Hard Drive unrecognizable

[hdd1200]

I bought a new pc last XMas and after about 5 months my PC apparently send out a classifieds ad asking for viruses and I think I ended up catching everyone that there is. I spent a month reformatting and at the end of the month I thought my problems were over and then my pc slowed again so I did a warm boot and was preparing ( and using words that would make my mother blush) to format again. However this time it came up a blank screen. I looked in the BIOS and my hd was not there. I put it in another pc and it was not recognized there either.

I put a new hd in and it worked fine so I put the other one to the side and forgot about it. I pulled it out yesterday and started looking into trying to fix it. I installed it with my other hd and it slowed my pc down. Upon loading windows it acts as if it is trying to read the hd but finally gave up and loaded just the other one.

In Bios it is not there but it is showing that something is installed on the sata that it is connected to. The hd runs smooth ( no noises at all. Purrs like a kitten) and looking at it it looks brand new ( not even a scratch and nothing looks burned on the board)

So here are my questions....

If it is running that good can something still be bad?

Is there anyway to rewrite a boot sector when you cant see the hd?

Is there an initial programming on the hd that makes the pc read the hd (besides the boot info) and if there is, is there anyway to rewrite it?

 

I have tried running OS disk and it says that it cannot be setup and prompts me to exit installation. (Vista and XP)

I also want to apologize if my questions make no sense. I dont know alot about pc's and am just going by what I have found on the net. There is no main reason to worry with the hd (and I know that I can buy another one), I'm mostly just trying to solve a puzzle that is making me want to go into my backyard and bang my head against a tree. ;)

Any and all help is greatly appreciated

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Hi HDD

 

Welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help

 

Can you eloborate further on this paragraph please, it is most confusing.

 

I put a new hd in and it worked fine so I put the other one to the side and forgot about it. I pulled it out yesterday and started looking into trying to fix it. I installed it with my other hd and it slowed my pc down. Upon loading windows it acts as if it is trying to read the hd but finally gave up and loaded just the other one.

It worked fine? You mean you installed an operating system to it?

 

On one hand you sound like you have two separate drives and on the other you sound to have some obscure dual boot setup.

 

What error message did you get on this?

 

I have tried running OS disk and it says that it cannot be setup and prompts me to exit installation. (Vista and XP)

A deeper explanation is needed on all counts.

[hdd1200]

Sorry about the confusion.... My hard drive was installed on sata 1and went unrecognizable. I took it out and put another hd in. same sata port. The new hd installed OS and has worked fine ever since.

I needed more storage so I thought maybe I could fix my old hd instead of having to buy a new one.

 

I put the old hd in my pc sata 3 and turned pc on (new one still connected).

I thought maybe I could use my new hard drive to access the old one and run system check and tests to see if it could diagnose the problem.

 

When i turned my pc on with both hd's connected it took about 10 minutes to load windows. It seems as if my pc is trying to read the other hard drive but that it dosent know what to do so it finally loads just the new one. I get no error messages or anything. It loads my OS on new hd with no problems, it just goes slower. I turned it on and off a few times and same results every time. It show no info pertaining to the old hd what-so-ever.

 

Then I turned my pc off and booted from the dell diagnostics disk. I ran all of the tests and everything passed. But it's only running tests on the new hd. it is not able to see the old one.

 

I turned pc off and disconnected hd in sata 1 and turned pc on only using old hd in sata 3. It comes up to the dell logo screen and asks for boot menu or setup.

Bios still does not recognize the old hd.

I rebooted the pc again and this time booted from cd. (tried vista and xp)

 

The files load into memory and then it starts to install but immediately pops up saying that OS cannot be installed and the only option I get is to exit setup. (States no other info..Just that OS cannot be installed)

I have tried this also on another pc and get the same results.

I hope this new explanation helps and thanks again

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Ok

 

That's better, it seems to me that your old HDD is completely and utterly shafted.

 

This is why it not only can't find the previous os but won't allow a new install on to it either.

 

This is also verified by you saying that you have tried this on another pc also.

[hdd1200]

Well that stinks..I was so hoping it was a fixable problem. Thanks for your help.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Here's what you said;

 

Bios still does not recognize the old hd.

 

When the bios does not recognise the hard drive it can be 2 reasons;

 

1: The HHD is not connected properly.

 

2: It's knackered, it doesn't matter if there is an operating system present or not.

 

Put it down to experience mate and back your stuff up at all times in case the new one goes down the same road.

[Seth]

The circuit board (firmware and such) on the old drive is hooped.

 

If you need to recover data from that drive, you would have to order the exact same hard drive, then swap out the circuit board. Or, the manufacturer of the drive may be able to sell you just the circuit board.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Well I'm not convinced Seth and I'd like you to tell hdd120 what his chances are if he went down this route.

 

You are giving him false hopes Seth.

[Seth]

However this time it came up a blank screen. I looked in the BIOS and my hd was not there.

I put it in another pc and it was not recognized there either.

 

The ability of the CMOS to recognize the drive is determined by the drive's electronic board. Other issues on a computer may cause the cmos to not recognize the drive, but those factors were ruled out in this case given the following:

 

1) The drive is not recognized by the cmos in another computer.

 

2) A new replacement drive is recognized and performs correctly.

 

As such, it's technically correct to conclude that the drive's electronic board is defective. If the board is replaced, the drive should be recognized. If then the files are not visible, the drive has suffered a physical failure as well as an electronic failure. That scenerio is highly unlikey given:

 

1) Physical failure of a hd normally produces clicking or grinding sounds. Note that the poster is aware of this and made a point of mentioning that the drive sounded normal.

 

2) The chances of a hd having both an electronic failure and a physical failure is remote at best.

 

 

You are giving him false hopes Seth.

Call it as you will.

 

I call it logic, experience, and deductive reasoning.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

I see no reason why hdd1200 should shell out for a new pcb for that drive.

 

Drives can die without any noise whatsoever as you well know Seth.

 

The 2 stark simple facts are thus;

 

1: The drive will not boot, you may say there has been a MBR malfunction but this is not the case.

 

2: It will not format thereby allowing a new os to be installed.

 

Suggest a chkdsk to hdd1200 Seth and see what happens.

[Seth]

With all due respect my friend, (i disagree)

 

It's a shame that my fellow techs have cowered.

Edited November 25, 2008 by BeeCeeBee

[RandyL]

Why bother even trying to fix the failed drive? It's easier, better and inexpensive to just replace it?

[Seth]

True, unless there is important data on it.

[BeeCeeBee]

Gentlemen,

 

While this is an interesting back and forth. May I point out that hdd1200 has not mentioned any need to retrieve data from this hard drive. Normally that is one of the first things mentioned in a post when the prosepct of formatting or replacing a drive is being considered.

 

There is no reason to assume that files have not been backed up elswhere.

 

For the benefit of the member it appears that it is agreed that the least expensive and most effective way for hdd1200 to get up and running again is to replace the drive.

 

It is also clear that if there is a compelling need to retrieve data there is a method available that may be worth a try.

Edited November 26, 2008 by BeeCeeBee

[Seth]

 

If you need to recover data from that drive....

 

As I said, "If"

 

The information I provided can potentially save the end user a heck of a lot of money.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

That hard drive is well and truly shafted Seth and you know it.

 

hdd1200 get back to us via pm when you want this thread re-opening to ask anything further, until then it is closed.