Hello. I think my hard drive is having some problems. It seemed perfectly fine before, but yesterday suddenly, I heard my hard drive make these weird sounds. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, but it sounded sorta like it's trying to start? Except it does it over and over again, the same sound. I thought at that point I should try to shut down, but then the music started stuttering, and afterwards, it froze.

I tried rebooting afterwards, and a few times, it couldn't boot from the hard drive. So I tried again, think I might've had a flash or two of a blue screen, and eventually, I even managed to login, but soon it started doing the same thing. The same sounds, and then it freezes. So I decided to let it rest for the night.

I woke up this morning, thinking I should try to run a scan disk. So I tried to boot it up, and got this message: "Reboot and Select proper Boot device or Insert Boot Media in Selected Boot device and press a key."

I'm currently running Win XP, SP2. Does anyone know how I might be able to fix this? Or if not, whether my data would be recoverable? I have a spare drive that I can use (currently it's in an enclosure as an unused spare), but I'd really like to get my data back since I was careless and didn't back it up.

Thank you.

Knoppix works well as a bootable OS that can access Windows files:

http://www.knoppix.org/

The noise is not good as it indicates mechanical problems in the drive but booting Knoppix is definitely worth it.

If that doesn't get into the drive then you can always have it opened in a shop to have the disks recovered. However this will be pricey.

You can also run a diagnostic on the drive. Do you know the manufacturer? Most have diagnostic tools on their web sites.


You could also try and fix the boot with your XP CD. Boot it into the Recovery Console and try the FIXBOOT command.

Hello. Thank you for your reply.

I feel a bit like a n00b for not knowing, but how exactly should I go about trying Knoppix? Should I download the iso onto one of my other drives? I'm not exactly sure how to mount an iso file as I can't boot into XP on that computer. Would I have to reset the master and slave settings? I don't think I have a manual for the drives, so if that is necessary, I would appreciate an explaination on how to do it.

Also, how do I boot into Recovery Console from XP CD?

After you download the Knoppix ISO you just need to burn the image to a CD then boot the CD. Do you have Nero or any burning software? If so they can burn ISO images. If you have Nero or something similar let us know and we can show you the ISO image option. If not we can show you a free tool.

You don't have to change anything on the computer. Just boot Knoppix Live CD and you will have a functioning operating system from which you can access your hard drive (assuming that it is mechanically functional).

As to the Recovery Console: Boot your XP CD and choose the first R for the recovery console. You will be asked which version of windows to repair and most likely you select 1. (unless you have more than one). You are then asked for the password. If you have set no Administrative password just hit Enter. Once the command prompt is ready type FIXBOOT and Enter then type EXIT and enter. If that doesn't work there are a few more command options. More details here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

I'm quite sure I don't have any burning softwares on this computer. If you could show me a free one, that would be great.

If it's not mechanically functional, does that mean it won't be possible to recover the data even if I take it into a shop? I'm hoping that's not the case. but just in case it is...

I see. I will try that after I try Knoppix.

Thank you for your help so far!

Here is an ISO recorder: http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

Install this on your working computer and it will add the option to you right click to burn ISO's.

Download the Knoppix ISO (it is big)(may take an hour on a medium DSL connection). After downloading right click it and you will see the option to burn IMAGE. The important distinction here is that you do NOT want to burn the ISO file but you DO want to burn the IMAGE.

If the drive is not mechanically functional a professional shop can take it apart and just remove the disks to extract the data. This is a very expensive process but is a last option.

You might be best going the easiest route first and just try the Recovery Console. It may get lucky!

Ok, in that case, I'll definitely try the Recovery Console first. And I'll download the Knoppix iso in the meantime, just in case.

I tried to google up some prices, and while I couldn't find many, they do all seem pretty pricey. Would you happen to know if there's somewhere/some way I could learn to do this on my own? I'm assuming that it can be learned from somewhere. Unless they require some special equipment of some sort for this recovery process?

If your drive is mechanically defective then this is something that would require special tools. You would need to open the drive case; remove the disks; then rebuild another hard drive with these disks. I don't know for certain but I think the professionals have readers that could directly access these disks.

If it is just a software problem then yes you should be able to fix it. Some ideas here: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1139

However the noise is indicative of mechanical problems. Although the drive may still work intermittently in your case the XP Boot sector is no longer accessible.

The Recovery Console and or Knoppix will give you a better idea if the drive is responding at all.

Again you can try a diagnostic if you know the manufacturer of the hard drive.

I tried the Recovery Console. It told me that Setup could not detect any hard disk drives installed on my computer. I'm guessing that's probably not a good sign...

I've got Knoppix downloading right now. The mirror seems to be hosting a whole bunch of files. Do I only need the .iso for the latest version?

Ah, seems like a complicated process... I'll check out that link though. Hopefully it is only a software problem. Or at least, that it's only partially defective...

I popped the drive out of the case and found the manufacturer. I'll go see if I can find a diagnostic. I've also read somewhere, about someone putting their hard drive in the freezer for half an hour, and it worked enough for them to recover a few files. Have you ever heard of this? I'm a bit tempted to try it.

Freeze your hard drive to recover data: Myth or reality?

http://geeksaresexy.blogspot.com/200...over-data.html

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...+drive+freezer