Mysterious Problem with my Hard Drive

[midwest_46]

Hi.

I have a Gateway computer with the following: 1) a 1400-MHz Pentium 4
processor, 2) 256 MB of RAM, and 3) 40 GB of hard-drive space.

The computer is running Windows Millennium Edition (ME).

Also, I have a Brother MFC-240C printer.

----------

The computer was purchased in 2001, and the printer was purchased in
2008. This printer is the only printer that has ever been used by this
computer.

----------

A couple of days ago, I turned on the computer. At the very beginning
of the booting process, I got the following message:

<<<<
A problem with the hard drive has been detected. Consult the
Troubleshooting section of your user's manual.

Press the enter key on the keyboard to continue.
----------

I pressed the enter key, and the booting process continued normally.
Thinking that the hard drive was in danger of crashing, I quickly went
out and bought a flash drive and copied all of my important data to
the flash drive.

Next, I ran a scan disk on the hard drive. I ran a "standard" scan
disk, as opposed to a "thorough" scan disk. The standard scan disk
found a few errors on the hard drive, and the errors were fixed.
However, upon rebooting the computer, I saw the same "problem" message
as before.

So, I ran a "thorough" scan disk, which took 2.5 hours. This scan disk
found no errors at all. However, upon rebooting the computer, the
"problem" message persisted. Furthermore, there was another problem.
The "thorough" scan disk took place from 3 PM to 5:30 PM. I went to
the GoBack feature, and there was only one entry:

3:13 PM GoBack logging suspended due to massive file inactivity

All of the previous GoBack entries were GONE. The GoBack logging
resumed at 9:05 PM on the same day, but all entries prior to 3:13 PM
remain gone.

----------

So, here is the current situation:

1) the important data are on the flash drive;

2) every time the computer is booted, the computer shows the "problem"
message, I hit the enter key, and the booting process is completed
normally;

3) the GoBack entries that predate the 3:13PM entry are missing.

----------

Meanwhile, the printed user's manual and the user's manual inside the
computer do not seem to have any information on what the hard drive's
problem is.

----------

So, how do I find this problem and fix it? Or am I supposed to get a
new computer?


Thanks for any help.

 

[Paul]

Hi.

I have a Gateway computer with the following: 1) a 1400-MHz Pentium 4
processor, 2) 256 MB of RAM, and 3) 40 GB of hard-drive space.

The computer is running Windows Millennium Edition (ME).

Also, I have a Brother MFC-240C printer.

----------

The computer was purchased in 2001, and the printer was purchased in
2008. This printer is the only printer that has ever been used by this
computer.

----------

A couple of days ago, I turned on the computer. At the very beginning
of the booting process, I got the following message:

<<<<
A problem with the hard drive has been detected. Consult the
Troubleshooting section of your user's manual.

Press the enter key on the keyboard to continue.

----------

I pressed the enter key, and the booting process continued normally.
Thinking that the hard drive was in danger of crashing, I quickly went
out and bought a flash drive and copied all of my important data to
the flash drive.

Next, I ran a scan disk on the hard drive. I ran a "standard" scan
disk, as opposed to a "thorough" scan disk. The standard scan disk
found a few errors on the hard drive, and the errors were fixed.
However, upon rebooting the computer, I saw the same "problem" message
as before.

So, I ran a "thorough" scan disk, which took 2.5 hours. This scan disk
found no errors at all. However, upon rebooting the computer, the
"problem" message persisted. Furthermore, there was another problem.
The "thorough" scan disk took place from 3 PM to 5:30 PM. I went to
the GoBack feature, and there was only one entry:

3:13 PM GoBack logging suspended due to massive file inactivity

All of the previous GoBack entries were GONE. The GoBack logging
resumed at 9:05 PM on the same day, but all entries prior to 3:13 PM
remain gone.

----------

So, here is the current situation:

1) the important data are on the flash drive;

2) every time the computer is booted, the computer shows the "problem"
message, I hit the enter key, and the booting process is completed
normally;

3) the GoBack entries that predate the 3:13PM entry are missing.

----------

Meanwhile, the printed user's manual and the user's manual inside the
computer do not seem to have any information on what the hard drive's
problem is.

----------

So, how do I find this problem and fix it? Or am I supposed to get a
new computer?


Thanks for any help.

First, figure out what brand the hard drive is. For example, you could
get a copy of hdtune from hdtune.com (there is a free version available
to download). The "Info" tab gives a little bit of information about
the drive. Or you can even use Device Manager, to get the information.

Many hard drive manufacturers have available for download, a tool
that tests the hard drive. If you tried to return a drive under
warranty, they make you run that tool first, to determine whether a
warranty return is necessary. You can test the hard drive with that,
and determine whether there is an underlying problem.

The fact that "GoBack" is involved, suggests there could also be
a software reason for this.

Paul

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi.

I have a Gateway computer with the following: 1) a 1400-MHz Pentium 4
processor, 2) 256 MB of RAM, and 3) 40 GB of hard-drive space.

The computer is running Windows Millennium Edition (ME).

Also, I have a Brother MFC-240C printer.

----------

The computer was purchased in 2001, and the printer was purchased in
2008. This printer is the only printer that has ever been used by this
computer.

