Has trouble accessing drive after a few hours and then it gets worse

[biloxitech]

The computer is a gateway. The hard drive is upside down at the top of the case.

What it does: It will be on a while and then give you the "unable to access drive" blue screen. Then it gets worse. Turning off the computer and letting it sit doesn't help. It is as worse as it was when it was turned off.

I turned off all the power management but the original hard drive would not even run scandisk in safe mode. Replaced the hard drive, and ended up having to keep the power management off. The new hard drive has the ATA cable it requires and is in good shape. It ran scandisk in safe mode and didn't even hiccup. Even after showing the same symptoms as the old hard drive when power managament was enabled.

Now, after being back home a day or two it isn't working again. Could this be a heat issue? What are the "normal" symptoms for over heating on hard drives? I tested the IDE controller and it looks good. Could it be a controller issue that I couldn't find? Or is there a third possiblity I haven't looked at?

 

[cdogg]

It definitely sounds like a heat problem to me, especially if it's with a hard drive that works fine at first but fails later.

Have you tried the new hard drive in a different system to see if the same systems occur?

 

[cdogg]

sorry, I meant symptoms not systems
X-)

 

[biloxitech]

I replaced the drive. (See original post)

I realize it sounds like it is overheating problem and it could be. But I am looking for symptoms of overheating of hard drives so I know what to look for in the future. I know when video cards overheat, the computer locks and you have to reboot. But in this instance the BSoD (Blue Screen of Death) will go away when you hit a key and Windows will continue.

 

[cdogg]

So, the problem only occurs when power management is on, correct?

I realized from your first post that you replaced the hard drive. That's why I asked if you had the opportunity to try it in another system to see if the same problem occurs. That would rule out hardware versus software...

 

[biloxitech]

Yes, it occured when power management was on.

Both drives have the same software. The second drive is a ghost of the first.

 

[cdogg]

If it doesn't occur when power management is on, then I doubt it's a hardware problem. Look into changing around power management settings in both Windows and the BIOS and see if it makes a difference. Even try or disable it in the BIOS altogether and let Windows handle it (or vice versa).

If nothing seems to work, look into BIOS upgrades that have dealt with this issue. That's probably the root of your problem...

 

[cdogg]

darn, did it again! That last post should have started:
"If it doesn't occur when power management is on off, "

I've got to take a break! |-I

 

[biloxitech]

That's what I thought too. I disabled all of it. The new hard drive ran fine here. But it started acting up again after it got home. It is possible it was reenabled. But I was hoping there was a possibility I was missing.

 

[Jakespeare]

Sounds like bunk Gateway software.
YOu don't have GOBACK on their, do you ?

 

[biloxitech]

Yes, it does have GO BACK. I haven't seen any problems caused by GO BACK except it acts like an overlay when you try to access the drive via a boot floppy. What kinds of problems does it cause?