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hard drive failure

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17 replies

by cakester

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I have a WD SATA hard drive that won't boot. In fact, even when I try to re-install windows XP from the installation disk it only gets so far and i get the blue screen of death. I have another HD that I use so all I want to do is re-format it and use it as a second drive. My computer won't boot when this is plugged in as a second hard drive either. Can anyone suggest how I can use this drive?

17 replies

by darryl~

I've sometimes seen BIOS settings where you have to specify which SATA drive is Master & which is Slave....did you check the BIOS settings with the 2 drives installed?

by deadly ernest

Make sure the new drive is in the first sata slot and the old one in the second sata slot. Then check the motherboard BIOS setting as to which drive to boot from, make sure they've detected the drives or are on auto detect.

by cakester

The problem is if this hard drive is plugged in, as a primary or secondary drive, the computer will not boot. It starts to load windows XP then fails and restarts just to ask me to start in safe mode. I even tried to load on a different computer and the same thing happens. Is this hard drive fixable?

by balge

hi
either try plugging it into an external enclosure or try plugging it in after the PC is booted - SATA is hot-pluggable, might be best to connect power before booting though
cheers

by cakester

I tried both of the suggestions posted but had no success. I can set the bios but saving those setting requires me to reboot so I can't hot-plug the drive because the computer will not start if a drive is activated through the bios but nothing is actually plugged in the slot. Likewise I can't just plug it in when the computer is on as the computer does not recognize it. If there was a way to connect the SATA cable to an USB port via some kind of adapter, life would be easier.

by balge

hi
yes, get a SATA/USB enclosure (2.5 if its laptop or 3.5 for desktop), stick the drive in then stick it in a USB port with PC booted, Windows should find it there you go
instant external HDD
cheers!

by oh smeg

Can use either size drives in it. They both have the same connections. The 2.5 Inch drive just doesn't need all of the available 12 V DC provided as it only uses the 5 V DC that is available thought he USB Ports. But having the Power Pack plugged in will not hurt anything. ;)

Col

by cakester

I purchased a SATA/IDE to USB adapter because I thought this would work. I plugged it into the defective HD and the same thing happened, my computer restarted and would not boot to the OS! I tried using the adapter on a HD I new worked and I could see that one. I think this HD is pooched and is not recoverable. Can I reformat a disk through the boot setup? I have a DELL dimension 9150. I can usually get to where it asks me to start with the command promt. From here would I need to type the FDISK command in? I never did this before so I really don't have clue.

by tintoman

I admit.
This drive is obviously no longer with us, if you really must have a 2nd drive installed why dont you just get a new one?

by darryl~

is that you should connect the USB drive "after" you booted the system, then see if Windows will detect the USB drive...follow through on the reformat from there.

by dixon

...of messing around with a dead hard drive which, even if it worked, would be worth maybe twenty bucks. I'm confused.

by dixon

...he says he's just trying to reformat it to use as a storage drive.

by cakester

All this discussion is great advise. I do not have any "valuable" data on it nor is the cost to replace it or my time a factor. The interesting part for me is to find a solution to this problem as it may happen in the future to a HD with valuable info on it.

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