Hitachi hts424030m9at00

[Deodiaus]

I have a 6 yr old Dell inspiration 2200 but my HD [hitachi
hts424030m9at00] died.
1) I got an adapter and plugged it into another desktop. It is
detected by the bios, but not by WinXP. Are there any good
recommended web sites which might discuss ways to try to recover info
off that HD? I don't want to pay too much, as I doubt that info is
worth a lot, but it is worth something.
2) If I were to buy another HD, is there any way to go about getting
a version of WinXP for that laptop? If I call up Dell, I doubt that
they will give me a WinXP cd, for they stopped including the CDs with
their PC years ago?

 

[Rich Greenberg]

I have a 6 yr old Dell inspiration 2200 but my HD [hitachi
hts424030m9at00] died.
1) I got an adapter and plugged it into another desktop. It is
detected by the bios, but not by WinXP. Are there any good
recommended web sites which might discuss ways to try to recover info
off that HD? I don't want to pay too much, as I doubt that info is
worth a lot, but it is worth something.

Now you know why some of us do regular backups.

If the drive is toast, you have 2 possibilities.

1) A commercial data recovery service. $$$$$

2) If the problem is electronic rather than mechanical, and you can find
a similar working drive, you MAY be able to swap the electronics board
and recover it that way. Emphasis on "MAY".

2) If I were to buy another HD, is there any way to go about getting
a version of WinXP for that laptop? If I call up Dell, I doubt that
they will give me a WinXP cd, for they stopped including the CDs with
their PC years ago?

Probably. See if Dell will sell you a "recovery" cd. Or buy an XP
install CD (Dell, Ebay or elsewhere) and do a complete install. Then
see if you can d/l and install anything Dell specific.

Although a laptop that old is probably not worth the effort & expense.

 

[Paul]

I have a 6 yr old Dell inspiration 2200 but my HD [hitachi
hts424030m9at00] died.
1) I got an adapter and plugged it into another desktop. It is
detected by the bios, but not by WinXP. Are there any good
recommended web sites which might discuss ways to try to recover info
off that HD? I don't want to pay too much, as I doubt that info is
worth a lot, but it is worth something.
2) If I were to buy another HD, is there any way to go about getting
a version of WinXP for that laptop? If I call up Dell, I doubt that
they will give me a WinXP cd, for they stopped including the CDs with
their PC years ago?

Here is a condensed summary. You say you can see it in the BIOS, which
is a good sign. The name hts424030m9at00 suggests the disk initialized OK.
So it could just be a problem with the partition table, or with the
file system on the partition.

This tool displays the current partition table. Up to four primary partitions
may be on the disk. More partitions can be there, by means of extended partitions,
but I don't know how that works. Some prebuilt computers have three
partitions for example. Your reason for examining this table, is as a
sanity check. Do the numbers seem consistent with what you know about
your computer, and the size of partitions ? (This tool runs in Windows.)

ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/tools/pq/utilities/PTEDIT32.zip

If the partitions seemed wrong, there is this tool. It can scan the disk,
find the partitions, and build a new partition table. But you could
just as easily screw something up, as fix it.

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

These tools, are examples of file scavengers. They should attempt to
find any files present, and allow you to copy the files to another spare disk.
These tools happen to be free. There are tons of $39.95 tools for sale
on the Internet that will do something similar.

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/WoundedMoon/win32/driverescue19d.html

The Windows built-in tool "chkdsk" can be used to repair damage
to a file system. But for that to work, a file system has to be
recognized on a partition. That is why I didn't mention chkdsk
in the above.

Some of the above suggestions, involve "in-place" repair. Such a
repair method is dangerous. If the disk was working at all,
you should do a sector by sector backup of the disk first, to
a spare disk. This would be your "insurance". I use the "dd"
program for that, and there is a Windows version of "dd" as well.

(In helping someone with this the other day, the poster almost
overwrote the disk on his repair computer. Don't be careless
with the syntax while using this!)

http://www.chrysocome.net/dd

Virtually all of the tools mentioned so far, are scary, and
much care must be used when preparing commands and so on.
So if you're not comfortable working at this level, go
to a local shop and get help.

