HD technical help and Linux, sorry split topic

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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:27 am

Edit moved here from general ,,, oops

I have a quantum 10 Gb HD with most of my scambaiting stuff on,
Well, we had a power cut while I was using my pc and now when I power up the quantum drive clicks about 4 times and nothing else.
My system boots up on the maxtor boot drive but the quantum does not show either in dos or in windows.
As I really do not want to loose my scambaiting files, can anyone help me to recover the drive or files somehow ,,, help help Shocked

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:49 am

Hi DS !

At a guess, I'd say if it clicks and doesn't register as a drive, that the drive has failed. It's a bit unusual for a drive to fail and the identifier chip to fail simultaneously ( the identifier chip is the electronic chip that tells the computer what it is). Have you got a friend that can test it on another machine?

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:52 am

Hi Afferbecklauder,

Well so far I have tried it on 3 other machines, as slave as master and I have also tried a few disc recovery progs but nothing seems to be able to register and see the drive.
I have also checked the controller board, visually, and there are no signs of any damage there either,,, I really do not want to loose my files if it is at all possible to recover them Crying or Very sad

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:51 pm

You can try something like Ubuntu Linux. Create a live cd and boot your pc using it. Once on the desktop you might be able to see it in linux.

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 1:21 pm

Was it a power cut - or a power surge? Simple loss of power shouldn't have done permanent damage and I would suspect something else is going on. But power surge (lightning, perhaps?) could explain the damage to the drive and identifier simultaneously.

Were there any drivers you needed to install originally before using the drive? It is possible that those files got corrupted and a re-install on the PC could fix the problem. That's about all I can think of Confused

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 2:04 pm

What bearkat and OD said. Try Ubuntu and see if it sees the drive, but if it is clicking then the chances are slim. I am guessing a power surge happened also. If it is that important to you there are a few companies that will move the physical discs themselves to a new mount, but this is very expensive.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 72

Yeah, that sounds like what is referred to as the "click of death". As the previous poster mentioned, there are companies that may be able to recover your data, but you will have to pay.

EDIT: Does the drive show up in your BIOS? If so, you may be able to boot from a Linux CD and recover the files.

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 5:26 pm

Thanks to all for your replies Very Happy

The situstion was a power cut, there was no surge and after 20 minutes the power was restored and since then the drive just clicks but thats all and no it does not show up in the bios.

Ubuntu Linux??? I have never tried linux but if there is a chance it will help then I shall try it. I do have some technical knowledge but it doesn't quite go this far Crying or Very sad

and so far all else I have tried has failed.

EDIT: ok I am downloading the Ubuntu Linux, can I install next to win XP, ie multi boot, or do I have to install on a clean system ???

Not quite a Newb Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 72

Unfortunately, if it doesn't show up in BIOS, no OS will help you.

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 5:30 pm

That's what I was afraid of,,,, Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 7:20 pm

As others have said, it's unlikely to be everything gone at one. It could be the drive controller. One option is to get an identical drive off ebay or similar and change the drive controller (the circuit board on the bottom).

PS, you just reminded me to run a full system backup to my external drive

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 7:37 pm

Ubuntu can be run as a "live cd". That means you can run it from the cd without installing it and having all it's features. It's a neat way to try out an OS before you install it.

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:17 pm

@ eamon

I did try to get another quantum drive to try swapping the controller board but the only ones I found on ebay were in the USA and they would only ship inside the USA, bummer Crying or Very sad

oh well I guess it is goodbye data Crying or Very sad

@ OxygenDeprived

I have Ubuntu and I also now have knoppix and I have just used the knoppix live cd, wow I like the way it works but now I have another question,,,, I have always used windows but I am thinking about going over to Linux, is this a good idea

Really I know very little about linux and I would like to try it but can I run the games like unreal, quake 2004 ect, because if not then my son, who is 6, will not want me to use linux, also can I put linux onto my system with xp so my son and me are both happy Very Happy

Note to all, no OS flame war please Wink

this is a serious and honest question Cool

Not quite a Newb Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 59

I would agree with eamonn, if you can possibly find another identical drive, changing the circuit board might fix it. I've had drives fail before, and simply swapping the board got my data back.

See if any computer stores in your area might carry it. It'd be worth the expense, I think.

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:17 am

eamonn wrote:

As others have said, it's unlikely to be everything gone at one. It could be the drive controller. One option is to get an identical drive off ebay or similar and change the drive controller (the circuit board on the bottom).

This would be your best chance. If it should not work, you could try taking the "cd-disk" out of the broken HD and place it in a identical HD.

You could place the HD in a freezer for 40hr and then try it, it somethimes work Wink

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 4:00 am

Moved here from baiting help as it has nothing to do with baiting.

@Dark Spirit
This is off topic so don't all start answering this question. It should be reposted in another thread. Unless you want to change the topic and run both topics at the same time. You are the OP so it is your choice. I can move this if you want

Quote:

I have always used windows but I am thinking about going over to Linux, is this a good idea Question
Really I know very little about linux and I would like to try it but can I run the games like unreal, quake 2004 ect, because if not then my son, who is 6, will not want me to use linux, also can I put linux onto my system with xp so my son and me are both happy

Yes it is a very good idea. Do it as a dual boot. Those games may work with some work from you. WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) can be used to run windoz games but they are unsure. Try looking on their web pages for linux install instructions or google around. Linux is easy to use, much more powerful, will work right out of the box, and increases your safety on line. And did I mention it is free. Although, you can buy a package and get more step by step help in addition to on line support for a certain length of time.
I use Knoppix live for times when I need that ability. It is very good and I haven't found a situation it wouldn't run in. I tried Ubuntu once and didn't like it, but it seems have become the hot ticket lately. Use Mandriva on my laptop, and am soaking in it now. Runs great, less filling.

