Help!!!!

Also, I've tried to run the Recovery disc, but get the message "No fixed drive found, check your harddisk and retry again"

Is there a way to actually try the primary hard disk?

A1,

Open your case disconect the Hard Drive from the motherboard and reconect it. Make sure it is plugged in tight. Then try again. If it won't boot then try connecting the drive to another computer, if it works then it's your Controller which is motherboard if it doesn't work in another computer your drive is fried.

If your drive is fried and you have the recovery disk you can buy a new hard drive and run the recovery disk, if it's the motherboard your probably going to need a new computer.

Wait a few months I am sure this administration will come forward with a plan to buy a computer for everyone can not afford one.

In the "Bios Main Utility" tab, under SATA1, I've got

Device; Hard disk
Vendor:xxxxxxx
Size: 0MB
LBA mode:Supported
Block Mode: 16 Sectors
PIO Mode:4
Async DMA:Multiword DMA2
Ultra DMA:Ultra DMA-5
SMART Monitoring:Supported

Does the lack of any MB's signal a total loss/corruption of hard disk?

that should have read "BIOS Setup Utility"

Some really good advise...
Buy a Mac.

A1

Yep or loose cable or bad SATA controller. Probably not the SATA controler since it is showing up in BIOS so if your lucky loose cable if your unlucky all your porn you saved is gone.

I've got an old Imac G4, Jeff, but I can't seem to navigate it very well. Learning on Windows does that to a person...

Buy a Mac.

#7 | Posted by JeffnDenmark at 2010-03-07 12:17 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHA yeah cause the hard drives on MAC's (made by the same people as PC drives) never go bad.

LOL

Wait a few months I am sure this administration will come forward with a plan to buy a computer for everyone can not afford one.

#4 | Posted by em385guy

How come there's not a stupid flag.

American1st,

Sounds like you need a new hard drive. I got a virus a few years back that wiped my drive that way, had to replace the drive.

A1, Tao gave the best advice.

WELL, i can't even find my freakin' computer model online. Damned Best Buy fuckers sold me an obsolete piece of shit? The computer is an Asus , Model #c55111, but I can't find any info on it, other than a couple of sites hawking manuals...

Anyhoo..Thanks, guys! All help is appreciated...

I can't help with this, but I gotta say some people's anti-Mac reactions are like their kneejerk anti-Repub or anti-Dem reactions. Yeesh. I have had my iMac DVD SE for 9 years now, and I've never had a problem with the hard drive (other than having too much crap on it). It's too slow for my needs now, and not big enough (as I have gotten more and more into video editing), but it has never ever crashed or suffered any HD problems. Maybe I am lucky?

Prag,

You are lucky, well not really HDD do not crash all that often despite the back-up software people hype. I don't actualy have a knee jerk anti-mac reaction because I am not anti-mac. I just think it's funny how some Mac people (jnd) automaticly think a Mac is a cure to all ills.

Mac's are great computers for most people, not for me unless I could afford the 5k super one since I would have to run the windows emulator for about 30% of what I do I would need the extra processor.

However just because there are very few Mac virus' some people think they are a cure all to computer problems. They aren't they are just more of a cure than a windows machine. Bad RAM, HDD crashes bad DVD drives all afflict mac's at about the same percentages as windows machines because the hardware is for the most part the same and even made by the same people.

Tao,
You don't need the emulator anymore to run windows on a mac. You can run it natively since the Intel switch. You just have to change your start up disk and restart the computer whenever you want to go from OSX to windows or vice versa.

Nice Chez when did they make that switch? I haven't seriously looked at Mac's in about 6 or 7 years. I used to be a certified Mac guy so I know they didn't have that back then but they did have a much better emulator at that point than they had had about 2 years before. It was not as much of a hog and could actualy be run concurently with other programs if you had a sweet system and not an Imac. The G3 Imac not the G4 with the flat screen that could handle the emulator and other programs when they came out with the new emulator. I think that was right when they went with the UNIX core.

Mine isn't a terrabyte, but it's an 800GB drive..

I've recently had a couple of drives give exactly this symptom. I'm not sure what the cause is yet.

In both cases, the affected systems happened to have reset buttons on the front of the case. Most don't have that anymore, but these did. Rebooting via the power button or C-A-D wouldn't work, but rebooting via the reset button would allow the systems to boot and run normally. On one of the systems we've replaced the motherboard with an identical Intel board and the problem went away for about a day before coming back.

The G5 was the last proprietary processor for mac, so like 4 years ago. If its called a macbook, mac pro, or is one of the metal cased imacs, it's got an Intel processor. On the flip-side, because of the Intel chip, you can also run a cracked version of OSX on a $300 dell.

Just got off the phone with Geek and they've got a 2TB drive for $130...I'm gone!

Thanks for your thoughts, Tao. I agree about the viruses--really the reason Macs don't have 'em (by and large) is not because they're immune, as many people think, but because the evil fuckers who make viruses want to ruin as many people's (computer) lives as possible, and Mac owns only about 15% of the market. Simple math, really.

It does interest me, though, that my Mac experience has seen so few crashes, so few problems in general, compared with my friends and relatives who own PCs. Maybe it's user-derived, but really, I don't take very good care of my machine. Oh, and the G4 laptop provided by the school--no problems that aren't related to networking issues.

Yes, I love my Macs. What do you do with your machine that a Mac can't handle?

Prag,

I think the stability of OSX vs Windows mostly has to do with the fact that OSX is designed to work with a computer that has a very controlled number of supported components. It only needs to work on the 15 or so computers Apple sells, as opposed to the thousands of different machines that Windows has to support. My two cents anyway.

So platform is to blame? As in there are too many machines to support the platform well? (Or vice versa?) I wonder... How does the automotive industry relate here? (Thinking out loud, and poorly.)

MAC OS' (10 and above) core is Unix. It kicks ass. The GUI on top makes it easy to use. Because it's UNIX, it's been out there for years, solid and stable. I use PCs, Macs, Linux and UNIX machines. Hands down Mac is what I bought for home. I can pop a terminal shell anytime and do advanced stuff.

My only regret is Mac hasn't made it into my customer's hands. The number of issues with Microsoft is astounding. I spend way too much time addressing Microsoft issues over doing the actual consulting I should be doing. But hey - they pay me at my higher rates for the Microsoft crap, so I shouldn't complain.

"The number of issues with Microsoft is astounding."

#29 | Posted by YAV at 2010-03-07 03:31 PM | Reply

"As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks."
~Memo, Microsoft, Redmond WA

When a hard drive "whines" that is very, very bad - usually "last leg" bad. This can be caused from a chunk of the wax that keeps the plates aligned. If a quick smack doesn't jar it away from the arm or where it's stuck the drive might need to be professionally unsealed, then each plate read.

The other consequence - if I'm wrong the drive might be worse off - in fact, hitting any electronics (particularly data storage devices) is generally a FUBAR endeavor, but it has worked in the past.

Get a professionals advice - someone who has experience with your hardware.

Have chuckle at the old days when we'd whistle at how blazing fast a 66mHz processor was, or marvel at 2mb hard drives.

I have to agree with YAV and others. I have Macs and PC's. One crashed hard drive in many, many years is all the trouble I've ever had with a Mac.

Am1st

You should back up that hard drive ASAP. Once it starts whining it's only a matter of time before it completely fails.

You may want to consider getting a 2nd drive to 'clone' your main OS drive. The benefit of 'cloning' is it's an exact duplicate complete with authorizations of software programs.