*******

If you use PTEDIT32, and can actually get numbers from the
broken drive, then you might take the drive to a local
shop, and get them to perform the necessary voodoo.

If you can't get anything with PTEDIT32, then a data
recovery company ($$$) may be necessary. They can
open the HDA, replace the head assembly, and so on.

So at least using PTEDIT32, should be relatively safe
and quick as a check. But the rest of it requires a lot
more care. Ideally, you should have two spare disks,
larger than the broken disk, to aid in your data
recovery efforts.

The scavenger programs should also be safe, as long
as the output from the scavenger is pointed to a
spare disk. Do *not* try to write any recovered
files, to the broken disk. For some reason, there
are people who try stuff like that.

Paul

 

[Barry Watzman]

What kind of "adapter"? The situation is hopeless if the drive is not
detected, but there are different levels of "detection". Is it an IDE or
SATA drive?

Dell resumed shipping CDs, but you need to investigate the availability
for your machine. They may or may not have it. Do this SOON, in fact
it may already be too late. Once MS formally discontinues an OS, OEMs
are not allowed to ship media, even if they have it. You are looking
for XP, and it's status is unclear at this point, but it's availability
will only get worse (and the "drop dead date" might be based on the
general availability of Windows 7 in October ... maybe).

If you can't get a model specific CD from Dell, you will need a generic
copy of XP (and you almost can't buy that, either) and then have to
install all of the drivers.

 

[Deodiaus]

I tried putting it in the freezer for about 2 hrs, but that did not
help. Should I try dry Ice?
I just bought the same HD off EBay, so now, I am going to replace the
external electronics and see if that makes a difference.
I should have checked the firmware.
I have an old copy of PartiionMagic but I need to run on a 32 bit
machine (mine is 64)!!

I also found a data lifeguard tools CD which I will try using.

 

[Deodiaus]

I tried PTEDIT32
It is showing all 0's in the display
I have the partmon tool with which I will try to restore the MBR to
see if that makes the difference.

 

[Paul]

I tried PTEDIT32
It is showing all 0's in the display
I have the partmon tool with which I will try to restore the MBR to
see if that makes the difference.

Give TestDisk a try. You don't have to accept the
Partition Table values it figures out. If you want
to exit from TestDisk, you can press control-c to quit
from some of the lower menu levels.

TestDisk will scan the entire disk, looking for file
systems. It will then tell you what it thinks the
partition table should contain. Since your partition
table is empty, I don't see you losing anything in this
case.

You might also want to run one of the file scavengers, to
see what it finds. I don't know to what extent they rely on
the partition table. But you can take your time and find
out.

Paul

 

[Bob Villa]

Give TestDisk a try. You don't have to accept the
Partition Table values it figures out. If you want
to exit from TestDisk, you can press control-c to quit
from some of the lower menu levels.

TestDisk will scan the entire disk, looking for file
systems. It will then tell you what it thinks the
partition table should contain. Since your partition
table is empty, I don't see you losing anything in this
case.

You might also want to run one of the file scavengers, to
see what it finds. I don't know to what extent they rely on
the partition table. But you can take your time and find
out.

    Paul

"SpinRite" would be an option. It is not cheap...and extremely small
(written in machine language).

bob_v

 

[Ben Myers]

I have a 6 yr old Dell inspiration 2200 but my HD [hitachi
hts424030m9at00] died.
1) I got an adapter and plugged it into another desktop. It is
detected by the bios, but not by WinXP. Are there any good
recommended web sites which might discuss ways to try to recover info
off that HD? I don't want to pay too much, as I doubt that info is
worth a lot, but it is worth something.
2) If I were to buy another HD, is there any way to go about getting
a version of WinXP for that laptop? If I call up Dell, I doubt that
they will give me a WinXP cd, for they stopped including the CDs with
their PC years ago?

Here is a condensed summary. You say you can see it in the BIOS, which
is a good sign. The name hts424030m9at00 suggests the disk initialized OK.
So it could just be a problem with the partition table, or with the
file system on the partition.

