Missing secondary internal hard drive... HELP!

is there still any important data on the drive, that has not been backed up? If there is, I'd rec retrieving all you can with the one way you can get it to work, because the mfgr HDD test apps often preform stress tests that might just throw the fatal blow to the whole thing.

Mike

Ok ive downloaded the seatools for windows and on running the Long Generic test. It faild so the itunes was just coincedental.
Thanx alot for everyones help i realy appreciate it.

Congrats, on finding the problem, hope you didn't lose any important data!

I don't know how old the drive is, but might it be under warranty?

Sincerely,
Mike

Yes luckily it is. I bought it like 9 months ago. Thats y these problems were so strange but going to make another backup and take it in.

Wonderful! Yes I always make 2 bkups for my stuff and my clients (as well as try to use two different mass storage mediums...say a flash drive and a external HDD, or an online backup svc and a DVD...whatever! It greatly improves your odds of not realizing next week theres a neodymium magnet stuck to the side of your handy-dandy ext. spindle HDD for instance!) And using two different backup apps or methods helps too just depends on the importance of your data.

Congrats again,
Mike

Ok well the hard drive realy had a problem but this new hard drive that I've also scanned with SeaTools isn't doing it as often as the previous one. Restarting doesn't work. It has to be a shut down and then power up.

Could this then be a motherboard related problem?

Sent from my HTC Desire S

Hello Slugger,

Sorry to hear your still having problems! Was the machine fixed under the manufacturer's warranty or a service plan, such as Geek Squad's Black Tie service plan (I think thats the correct name)? Either way on such a new system, unless you've been giving it a good kick to the side when you get frustrated with it :), I would take it back to get it fixed again - as painful as it might be to be without your system!

In the case of the latter (paid service plan) Geek Squad and some other companies offer a third time replacement or "no lemons" guarantee, where they'll give a new one or "comparable" replacement. If it were the MOBO, the new HDD, the PSU or even something completely unrelated causing a conflict, it should have not been returned to you without being fixed!

Now, if it was the mfgr's warranty and it's a software issue - I doubt anything short of a problem they caused when they fixed it would be covered.

Honestly, that's the easiest way to fix it, especially in light of the fact that you DID pay for the warranty - either separately or as a portion of the total cost of your computer - so get your money's worth out of it! (Sometimes you have to demand satisfaction to get them to do their job correctly and thoroughly.)

As far as looking into it yourself, Check the Event Viewer: [Click ; Type eventvwr.msc; Press Enter.] Look through the events leading up to, as well as after a KNOWN time that a "restart" rendered the drive unaccessible and note any critical/error or other relevant event's. I would then repeat this with the "shut down & unplug" method you mentioned, where the drive becomes a valid, working drive, and then compare the two sets of events for any anomalies.

Also keep an eye on Device Management: [Click ; Type devmgmt.msc; Press Enter.] Watch both the Drive itself and the drive's controllers. The drive may show up as "Other Devices" when it is not working correctly, under certain circumstances.

As long as it will not void your warranty to open the case (they'll usually use "Void" tape to determine this, so look for any type of tape first, and proceed at your own [warranty's] risk!), you could remove the drive and test it offline again with SeaTools (using USB connection) - or did you do that already, I was unclear from your post, esp. about the results.

I would probably tend to lean toward either the hard drive being a defective one (attributed to poor quality control or components - and hopefully not some root cause in your system!) or my original suspected cause, the Power supply. It would be nice if you had another, somewhat similar system to swap PSU's with to help rule that in or out!

Good luck,
Mike :)

Well i highly doubt that it is the power supply seeing as i also got it this year. I service my PC on my own. As i dont trust other people fiddling with my stuff. Had to pay alot once for their mistakes.

It is an internal hard drive and as i said its new the previouse one had a fault. But has been replaced. It cant be the hard drive. I've ruled out sata cables and sata ports ruled out the power supply by using diffrent cable ports on it.

My computer has no warrantee except the individual components.

There is no problems with external hard drives.

Ill be sending it in. Hopefully that idiot can fix the problem.

Sent from my HTC Desire S