Can't partition IDE hard drive

[ajonate]

I have a 40 gig Seagate IDE hard drive, model ST340810A, that I can't get going. It won't seem to take a partition.

The BIOS detects the drive fine. I'm using a cable select cable with the jumper in the 'enable cable select' position.

Using the Seagate DiscWizard utility I am able to partition but Win98 fdisk can't see it. I have tried doing a zero write to the entire hard drive and partitioning again with DiscWizard, but fdisk still can't see a partition.

Once I did a zero write and format with DiscWizard, then then tried to install WinXP. XP formatted the drive (said it did anyway) and copied the files to the hard drive but the drive couldn't boot. Again, Win98 fdisk couldn't see a partition.

With the Win98 fdsik utility I try to set a primary DOS partition and it sits on verify drive at 0% and doesn't move.

I'm beginning to suspect a MBR virus. Any thoughts on how to revive this drive?

 

[G0AOZ]

I assume the motherboard BIOS correctly detects and identifies the drive.

For the sake of simplicity, I suggest that you have no other hard disks or CD-roms etc attached to the motherboard.

Boot up with a clean Windows 98 floppy boot disk and type FDISK /MBR then switch off.

Start up, reboot and try making a new partition of say 100Mb. If ok, then format it, and check machine will boot on the C:\> drive.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[rvnguy]

ajonate,

Using DiscWizard, did you partition as FAT32 ot NTFS?

If NTFS, then win98 fdisk is not going to see this partition.

If this is the only drive in this system, set the jumper to Master or single drive and locate the drive at the end connector(making sure that the longer end of the cable is connected to the mobo). Then try the Segate utils again.

If you are intending on installing XP, zero it out and set the drive partition as NTFS and then let the XP install format it.

I understand that you have been here before, but am not sure that all things are as they should be. Please do not mix OS utilities unless you are certian of what you are attempting to do. It only adds to the confusion.


rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[G0AOZ]

RVNGUY, good idea re the cable, jumpering, etc. However, I beg to differ re FDISK...

Windows 98 FDISK, Option 4 "Display partition information", will show the partition type even if it's NTFS.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[rvnguy]

G0AOZ,

Thanks for the correction. Win98 OS will not natively see the NTFS partition. Been too long since I have used 98.

Again Thanks for the catch.


rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[G0AOZ]

I know everything..I just can't remember it all". I get that increasingly too! No problem! Just wanted our poster AJONATE to have maximum options to help sort his hard drive...

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[edfair]

I'm getting a tingling here. Wasn't there a SE upgraded fdisk for large disk support?
If I recall correctly the earlier fdisk gave a non-dos partition type to NTFS partitions.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[ajonate]

Rvnguy, actually I have tried it with both NTFS and FAT32. No go either way.

I haven't done the 'fdisk /mbr' manually. I'll try that a little later and get back.

 

[ajonate]

I did a 'fdisk /mbr' from the win98 DOS prompt, but the cursor just blinks on the next line. It won't even return to a DOS prompt.

I didn't hold out much hope for doing the /mbr, since it is my understanding that zero writing the entire drive wipes out the master boot record anyway.

Any more ideas?

 

[wolluf]

fdisk /mbr writes a new master boot record - so doesn't matter if drive previously wiped.

Have you tried the drive in another machine? Have you ever had a drive working in this machine? (btw - what is the machine - just wondering if its got some sort of unusual IDE controller that 98 can't cope with). Have you tried the drive on the secondary controller?

 

[ajonate]

I'm certain at this point that I'm working with a BIOS virus. This has jumped to a second hard drive and then to a second machine.

Yes, the hard drives moth used to work fine in other machines.

The machine was running XP pro. The only BIOS virus I'm familiar with is the CIH virus, but that doesn't infect XP. Anyone know of a BIOS virus that goes after XP?

 

[wolluf]

Have you tried Googling 'bios virus'?

Have you tried flashing the bios? (ie, download clean bios update from mobo site...)

y r u sure its a bios virus?

 

[ajonate]

I'm not positive that this is a BIOS virus, but it appears to be at this point.