This tool displays the current partition table. Up to four primary
partitions
may be on the disk. More partitions can be there, by means of extended
partitions,
but I don't know how that works. Some prebuilt computers have three
partitions for example. Your reason for examining this table, is as a
sanity check. Do the numbers seem consistent with what you know about
your computer, and the size of partitions ? (This tool runs in Windows.)

ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/tools/pq/utilities/PTEDIT32.zip


If the partitions seemed wrong, there is this tool. It can scan the disk,
find the partitions, and build a new partition table. But you could
just as easily screw something up, as fix it.

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

These tools, are examples of file scavengers. They should attempt to
find any files present, and allow you to copy the files to another spare
disk.
These tools happen to be free. There are tons of $39.95 tools for sale
on the Internet that will do something similar.

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/WoundedMoon/win32/driverescue19d.html

The Windows built-in tool "chkdsk" can be used to repair damage
to a file system. But for that to work, a file system has to be
recognized on a partition. That is why I didn't mention chkdsk
in the above.

Some of the above suggestions, involve "in-place" repair. Such a
repair method is dangerous. If the disk was working at all,
you should do a sector by sector backup of the disk first, to
a spare disk. This would be your "insurance". I use the "dd"
program for that, and there is a Windows version of "dd" as well.

(In helping someone with this the other day, the poster almost
overwrote the disk on his repair computer. Don't be careless
with the syntax while using this!)

http://www.chrysocome.net/dd

Virtually all of the tools mentioned so far, are scary, and
much care must be used when preparing commands and so on.
So if you're not comfortable working at this level, go
to a local shop and get help.

*******

If you use PTEDIT32, and can actually get numbers from the
broken drive, then you might take the drive to a local
shop, and get them to perform the necessary voodoo.

If you can't get anything with PTEDIT32, then a data
recovery company ($$$) may be necessary. They can
open the HDA, replace the head assembly, and so on.

So at least using PTEDIT32, should be relatively safe
and quick as a check. But the rest of it requires a lot
more care. Ideally, you should have two spare disks,
larger than the broken disk, to aid in your data
recovery efforts.

The scavenger programs should also be safe, as long
as the output from the scavenger is pointed to a
spare disk. Do *not* try to write any recovered
files, to the broken disk. For some reason, there
are people who try stuff like that.

Paul

Well put, Paul! ... Ben Myers

 

[Deodiaus]

I am getting the blue screen with the message:

A problem has been detected and winds has been shout down to prevent
damage to your computer
UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

I used MBRTool to write a new MBR

 

[Deodiaus]

Actually, I was able to fix the problem using chkdsk
The problem was that Dell stopped sending the CDs.

 

[Ben Myers]

Actually, I was able to fix the problem using chkdsk
The problem was that Dell stopped sending the CDs.

Fix? Not exactly. Workaround may be a better description, unless one
has the assurance that some rogue event caused some data on the hard
drive to provoke a BSOB.

Now download and run HDAT2 to see the SMART parameters, and download and
run Hitachi's Drive Fitness Test to see how fit the drive really is.

At this point, you have no assurance whatsoever that the drive is
dependable. SMART and the diagnostics will tell... Ben Myers

 

[Deodiaus]

Well, I ran a SMART scan from BIOS, but it came up ok
I ran the advanced scan on Hitachi's Drive Fitness Test, which
indicated that there are problems with the HD.
DFT recommends wiping the entire disk. I would, but need to get WinXP
CD from Dell, so as to reinstall the OS.

 

[Ben Myers]

Well, I ran a SMART scan from BIOS, but it came up ok
I ran the advanced scan on Hitachi's Drive Fitness Test, which
indicated that there are problems with the HD.
DFT recommends wiping the entire disk. I would, but need to get WinXP
CD from Dell, so as to reinstall the OS.

REPEAT!

Now download and run HDAT2 to see the SMART parameters.

At this point, you still have no assurance whatsoever that the drive is
dependable. You have to see the SMART data regarding:

Read Error Rate
Reallocated Sectors Count
Spin Retry Count
Command Timeout
Reallocation Event Count
Current Pending Sector Count
Uncorrectable Sector Count
Disk Shift

just to identify a few of the SMART parameters which give a clear and
accurate indication of drive health, not glossed over by either Windows
pathetic disgnostics or a drive manufacturers' diagnostics that give
incomplete and potentially inaccurate date. See the wikipedia entry for
an explanation of all the SMART data. You can find it by googling for
"smart data".