A TB drive is a bit of overkill for an OS drive unless you're doing a lot of video editing. Even if you are, it's not a good idea to get a hard drive 75% full. They have to work too hard.

You may want to consider getting two 500 GB drives instead so you can clone. If you have clones if and when your OS drive goes kaput it's a simple matter of replacing the bad drive, using the cloned drive as your OS, and using the new one as the clone from then on....

American1st....

"I was trying to watch a DVD and the drive motor started whining, then stopped. Froze up, and wouldn't eject the disc. I manually shut down, then tried to restart. The disc came out, but the computer won't start back up. It gets to the "Press Tab for SETUP, Press DEL for BIOS" page and stops. After a few minutes, it goes into the setup menu, and I've managed to navigate it a little bit. The only thing that looks out of place is a message near the bottom of the page that says "Primary Hard Disk Error"."

Given the information, it appears to me the MasterBootRecord (MBR) was destroyed. It more than likely got destroyed when you "manually" turned the power off the machine. Data was written over the top of this very important section of the disc.

Do you have the discs that came with the OS? If so here is a little explanation and how to recover.

sounds you hard drive died, they may make a big noise (what you heard) when they die.

on another note: GET A MAC.

anyway... hard drives are cheap you can replace it yourself, reinstall Windoze, and transfer your files -- i hope your files are backed-up.

also, if your [hard} drive is relatively new 1-5 years, look it up to see if it's under warranty, if so, contact that particular manufacturer (Seagate, Toshiba, Western Digital, IBM) or one of it's affiliates (sellers).

ICHRIO

Freezing a drive worked for me once. The 2nd time not. Other solutions if freezing doesn't work:

-Lightly tapping with a hammer
-Dropping on a table from 3'

The bearings go bad and you have to 'unstick' it like you would a starter in a car that gets stuck.

AM1ST

You'll only have one shot if the freezing/tapping thing works.

BTW, put it in a Ziploc bag to keep moisture out when you put it in the freezer.

BTW, AM1ST

If you gently tap the drive do it on the side of the drive, not the top

When a hard drive "whines" that is very, very bad - usually "last leg" bad. This can be caused from a chunk of the wax that keeps the plates aligned. If a quick smack doesn't jar it away from the arm or where it's stuck the drive might need to be professionally unsealed, then each plate read.

The other consequence - if I'm wrong the drive might be worse off - in fact, hitting any electronics (particularly data storage devices) is generally a FUBAR endeavor, but it has worked in the past.

Get a professionals advice - someone who has experience with your hardware.

Well, I replaced the hard drive, and when I go into the "BIOS system Utility" it recognizes the SATA hard disk as 1.5 TB, whereas before it read 0.i'm not having any luck getting it to boot up, nor will it start with the recovery CD. Looks like i'm gonna have to take the damned thing to a shop.

read the link and comments therein i posted about freezing/

not sure a bag would be a good idea, may allow water to form... anyway... read the entire link i posted.... should be enough on freezing, etc., in that.

freezing, hitting with hammer, etc.,... are all meant to accomplish the same thing, i think, (freezing by shrinking).

these last resorts.
that is if it's FUMAR and you are going to accept (i.e., not do the below) losing data if it doesn't work.

if there is important data you'll need to send it off to hard drive data recovery specialist (cost money).

these last resorts = these are all last resorts

I read them, but due to the fact that system BIOS didn't register the (old)hard drive as having any size to it at all, and it's now showing 1500GB, or 1.5 TB,(which is the size drive I just installed) I have to think the old drive is fried. I just need help getting Windows back on this hard drive now. I'm sure I've lost anything I had on the old drive. I'm just trying to keep from spending another grand on a computer at this point.

Thanks for all the help/suggestions, everybody.

when say you replaced the drive, you mean with a new one?

is it formatted correctly? does it have a bootable system on it?

do you have the Windows install discs?

what version of Windows?

so yeah, get your PC going with the new drive and keep your old drive safe for now (not in the freezer ;-).

I've got the Windows recovery disc that came with the computer.

Vista.

get your PC going = let's get your PC going :-)

(i'll help as much as i can.)

ok lemme see. brb.

when say you replaced the drive, you mean with a new one?

Yes, a Western Digital Caviar Gree 1.5 TB

is it formatted correctly? does it have a bootable system on it?

Unfortunately, I don't know either answer.

do you have the Windows install discs?

Just the Recovery

what version of Windows?

Again, Vista

Caviar Green

if you don't mind tell exactly what that recovery disc says on it? you know, not the very fine print.

or post an excellent picture of it.

Recovery DVD
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
ASUStek Computer Inc
Support for these products by ASUSTek Computer INC

recovery disc is possibly what we should have tried before replacing your HD; however at this point i would keep tat other HD safe.

recovery disc may be a Windows (Vista in this case) installation disc.

do you have access to a MS Windows Vista installation disc (DVD)?
(i assume your PC reads DVD media.)

It also says :

This disc contains 64bit software only. the software included on this recovery dvd-rom was pre-installed on your hard drive at the factory and may only be used for backup and recovery of your ASUS computer system.Performance of this software is the sole responsibility of the ASUSTek Computer Inc.

ok lemme see. brb.

I tried to run the recovery disc first, but it didn't help. After it reead the disc, a window popped up which said the hard disk couldn't be found.

I'm getting more familiar with the BIOS setup utility. I was hoping there was a seting in there that would let the new drive read the recovery disc, but if there is, I can't find it.

And, also, in the BIOS setup utility, there's a "restore defaults" tab, which didn't help, either

AM1ST

Does the computer you're on have Vista? If so, why don't you install the new drive in it temporarily, download a cloning program, clone that OS onto the new drive, and install the new drive in your old computer. Just a thought ...

Doesn't sound like you got a full installation version of Vista.

If you go that route, you'll need to change the jumper settings on the new drive to make it a slave, then change it to settings for a Boot Disc.

oh ok, well i think yours (recovery disc) then is this category:
(i.e., they gave you no OEM type MS install disc.) emphasis mine:
If you purchased a new computer with Windows Vista preinstalled on it, you may have received an actual Windows Vista DVD with your purchase or a Recovery Disk created by the computer's manufacturer, or maybe your new computer came with a Recovery Partition on the hard disk in lieu of a Recovery Disk. While a Recovery Disk or a Recovery Partition will allow you to restore your computer to the original settings from the manufacturer, chances are you will not be able to use it to repair your Windows Vista installation. For that, you will need an actual Windows Vista DVD that contains the Windows Recovery Environment; without the tools contained in the Windows Recovery Environment, you cannot repair your current installation.

and you also, i'm pretty sure, cannot reinstall Windows Vista with it.

so, do you have access to a Vista DVD?

while you read that, i'll double check what i think (wrote).

i say we proceed, AU, as if the old drive is dangerously near death.

in that regard let me ask: is there data on the old drive that is very important to getting at? or can we go ahead and screw with it now, as per AU's post?

AU, The computer doesn't boot up. It's the hard drive that's bad, not a disc drive, like a dvd tray. The whole operating system is gone, apparently. (I'm on my daughters laptop at the moment)

talk to us A1, but don't do anything yet.

There's nothing terribly important on it, no. There are some pics, but I've got tons of pics.

I'm trying to save the computer..LOL.

ok, well... got a MS Vista DVD?

i suspect your new HD is ready to go as is. they usually are, just slap them in there which I believe you have done. so now you need a "real" Vista DVD. some machines come with them ALSO if you look carefully. may do not, however.
my addy:
gma7b5 at the geemail

The pic shows it lying horizontally, but it sits upright.

