Hard drive or file corruption problem???

[Henry LaMuth]

I have a strange thing happening and I fear for the worse. I run XP
Home with dual HDs, lots of memory, and fast processor...just to set
these issues aside.

Here's the problem: suddenly the system freezes with mouse hour glass
spinning and key board locked...this after absolutely no warning or
prior problems. Have to power down to reboot. Takes two-to-three power
down reboots to get things running "normally"....for a while...then it
freezes and same thing happens. My first thought was that a MacAfee
auto install may have corrupted something...happened at the same time
first problem occurred. Maybe mouse drivers corrupted, who knows.

During reboots when personal settings have loaded and tray items are
being added, I hear a clicking...like the power supply or some
electro-mechanical switch is cycling. Once loading is finished, sound
goes away. Only one thing I know clicks like this when it is failing
and that's the HDs...but it is only occurring during the final phase
of reboot.

Took case cover off, and HDs are too hot to keep fingers on. But, with
cover off, the clicking noise goes away. System has been running for a
while without the freeze. On one boot, HD's couldn't be
found...jiggled things and rebooted and now OK...for now.

Not sure what's happening, where to go for help, or how to fix
problem. My first thought on file corruption does not seem to be the
issue....some hardware glitch/failure, maybe. Any insights would be
welcome.

Henry LaMuth

 

[wojo]

It could be a bad HDD but more likely just heat.
When you had the case off did you clean out the dust on the interior?
Also did you hear the power supply fan running?
Was the heat sink working, either running fan or check if it's HOT to the
touch?
Are the vents to the system fan free of dust or anything else that could
block them so circulation can be achieved?
Check these things out and post back if you need more help.

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[Guest]

What is the CPU and chassis temperatures

could be an overheat problem.

 

[Bruce J. Weiers]

Obviously, you suspect that the system drive may be failing.

Most drives can give you S.M.A.R.T. data about how far out of spec they
are.

PassMark's Disk Check utility
http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

or the handy SpeedFan
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

are free-for-personal-use utilities, which will let you see this data.

There are few guidelines for interpreting the data, but if there are
large discrepancies between the "Value" of various variables and the
"Worst" value recorded, you are in trouble, and if any "critical"
"Worst" value has slipped below "Threshold" you are in serious trouble.

Too hot to touch does not sound good to me. Most IDE drives get fairly
hot, but most do not get too hot to touch. I'd at least get a fan
blowing on those suckers.

 

[JerryMouse]

Too hot to touch does not sound good to me. Most IDE drives get
fairly hot, but most do not get too hot to touch. I'd at least get a
fan blowing on those suckers.

I've often wondered about that. IDE drives do get hot. If it were possible
for them to get TOO hot, you'd think the manufacturers would put heat sinks
on the drives.

From the absence of heat sinks or temperature sensing devices on ANY IDE
drive I've ever seen, I conclude drives can run at virtually any temperature
up to that of molten iron.

Your milage may vary.

 

[Menno Hershberger]

I have a strange thing happening and I fear for the worse. I run XP
Home with dual HDs, lots of memory, and fast processor...just to set
these issues aside.

Here's the problem: suddenly the system freezes with mouse hour glass
spinning and key board locked...this after absolutely no warning or
prior problems. Have to power down to reboot. Takes two-to-three power
down reboots to get things running "normally"....for a while...then it
freezes and same thing happens. My first thought was that a MacAfee
auto install may have corrupted something...happened at the same time
first problem occurred. Maybe mouse drivers corrupted, who knows.

During reboots when personal settings have loaded and tray items are
being added, I hear a clicking...like the power supply or some
electro-mechanical switch is cycling. Once loading is finished, sound
goes away. Only one thing I know clicks like this when it is failing
and that's the HDs...but it is only occurring during the final phase
of reboot.

Took case cover off, and HDs are too hot to keep fingers on. But, with
cover off, the clicking noise goes away. System has been running for a
while without the freeze. On one boot, HD's couldn't be
found...jiggled things and rebooted and now OK...for now.

Not sure what's happening, where to go for help, or how to fix
problem. My first thought on file corruption does not seem to be the
issue....some hardware glitch/failure, maybe. Any insights would be
welcome.

That clicking, if it's the one I'm thinking of, can be a sign that you
are about to lose a hard drive. Lots of time it means you've already lost
it! I'd be for getting a new drive in pronto while there's still a chance
of retrieving your data. The clicking stopping after you get all booted
up probably is because it has finally found everything it needed.
Not sure about the overheating. I've had the failing hard drives
clicking away on me before, but they didn't seem to overheat. That could
be, as the others mentioned, that a fan isn't working, too much
dirt/dust, poor ventilation. Ususally it's the *processor* getting too
hot that causes problems.

 

[Bruce J. Weiers]

I've often wondered about that. IDE drives do get hot. If it were
possible
for them to get TOO hot, you'd think the manufacturers would put heat
sinks
on the drives.

From the absence of heat sinks or temperature sensing devices on ANY
IDE
drive I've ever seen, I conclude drives can run at virtually any
temperature
up to that of molten iron.

Excessive heat can increase wear as well as damage the electric motor.

If you took the lid off of one of them you would find an extremely
precise and delicate mechanism, which takes the reading/writing heads
over the disc(s), spinning at 7200 rpm, typically. The expansion caused
by heat can throw a drive out of spec, causing various kinds of errors.

A common drive failure scenario, sometimes referred to as "the click of
death" occurs when the heads can no longer get themselves into proper
position at startup. You just hear this repeated click, as the heads
keep trying to swing into position. A clever trick for treating the
problem is to put the drive in a freezer for 20 minutes or so; the
contraction from the cold will sometimes allow the mechanism to align.

 

[Henry LaMuth]

That clicking, if it's the one I'm thinking of, can be a sign that you
are about to lose a hard drive. Lots of time it means you've already lost
it! I'd be for getting a new drive in pronto while there's still a chance
of retrieving your data. The clicking stopping after you get all booted
up probably is because it has finally found everything it needed.
Not sure about the overheating. I've had the failing hard drives
clicking away on me before, but they didn't seem to overheat. That could
be, as the others mentioned, that a fan isn't working, too much
dirt/dust, poor ventilation. Ususally it's the *processor* getting too
hot that causes problems.

Good advice...I will follow some today to chech things out further.
Fans, dust etc are not the real issue, I don't think. The cpu and MB
run almost cold. The lid off the PC case cools everththing off. Seems
to be OK for now. Will do some diagnostics later and post back...and
thanks again for all the advice. I may get a new HD just to be safe.
Oh, I have two of those suckers, so I probably should replace
both...ugh!!!

Henry

 

[Henry LaMuth]

Obviously, you suspect that the system drive may be failing.

Most drives can give you S.M.A.R.T. data about how far out of spec they
are.

PassMark's Disk Check utility
http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

or the handy SpeedFan
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

are free-for-personal-use utilities, which will let you see this data.

There are few guidelines for interpreting the data, but if there are
large discrepancies between the "Value" of various variables and the
"Worst" value recorded, you are in trouble, and if any "critical"
"Worst" value has slipped below "Threshold" you are in serious trouble.

Too hot to touch does not sound good to me. Most IDE drives get fairly
hot, but most do not get too hot to touch. I'd at least get a fan
blowing on those suckers.

I tried these out and they give me more than I can use or interpret.
But, they both indicate that the drives are OK and that the
temperatures are not outrageous. Something unusual happened and maybe
an extra chasis fan will work out. Strange. They must have gotten hot
and started to hang mechanically...cooled off and work ok....now to
find out why they got hot for the first time.

Thanks for all the advice.

Henry