You DO want to use a drive that is reliable, don't you?

.... Ben Myers

 

[Ben Myers]

I had a case years ago where SMART lied to me so I would not say it is
accurate. I'd prefer to say it's a guide at best but if one can check
the drive by another means in addition to SMART, I think that would be
wise. Of course if you can't do this, then take the chance and
believe in SMART.

It's not so much that SMART lies as that some drive manufacturers do not
implement it properly, even tho they have all agreed that SMART is a
standard. To put it differently, SMART does not lie. The drive
manufacturers do.

For example, if you take a brand new factory-sealed Fujitsu 2.5" drive,
you will see SMART parameters that make no sense at all and lead you to
think that the drive is faulty. On the other hand, Hitachi, Toshiba,
and Western Digital are all quite accurate in their use of SMART, but
Seagate drives show up with some odd values.

Still, if there is something out of whack about the real life operation
of a drive and the SMART data shows something amiss, I tend to believe
the SMART info and replace the drive. Maybe I am being too prudent, or
maybe I am valuing the client's valuable personal data too highly.

This week's Toshiba drive shows an abnormal Disk Shift value, indicative
of high G's of shock while in operation. In the real world of Windows,
if you can call it that, the system is a serious slug and very
unpredictable as to when it takes literally minutes to respond to a
mouse click, all the while with the hard drive light blinking.

For me, if any of the following are non-zero (and rational values unlike
Fujitsu's 10**10 range), the drive is suspect:
Reallocated Sectors Count
Reallocation Event Count
Current Pending Sector Count
Uncorrectable Sector Count

Manufacturers' drive diagnostics tend to give a sign of good health even
when the Reallocated Sectors Count is non-zero and as much as a few
hundred. If a drive has even one reallocated sector, the question is
why? A drive with reallocated sectors may run without incident for
years, or maybe just hours... Ben Myers

 

[Nick]

A lot of what you said jives with what I read 15 to 20 years ago. I
think even then the thought was that if suddenly you see more and more
bad sectors appear prepare for the worst. I agree that ... well in
the past not sure about now.... that new drives had bad sectors but
they were mapped so they couldn't be written to by the mfgr.. and they
did work fine or as expected.

That's basically the way I've always understood it: a few mapped out bad
sectors on a brand new drive are usually just normal manufacturing defects
and nothing to be concerned about.

But when more bad sectors start showing up after the drive has been in use,
that's a sign the drive may be going bad and should be replaced.

(All of which just reminded me I haven't run chkdsk on my drives for a long,
long time; think I'll do it now while it's fresh in my mind.)

 

[Deodiaus]

One of the versions of DFT had a sector repair option, which I ran.
That seemed to fix it, or least DFT doesn't detect the same problem
anymore.
Thanks,

 

[Ben Myers]

One of the versions of DFT had a sector repair option, which I ran.
That seemed to fix it, or least DFT doesn't detect the same problem
anymore.
Thanks,

DFT successfully replaced a defective sector(s) with spares, and made a
best effort attempt to copy the contents of the defective ones to the
spares... Ben Myers

 

[Ben Myers]

... but that should have happened on the fly during regular
use, without any user intervention.

"should have", but does not. Many computer BIOSes have a SMART option
to enable or disable it. Guess what? The default is SMART disabled.
Seen this many times, especially handling Dell computers... Ben Myers

 

[Deodiaus]

What kind of "adapter"?  The situation is hopeless if the drive is not
detected, but there are different levels of "detection". Is it an IDE or
SATA drive?

It is a 2.5 to 3.5" hard drive adapter which allows you to plug you
laptop HD into a desktop IDE adaptor. see
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=HD-108&cat=HDD

I have a HP Pavillion a1632x desktop running WinXP (not the target
machine)
I was able to see another (the replacement) Hitachi hts424030m9at00
HD when it was formatted by (Fedora Core 9 ) linux but not the HD
which was formatted as FAT32 by WinXP (by the Dell Inspiration 2200).

Shouldn't I be able to see the HD from Windows Explorer?