AM1ST

Easiest solution if you don't have a full install disc of VISTA:

1. Change the jumper settings on your new drive to make it a slave.

2. Install it in the computer you're using now

3. Download a 'cloning' program

4. Clone the drive from the computer you're on now to the new drive

5. Change the jumpers on the new drive back to a "Boot Disc"

6. Install it in the old computer

Or, buy a copy of VISTA and just install it on the new drive once you've installed it in your old computer.

The computer isn't the problem. You hard drive locked up.

Here's a full VISTA Business install disc for $65 including shipping:

"The computer doesn't boot up. It's the hard drive that's bad, not a disc drive" - not necessarily, it's stalling during POST, could be anything attached to the motherboard.

Don't know if you've tried it yet, but the original problem was with your DVD drive. Have you simply tried to unplug the drive and run without it? Depending on what you've done it may be too late to try such a simple fix, but always try simple before complicated.

If you can't get through POST it doesn't matter what the operating system is doing. If you can get to a boot up try either booting to safe mode or set up an operating system on a USB drive and boot off that. You can also try a manual "restore," instructions can be had from MS. Regardless, disconnect from DVD drive.

You lost me on the "jumper settings" AU. I didn't see anything like that on the old hard drive.

A1st,

If I read you right the old drive does not come up in the BIOS, and the new drive does, this is bad news.

If the drive does not come up in the BIOS settings, the basic drive electronics are fried. The recovery disk will not find the drive. From the view point of the system hardware, the drive does not exist, because the drive is not responding to very low level ATA commands.

To give you some hope, you might try that drive as a slave in another system, to get a second opinion ;-)

I am sorry that has occurred, I can empathize with the feelings.

You lost me on the "jumper settings" AU. I didn't see anything like that on the old hard drive.

#73 | Posted by American1st

Jumpers circled in Green on this SATA drive:

BTW, the drive is an SATA drive, not a PATA. I think I know what you mean by jumpers, but this drive didn't look like it was set up like that.

OK, let me look

yes, what AU says in #70. (good idea, AU.)

there is likely a picture of the different jumper settings on the sticker on the new drive.

see how that works now?

may as well tell us who made the new drive, so we can see it too.

AM1ST

See the 10 pins bottom right (of your model)?

Those are the 'jumpers'. You need to read the tech info to find which pins the little plug should be over for a Slave vs Boot disc.

If you're going to clone it, the jumpers need to be set to the 'Slave' pins. Once you've cloned, move the 'jumper' clip back to the "Boot" position.

The old drive doesn't look quite like that It's got a 4 pin slot to the left of the green circled area in AU's pic., but the rest of that side is just some squared out hollow areas.

You might try downloading a live linux cd and booting up with that, if your BIOS supports it. That would load into ram. and would allow you to read the contents of the hdd. You would not have to change the jumper on the hdd.

or, tell in just case there is no sticker. so we'll be ready.

AM1ST

Is this your drive?:

puppylinux, mepis both make live cds.

The new drive is WD Caviar Green, 1.5 Terrabytes.

I screwed up. I need a real closeup to see where the jumpers are. That one may have a switch. Let me do a little research...

Sorry

That certainly looks like it, AU.

tell us what drive it is and we see pics and jumpers online.

btw, the "jumpers' are the little plastic things that slide on and off over two pins... you may have one jumper on there you may have two... don't loose them.

what make and model is the drive, sorry if i missed that.

Here's a downloadable installation guide for your model, AM1ST if the paperwork you got is lacking:

i see it now. (looking over AU's shoulder. :-)

Ichiro, did you get an email?

AM1ST

Scroll down at this link for jumper settings diagrams:

Just thought of something... your power supply may be going out, if your dvd drive stopped and then the hdd, so it may be a power issue.

yeah is that it:
scroll to bottom to see jumpers pic.

OK. I just read that on the 1.5 they did away with "Master/Slave" jumper settings. So, nevermind about that.

Also, the old drive is a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11. I went with the WD Caviar Green replacement becuse they didn't have a Seagate 7200 in stock.

eh... power supply, typical.

i'm sticking with the HD.

if it is HD then you have two options: clone it in another machine as AU is talking about; OR get or get access to a Vista install DVD.

somebody you know is bound to have one, or buy one.

AU, is there any kind of key or other auth one might need when borrowing a Vista install disc to use?

(i'm a mac, so i speak some PC, but don't own recent MS discs.)

Looks like I need to get a copy of Windows 7 and install on my new hard drive.

AM1ST

Just hook it up and see if you see it in "MY COMPUTER", since they did away with "Master/Slave" jumpers on the 1.5 TB model.

Your OS drive will be called "C". I'd guess the new one wil just show up.

How much does a copy of Vista or Windows 7 cost?

ok, so we have the info on the old HD for future reference.

i'd go for the MS DVD first if it's accessible to you (borrowed or bought).

AU, the computer won't open up to Desktop. Right now, it's got a black screen with a blinking bar at top left, as if it's waiting fore me to type in a command. Nothing happens when I try, though.

AU, is there any kind of key or other auth one might need when borrowing a Vista install disc to use?

Well, that's a tricky question. Windows requires a serial number be input. When I've reinstalled Windows in my wife's computers, once I'd input that data it was OK.

I wouldn't use a cracked version.

I posted a link above for a Business version of VISTA for $65 including shipping. I might go that route so you'll always have a copy.

ICHIRO

I'm a Mac guy too, but had to learn to be handy on PC"s a long time ago when trouble pops up. My wife has 3 and I have one (which I never use anymore since getting dual-bootable G5's).

AU, the computer won't open up to Desktop. Right now, it's got a black screen with a blinking bar at top left, as if it's waiting fore me to type in a command. Nothing happens when I try, though.

You need a VISTA install DVD.

However, if you have VISTA on the computer you're on you can clone that computer's hard drive to your new drive, then install the new drive in the old computer. Explained above..

AM1ST

Here's a free PC Cloning program:

AU, is there any kind of key or other auth one might need when borrowing a Vista install disc to use?

The DVD case should have a Serial Number on it. You'll need that number.

everything i but is set to cable select these days.
AU, what is SSC and default and OPT1?

while we wait for A1 to plug it in as is.

A1, do you understand what to do? (maybe he's doing it)

plug the new HD into this machine you are on now.

did you say you were on laptop? then probably you can't go this route.

oh yeah, Mike's stuff is most excellent.

So, if I clone this one's OS, would I have to take it apart to hook a jumper into the hard drive? Can I burn a disc of this one's system, then put it in the dvd drive of the other computer?

guys... i have GOT to go the food store (i'm hungry).

i am EST, i''ll check in when i get back.

keep it simple.

How much does a copy of Vista or Windows 7 cost?

#102 | Posted by American1st

A LOT more expensive than these:

I'm on my daughters laptop. I really don't want to take it apart, as it's only two months old. If I download the clone software, can I clone the operating systewm on this laptop, burn it to disc, then transfer it to the new hard drive?

So, if I clone this one's OS, would I have to take it apart to hook a jumper into the hard drive? Can I burn a disc of this one's system, then put it in the dvd drive of the other computer?

You don't need to burn a DVD.

Just clone this computer's OS to the new drive. Unplug the new drive and install in the old computer.

I posted a link to "PC Cloner" above. Download an install it on the computer you're using. Hook up the new drive, look in "MY COMPUTER" to make sure your computer sees it.

