Can't boot. Trying recovery console. How long to 'examine disk'?

Bill Cook

Yesterday, my system blue-screened. I'm trying to at least see if I can run
chkdsk or look at directories by running the recovery console. (Already
tried safe mode and other boot possibilities).

It's been displaying 'Examining 238473 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on
atapi...' for more than 12 hours now. I don't see the drive light flashing.
I know that the drive is pretty big, but when do I give up and try something
else? ...and what else do I try??

Malke

Bill Cook wrote:

> Yesterday, my system blue-screened. I'm trying to at least see if I can
> run
> chkdsk or look at directories by running the recovery console. (Already
> tried safe mode and other boot possibilities).
>
> It's been displaying 'Examining 238473 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on
> atapi...' for more than 12 hours now. I don't see the drive light
> flashing. I know that the drive is pretty big, but when do I give up and
> try something
> else? ...and what else do I try??

You give up now. I certainly would have done so hours ago. Without knowing
what the blue screen said (Stop Error) I can only guess that your hard
drive (or some other hardware component) is failing.

You know your own skills best to decide whether you do hardware
troubleshooting yourself or take the machine to a competent local
professional (not a BigComputerStore type of place).

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers

Don't Panic!

Anna

"Bill Cook" <Bill > wrote in message
news:...
> Yesterday, my system blue-screened. I'm trying to at least see if I can
> run
> chkdsk or look at directories by running the recovery console. (Already
> tried safe mode and other boot possibilities).
>
> It's been displaying 'Examining 238473 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on
> atapi...' for more than 12 hours now. I don't see the drive light
> flashing.
> I know that the drive is pretty big, but when do I give up and try
> something
> else? ...and what else do I try??


Bill:
While it does sound like a defective HDD why don't you at least check it out
with the diagnostic utility that's generally available from the website of
the disk's manufacturer? Depending upon the results we can go on from there.
Anna

Bill Cook

Thank you, Malke. I'm looking into some local shops. I've also contacted
the HD vendor (Anna's suggestion), to see if there are any diagnostics that I
might be able to run beforehand.

"Malke" wrote:

> Bill Cook wrote:
>
> > Yesterday, my system blue-screened. I'm trying to at least see if I can
> > run
> > chkdsk or look at directories by running the recovery console. (Already
> > tried safe mode and other boot possibilities).
> >
> > It's been displaying 'Examining 238473 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on
> > atapi...' for more than 12 hours now. I don't see the drive light
> > flashing. I know that the drive is pretty big, but when do I give up and
> > try something
> > else? ...and what else do I try??
>
> You give up now. I certainly would have done so hours ago. Without knowing
> what the blue screen said (Stop Error) I can only guess that your hard
> drive (or some other hardware component) is failing.
>
> You know your own skills best to decide whether you do hardware
> troubleshooting yourself or take the machine to a competent local
> professional (not a BigComputerStore type of place).
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP
> Elephant Boy Computers
>
> Don't Panic!
>

Bill Cook

Thank you, Anna. I've contacted the vendor to see if there are any
diagnostics that I might be able to run before taking it to the shop. (Worst
case, the vendor will 'only' charge $1400 USD to get the data back - ouch!)

"Anna" wrote:

>
> "Bill Cook" <Bill > wrote in message
> news:...
> > Yesterday, my system blue-screened. I'm trying to at least see if I can
> > run
> > chkdsk or look at directories by running the recovery console. (Already
> > tried safe mode and other boot possibilities).
> >
> > It's been displaying 'Examining 238473 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on
> > atapi...' for more than 12 hours now. I don't see the drive light
> > flashing.
> > I know that the drive is pretty big, but when do I give up and try
> > something
> > else? ...and what else do I try??
>
>
> Bill:
> While it does sound like a defective HDD why don't you at least check it out
> with the diagnostic utility that's generally available from the website of
> the disk's manufacturer? Depending upon the results we can go on from there.
> Anna
>
>
>

Malke

Bill Cook wrote:

> Thank you, Malke. I'm looking into some local shops. I've also contacted
> the HD vendor (Anna's suggestion), to see if there are any diagnostics
> that I might be able to run beforehand.
>

That's a wise move. If the hard drive is damaged, no local company is going
to be able to retrieve your data. It will require a professional data
recovery company such as Drive Savers (my preference) or Seagate Data
Recovery or the like. In that case, $1400 is the middle range of what you
can expect to pay.



Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers

Don't Panic!

Bill Cook

Anna,

Last night, I ran the SeaTools diagnostic (both the short and long tests)
and both passed, so it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue.

In the next couple of days, I'm going to invest in a USB case and new drive
to use as a backup. If I'm able to read my problem drive's data via the USB
case, I'll back up the data by shuttling it to the new drive little by little
with my laptop as the intermediary. After I have my data in two places, I'll
be more confident about trying other things (running chkdsk, doing a repair
install, etc).

I'll keep you posted, and thanks again for the help so far,

Bill

"Anna" wrote:

>
> "Bill Cook" <Bill > wrote in message
> news:...
> > Yesterday, my system blue-screened. I'm trying to at least see if I can
> > run
> > chkdsk or look at directories by running the recovery console. (Already
> > tried safe mode and other boot possibilities).
> >
> > It's been displaying 'Examining 238473 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on
> > atapi...' for more than 12 hours now. I don't see the drive light
> > flashing.
> > I know that the drive is pretty big, but when do I give up and try
> > something
> > else? ...and what else do I try??
>
>
> Bill:
> While it does sound like a defective HDD why don't you at least check it out
> with the diagnostic utility that's generally available from the website of
> the disk's manufacturer? Depending upon the results we can go on from there.
> Anna
>
>
>

Anna

>>
>> "Bill Cook" <Bill > wrote in message
>> news:...
>> > Yesterday, my system blue-screened. I'm trying to at least see if I
>> > can
>> > run
>> > chkdsk or look at directories by running the recovery console.
>> > (Already
>> > tried safe mode and other boot possibilities).
>> >
>> > It's been displaying 'Examining 238473 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on
>> > atapi...' for more than 12 hours now. I don't see the drive light
>> > flashing.
>> > I know that the drive is pretty big, but when do I give up and try
>> > something
>> > else? ...and what else do I try??


> "Anna" wrote:
>> Bill:
>> While it does sound like a defective HDD why don't you at least check it
>> out
>> with the diagnostic utility that's generally available from the website
>> of
>> the disk's manufacturer? Depending upon the results we can go on from
>> there.
>> Anna


"Bill Cook" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Anna,
> Last night, I ran the SeaTools diagnostic (both the short and long tests)
> and both passed, so it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue.
>
> In the next couple of days, I'm going to invest in a USB case and new
> drive
> to use as a backup. If I'm able to read my problem drive's data via the
> USB
> case, I'll back up the data by shuttling it to the new drive little by
> little
> with my laptop as the intermediary. After I have my data in two places,
> I'll
> be more confident about trying other things (running chkdsk, doing a
> repair
> install, etc).
>
> I'll keep you posted, and thanks again for the help so far,
>
> Bill


Bill:
Glad to hear it appears the HDD is non-defective. Hopefully you'll be able
to access its contents through the course of action you've indicated. In
that vein please consider the following approach...

Now that you'll have a USB external enclosure and another HDD at your
disposal that ultimately will be (hopefully) used as part of a routine
backup system, consider purchasing a disk-cloning or disk-imaging program
which you could use systematically to backup the complete contents of your
day-to-day internal HDD. So that you will always have at hand a reasonably
up-to-date backup of the *complete* contents of your internal HDD, including
the OS, all your programs & applications, all your user-created data, etc.
So should a similar problem as the one you're currently experiencing raise
its ugly head again you would have the wherewithal to easily resurrect your
system to a bootable functional state with all programs & data intact. It's
hard to imagine a better backup system, right?

Should you decide to go that route you might want to consider another
approach to return your present internal HDD to a bootable, functional state
at this point in time

1. Install the new HDD in its USB external enclosure. (I'm assuming these
will be separate components which I think is a good idea rather than a
commercial one-piece unit. If you're using SATA HDDs or plan to use one in
your current system, purchase an enclosure that provides SATA connectivity
(usually through a eSATA port) in addition to USB connectivity. The
difference in cost is minimal).

2. Using a disk-cloning program (presumably you would be using the bootable
"Startup Disk" (CD) which contains the disk-cloning program and which
virtually all disk-cloning programs allow you to create), clone the contents
of your problem Seagate HDD to the new HDD in its external enclosure.

