Desktop

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Allocation Unit Error

0 helpful
9 replies

by ygoryunov

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
I have a clone Athlon TB 1200 with a 7200 rpm 60G WD Caviar HDD and 512M of RAM running WinXP Professional. In the past couple of days the system would randomly restart and scandisk comes up with an error - Allocation Unit Error [filename]. It seemslike the system restarts when it tries to write something to a file. I scanned it for viruses and it's clean. Any suggestions?

9 replies

by grimreality

What have you tried? It sound as if the HDD had a bad file or sector. Run a scandisk on the HDD and see what happens. You may have a bad HDD but chances are that the HDD just has a bad file on it. What you may have to do is format and try again. If the problem persists after a format then you definitly have a bad HDD.

by thechas

Install & Run WD's Data Lifeguard tools to see if the drive has a problem.

If the drive comes up clean, see if you can identify what program the file belongs to.
If it is part of XP, you can run install again, and replace the file.

Another possability is that Windows Update mis-identified your hardware, and installed an incorrect driver for the chipset on the motherboard.

by maddiuex

I agree that you may have bad sectors, you can find a diskette called ultimate Bootup disk from www.bootdisk.com and it will tell you if so. You may also try Xp,s system restore option. Or If you have installed any applications in the last few days leading up to the allocation error. But experiance goes with bad sectors....
Hope this helps?

by dcosgrove

There is also a chance that the errors are being created by the fast shut down. High processor temps can cause shut downs like that and athalons are prone to high temps. Check your heatsink and fan to make sure they are secure and the fan is turning. The design og the new chips (athalon and PIII) leave little area for heat dissipation and therefor, appropriate cooling is essential.

This discussion is closed to new replies.