Need Help: My hard disk is shrinking

[Gryffindorian]

It's probably easier to go with the CD, but we don't have a CD writer here in the office. I'll be sure to hit <F2> later to get to the BIOS settings. Thanks. Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[Gryffindorian]

Update: I tried starting the PC using the Ubuntu saved on my USB flash drive. I specified the boot sequence to USB drive. When my computer started and read the USB, I got a message saying "No bootable partition in table," whatever that means. It looks at least like it can read the USB drive, but it doesn't recognize Ubuntu. At this rate, the system doesn't even read the CD_ROM drive where the Windows install CD is located.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Ubuntu won't work on your flash drive unless you specifically set it up as a live USB installation (including the proper formatting/partitioning.)

If you have access to another computer, follow the directions here to create the USB Ubuntu installation.

Given the symptoms you are experiencing, though, I would not expect Ubuntu to be any more stable or functional. You are most likely experiencing hardware failures, not software.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Okay, right now I got it to start using the CDROM drive. I'm trying system repair/restore.

 

[Gryffindorian]

All attempts to Repair or Restore the system using the Vista install CD have failed. Upon restart, I get either the "blue screen of death" (System Memory Dump) or a blank screen with the system standing by or idle; in which case, I'm prompted to do a manual shutdown.

However, I've been able to log in using Safe Mode. I'm going to download Ubuntu and burn a CD, then see what happens next.

If this is a software-related problem, I'm thinking about doing a completely clean install. Fortunately for me, I recently backed up all my personal files and documents, so I've nothing important to lose. Having said that, I have two hard drives (a bootable C drive and a data drive designated "R"). If I wanted to install Windows Vista (or Windows 7 Home Premium), would I be able to install it on my "R" drive and make it my bootable drive?

If, as you say, the problem is hardware-related, how do I troubleshoot it and figure out what's the problem? Thanks.


Edit: Using my brother's laptop, I successfully created an Ubuntu Live CD. I then used it to try to boot up my pc. Well, I got as far as the Ubuntu menu, but I've gotta say I'm not really familiar with this application, having used only Windows OS all these decades. What an odd program, I thought. All it did was list the folders and subfolders and the files (e.g., MP3's, Word documents, videos, etc.) within them without really "opening" the files when I double-clicked on them. I tried even accessing the Internet but had no idea how to do that; to be honest, I didn't know at all what to expect from this program.

I'm still not sure at this point whether the problem is hardware or software-related. At least it's been established that Ubuntu is able to boot up the PC in a non-Windows environment.

 

[Jadzia]

If ubuntu run stable, then your ram, motherboard, power supply and optical drive are probably okay.

The status of your graphics card is unknown, because ubuntu might avoid using hardware acceleration if it detects the card is faulty. But I think you could proceed on the assumption that your graphics card is also probably okay.

The page fault error you talked about is a rather broad error, but it means that data is not where it is supposed to be in either physical/virtual memory.

A hardware fault can cause this error as it corrupts/looses data, (eg ram/graphics card) but a software error can do this too, such as an incompatible driver, damaged operating system files, or a corrupt hard disk partition.

So the next most likely candidate is your hard disk. It may be physically damaged and need replacing (eg, a bad sector, detectable with scandisk) or it may just be software corruption, in which case reinstalling windows should work. You wouldn't necessarily be able to tell which is the cause.

So if I were in this situation, I'd be inclined to purchase a new hard disk anyway.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Jadzia, I did run scan disk on my "C" drive, and as far as I could tell, it said "0 Found in Bad Sectors."

As I mentioned I have another internal hard drive (500 GB, not 1 TB as originally thought) that I wanted to use initially as a back-up disk, which I installed last year. Do you suppose I could swap it with my current "C" drive and see what happens?

EDIT:

What I'll do this weekend is re-image my PC and try reinstalling Vista or or upgrade to Windows 7. Failing that, I'll look into replacing my "C" drive (or graphics card).

 

[Jadzia]

If you haven't installed windows on your 500GB drive then it won't work as a boot drive. The boot process would halt with a "No bootable partition in table" message.

If you want to use this hard disk as a boot disk, then your windows needs to be installed upon it: Disconnect old drive. Connect new drive in it's place. Insert windows install CD. Power on. Wait for the installer to load, and follow instructions.

If you choose to repartition or reformat the drive during install, then you will lose any data stored upon it, which is something to be aware of before you start.


If you don't want to use your 500GB drive as your main disk, then you have the option of reformatting your old one and installing to it instead... although if it is faulty, then it may corrupt again in the near future.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Progress Update (Or Lack of Progress): Tonight I replaced the hard drive by removing the old 250 GB and installing the 500 GB in its place. I even borrowed Windows 7 installation CD from my nephew and tried installing it.

The computer rebooted automatically. Everything was running smoothly, and then I got a message saying "Drive 4 Not Found," so I pressed F2 to access the BIOS menu. I figured the installation hadn't been completed yet, and I let it complete the install process.

Upon start-up, BAM! The Blue Screen of Death appeared again with its usual Page Fault Error message. The machine restarted automatically, and I was prompted to hit F2, then Start Windows Normally (since there was no sense going to Safe Mode). The Windows logo appeared momentarily, only to be replaced by the Blue Screen of Death. And the whole vicious cycle repeated itself, until I got tired and shut down my PC for good.

Earlier today, my boss suggested that I take my PC to Best Buy's Geek Squad. He said he spent $100, and BB was able to fix the problem with his Dell computer one time. So now I'm wondering if I should just let BB look at my computer, or maybe I need to get the graphics card replaced, assuming that's what's the causing the problem. Thanks for your input.

 

[Jadzia]

Is the 'Drive 4 Not Found' message appearing regularly? Can you identify which device is Drive 4? ie, is it a hard disk, an optical drive, a card reader?

Once you've found it, is it possible to disconnect that device? Is the cable plugged in properly at both ends? Will the computer boot with this device disconnected?

 

[Gryffindorian]

All it says is Serial ATA, SATA 4, but it does pop up every time the computer starts. I've removed the big HD and replaced the old one, and it still displays the Drive 4 error. The hard drive, CDROM, USB appear to be all functioning well.

More importantly, the blue or blank screen is still appearing. My nephew and I tried installing a new graphics card and that didn't work, either. He mentioned some kind of startup failure when he checked the logs. Still working on it.

ETA:

He also noted a system boot driver error.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Update: My nephew worked on my PC for about 4 hours on Saturday, encountering the same error message and technical problem again and again. He believes when I removed one of the disk drives, it triggered the "Drive 4 Not Found, SATA 4" message upon startup, and it was looking for the missing drive. He did a disk scan on both hard drives but found no errors or irregularities. Today he's going to take one of them to work and run a utility program to further determine the problem.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Sorry to keep bringing this up, but hopefully this will be my last update.

So I finally took my PC to Best Buy on Thursday, 03/31, and paid them to do a diagnostic. The tech guy I spoke with initially said that the problem was either with the motherboard or the graphics card. I told him that I had previously tried to install a different/new graphics card, which didn't solve the problem.

Today I received a call from Geek Squad, saying that a diagnostic was performed and didn't reveal any problem with the system. The tech guy said they tried replacing my graphics card with something in store, and the computer worked just fine. When I told him about my previous attempt to do so, he only explained that the one I chose must've been defective. He recommended that I buy an NVIDIA 460 graphics card (doesn't have to be bought at their store) and either install it myself or pay them an extra $50 to do it. So tomorrow I'm off to Fry's Electronics to see if their price is better; in any case, I'll get a new video card and pick up my PC on the way.