Hard drive problems...

philiplg · Dec 14, 2008

Hard drive problems... (Corrupt/RAW?)

Well i got a new Sony VAIO laptop last thursday i think, came with windows vista 64bit pre-installed, however, after downloading updates, and Windows live messenger, the laptop just stopped working for about 10 minutes, i turned it off by holding power button down.

i booted it back up, and it took about 20minutes on the vista green bar loading thingy (technical, i know :P), i downloaded a Vista repair disk from a website, burnt it to a DVD, and started up.
I then tried chkdsk c: /r, and it got stuck at 10% for about 2 hours, then tried chkdsk c: /f /c /i, this got stuck at 23% for 7hours! i then tried chkdsk /r /c /i, still got stuck at 13%, not for a long time this time, i closed it, as i had the feeling it would be stuck there forever :P.

So today, i thought screw it, i didnt put anything on the laptop really... and tried format c:, encoutered bad sectors (2000 or so of them), so i then tried a CHKDSK again, this time it said, Disk type is RAW, and it could not run because of this.
So i then tried 'Convert c: /fs:NTFS' Again, unable to run because it cant convert RAW...

I've tried pretty much everything, i have a windows vista home premium install disk for my computer, but same options are available as the downloaded one.

So i dont mind if i loose all the data, i just really want to get the laptop back working.
Oh another thing is, i cant start windows normally, can only run the recovery/windows install disk. Any help is much appreciated.

judge1974 · Dec 14, 2008

With chkdsk running into issues, and it being a new laptop, any chance you can take it back to be repaired under warranty? Doesn't often happen out of the box, but could be a faulty HD and if it's only a few days old, would be under warranty

They can at least just re-image it too (hopefully)

lordbob75 · Dec 14, 2008

Judge's solution sounds like a good one. Try that first, and if they cant fix it or if they refuse, instead of formatting try a real wipe, using a program like DBAN (Boot and Nuke) which completely and irrevocably wipes your drive. Then try reinstalling Windows. However, if the actual HDD is bad, and HP refuses to fix it and you cant return it, then consider just buying a new HDD.

~Lordbob

bruce2 · Dec 14, 2008

Hi Philiplg, welcome to the board.
I would take it back and have it replaced if possible. The problem may be just the HDD, but it could be broken solder joints.

philiplg · Dec 15, 2008

I managed to use VAIO tools to do a partition removal, and wiped, and also formatted to HDD, which is good news. Tonight I'll try re-installing windows. thanks for all the fast replies

.

bruce2 said:
Hi Philiplg, welcome to the board.

Thanks

, looking very helpful so far

.

lordbob75 · Dec 15, 2008

Alright that sounds good. Let us know how it works!

patio · Dec 16, 2008

You may want to find out what HDD is in that machine...
Then travel to the manuf. site and DLoad their FREE diagnostics on it.
The DLoad is used to create a bootable CD so it can run even if Windows is not running.
If it is a flaky drive you want it replaced as soon as possible under warranty.
Good Luck.

philiplg · Dec 16, 2008

Well i got windows vista installed back on it, was working fine, untill it crashed, and shut off the power, i started it back up, ran Chkdsk /r and found two problems with Explorer.exe.

I think it is a faulty hard drive, as the HDD light at the front NEVER went off at all, and in the vista sidebar, i had a graph showing the HD usage, and it was constantly going up and down, but never went to the very bottom once, it might just be me, but i thought that was a little strange, as i wasnt doing ANYTHING on the computer at all.
The only though i had was, when chkdsk found a problem with explorer.exe that it was explorer.exe accessing the hard drive all the time.

Although chkdsk found two problems, with the parameter /r, it crashed trying to replace(?) i think it is :P.

SCSIraidGURU · Dec 16, 2008

Try to backup your data to an external drive, replace the hard drive.

patio · Dec 16, 2008

patio said:
You may want to find out what HDD is in that machine...
Then travel to the manuf. site and DLoad their FREE diagnostics on it.
The DLoad is used to create a bootable CD so it can run even if Windows is not running.
If it is a flaky drive you want it replaced as soon as possible under warranty.
Good Luck.

Did you skip this ? ?

I don't type this stuff out for nothing...

lordbob75 · Dec 16, 2008

Be nice Patio... But he is right. It is worth the effort.

sygnus21 · Dec 16, 2008

Re: Hard drive problems... (Corrupt/RAW?)

philiplg said:
Well i got a new Sony VAIO laptop last thursday i think,...

Maybe i'm different, but if I bought new laptop AND it still had a warrenty, then I would take it back and let them deal with it; especially if it has a bad HD.

philiplg · Dec 24, 2008

patio said:
patio said:

You may want to find out what HDD is in that machine...
Then travel to the manuf. site and DLoad their FREE diagnostics on it.
The DLoad is used to create a bootable CD so it can run even if Windows is not running.
If it is a flaky drive you want it replaced as soon as possible under warranty.
Good Luck.

Click to expand...

Did you skip this ? ?

I don't type this stuff out for nothing...

No i did not, I was running restore tools when that was posted, and after them, it started working fine.
But then i started making these i guess 'Clunk' noises every 2 seconds, and then turned off, and once again i had to start all over.
I phoned the distributer awhile ago, turned out the shipping company around my area are closed for christmas :rolleyes:

So at 29th december I've arranged for it to get sent back

, thanks for your help guys. i guess it's solved.

johngalt · Dec 24, 2008

FWIW - all users reading this thread:

If you have purchased a *brand new machine* from anyone, and it starts to act up within a week of purchase, don't fart around - take it back to the manufacturer / retailer and have it checked out at the very least. Why spend time fixing something that may become a perennial issue? It is a new machine - expect it to run like *new* and stand up for your rights when it does not.

Wasting time trying to figure out what is wrong is pretty pointless on a brand new machine - even if you have had one before, chances are that it is still not configured identically as yours and you'll spend precious time trying to figure out what is what and how to fix it.

In fact, the same holds true for any machine bought from a retailer of builder - check if the warranty is still in effect or not.

At school I I have had to replace hardware in more drives than I can count - half of the time I verify warranty, call the manufacturer / OEM, and order a replacement. It is a lot easier than trying to figure out if the drive really is bad or not - by the time the drive arrives I am golden. And, if the warranty period is not up, why should I settle for my used drive / other hardware when I can have new, replacement hardware that will work?

sygnus21 · Dec 24, 2008

sygnus21 said:
philiplg said:

Well i got a new Sony VAIO laptop last thursday i think,...

Click to expand...

Maybe i'm different, but if I bought new laptop AND it still had a warrenty, then I would take it back and let them deal with it; especially if it has a bad HD.

johngalt said:
FWIW - all users reading this thread:

If you have purchased a *brand new machine* from anyone, and it starts to act up within a week of purchase, don't fart around - take it back to the manufacturer / retailer and have it checked out at the very least. Why spend time fixing something that may become a perennial issue? It is a new machine - expect it to run like *new* and stand up for your rights when it does not.

Wasting time trying to figure out what is wrong is pretty pointless on a brand new machine - even if you have had one before, chances are that it is still not configured identically as yours and you'll spend precious time trying to figure out what is what and how to fix it.

In fact, the same holds true for any machine bought from a retailer of builder - check if the warranty is still in effect or not.

At school I I have had to replace hardware in more drives than I can count - half of the time I verify warranty, call the manufacturer / OEM, and order a replacement. It is a lot easier than trying to figure out if the drive really is bad or not - by the time the drive arrives I am golden. And, if the warranty period is not up, why should I settle for my used drive / other hardware when I can have new, replacement hardware that will work?

Ditto

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