[ubuntu-uk] Diagnosing Faulty HDD

[Jon Reynolds]

Liam,

Thanks for this detailed advise! I will try these things out. Wish I had
the actual tower to hand now so I could sort it all out...

Well at least I can determine if it is a disk problem or not.

Thanks again,

-- 
Thanks and regards,

Jon Reynolds (j0nr)
----------------------------
http://www.jcrdevelopments.com

On Wed, November 30, 2011 14:21, Liam Proven wrote:
>
> The best way to fix a Windows disk is using Windows, just the same as
> the best way to fix a Linux disk is using Linux.
>
> I've tried NTFSFIX. It can repair some minor problems but for /repair/
> you're better off with the real thing. For data /recovery/ Linux is
> fine and possibly better than Windows, which won't mount
> badly-corrupted drives.
>
> Yes, you can put it in an external case, that should work. For such
> things, I use an assortment of cheapo external drive adaptor cables,
> such as this:
>
> <http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/22651479/Trixes-2-5-3-5-SATA-IDE-To-USB-Adapter-Cable-For-Hard-Disk-HDD/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccat:22651479%7Cprd:22651479>
> (This was just the first one Froogle found - it's not a recommendation
> or endorsement for Play.com, although I've heard they're good. Never
> used them myself.)
>
> If you have the disk space, before doing anything to the drive, *back
> it up.*  Either take a whole-disk image, either using DD to a file or
> using something like PartImage, or use CloneZilla and copy it to
> another (same size or larger) drive.
>
> *Then* and only then:
>
> If you have Windows XP or newer on the system, run CHKDSK.
>
> If you don't have WinXP, you can use the freely-downloadable Windows 7
> Recovery CD. It's an ISO. It won't let you install Win7 but you can
> repair Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7 hard disks using it. Get it from
> here:
> http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/
>
> Connect the drive, find its drive letter (e.g. drive E) and type:
>
> CHKDSK E: /F
>
> This will repair /data\-level/ corruption.
>
> If the drive is phyiscally damaged and unreadable, try:
>
> CHKDSK E: /R
>
> This *will* take a long time - it tries to reread every single sector.
>
> To be honest, the symptoms you describe don't sound like mere disk
> corruption to me. It sounds like a more serious hardware fault.
> Overheating is a very common problem on older PCs.
>
> The first thing I'd do, after backing up any data, would be to give
> the machine a really good clean, especially its fans, using an
> airduster (a can of compressed air). Make sure all its fans spin
> smoothly, are as dust-free as you can get them, and that the vanes and
> fins of the CPU and GPU heatsinks are free of dust and allow
> unobstructed airflow.
>
> Leave it plugged in to the mains but with the mains socket turned
> *off* while doing this. This means it's earthed so static buildup
> should not be a problem.
>
> --
> Liam Proven • Info & profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/lproven
> Email: lproven at cix.co.uk • GMail/GoogleTalk/Orkut: lproven at gmail.com
> Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 • Cell: +44 7939-087884 • Fax: + 44 870-9151419
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>