3. Knowing that you now have a precise copy of your internal HDD, you can
feel free to run a Repair install on your internal HDD and/or use other
approaches, e.g., chkdsk, sfc /scannow, etc. to see if you can return the
problem drive to a bootable, functional state.
Anna

Bill Cook

Anna,

I'll take your advice and purchase some cloning software along with the new
drive and SATA/USB case tomorrow. I'm assuming that Acronis True Image Home
will do.

Tonight, I tried booting from the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows, just to see
if I could see data on the drive, but it couldn't read the C drive - said it
was corrupt. We'll see what happens when I try to clone the drive and then
try running other tools.

Thanks for hanging in there with me...

Bill

"Anna" wrote:

>
> >>
> >> "Bill Cook" <Bill > wrote in message
> >> news:...
> >> > Yesterday, my system blue-screened. I'm trying to at least see if I
> >> > can
> >> > run
> >> > chkdsk or look at directories by running the recovery console.
> >> > (Already
> >> > tried safe mode and other boot possibilities).
> >> >
> >> > It's been displaying 'Examining 238473 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on
> >> > atapi...' for more than 12 hours now. I don't see the drive light
> >> > flashing.
> >> > I know that the drive is pretty big, but when do I give up and try
> >> > something
> >> > else? ...and what else do I try??
>
>
> > "Anna" wrote:
> >> Bill:
> >> While it does sound like a defective HDD why don't you at least check it
> >> out
> >> with the diagnostic utility that's generally available from the website
> >> of
> >> the disk's manufacturer? Depending upon the results we can go on from
> >> there.
> >> Anna
>
>
> "Bill Cook" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > Anna,
> > Last night, I ran the SeaTools diagnostic (both the short and long tests)
> > and both passed, so it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue.
> >
> > In the next couple of days, I'm going to invest in a USB case and new
> > drive
> > to use as a backup. If I'm able to read my problem drive's data via the
> > USB
> > case, I'll back up the data by shuttling it to the new drive little by
> > little
> > with my laptop as the intermediary. After I have my data in two places,
> > I'll
> > be more confident about trying other things (running chkdsk, doing a
> > repair
> > install, etc).
> >
> > I'll keep you posted, and thanks again for the help so far,
> >
> > Bill
>
>
> Bill:
> Glad to hear it appears the HDD is non-defective. Hopefully you'll be able
> to access its contents through the course of action you've indicated. In
> that vein please consider the following approach...
>
> Now that you'll have a USB external enclosure and another HDD at your
> disposal that ultimately will be (hopefully) used as part of a routine
> backup system, consider purchasing a disk-cloning or disk-imaging program
> which you could use systematically to backup the complete contents of your
> day-to-day internal HDD. So that you will always have at hand a reasonably
> up-to-date backup of the *complete* contents of your internal HDD, including
> the OS, all your programs & applications, all your user-created data, etc.
> So should a similar problem as the one you're currently experiencing raise
> its ugly head again you would have the wherewithal to easily resurrect your
> system to a bootable functional state with all programs & data intact. It's
> hard to imagine a better backup system, right?
>
> Should you decide to go that route you might want to consider another
> approach to return your present internal HDD to a bootable, functional state
> at this point in time
>
> 1. Install the new HDD in its USB external enclosure. (I'm assuming these
> will be separate components which I think is a good idea rather than a
> commercial one-piece unit. If you're using SATA HDDs or plan to use one in
> your current system, purchase an enclosure that provides SATA connectivity
> (usually through a eSATA port) in addition to USB connectivity. The
> difference in cost is minimal).
>
> 2. Using a disk-cloning program (presumably you would be using the bootable
> "Startup Disk" (CD) which contains the disk-cloning program and which
> virtually all disk-cloning programs allow you to create), clone the contents
> of your problem Seagate HDD to the new HDD in its external enclosure.
>
> 3. Knowing that you now have a precise copy of your internal HDD, you can
> feel free to run a Repair install on your internal HDD and/or use other
> approaches, e.g., chkdsk, sfc /scannow, etc. to see if you can return the
> problem drive to a bootable, functional state.
> Anna
>
>
>