----------

A couple of days ago, I turned on the computer. At the very beginning
of the booting process, I got the following message:

<<<<
A problem with the hard drive has been detected. Consult the
Troubleshooting section of your user's manual.

Press the enter key on the keyboard to continue.

----------

I pressed the enter key, and the booting process continued normally.
Thinking that the hard drive was in danger of crashing, I quickly went
out and bought a flash drive and copied all of my important data to
the flash drive.

Next, I ran a scan disk on the hard drive. I ran a "standard" scan
disk, as opposed to a "thorough" scan disk. The standard scan disk
found a few errors on the hard drive, and the errors were fixed.
However, upon rebooting the computer, I saw the same "problem" message
as before.

So, I ran a "thorough" scan disk, which took 2.5 hours. This scan disk
found no errors at all. However, upon rebooting the computer, the
"problem" message persisted. Furthermore, there was another problem.
The "thorough" scan disk took place from 3 PM to 5:30 PM. I went to
the GoBack feature, and there was only one entry:

3:13 PM GoBack logging suspended due to massive file inactivity

All of the previous GoBack entries were GONE. The GoBack logging
resumed at 9:05 PM on the same day, but all entries prior to 3:13 PM
remain gone.

----------

So, here is the current situation:

1) the important data are on the flash drive;

2) every time the computer is booted, the computer shows the "problem"
message, I hit the enter key, and the booting process is completed
normally;

3) the GoBack entries that predate the 3:13PM entry are missing.

----------

Meanwhile, the printed user's manual and the user's manual inside the
computer do not seem to have any information on what the hard drive's
problem is.

----------

So, how do I find this problem and fix it? Or am I supposed to get a
new computer?


Thanks for any help.

Download and run the disk diagnostic program that the manufacturer of your
disk makes freely available on his web site.

Also - backing up your important files when you see an error message is
equivalent to taking out fire insurance for your house when you see the
smoke pouring out of the windows. If you have important files then you must
back them up regularly (e.g. once a week) to an independent medium. Next
time you might not be so lucky.

Lastly - this is a Windows XP newsgroup. You're running Windows ME. Best to
continue in a Windows ME newsgroup because the WinME boot process has little
in common with the WinXP boot process.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

How does this pertain to Windows Update? [Crosspost to Windows Update
newsgroup eliminated.]

 

[Méndez]

Your problem is not that mysterious, you can see the actual problem with
Everest Home Edition. Your computer is giving you this message because the
harddrive is being looked after by S.M.A.R.T "Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and
Reporting Technology". It is telling you to:
1). Back up your data.
2). Your harddrive is going bad.
3). Get another harddrive.

I have an older PC that has a similar problem... It has a 40GB Western
Digital HD that started with a message of "Inminent Hard Drive Failure is
detected", and with an old version BIOS that shows three squares with
options of Boot, Save changes, and enter BIOS, and I need to press F1 at
each bootup. I have backed up my files to a new HD and kept the troubled HD
running to see how long it will last... it has now been three years since it
started with the warning and it keeps on running. So your HD showing the
message means you have to be prepared but it doesn't seems like it is ready
to give up... you will have to backup your data regularly. I know every case
is different but in your place I would not expect it to stop working soon or
suddenly, just take the necessary measures and follow the S.M.A.R.T advice.


---------------------------------------

 

[midwest_46]

First, figure out what brand the hard drive is. For example, you could
get a copy of hdtune from hdtune.com (there is a free version available
to download). The "Info" tab gives a little bit of information about
the drive. Or you can even use Device Manager, to get the information.

Thanks to all of you for your responses.

I checked the HD Tune website, and the website does not list Windows
ME as one of the supported operating systems. Is there a version of HD
Tune for Windows ME?

Here is the relevant portion of the website:

http://www.hdtune.com/download.html

 

[Paul]

Thanks to all of you for your responses.

I checked the HD Tune website, and the website does not list Windows
ME as one of the supported operating systems. Is there a version of HD
Tune for Windows ME?

Here is the relevant portion of the website:

http://www.hdtune.com/download.html

Another tool you can try, is Lavalys Everest. There is a free
version available. (This was formerly known as AIDA32, and got
renamed when it went commercial. The company still sells
up-to-date versions, but the old version is good enough for many
purposes.)

(After install, use Storage:Windows_Storage and click on the
hard drive in the list. In Disk Device Physical Info, is a
"Manufacturer" value.)

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Other tools include Belarc Advisor and Sisoftware Sandra.
Looking in my copy of Sandra here, I didn't see a way of
getting good info on the drive. There is a picture
of some Belarc output here. WDC in the example, would
stand for Western Digital corporation.

http://www.softpedia.com/screenshots/Belarc-Advisor_1.png

*******
If all else fails, physically look at the drive.

Drives have a large label stuck to the top of them. You may be
able to see the brand on there - Seagate, Maxtor (now part
of Seagate), Samsung, Fujitsu, Hitachi (formerly IBM), Western
Digital, Toshiba (laptops). At least some of those brands
are popular, and have a diagnostic available for download.

Paul

 

[al2048]

Well, the weirdest thing has happened.

My computer no longer gives me that error message about the hard-drive
problem when the computer boots up. Now, the computer boots up
perfectly normally.

I have no idea what I did, if anything, to make the error message go
away. Go figure.