Disk Read Error

[Lonzo]

I get a Disk Read Error when I try to boot. My windows
2000 has been working fine for a few months.

What suggestions do you have to help me recover from this?

 

[Guest]

I still have this problem. It does not appear to be a
virus. It also does not seem to be hardware related.
I installed a different hard drive that also has 2000 on
it and it booted and ran fine.
I installed the drive in question as a secondar drive.
The primary partition showed up as drive F, but was
inaccessable. My partition was drive G and I could access
it.
Is this a sign my master boot record is damaged? Should I
try fixmbr?

Lonzo

 

[Gert B. Frob]

I get a Disk Read Error when I try to boot. My windows
2000 has been working fine for a few months.

What suggestions do you have to help me recover from this?

Your description is a little sketchy, but it sounds as if your drive is
failing. Obtain your drive manufacturer's disk utility tool from their web
site and run a thorough test. If the test shows that the drive is failing,
you may be able to recover some of your data by swapping the drive into a
functioning computer and using a utility such as Acronis Recovery Expert:

http://www.acronis.com/products/recoveryexpert/

In any event, even if the drive functions sporadically stop using it until
you resolve the problem. Continuing to use it risks a total melt down from
which no data at all can be recovered.

If your problem proves not to be failing hardware, you can try an in-place
upgrade as explained here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;292175

Doing so should resolve any file corruption that may be causing your
problem.

 

[JTrue]

After having this same problem on a XP machine and after running
Maxtor's diagnostic tool which told me the drive is 100% functional, I
called Maxtor. They told me that, that error has to do with the
overlay on a large drive (>137). It's trying to trick your BIOS into
thinking it's a much smaller drive so that your OS will recognize it.
Best advice I can give you is to 1st run your HD diagnostic tool to
make sure the drive is not failing. Secondly, install a ATA 133 card.
Thirdly...hopefully you have another HD that is functional or at
least that you can install an OS on so that you can slave the
malfunctioning drive to get important information off of. After
attempting to backup your necessary files, then format the "bad"
drive. Install that drive on the ATA 133 card and reinstall your
OS....making sure that you hit F6 to "install SCSI or RAID
devices"....that is what an ATA 100/133 card is considered. You will
most likely have to have the drivers for that card on a 3.5" disk.
Let me know if this doesn't work....worked for me. If all else fails,
call the hard drive manufacturer tech support...that's what they're
there for.