Bad Sectors / PC Freezes

[vich]

I have a Dell Lattitude E6500 with Windows XP Pro SP3.
It has started not responding after going into windows screen saver from inactivity. If I am constantly using it never has a problem.
It has a Seagate Momentus SATA Drive.


To try and diagnose I have run
SFC /Scannow
DskChk /R which hangs at 68%
SMART test failed on read on verify I found about 100 blocks that were bad.
Seagate Tools report "no Controllers detected" which obviously is incorrect, so they can't be used to repair.

2 questions
1. Is there any way to repair or should the drive be replace.
2. If I do a partion backup and recover to a new drive with Paragon Backup and Recovery am I going to just be restoring the bad data? Would a Windows Repair after that likely fix the problem?

Thanks

 

[BadBigBen]

my opinion:

if you are experiencing any type of SMART errors, then replace the drive ASAP...

from experience, a drive that errors, like you reported, will soon die and is generally no longer reliable...


Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[goombawaho]

An image restore of a drive with corrupt files (due to the bad sectors) could have problems though they might not be immediately apparent.

A Repair install would theoretically repair any files that are damaged, but it's quite a bit of work. Depending on how many programs you have to install/customer config/if you have application cds & licenses, I would always opt for a fresh install.

 

[vich]

I hate the thought of doing a fresh install. While I know it is healthy, I have so many programs it is somewhat daunting. Especially trying to find all the keys for software purchased on-line. Try as I may to keep up with that it is never perfect.

The system seem to work fine execept when it goes into screen saver mode. It always hangs. I would be willing to do an image copy and try to fix windows b4 a fresh install.

I do have a Recovery disk made using Paragon but it is a year old and wouldnt think I could use it. Or can I?

Thanks for your prompt replies.

If anyone has any other suggestions would appreciate it.

 

[xit]

Try Seagate DOS Seatools to check your drive, after checking you have an option to repair the sectors.

I just did this procedure on a seagate 2.5 sata drive on an Inspiron 1545 and all has been well since.

That being said, who knows for how long, but after retesting, the drive passed all tests and is functioning properly.

xit

 

[vich]

I couldn't get them to work. Either they said the controller was not detected or they hung.

 

[G0AOZ]

It depends on how badly you want to keep the existing installation. If time is not of the essense, then using something like SpinRite may lift off the data from the damaged sectors. This programme has worked several times for me in a similar scenario.

http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm

This programme is not free, but maybe it'll help you...


ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[LilBob]

Have you tried booting in Safe Mode & shutting down your sreensaver? Since your problem occurs only after inactivity, it may be due to a conflict with it. Even if that works, it may be a temp solution. Your best bet is to back up any critical files, do a clean install of XP & all other necessary apps then copy your files back on to your HD 1 by 1 to see if any create the same problem. If time is critical, install a new HD, install your OS & use your old drive as a slave to copy things over.

Bob

 

[goombawaho]

I have so many programs it is somewhat daunting. Especially trying to find all the keys for software purchased on-line."

Imagine if the drive failed COMPLETELY. You need to get all those software licenses in a file and then make sure that file is backed up AND printed out. Otherwise, things could be so bad for you that it would be very painful to recover - not to mention expensive if you have to repurchase.

 

[micker377]

Belarc Advisor" (free), will scan your system, and list all your serial numbers for your software.

 

[vich]

Thanks for all of the tips, I am still trying to recover/repair. Have order a warranty replacement from Seagate. However, still would like to avoid a clean install if possible.

G0A0Z - Thanks for the Spinrite tip, it was familiar to me and had not run across it in my disk collection. However, searching my back up low an behold there it was. It has been running all night but when it hit the bad sectors it's not able to recover reports "Unrecoverable because it could not be located by the drive" Good idea though.

micker377 - Belarc Advisor - good suggestion, I use that often. Although it did not report my keys for Paragon Partition Manager and Back up and Recovery Suite.

lilbob - yes, it seems to work fine in safe mode. so i believe for now it is isolated to just a small area and a few programs which is why I wonder what would happen if I did and image copy to a new drive and then tried to repair Windows could I avoid a "Clean install"

Ideas are great appreciate everyones time.

 

[wolluf]

I don't know about paragon software (last used it over 5 years ago), but I use Acronis True Image, which has successfully enabled me to rescue similar situations to yours. Use it to make an image of your disk - when it encounters the bad blocks it should warn you with options. Just tell it to ignore all such issues and it should then complete successfully. Restoring that image to a new disk will NOT include the bad blocks (you'll just be missing any data in them, which from the fact that you're still running means your xp will boot from new drive). As I said - don't know about paragon, it may do a similar job. Also with True Image, can schedule a daily incremental image backup - which would immediately solve your current problem if you had it it place (again, paragon may have similar).

 

[vich]

wolluf, thanks, that is what I am wondering regarding Paragon and have not determined. I'll try it, or figure out, and if not try the Acronis.
Sadly, Paragon does provide the same image and incremental backup but I ran out of storage and kind of let it drop from my routine. Pretty dumb having lost several drives over the years and an ex-IT manager. I've been using Robocopy to mirror my data to an external drive pretty regularly. So I've got my data covered but still may have to reinstall windows(pain). I will learn my lesson this time though. (hopefully)

Thanks for the info.