You HAVE to 'clone' your "C" Drive, not copy it.

Email me:

AM1ST, are you on a laptop? If so, the above posts are moot since you can't install the new drive in it.

Laptop?

A1st,

If you have "recovery" DVD's you should be able to reinstall the OS on the new drive and the old system.

If the system you are cloning is a legal copy of Vista, then you will not be able to clone it. Because each CPU has a unique ID, among other things, that are used to make a Unique ID for that system.

I don't believe the Harddrive is used to create the ID, that is why you can reinstall on a new harddrive.

If I read you correctly you are using SATA, there is no more master/slave. All drives are master, you select the bootorder in you BIOS settings. If there is a Jumper it is more than likely referring to SATA1 (150) or SATA2 (300). This is to be compatible with older motherboards.

What happened to Keith does anybody know? Did he pass on like scarey e? I always wonder when people leave the site if they are dead. That is the only reasonable excuse for not posting.

I'm on a laptop, AU.

So, if I clone this one's OS, would I have to take it apart to hook a jumper into the hard drive?
you'd have to install the HD internally into second location in the PC (unless you have all kinds of special hookups which i seriously doubt you have -- still have to go inside). is it a laptop? if so, i'd forget it for this event.

Can I burn a disc of this one's system, then put it in the dvd drive of the other computer?
possibly you "can:, but no you can't. i doubt you can, i mean an uber geek probably could. or torrent one or something. there is definitely a downloadable recovery version out there. but this stuff is no fun.

get a MS Vista installation disc, sorry.

a MS DVD is gonna do you better than getting/buying a USB or FW box to hook up that (any bare) drive externally to another machine (to clone)

i don't have to be right, btw. AU?

i'll check back in an hour.

before i go: A1, did you already try your Recovery disc on your machine when your old HD was in there? if you don't care about your old HD put it back in and try to use or boot from the recovery disc you have (it probably isn't bootable, AU?). see what happens.

I'm on my daughters laptop. I really don't want to take it apart, as it's only two months old. If I download the clone software, can I clone the operating systewm on this laptop, burn it to disc, then transfer it to the new hard drive?

No, you can't do that.

I think the easiest thing would be to borrow a VISTA disc from a friend, install that on your new drive in your old computer.

Or, buy one of the eBay VISTA OS's for sale pretty cheap. Good to have around in case this ever happens again.

When you tried to use the Restore disc, did you set the BIOS to boot from the DVD?

AM1ST

I'd just buy one of the many VISTA 32 & 64 bit installation DVS's for sale on eBay. You'll be glad to have a copy around anyway if you need to reinstall Windows again at any point in the future.

With all the viruses flying around, it's more likely than not you will.

yeah, sux for sure that they (PC vendors) don't give the OS install disc. asshats.

did you buy it locally? maybe they will install Visra for you. if so get them to check your old drive at the same time, maybe grab your user data and files even it does look fine.

ok, gotta go.

Good point, SilverIronist

AM1ST

Here's instructions on how to do what he suggested:

#117 | Posted by AndreaMackris

AndreaMackris, yes, I have the recovery DVD that came with the computer.

If I read you correctly you are using SATA, there is no more master/slave. All drives are master, you select the bootorder in you BIOS settings. If there is a Jumper it is more than likely referring to SATA1 (150) or SATA2 (300). This is to be compatible with older motherboards.

Correct, and I've been at that part of the BIOS setup utility, but all boot orders were enabled. (it has 3) Yet, I can't get it to reboot. The SATA (in BIOS Setup) now shows 1,500GB, whereas before I replaced the hard disk, it showed 0. How do I command it to reboot manually?

The Recovery Disc doesn't have the Install files for VISTA according to what I just read.

AM1ST, borrow or buy a copy of VISTA. You'll probably need it again in the future.

#122 | Posted by silver_ironist

BIOS just came up without the disc being installed.

A1st,

I missed the post about "brick", it didn't "brick" it is actually "turtling".....

If that drive is your drive, the HDD has a FailSafe technology, I am not familiar with this but, it is a softmode, meaning the data is recoverable.

In your BIOS you might have a tab with "FAILSAFE" somewhere. I have no idea what it might say. But Seagate should have instructions on how to get out of FailSafe.

The BIOS is on the motherboard.

I will dig around and see what I can find...

What is so hard about buying a new hdd and loading vista or 7 on it? Just go to Best Buy get the stuff and be done with it.

Under the "Boot" tab in Bios, I have Boot settings

1. Boot device Priority, which specifies boot Device priority sequence.

When I select it, I get:

1st boot dev; {removable dev}
2nd boot dev:{hdd:PM-WDC WD15EAR}
3rd dev: {CD-Rom:5m-MATSHITDA}

scratch that trip.

let us know what you going to do or thinking of, when get time?

Breaking Bad is season premiere tonight.

(under Boot Settings in BIOS)

2. Boot Settings configuration

select it and I've got:

1. Quickboot, enabled
2. Full Screen Logo, Enabled
3. Wait for F1 if Error, enabled

AM1ST

I listed several VISTA full 32/64 bit Install DVD's for sale on eBay if you need to go that route

(Under Boot seettings in Bios..)

3. Security settings, which allow me to change passwords for Supervisopr and User.

I saw those, AU, thanks. I was hoping Andrea might have some more insight into getting my new harddrive to boot up. Again, Thanks to everybody who has chimed in on this...

YW AM1ST

I've gotta run for a minute.

You should be able to select CD/DVD as a boot option.

A1st,

Searching, I have found Phoenix is the BIOS manufacture of some ASUS products, could you confirm Phoenix is the BIOS manufacture?

It would be a good thing if it is....

PS The screenshots enlarge if you click on them, AM1ST

"From what I found today they had jumpers on WD drives until 1.5 TB came along. Complete with diagrams." - AU

I think they developed AUTO detect SATA speed..... so no need for jumpers any more.

Vista is a bootable cd. Just select the CD to be the first to boot and it should just go upon reboot.

So if it is "turtled" this is what I have found....

Hello,

Hard disk drive
models affected include:

* Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 series (160GB - 1.5TB capacities)
* Seagate Barracuda ES.2 series (250GB-1TB capacities)
* Seagate (formerly Maxtor) DiamondMax 22 series (160GB-1TB capacities)

Seagate has released knowledge base article #207931, "Firmware Recommendations for Barracuda 7200.11, ES.2 SATA, and Diamond... 22 Dri" explaining how to obtain a firmware update for affected hard disk drives.

Yes, The old drive is a Seagate BArracuda 7200.11

Ahhhhhhh......

There is a fix without opening up the drive, aas that is FailSafe technology. Also the site says the drives are suspect to power surges and spikes, so depending upon how you powered down the time before the "crash", you might have triggered this mode.

Under the "Boot" tab in Bios, I have Boot settings

1. Boot device Priority, which specifies boot Device priority sequence.

When I select it, I get:

1st boot dev; {removable dev}
2nd boot dev:{hdd:PM-WDC WD15EAR}
3rd dev: {CD-Rom:5m-MATSHITDA}

#133 | Posted by American1st

The "removable dev" is a cd/dvd, isn't it? In the only dvd drive on the computer?

the reciprocation, if i may, is that you tell us, in the end, what you did exactly so we (me) can learn. no worries.

yes that means removable media, like BOOTABLE installation DVD.

can someone tell why we are concerned right now with these settings?

A1st,

Yeah, I read that before, but thanks for re- posting..

