my joint and after a week the 320 GB (8 MB cache) was replaced with a 500 GB (16 MB cache) and the drop was made to the Client's choice of address, pretty awesome service that - from WD.)

[rudrax]

update --

the service center guys got the laptop registered under warranty .

so luckily i should be getting a new HDD free of cost .

delivery time given 1 week .

let see ...

Yeah, me too got my laptop HDD crashed within warranty and you know what's the profit of that?

I got a 500 GB HDD instead of previous 320 GB 'cause my laptop manufacturer stopped support for 320 GB HDDs.. :)

[majithia23]

UPDATE ---

been running busy for the last 2 weeks .!

well any ways , got my laptop with a new HDD a week back .

best thing , the guys at the service center were kind enough and covered the repair under Warranty ! :)

but the flip side is ,

the laptops warranty will be running out in 3 or 4 months , and that means the warranty for this new HDD will also be running out in 3 or 4 months ( inspite of this being a new HDD and for which a complete warranty period of 2 or 3 years should be valid but unfortunately not ! )

on asking the guys why so , they just said - thats the way it is !

the HDD that died was a WD , and this new one is also a WD .

well ...

[rudrax]

Well come back guru..

My dead HDD was a Toshiba and the replaced one is WD..Mine was died before 1 week of expiring warranty!

[majithia23]

Hi Rudrax ,

yeah as of now its working good , until it decides to go crazy , one fine day ...

well everything fails ,

lets see ....