Severe Hard Drive Problems

Falcata · 2008-09-26 18:21:17

Okay, my hard drive has some bad sectors on it. I've tried getting my computer to run fsck on bootup with the command "shutdown -Fr now" as detailed here, but it doesn't seem to do anything at all. What do I do?

crouse · 2008-09-26 22:11:01

Falcata wrote:

Okay, my hard drive has some bad sectors on it. I've tried getting my computer to run fsck on bootup with the command "shutdown -Fr now" as detailed here, but it doesn't seem to do anything at all. What do I do?

Buy a new hard drive ??????

You might be able to save some of your data by using Slax or some other live-linux disk (arch-live) and burning what data you can save to dvd's/cd's. If your hard disk has bad sectors, odds are, it's going to completely fail anyway. Best bet, save what you can and replace it.

Falcata · 2008-09-26 23:10:55

Well, I don't have the money for a new hard drive, and my current hard drive is already new. I can still log in normally, but the computer occasionally locks up when it tries to write to a damaged sector, forcing me to manually shutdown. And the manual shutdown carries a strong risk of causing more damaged sectors to appear.

Right now, what I would like to do is find some way to work around the problem until I can afford a new hard drive.

EDIT: I'm going to get in contact with the manufacturer tomorrow, and see if they'll give me a free replacement.

Last edited by Falcata (2008-09-26 23:15:43)

dschrute · 2008-09-26 23:13:49

You can try System Rescue CD - http://www.sysresccd.org
Also most HD manufacturers have tools to check and sometimes repair some issues. For example Western Digital has wddiag. So you could see what is available for yours and see if it helps.
But I agree with crouse that it is only likely to get worse, and you should seriously look at getting a new disk.

Falcata · 2008-09-26 23:16:56

Okay. Hopefully Western Digital does free replacements. Does wddiag need Windows or WINE to run, or does it just boot from a CD?

dschrute · 2008-09-26 23:46:22

Hopefully Western Digital does free replacements. Does wddiag need Windows or WINE to run, or does it just boot from a CD?

Last time I used it ( about 4 years ago ) they would replace a drive if there were unrecoverable errors. But wddiag did do a decent job of fixing stuff, so it will depend on the condition of your drive, and what wddiag reports.
It shouldn't require Windows...I think it ran via a DOS bootable disk/cd.

Falcata · 2008-09-26 23:55:32

Ah, okay. I'll download that and run it. Though, I won't be able to until sunday.

Falcata · 2008-09-27 12:36:30

Unfortunately, the people at Western Digital no longer seem to have wddiag available. In addition, the downloadable tools they do provide are windows only. So I'm kind of screwed.

dschrute · 2008-09-27 14:03:50

look at Ultimate Boot CD - http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/index.html
They include the WD tools that run from a bootable CD. They may be a slightly older version, but should help.

Falcata · 2008-09-27 19:26:26

Thanks dschrute. I'll burn a copy of that and try it when I get home tomorrow.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-09-26 18:21:17

Severe Hard Drive Problems

#2 2008-09-26 22:11:01

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

#3 2008-09-26 23:10:55

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

#4 2008-09-26 23:13:49

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

#5 2008-09-26 23:16:56

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

#6 2008-09-26 23:46:22

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

#7 2008-09-26 23:55:32

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

#8 2008-09-27 12:36:30

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

#9 2008-09-27 14:03:50

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

#10 2008-09-27 19:26:26

Re: Severe Hard Drive Problems

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