#147 | Posted by American1st

You need to change the BIOS so that the {CD-Rom:5m-MATSHITDA} is the 1st boot dev.

{removable dev} usually refers to a floppy drive.

Andrea, I was trying to watch a DVD. I put the disc in the drive, and it tried to start. Then it started a medium-pitched humming. It hummed for a few minutes without starting. I tried to eject the disc, but it wouldn't. It did, hoever, stop humming. It wouldn't eject the disc, and I had a totally blank screen, so I shut it off manually. It wouldn't boot back up after that, but I could get into BIOS setup Utility. The only thing that seemed out of place in there was a "Master HArd Disk Error" message. Under the Main tab, the hard disk showed 0 gb capability, so I got a new hard drive and installed it.. thinking the recovery disc would reboot the system. It won't.

#151 | Posted by Whatsleft

WL, How do I change thew order? I looked at that,thinking that may be the problem, but couldn't deduce how to.

and priority refers to that it will seek a bootable system. that is just the order it searches.

you have no bootable media if you old HD is dead and there is no OS (operating system( installed on your new one AND you have no Install DVD (those are bootable and the machine will find one of them once you start it up with that in the drive).

why this is important now, or ever will be in the case, i must have missed.

OK, WL, I figured out how to change the boot order..something is happening...

order it searches = order is searches (looks at) available DRIVES. e.g., if there is no bootable media the "removable media" drive (CD/DVD drive) then it moves on. if there is media in that drive and that media/disc is not bootable (has no system installed on it), it moves on.

on a different note. i am NOT a big partitioner, BUT this 1.5 probably ought to be partitioned into 3 500's.

anyway, let's an operating system first.

On Macs, all you do is hold down 'C' to boot from a disc. To select any drives, you hold down "Option" when you're starting up and you can select the drive you want to boot up from. Also, you can boot up from any external drive that has MAC OS on it.

It's loading the files now, but it's done that a coup[le of times already, too. It's gotten to the part (again) where it want to partition the recovery. I just told it to recover all, meaning all data will be lost from the old drive, I guess. It says it's recovering the system.

ICHIRO

I have one external TB drive partitioned so I can make disc images of multiple computers as needed in addition to internal matching GB drives in each. Then again, my studio runs on computers, so it's vital to have everything double backed up just in case.

Ast1,

One sign that it is "turtled" is that it spins up, this is a good sign.

I would recommend the following....

Great News American1st :)

I like to use mainly external HDD's. that way if my computer is ever taken they won't get my data. I have 4 250mb HDD's. One I use for keeping dossiers of my enemies.

Andrea, My machine was sold to me as 800GB. The hard drive I removed says 640 GB. The new one says 1.5 TB.

ANDREA

I didn't realize you couldn't use PC cloned hard drives on any but the computer it's cloned from. Guess I'm just used to using Macs for my work. You can with them. Sometimes when I go to another studio to work I boot up off one of my external hard drives with a clone of my system and files.

AM1ST

If you do get the old drive to boot up you can still clone it to your new drive, if, as ANDREA said, it's in the same computer.

Great News American1st :)

#163 | Posted by AndreaMackris

Hopefully. It's at about 20% right now. Unfortuneatly, it's recovering onto a new drive. All of the pictures and stuff on the old drive is, well, on the old drive. I'll try to get it recovered, too, though. Mostly, I didn't want to have to buy another computer.

" It's gotten to the part (again) where it want to partition the recovery. I just told it to recover all, meaning all data will be lost from the old drive, I guess."

This is a MBR fix. So if I I understand this correctly you just ordered your boot to boot off the CD/DVD?

Andrea, I was trying to watch a DVD. I put the disc in the drive, and it tried to start. Then it started a medium-pitched humming. It hummed for a few minutes without starting. I tried to eject the disc, but it wouldn't. It did, hoever, stop humming. It wouldn't eject the disc, and I had a totally blank screen, so I shut it off manually. It wouldn't boot back up after that, but I could get into BIOS setup Utility.

Yes.

Mostly, I didn't want to have to buy another computer.

That was never going to be an issue :-)

"I didn't realize you couldn't use PC cloned hard drives on any but the computer it's cloned from. "

A while back this was the case, but it is a TECH support nightmare. As the drivers for the North and South bridge could be different. Other drivers as well.

A Mac is a little more self contained that way, there are only so many 586 versions of thier hardware out there.

As or right now, my progress is at 40% recovered, off Recovery DVD. Wheter or not it actually works is yet to be seen.

#172 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

LOL! Thanks!

~{:^)

AM1ST

Once you get an operational OS installed on the new drive buy a couple USB "Thumb Drives". 2GB @ $7/each. About the size of a stick of gum.

You can load a pile of pics, mp3 files on each one for backup. 2GB is a LOT of space for things like Word Docs, pics, mp3 files, etc.

This may not be recovering anything, as it's trying to recover data from a new, unused hard drive?

American1st,

Very happy for you! I have to run, sounds like its going well.

To everyone, see you guys online latter...

This reminds me of the movie, "All quiet on the Western Front" ;-)

nite...

#173 | Posted by AndreaMackris

Thanks, Andrea :-)

This reminds me of when I was a teenager and we'd stand over some buddy's engine compartment. LOL

This may not be recovering anything, as it's trying to recover data from a new, unused hard drive?

#177 | Posted by American1st

Worst case scenario: $65 for a VISTA install DVD of your own from eBay or borrow one from someone else.

BTW, one spooky problem I had a few years ago - which was making me pull my hair out after testing the motherboard, hard drives, etc. to no avail - was a stick of RAM that went bad. Finally started pulling out one stick at a time and trying to boot. VOILA!! That's what I get for not buying Kingston RAM.

It's gotten to the part (again) where it want to partition the recovery. I just told it to recover all, meaning all data will be lost from the old drive, I guess.

That probably means that it is going to partition the new drive with a recovery partition as many new computers have. On new computers a recovery partition is a partition that allows someone to reload the computer wit out the DVD. But if a drive goes bad so does the recovery partition.

It's good that you are doing this on the new drive. DATA from the old drive is probably still salvageable, but it may require a company that specializes in recovery if it's too bad. What you're experiencing is an example of why it's an excellent idea to keep duplicates of any important DATA files on a reliable device outside of your computer. As we tell all of our customers, every single hard drive ever made will fail eventually.

LOL!Loved the analogy, AU! I've changed out more than a few small-block Chevy's in my life!

LOL AM1ST

#181 | Posted by Whatsleft

I told AM1ST about USB Thumb Drives.

2GB for $7 will save a LOT of data.

Ha ha. I was just thinking about that Tandy TRS-80 that didn't have a hard drive (still up in the attic somewhere).

Remember when we were whistling about HUGE 2MB hard drives! LOL

They have USB Thumb (Flash) Drives - 2GB for $5 - here:

whoa... so the RECOVERY disc IS bootable? obviously.

this is strange, i must be missing something. if you are booted from the recovery disc, and you are right? and all/only you have in there is a brand new drive right? then what the heck is it recovering? which also means: what else is it or could it be doing? this may be unwise, if you ask me.

i suspect this is unnecessary, and IF those answers are as i suspect (if i did lot of PCs i'd know those answers, basic stuff)... i would never recommend what you are doing now.

why, you ask? why do it? you may even have to reformat because of something that happens now, who knows what could happen.

let me know what the results of this is, please. again, your recovery disk may be more than we think it is. let's hope so.

i definitely WOULD have run it on the old drive before buying a new one. (you can never have enough HD space... unless you're Bill Gates: "640K of memory should be enough for anybody." -- he denies having said it.)

ymmv

I told AM1ST about USB Thumb Drives.

