Hard drive seek failure, does not boot

Vincenzo · Apr 30, 2012

I've got a Dell desktop that will not boot, gives the message Drive 0 Seek Failure.

I was able to boot to a linux disk and copy files, so the drive is spinning. I ran the built in Dell hard drive diagnostics, the hard drive passed. I also ran the Hitachi Drive Fitness test, and it passed.

I assume maybe it just needs some repair to the boot sector? Any suggestions what to try next?

Thanks

Vincenzo · Apr 30, 2012

I've found now that if I press the F1 key after it gives the seek failure message, that it will then boot. My friend told me that it was a dual boot system. But I only see XP on it (and there is only one partition.)

When I open up Disk Management, it does not show a C: drive or system drive, only shows removable drives. And it continues to give the seek failure message.

Any suggestions what I need to do to get this back to normal?

Thanks

Vincenzo · Apr 30, 2012

I just booted the Partition Wizard boot disk. It shows the status fo the drive as "None". If I right click and select Set Windows Boot Partition, it says "Failed to Find Windows directory". Which is odd since when I expand the drive entry in PW it shows the Windows directory. When I go up to the toolbar under Disk, all the options are greyed out.

gregrocker · Apr 30, 2012

If it cleared both of those HD Diagnostics then it should be good. Try running Disk Check.

After that if it persists I'd boot into System Recovery Options to run Startup Repair a few times. You can also use the Options Command Line to run the Disk Check if necessary.

Post back a Screen Shot of your maximized Disk Management drive map with listings using the Snipping Tool in Start Menu.

Vincenzo · Apr 30, 2012

Thanks for the help. I ran Disk Check, it did not help. Could not run Startup Repair, there is no sign of Vista on here even though the license on the side says Vista.

But more importantly, I am seeing that his antivirus detected the TDSS trojan and some other virii. I also am seeing redirection of web searches. I think it is best to re-install Windows. My friend is looking for his installation disks now.

Vincenzo · Apr 30, 2012

I've read reports that some viruses have managed to survive through a restoration back to factory default. The assumption was that it was hiding somewhere in the boot sector that was not re-written by the factory restore. So I ran the Partition Wizard boot disk and deleted all partitions on the disk, it is all unallocated now. Is it safe to assume that this would clear out the disk completely?

Thanks

gregrocker · Apr 30, 2012

The greater threat now is from infection getting into the BIOS. Otherwise the threat of infected code in the boot sector or otherwise remaining on the HD is low enough it isn't necessary to wipe it except for installation problems.

But since you have the PW boot CD you can always wipe HD from the Disk tab.

Vincenzo · May 2, 2012

I've reinstalled Windows, it is running good, with one issue. Upon boot, it still says Drive 0 Seek Failure. Then I press F1 and it goes ahead and boots just fine.

The hard drive shows up in the bios as the first boot device.

Any ideas?

Thanks

ripbox · May 2, 2012

Per chance do you have a USB storage device or disk in the drive..... sound to me like there is something that is attempting to boot before windows

Brds7t7 · May 2, 2012

gregrocker said:
The greater threat now is from infection getting into the BIOS. Otherwise the threat of infected code in the boot sector or otherwise remaining on the HD is low enough it isn't necessary to wipe it except for installation problems.

But since you have the PW boot CD you can always wipe HD from the Disk tab.

Viruses infecting the BIOS? I haven't heard of that before, sounds serious. How does that work Greg?

cyclic · May 2, 2012

Bios infecting virus (virii) first appeared many years ago, now they are more complicated to deal with, so we hope we don't get any.

gregrocker · May 2, 2012

Is there a newer BIOS version or HD firmware to install on the Dell Support Downloads webpage for your model?

If not try resetting the BIOS to defaults: Clear CMOS - 3 Ways to Clear the CMOS - Reset BIOS

Install CrystalDiskInfo - Software - Crystal Dew World to get the latest SMART readout on the HD.

Determine the HD make/model by looking at it or googling it's listing string in Device Manager, then run the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan to get a definitive result, followed by another Disk Check.

These tests can repair a HD however I would never depend upon it again, keep it backed up closely, and be shopping for a replacement.

Vincenzo · May 2, 2012

Greg,

Your suggestions motivated me to go poking around in the BIOS. I noticed that it seemed to be detecting a floppy drive, even though one did not exist. I found a setting to Disable Onboard FDC. Once I did that, the boot issue went away.

Thanks to all for your help, this computer is running quite nicely now.

Vincenzo · May 3, 2012

My friend tells me that the boot error only started occurring last week. Seems odd that the computer would suddenly start seeing a non existent floppy drive.

gregrocker · May 3, 2012

We regularly see problems with leftover Floppy drives, floppy listings in BIOS, even ghosts of floppy's removed. Some users don't even know what a floppy is.

Hard drive seek failure, does not boot

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