Hardware·18,997 discussions

Oh gee- where do I begin?!?!

Locked

My OS registration key was rejected by Microsoft out of the blue. I re-registered and it ran fine. Then we moved to a new house and after we hooked my machine up, it ran great for 1 week. Then it started making ”clicking” sounds. After a few days, I ran a registry cleaner, spyware program, and antivirus. Nothing seemed to fix the issue and for some reason my memory was being eaten up! Now when I turn it on, it stops at the screen before the Windows screen comes on and it reads ” Detecting IDE drives….” and it just freezes. 😐 I would like to know if my hard drive just took a nose dive or if I can actually fix this issue. And of course, dummy me forgot to create a backup disc for just such an occasion.

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Clarifications

In reply to Oh gee- where do I begin?!?!

Clarifications

I would think..

In reply to Oh gee- where do I begin?!?!

that the clicking sounds are a dead giveaway that either the drive or the IDE controller is cr@pped out.

A couple of years ago I had a situation in which my box began clicking sporadically and just as sporadically I could not access one of the drives on it. The controller bit the dust, as I am still running that drive on a different mobo.

With the click

In reply to I would think..

my bet is on the drive its self…
Download UBCD
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
and use some of the HD diagnostic tools to check your drive first.

My money’s on the physical move …

In reply to With the click

However gently it was done, it was still a bumpy ride. The IDE cable could’ve worked loose causing intermittent data transfer (clicking) until zero data transfer when it finally fell off.

Thats true…

In reply to My money’s on the physical move …

I guess Im gun shy when it comes to clicks…
Blame my fiancee.

Women !!!!!!!! …

In reply to Thats true…

Having once instigated proceedings and sued for divorce [b]I don’t trust ’em. No Sir!! Not me !![/b]

ha!

In reply to Women !!!!!!!! …

BLEH!

The spec and OS of the machine would help in diagnosis …

In reply to Oh gee- where do I begin?!?!

I’m thinking that the house-move may be a causal consideration.

Generally, PCs tend to complain when they are moved around indoors – a move from one house to another, with a vehicle journey in between, will have exposed the unit to temperature fluctuations – perhaps moisture – and physical knocks and bumps and vibrations.

Your best bet would be to open the case and check all the internal connections, particularly the IDE cables from the motherboard to the hard drive(s)

That is the most likely scenario.

Back-up Your Data First !

In reply to The spec and OS of the machine would help in diagnosis …

Someone mentioned UBCD. You can use a boot CD (Hirens also works) to back up your data. You should do this first!

There are plenty of tools out there to help you diagnose HDD issues, and you should definitely check your cabling, but first make sure you get your files off.

If the drive dies while you’re checking its integrity you’ll hate yourself for not doing this first.

very good point.

In reply to Back-up Your Data First !

Very very good point.

ok

In reply to Back-up Your Data First !

Thank you and to everyone who is trying to help. We will see what happens this evening. Muahahahaha!!

More info to add here..

In reply to ok

If by any chance your drive does die on you then take it out and wrap it in freezer bags and put it in your freezer for a couple of days. Get hold of a external usb caddy/case and put the drive into this. You will have a very short time to copy/extract data this way. but it can be done. Unless your hdd’s are too far gone.. You could try “spinrite”, more info here:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download

http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm
Hope this helps you.

Please post back if you have more problems or questions.

I’ve seen this before

In reply to More info to add here..

there are links all over the web about this. No one agrees on how long but it has worked for some people. I don’t think a few days is necessary. I’ve seen folks report it helping after a 1/2 hour in the freeze.

The one thing that folks do agree is that too much would be bad. If you freeze anything you run the risk of having crystals form and condensation when it thaws.

Good luck

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