#184 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

If he has a lot of DATA files he may want an external hard drive. He should be able to find an external 1 TB for around $100.00

Flash/Thumb Drive are good for single programs that require daily backup, or for moving files around between computers, but we usually don't recommend them for long term archive.

then what the heck is it recovering?

#186 | Posted by ichiro

It should be recovering the computer to same as new condition.

AM1ST

If you do buy a VISTA Install DVD check eBay: from $65-70 including shipping. Pay full price? Not me. No difference.

Just make sure of three things:

1. They have previous sales and a good rating (99-100%)
2. You buy the 32/64 bit version. Don't buy a 32 bit only version
3. It's not an "Update" but a "FULL INSTALL" DVD

#187 | Posted by Whatsleft

AM1ST said he only has pictures. No data intensive files.

#189 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

Be careful with E-Bay OS disks. They are often pirate copies, with product keys that can't be activated. Although, it is probably possible to get a legit VISTA disk for that price since it's been discontinued.

You'd be better off buying a legit Windows 7.

The sales I looked at were factory copies, WHATSLEFT

AM1ST said he only has pictures. No data intensive files.

#190 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

If he has a good high megapixel camera, photos can eat a lot of space.

#192 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

As I said, legit VISTA disks may be going for those prices.

I think I've even still got a few that I need to get rid of.

I think I've even still got a few that I need to get rid of.

#194 | Posted by Whatsleft

Good comments about 'libs' (includes anyone but neocons) in exchange for a great deal for AM1ST? LOL

Hows it going A1? You should be getting close to a desktop.

If he has a good high megapixel camera, photos can eat a lot of space.

#193 | Posted by Whatsleft

True. I use double density DVD-R's to back up those myself.

#195 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

I might work something out if they email me and I can somehow confirm who they are. I think you emailed me about a year ago. Still got that?

True. I use double density DVD-R's to back up those myself.

#197 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

I'm a huge fan of redundancy. I hope you even make copies of your DVD's.

WHATSLEFT

I don't know if I have your email or not.

Just for grins, here's mine:

I'm a huge fan of redundancy. I hope you even make copies of your DVD's.

Backups of my backups.

I had one nightmare about 15 years ago where I lost all the data on a project. I swore 'never again!'

who's an avowed right winger LOL

#200 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

LOL...So are most of my customers, but most of them don't know my ideology. It's bad to mix business and politics. You risk alienating at least half your customers.

I just sent an email to that address.

I hear ya. I don't talk politics with clients either.

Lots of my friends are Republicans. We laugh about politics most of the time and accuse each other of 'being terribly misguided, my friend'. Last time one of 'em started giving me grief I grabbed a throw rug and asked in a panicked voice: "Quick! Which way's Mecca?". He got a kick out of it.

Even though I consider myself a moderate, in this town I'd be thought of as quite the pinko-commie. LOL I've got a few RED friends I can joke around with, but I've lost friends over it too.

I wonder what happened to A1?

Good question. Hope it booted up.

sorry, guys..i'm in the phone..

I'm a moderate too, WHATSLEFT, but to right wingers anyone to the left of Karl Rove is a 'lib'.

It ain't the '60's anymore. They didn't get that memo

I work on computers all the time. I just took in a Dell laptop today and another Dell is being shipped to me as we speak.

No this isn't a Dell commercial.

It's unlikely that the DVD and fixed disk failed at exactly the same time.

The most probable cause is the power supply. If either of those drives failes to spin up to speed they will test bad.

The disk controller can cause this but most likely the hard disk is on a different channel than the DVD. If you are foolish enough to slave the DVD using the hard disk as a master it slows the hard disk down to the DVD speed.

It's easy enough to determine this by using a spare power supply and just plugging it into the computer. If you don't have one of those it's not likely that you have a volt meter either.

If you happen to have a volt meter test for 12 volts at the drive when the drive is trying to boot.

sorry, guys..i'm in the phone..

Geesh, A1 can't watch porn right so now he's on a 900 number. LOL

on the phone...

lol! good one, AU!

LOL

My first computer was an IBM 5150 that just had 2 360k floppy drives.

Those were the days! (for what I don't know)

#187 | Posted by Whatsleft

I remember that box. I think they were full height floppies too. Then they had a 10mb hard disk i think. You had to replace the BIOS chip to get it to boot from a hard disk. I used to sell the BIOS chips too.

Be careful with E-Bay OS disks. They are often pirate copies, with product keys that can't be activated. Although, it is probably possible to get a legit VISTA disk for that price since it's been discontinued.

You'd be better off buying a legit Windows 7.

#191 | Posted by Whatsleft

I think I've gotten some pirate copies before on eBay. I bought a Windows XP home edition that was authentic I think. It came with the certificate of authenticity which I would insist on getting with any Microsoft product or anything that requires activation.

My recovery system says it's at 96% right now. Seems to be taking a long time. Anyone ever restored a system before?

My recovery system says it's at 96% right now.

Uh, oh

(kidding)

Anyone ever restored a system before?

#215 | Posted by American1st

Only a few thousand.

Hey, A1, it was fun hangin' out to see what happens.

I suspect you typed too many right oriented posts. Strong possibility!

My recovery system says it's at 96% right now. Seems to be taking a long time. Anyone ever restored a system before?

#215 | Posted by American1st

Sometimes it can take a while. Have patience.

If this computer is online, when you get to the desktop the first thing you'll want to do is make sure your AV software and all of its updates are installed, along with all the Windows updates, or it's going to end up infected pretty quick.

Vernon's 1st Computer: The Gong Dong 302

#216 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

LOL

Hahah! Maybe there were too many left-oriented posts trying to kill mine?

It came with the certificate of authenticity which I would insist on getting with any Microsoft product or anything that requires activation.

#214 | Posted by mysterytoy

Exactly, you can make copies of the CD's all day long. It's the legit product key # that you're paying for.

Hahah! Maybe there were too many left-oriented posts trying to kill mine?

Sure. Uh, huh. How come mine has never failed? Hmmmmmmm?

The right wing sites infect computers more than porn. They not only cause hard drive problems, but brain failure too! You must be careful, A1 or this will happen again soon. LOL

My wife has requested my presence in the hot tub. You can guess by my absence where I'd rather be!

Later guys.

Hahah! Maybe there were too many left-oriented posts trying to kill mine?

The telekinesis between your thoughts and your computer use have a symbiotic connection. This connection was affirmed by the Von Beckistan Foundation. Fried hard drives are merely a symbol of what's happening 3' away. LOL

Have a good night, WHATSLEFT

Nice that Sandra Bullock won for The Blindside. What a great movie.

Glad also Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director. It was long overdue for a woman to win. Haven't seen "The Hurt Locker" but will. BTW, Bigelow is the long ago ex wife of James Cameron, who was also nominated for Avatar. They're good friends.

Christopher Waltz was absolutely BRILLIANT in Inglorious Bastards. Well deserved win for Best Supporting Actor.

What's the progress A1?

98% AU.

Sorry, Guys..I got on the phone with my sister and couldn't stop talking.

I'm going to go upthread and read it to catch up...

98% AU.

A 1.5 terrabyte drive is a big daddy to format.

I wonder if his system will see all of it.

You'd be better off buying a legit Windows 7.

#191 | Posted by Whatsleft

You're most likely right..

99%

100%...it's just setting there looking at me, though..waiting...

