Missing secondary internal hard drive... HELP!

[slugger7]

I've recently uninstalled itunes. When i restarted my PC i noticed that my internal secondary drive was missing. Reboot and still nothing. Powerdown wait 30 sec and swjtch back on: still missing. I finally opened it up unplugged it and replugged it and it found it again.

I then rebooted again and again it was missing repeated steps above same result.

Dont know what to do ant its a hassle to open it up every time.
Windows 7 ultimate. Sata Seagate barracuda 2tb

 

[TVeblen]

The first thing I would try is uninstalling ITunes and then performing a System Restore to a date before you installed ITunes.

See if that clears up the hard drive problem, then deal with the ITunes installation problem.

 

[rubyrubyroo]

Greetings Slugger,

if and only if TVeblem's suggestion happens to not prove productive, I ask you:

So is BIOS not recognizing it, or is windows not finding it?

Also Have you (while grounded properly!) touched or held the drive at power-up/down to see if it is a possible power issue internal to the HDD or external to the cord(s)

Mike

 

[Corazon]

The first thing I would try is uninstalling ITunes and then performing a System Restore to a date before you installed ITunes.

See if that clears up the hard drive problem, then deal with the ITunes installation problem.

He said he already uninstalled it and that's when trouble started... (still, your suggestion is valid)

 

[scrooge]

if your bios finds it then look at your disk manger and see if it's there.

scrooge

 

[rubyrubyroo]

hmm he was online an hour ago and the same type question was asked several times along with others and a correction. and no reply.. could have lost interest or fixed without replying.

Any updates or questions Slugger7? We'd be glad to help.

Mike

 

[slugger7]

It cant be the power cable or the cable as it works when i unplug and replug i even used diffrent cables and still the same problem.
I've noticed that my bios takes longer to startup and is searching for the drive but doesent and just goes through its steps.

 

[scrooge]

is there any way you can test the drive on another computer?
maybe it's the drive going bad.

scrooge

 

[slugger7]

I could try putting it in a external case and running it. If that could prove anything.
Ill let you know on the results when I've got more time though.

 

[TVeblen]

If you suspect the hard drive might be failing you should download the drive manufacturer's diagnostic tool and run it (Seagate SeaTools). That will tell you if there is something physically wrong with the drive. Afterward we will have a better idea on how to proceed.

The iTunes UN-installation (yes, I completely missed that) may be just a coincidental occurrence.

 

[rubyrubyroo]

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

 

[slugger7]

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.

 

[rubyrubyroo]

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

 

[slugger7]

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.

 

[rubyrubyroo]

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

 

[slugger7]

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

 

[rubyrubyroo]

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 rb:; 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 rb:; 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

 

[slugger7]

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

 

[rubyrubyroo]

looking back at the initial issue (and assuming they both share the same cause!) it seems odd that the only difference was unplugging the power cord from the HDD then reconnecting it, when there should be no current in the cord at that point. Similarly the shutdown/unplug/replug procedure would result in being sure there is no power applied to the drive vs. restart, where the drive maintains power throughout the entire process. But, If you have no way of testing it, I guess that could be a pricey "hunch" !

As far as the ext. drive, I thought it was a ext. drive "case" being used to test your drive under a different set of "offline" conditions (powered by wall adapter + data connected through USB interface)

Mike

 

[TVeblen]

Make sure you check this setting:

Go to Control Panel > Power Options > click on your current Power Plan: Change Plan Settings > click on Change Advanced Power Settings > expand the listing for Hard Disk > expand Turn Off Hard Disk After > and be sure the option selected is "Never".
Then test to see if that makes any difference.