It started in one machine. When the dard drive was no longer bootable another hard drive was installed, that had WinXP on it and was operational. The secind hard drive was suddenly not bootable. The mainboard was thought to have a 'demon' and was discarded.

Thinking that the mainboard was the problem, the hard drive was tried in a different machine, with no success. A new hard drive with WinXP was installed in the new machine, and the drive was suddenly not bootable.

What we know:

1) It goes from the mainboard to hard drives.
2) It goes from hard drives to mainboards.

Sounds like a BIOS virus.

After googling I learned that there are BIOS viruses that affect XP. However there is some good news. Getting rid of the virus from the BIOS is easier, since these viruses reside in the CMOS memory. Just using the discharge jumper clears the virus.

Now the trick is to get it off the three hard drives. What I'm doing is this:

1) Clear the CMOS with the jumper.
2) Boot with a prepared Seagate disc utility CD (CD-R), with the hard drive plugged in.
3) Zero write the entire hard drive.
4) Power down.
5) Clear CMOS again.
6) Try to power up, fdisk and format.

Hopefully the zero write will get the virus before it jumps back to the CMOS.
3)

 

[firewolfrl]

Hmmm! almost sounds like a power issue. check the voltage at the wall outlet. spikes and power drops are harddrive killers.
also make sure the outlet is wired right.
BIOS virus is pretty farfetched.
though if you are having a computer issue and the motherboard frys the drive. that would make sense

 

[ajonate]

The stuff I tried above didn't help.

It can't be a power issue. There are other machines running in the same room that are fine, and I use a UPS anyway.

 

[firewolfrl]

then I would have to say you have a MB destroying the MBR of your hard drives....
But,
you already knew that...
sorry to say but I am stumped on this one

 

[wolluf]

If its a bios virus, and you've cleaned the bios, then you boot from a floppy or CD to wipe the drive, there's no way anything on the hard drive can go anywhere - no code is executed from that drive. So if you've written binary zeros to it - that in itself shows the drive is operational (and clean). Are you saying after this you can't run fdisk /mbr to write a new master boot record? And not fdisk either? But you can still get XP install to create and format partitions? - but it won't boot? This points to a problem with the IDE contoller - XP hasn't got drivers for it - and more unusually 98 can't cope with it either. I've just attempted to put XP on client's (ME) machine - also partitioned, formatted, copied files and even completed the installation (though with errors - basically no drivers for IDE devices). Then wouldn't boot.

What motherboard model is it? Have you checked out manufacturer's site for any details of it being unusual?

 

[ajonate]

Win98 fdisk & 'fdisk /mbr' won't work, and the winXP install can't format successfully. WinXP does seem to try formatting after I 'prepare the disk' for WinXP using the seagate disk utility, but can't write to the hard drive and reboot.

Yes, it does sound like a failed IDE controller. It is possible that the hard drive somehow corrupts the IDE controller. That would explain it seeming to 'jump' to the other mainboard. There are two different kinds of mainboards affected at this point.

 

[ajonate]

Note however that if the IDE controller is bad that it doesn't seem to effect the CD drives at all, and the system starts just fine from bootable CDs.

 

[wolluf]

What does the seagate disk utility do? I NEVER use third party utilities to prepare drives for windows installation, as there is a long history of problems (eg, slight differences in the way they write partition tables which cause problems later).

Has anybody ever installed an operating system onto a hard drive in this machine? I notice in your earlier post you say things like 'A new hard drive with WinXP was installed in the new machine, and the drive was suddenly not bootable.' - which suggests a pre-installed XP on the hard drive (which is asking for trouble in itself).

What I was suggesting was not a 'bad' IDE controller - just one which XP's (and 98) driver doesn't work for (ie, you'd need a third party driver to get it to work). I also suggested trying the drive on the secondary controller - in case primary was bad - but you've not repsonded to that.

a 'non-standard' controller would not affect booting from CD - as windows (and therefore its drivers) are not involved - just the bios - and that will obviously be setup for the controllers on the board!