Got my fingers crossed for ya, A1

OK..It asked for the support disc..I hope it was the right one..It said Essentio Support CD

Now it's asking for me to remove the optical disk from the optical drive..is this the wireless keyboard?

It says I can put it back when the system is turned on...

then what the heck is it recovering?
#186 | Posted by ichiro

It should be recovering the computer to same as new condition.
#188 | POSTED BY WHATSLEFT

so, you believe this Recovery Disk he has installs a fresh Windows (Vista in the case) OS? onto a new formatted HD?

let's hope so. many don't, they only restore the factory resets, not reinstall windows. anyone who fixes Windoze has likely run into such a client... one who needs to reinstall Windows but only has a "Recovery" disk.

I'm going to assume it is..There's no other drive engaged....

Please wait while windows sets up your computer..

DAmn! I need ONE MORE BEER..THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME!

Houston! We've got CONTACT! (I've got the blue screen now!) It's still setting up, but it's got all the earmarks of being sucessful.

"Please wait while windows continues setting up your computer"

Excellent A1!!

You're going to have to be very vigilant about using Disk Cleanup/Defrag/etc. That's a huge drive that'll have to work harder if you don't.

WHATSLEFT mentioned installing Anti-Virus immediately so you don't get bugs. Good idea. I use these for my wife's PC's and update the virus definitions every other day or so before hitting the hay. If you don't have an AV program, AVG makes a good free one.

This whole episode may have ridden in here from a FACEBOOK virus..anybody experience anything funny from FAcebook lately?

#18... Mac's are great computers for most people

especially is you need *Nix and any and all OSes running on the same box.

OS X
Windows
Linux
*Nix

all off one box. a laptop at that. frankly, all i need is OS X as that is a full fledged Unix and comes stock with a terminal app. everything you need in both worlds (server and client) is on all stock Macs. ...and much easier to "live" with.

A1,

If it gets loaded all the way to the Windows destop, please pay attention to my post #220. It's important.

Have a good night!

Thanks, WL.. I appreciate your help, man! (or woman)

It sure is taking it's time setting up. I'm torn between thinking it's a good thing or a bad thing...

blue screen of death or....

way to go A1! next we'll replace the power supply! i keed, i keed.

when you get time put your old HD back in there and try the recovery disk on it.

still waiting for liftoff....

This is the computer version of The Good Samaritan.

Helping and hoping the best for a horribly misguided right winger is the right thing to do. LOL

This thing is slow...I hope it actually works. It gives every indication...that it will....

...eventually...

for a horribly misguided right winger
Easy now, Skippy!

Just exactly how damned long should it take? LOL!

A1

Do you have AV software? If not, I left two links for great free PC software here:

absolutely on a PC, follow #220 immediately after.

and do all your Visra updates. sheesh, M$, what a pain.

:-)

Easy now, Skippy!

You know I'm being facetious ... horribly misguided right winger.

LOL

WELCOME!

Shit..it asked for the support disc again..

Well, I've got a screen with files flying from left to right..that's a good thing, yes?

(you can hear Godzilla nearer the end (second half.)

ICHIRO

Good stuff.

Have you ever seen this short 'short'? Saw it in a movie theater years ago.

PS the credits (which they left off) are as funny as the action

Good stuff, Ichi! (I'll have to wait for the better computer to listen to it in full)

That's a good thing, A1

At first I thought you typed "flies" and was going to comment I've seen that when browsers are waiting to load Limbaugh or Beck.

OK...I've got a screen that says ASUS InstAll Systen preparation.

Installing drivers for Intel(R)Chipset InF Update program -Check

Intel(R) Graphics Accelorator Driver-installing

+ 5 other drivers....

Oops

#270 | Posted by American1st

This is all good!

browsers are waiting to load Limbaugh or Beck.

#269 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

Yer a real hoot, aren't ya? I've seen that when Air America tries to boot up, too!

ya it probably wants some drivers for dessert.

THEN maybe it'll have some updates.

don't take it online without proper AV, which i can't really advise you on, the way i want to be advised. i can say get it. ;-) ok i;m too lazy to advise you properly on those (multiple) parts.

?

that was an Ibanez guitar synth hooked up to Akai S612 loaded with a voice, and probably a Mesa Boogie... in my living old room.
i was mixing them a demo cassette and well, shit happens.

Well, the screen went blank, except for flashing the Windows emblem every 3 seconds or so. The disc seems to be starting and stopping. Dunno if trhat's normal...

A1

Have you ever considered installing Mozilla 'Firefox' browser? Much less friendly to attacks. Easy to use.

I've seen that when Air America tries to boot up, too!

Sorry, one monitor/fly/turd joke per thread LOL

btw when we say "update" it all, we mean online through M$.
(if you can get 'er online. hey this is 2010, should be no problem.)

don't we, Winkids? i think we do. but only after you put on some AV (Anti-Virus) --and update that first too!

ok, now to watch Godzilla vs. Bambi.

The disc seems to be starting and stopping. Dunno if trhat's normal...

It's searching for drivers. Not to worry. If you got this far it's working.

I've not had much experience on anything but IE, AU, besides Safari on the old Imac, and didn't care for it...

Downloading ReALTEK AUDIO DRIVERS...

A1

Firefox is far less prone to attacks. Everyone and their brother is trying to load you up with spyware and other nefarious little hidden thingys on IE.

that's normal. spins up, spins down, on and on.

As soon as this thing gets through doing what it's going to do, I;m gonna crash myself!

Is there a DR GeekSquad?

My computer took a major dump yesterday, and I'm looking for a few answers before I take it to the Geek Squad.

Posted by American1st at 11:55 AM

What are you? Some kind of fucking socialist? You want valuable technical information for free? Fuck you! Pay for it.

cute, i like the toenail flex. sounds like the 'A Day in the LIfe' piano chord.

Like ICHIRO and WHATSLEFT have said, don't do another thing until you've installed AV software. I left some links above.

Darth attacked us.

i like the toenail flex. sounds like the 'A Day in the LIfe' piano chord.

Ha ha. Yes, it probably is the 'A Day In The Life' chord.

Darth, we have Godzilla!

#286 | Posted by DARTHCHENEY

Gotta be a DR record, Only 286 posts before someone turned the thread bitter.

Congrats, Darthcheney.

sheesh. now, i can't call you bad names anysmores.

although i do use asshat a lot, it's an endearment!

peaceout

Or, rather, attempted tro turn the thread ...

It's been fun lending whatever help and moral support.

I'd have been in bed an hour ago otherwise. I know A1's pain from dealing with my wife's computers.

Can this process take all night?

Can this process take all night?

Is the word "Iraq" anywhere on your Restore DVD? If so, absolutely. Could take weeks.

(sorry, can't help a little good natured ribbing)

Nite ICHIRO

AU, Ichi, Whatsleft,(and the rest) I have to say that I'm impressed that you guys stuck by me throughout this technologically trying time in my life. I'll never forget it, and if I do, you have my permission to trot it out and use it against me!

:^)

G'night, Ichiro! Thanx, again.

you have my permission to trot it out and use it against me!

Na. Computer crashes are a worse case scenario that demand nothing but support. It'll never be mentioned in a bad light. Been there myself. Hated it.

You're welcome. It's nice to hang on a thread where people aren't ripping each other apart.

I'd have been long gone, but I know your pain.

A1

You can go to bed if you feel like it. Nothing will happen that can't wait until morning. But, I have a feeling you aren't far away from an operational system.