Anna

>> "Bill Cook" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>> > Anna,
>> > Last night, I ran the SeaTools diagnostic (both the short and long
>> > tests)
>> > and both passed, so it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue.
>> >
>> > In the next couple of days, I'm going to invest in a USB case and new
>> > drive to use as a backup. If I'm able to read my problem drive's data
>> > via >> > the USB case, I'll back up the data by shuttling it to the new
>> > drive little by
>> > little with my laptop as the intermediary. After I have my data in two
>> > places, I'll be more confident about trying other things (running
>> > chkdsk,
>> > doing a repair install, etc).
>> >
>> > I'll keep you posted, and thanks again for the help so far,
>> >
>> > Bill


> "Anna" wrote:
>> Bill:
>> Glad to hear it appears the HDD is non-defective. Hopefully you'll be
>> able
>> to access its contents through the course of action you've indicated. In
>> that vein please consider the following approach...
>>
>> Now that you'll have a USB external enclosure and another HDD at your
>> disposal that ultimately will be (hopefully) used as part of a routine
>> backup system, consider purchasing a disk-cloning or disk-imaging
>> program which you could use systematically to backup the complete
>> contents of your day-to-day internal HDD. So that you will always have at
>> hand a reasonably up-to-date backup of the *complete* contents of your
>> internal HDD, including the OS, all your programs & applications, all
>> your
>> user-created data, etc.
>>
>> So should a similar problem as the one you're currently experiencing
>> raise
>> its ugly head again you would have the wherewithal to easily resurrect
>> your
>> system to a bootable functional state with all programs & data intact.
>> It's
>> hard to imagine a better backup system, right?
>>
>> Should you decide to go that route you might want to consider another
>> approach to return your present internal HDD to a bootable, functional
>> state
>> at this point in time
>>
>> 1. Install the new HDD in its USB external enclosure. (I'm assuming these
>> will be separate components which I think is a good idea rather than a
>> commercial one-piece unit. If you're using SATA HDDs or plan to use one
>> >> in your current system, purchase an enclosure that provides SATA
>> connectivity (usually through a eSATA port) in addition to USB
>> connectivity. >> The difference in cost is minimal).
>>
>> 2. Using a disk-cloning program (presumably you would be using the
>> bootable "Startup Disk" (CD) which contains the disk-cloning program and
>> >> which virtually all disk-cloning programs allow you to create), clone
>> the
>> contents of your problem Seagate HDD to the new HDD in its external
>> enclosure.
>>
>> 3. Knowing that you now have a precise copy of your internal HDD, you can
>> feel free to run a Repair install on your internal HDD and/or use other
>> approaches, e.g., chkdsk, sfc /scannow, etc. to see if you can return the
>> problem drive to a bootable, functional state.
>> Anna


"Bill Cook" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Anna,
>
> I'll take your advice and purchase some cloning software along with the
> new
> drive and SATA/USB case tomorrow. I'm assuming that Acronis True Image >
> Home will do.
>
> Tonight, I tried booting from the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows, just to
> see
> if I could see data on the drive, but it couldn't read the C drive - said
> it
> was corrupt. We'll see what happens when I try to clone the drive and
> then
> try running other tools.
>
> Thanks for hanging in there with me...
>
> Bill


Bill:
As a general proposition you're making a wise choice re purchasing a disk
cloning program - one you'll never regret.

Obviously at this point when you clone the problem HDD to another HDD you'll
be (in effect) "cloning garbage to garbage". But in this case it's the
appropriate way to go since no matter what happens during the time you try
to resurrect that problem HDD (perhaps even making matters worse!), you'll
always have a precise copy of the drive as it now exists. It's a methodology
we nearly always employ in cases like this.

As to the disk cloning program...

The Acronis True Image program is a fine program and you should definitely
give it a try, especially since a full trial version is available at the
Acronis site.

The disk cloning program that we greatly prefer is the Casper 5 program. As
a disk-to-disk cloning program that will be used (as it should be) as a
comprehensive routine backup program, we find it superior to the Acronis
program for a variety of reasons. I can provide more info about that program
if you want.

In any event there is a trial version of the Casper 5 program available.
While it's slightly crippled it should give you a good idea of its
capability and you can compare it with the ATI program. You can download it
from...

Anna