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:27 am

Dark Spirit wrote:

.....The situation was a power cut, there was no surge and after 20 minutes the power was restored....

Sorry to report it may well have been a surge - very often that's what happens in the split-second after reconnection to the grid.

A simple comparison is the build-up of pressure and initial surge you sometimes get when turning on a water tap.

The moral here is to invest a few dollars/pounds/euros/whatever in a Filter somewhere in your supply circuit. If you haven't got one of those at least disconnect all your expensive electronics (if you get the chance) during the power-downtime.

Sorry about the loss.... Crying or Very sad

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 2:48 pm

Also, a decent power supply goes a long way. Most people spend big $$$ for a super-fast CPU, bad-ass 3D card and gazillion terabyte HD, all in an illuminated plexiglass/alu case. Then they power the whole shebang with the cheapest power supply they can find. And if you want to buy a pre-built system, it really isn't that easy to find one with a quality PSU - mainly because it's not a sales argument such as CPU speed or memory.

What few people realize is that the power supply is the one single part with the potential to blow up everything else at once if it malfunctions.
When a quality PSU is asked for more power than it was built for, it will either deliver or shut down. It will also be able to handle the occasional power spike.
A cheap PSU's response to such events, on the other hand, can best be described as "bang".

As for the surge, I'm with viereinsneun here. Or it might also have been a lightning that first caused a surge and then the outage.

The "freezer" method is a great trick but from my experience it only works with CRC errors (i.e. the controller is okay but can't read the disk). But don't let me keep you from trying it. (Mind the condensed water though!)

Can you post the exact drive type here? In the admittedly unlikely event that I happen to stumble over a smiliar drive I'll be happy to ship it to you.

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:48 pm

@ DrWho

Quote:

Moved here from baiting help as it has nothing to do with baiting.

Bugger, I posted it in general chat first Laughing

then I moved it to the help forum coz of the technical bit Laughing

and now my head is hurting from all the thinking I had to do Laughing

Thanks for the great advice on linux DrWho, and as of tomorrow I will be downloading and installing it, as for my drive problem I will just keep on trying to get the data back somehow.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice Very Happy

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:43 am

Be careful when you try to dual boot. One error and you can mess up your windows too. Good idea to back up any important data on it first. If you are starting the drive from scratch, make sure to install xp first, then linux.

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:23 am

The errors you have to watch for is be sure that you do not format the wrong partition. Exclamation

Read the instructions twice and verify what you are clicking on 3 times. Then stop, then verify it again. I think most linux distros have the process built in by now so it is harder to make a mistake. The install process will push the windoz files on to the front of the disk then partition behind it. It can be done manually as well using the windoz defragment utility and fdisk, but you should know what you are doing. Or use Partition Magic. Don't format to NTFS; use native linux structure, ext2.

Also linux will install the boot loader (LILO or GRUB, I like GRUB. Much easier to use and various reasons a beginner wouldn't know about) in the boot partition (where you want it) but AFAIK all distros give you an option of where you want it. This can cause a problem if you make a mistake or don't see what you expect and panic. This is hard to mess up but it can happen. If you want to go back to the M$ boot loader; boot to a rescue disk or any windoz boot disk and at a command line type "fdisk /mbr" or "fixmbr" and enter. This will get you back to a single boot to windoz.

Just a point to remember: While in windoz you will not be able to read or access the linux partition. It will look like you don't have the full drive size, which you don't . M$ doesn't like you using linux. But you will be able to access your windoz partitions from linux.

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:46 am

Quote:

The errors you have to watch for is be sure that you do not format the wrong partition.

I once formatted the head of security's c drive at a major airport installing a new hard drive. I'd installed dozen in the field and simply pressed the "Y" when the display said are you sure? stupid computer course I'm sure ---

Oh ship, I quickly asked him how often he backed up, nope no backups Sad

I think he was going to have a heart attack he was all bright red and puffy
oops

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:02 am

On boy

I gotta take it SLOW then on the install, strange to think the big bad lads we bait don't scare me at all BUT this linux install duel boot thingy is giving me shivers already Laughing

Ok so , If I dissapear for a while, you will all know what happened to me Shocked

I will have killed my system and had to start all over again,,,,

Can anyone reccomend a good download site for knoppix Question

EDIT, Ok I found a site but there were 2 types, a CD or DVD download, what is the difference and which one is best

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

You get more stuff on the DVD. There's a packages.txt file in the same folder as the .iso that lists everything. The one for the DVD is much longer. Lot's of stuff is not necessarily a good thing, especially if you want a small Linux partition, but there's a possibility that what you want isn't on there. In my experience, once you've loaded Linux it is better to go to the Internet to add new applications anyway. (So long as you have broadband - or a lot of time.) That way you're always installing the latest version.

If you do have broadband, I can recommend Ubuntu; it's package management is great and you only get one of each type of application on the initial install, rather than loads of applications that you'll never use. Then you install all the bits and pieces that you're missing from the Internet - and that's a friendly process too. If I was starting again though, I'd use Kubuntu - the KDE printer stuff beats Gnome hands down. It's user interface is closer to Windows too, which may cut your learning curve.

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:37 am

Hey thud419

Thanks for the advice, wow there are so many versions and I do have broadband so no worries on time limits, as for my learning curve, I do have a fair bit of I.T. knowlwdge as far as windows goes but linux is a new frontier for me.

I do have one other question, If I have a live cd to boot from, can I also install it to the drive or is there another install version of it

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