Hope you saw the links above. Useful free software.

Just be sure to get weekly updates for both AVG and AdAware.

Also, use "Disk Cleanup" and "Disk Defrag" - both in

START (Button - lower left of window)>PROGRAMS>ACCESSORIES>SYSTEM TOOLS

I dragged them to the "START" button so they're in the menu and always handy for my wife to use.

OK, I can't quite let Darth go scot-free..

What are you? Some kind of fucking socialist? You want valuable technical information for free? Fuck you! Pay for it.

I'm a free-market type of guy. If I were a socialist, I would never have asked for it. I'd have simply demanded that Rcade provide me with whatever technical support I needed to get back online so that I could fulfill my part in making his blog function.

And, no, I don't want "valuable technical information" for free. I'm fully expecting to repay whatever knowledge I recieve here with any knowledge I may have about other things.

Also, you're not going to fuck me, as I'm not built that way. You need to go elsewhere with your homosexual fantasies.

Other than that, have a good night.

(:^)

Thanks, AU..I know about disk cleanup and defrag. I think this may have been a virus from FACEBOOK

Well, I'm gonna leave it run for the night..it's still got a ways to go. G'night, AU, and thanks again.

Thanks, AU..I know about disk cleanup and defrag

Figured you did, but thought I'd recommend using them very often with such a huge internal hard drive to avoid making it work harder.

What's happening on the screen now?

Nite

YW

so, i think, if you did not run the Recovery Disk on the old drive, that is:

1) you were doing some stuff and whack, noise, stop, no reboot or error filled reboot; and, no attempt to use the recovery disk on it;
2) so, you went out and got a new HD and took out the old HD and put in new one;
3) you ran the Recovery Disk (you started/booted from it) and are presently [seemingly, i won't say you have until you have a working Vista desktop] installing a fresh OS [Vista] on it.

therefore, if the above is true: you do NOT know what exactly happened/is wrong, including that your old drive may be physically fine (meaning you may not have needed a new one).

follow me? just so you know.

it may still be something else (hardware) that happens to working now.

unless winblows' bioses can get infected or corrupted, i guess they can.

you'll have a better idea soon enough! keep us posted. so we can add to the "helpdesk" database. ;-)

sometimes we never know exactly what happened, just that we fixed it. like sometimes we kill a fly with sledge-hammer because it's faster and/or surer.

#308 addendum... and in this case, so far, we do not know if what we did do will even work... i mean if it does then for how long.
(i think that is accurate.)

we wait and you set up you system how you want it (or how you had it) over the next few days and we see. if you make it that far we'll close this ticket.

then you can get virii all over again. ;-) new ticket.

get a mac.

A -- The cyber scum seems to have found a way to screw your hard drive -- that's the 1st guess. Taking the computer to Geek Squad is a good step. They are pretty good with computers brought in store. But my experience has been less thn happy when Geek Squad has come to the home -- That becomes an open checkbook. Take the whole PC to Geek Squad and see what they say. Odds are that the HD may need to be replaced. Good luck!

#286

Many of us have been coming to DR for many, many years and are more like family than just anonymous members and we have always helped each other out like this. I think it's great!

A1, hope you are able to get it running properly again!

I picked up my first serious malware on Friday. XP Internet Security 2010. Norton didn't even catch it. Jammed up my whole system. I had to download a copy of malwarebytes to a thumb drive and run it from there. Got rid of it but it took me all day. Couldn't even finish Friday's reports. What a way to end a week.

STIRSUMUP

Speaking from personal expereince with Norton, I can say without reservation . . .

NORTON SECURITY SUITE 2010 IS THE ABSOLUTE PITS AND NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND SHOULD SPEND A SINGLE DIME ON A NORTON PRODUCT.

Have to agree with twinpac.

The boss demanded norton for the server/clients at work. I objected, but eventually had to relent.

After two years of nothing but problems, he admitted that he was wrong and asked me to find a new alternative.

I'd been using NOD32 at home for almost 4 years and had never had an issue, so that's what we went to.

Getting rid of Norton software is a nightmare.

A-1

Ditto what Lisa said.

Also . . .

I was following your thread as it was happening and could actually feel the good vibes that were developing between former adversaries . . . that is to say, one from the right and one from the left.

Not to get all maudlin over it or anything but it was a real treat watching you two guys work together.

Well, here I am! Ichiro, apparently I could have recovered the old hard drive, but didn't want to/know how to set a partition after loading the recovery disc, but it couldn't find the drive disk, either, so I'm not sure it could have rebooted the original drive. I think whatever happened came through a user on Facebook, as I found out last night that my sister's computer took a nose dive, too. Wiped her hard drive out.

But, I'm on my newly remodeled "BiPartisan 6000" 'puter and it seems to be like a new one. And it feels the first time.

Haha! Thanks a lot everybody!

Houston! We have liftoff!

Thanks, Twinpac. I'm off to find Anti-virus now!

AXIOM

I've used McAfee Security Suite for years without a problem.

Recently, Comcast decided to dump McAfee from their internet package and replace it with Norton. As a result I've had nothing but operational problems ever since . . . even though my computer is virus/spyware free (according to Norton)

I've heard nothing but bad things about Norton for years so the idea of depending on Norton for my computer security gives me cold chills.

I've pulled a couple all nighters with Symantec over these operational problems caused by Norton's software and still they continue.

As soon as I'm over my anger I'm going to give Comcast an earful. It won't change anything I'm sure, so I'll probably end up dumping Comcast too it that's what it takes to get rid of Norton and get my peace of mind back.

Just dump the norton software all together. You shouldn't even have to install any software to connect to the internet.

When I first got comcrash years ago, the tech said "I have to install a NIC and I have to install this software...you have this Linux thing...our service doesn't work on it" to which I called bullshit, got the network information from the help desk and did it myself.

I thought it was considered bad practice to force someone to install software to use a service that doesn't require to software to be operational.

AXIOM
I could probably uninstall Norton myself without any affect on my Comcast account. Then go out and buy McAfee.

But you've brought up a good point. I'm going to call Comcast and see if I can do that.

Thanks for the insight. I'm still fuming so I don't want to cut off my nose to spite my face or take any knee-jerk actions. I'm also looking at U-Verse who uses McAfee in their package.

Maybe I'll just go the whole nine yards with U-Verse (Cable, computer, phone).

I'm still thinking. Any insights on U-Verse?

Houston! We have liftoff!

#318 | Posted by American1st

Good for you A1! It sounds like you've about got it under control.

If you try to do anything with your old drive, be careful what you do or you could wipe out any easy chance of retrieving your old files.

I have no opinions on U-Verse. I've got 2 options around here for internet. Time Warner or the local Telephone Co-Op. I get 3up/6down DSL from the co-op. I get heart burn from Time Warner.

Time Warner is one of those companies that says "you have to have our digital cable tv service to have our internet service"...bullshit. That's like BellSouth saying "We have to provide dial-tone to you to provide you with DSL".

It's non-sense. Their software doesn't do anything functionality wise. They add "security" software that you can opt out of and branding to your desktop browser.

Your network configuration is still set to configure dynamically, and that is all that really matters when it comes to connecting.

good work, A1!

let "us" know if we can be of any further assistance!

get that good AV up and running (McAfee or NOD32?) and keep it properly updated. as well as the Microshaft patches and updates.

don't get Norton! if you just got it TAKE IT BACK. :-(

:-)

thanks for the report.

You know... Obama would have your computer taken from you and euthanized.

A1

Glad to hear it.