Welcome to RCF - WHF

rb2d2 · Sep 25, 2004

Dave, just read all your posts. To be honest I don't have a clue to what is going on or what you are doing. Sorry. If there are files on that HDD you want to save you better save them now.

It sounds horrendous, have problems been piling up for quite some time? From what little I can understand it does sound like a HDD problem but if it was I think it would have died completely by now. I don't think it's malware.

What do you mean Acronis disk won't work? If you put it in the DVD tray and reboot the machine what happens?

If the PC will boot up with the Acronis True Image disk and ATI sees the HDD then ATI can format the HDD. Sometimes you have to give Acronis a lot of time to show up on the screen after rebooting. Maybe even 10 minutes.

wave

rb2d2 · Sep 25, 2004

Dave I don't understand what you were saying about Acronis. Did you sometime in the past create an Image of your HDD or the C partition using True Image and you would now like to restore that Image?

dontknow

fishead · Feb 09, 2005

I have been taking notes so I can remember. The acronis opens fine, and I was watching a how to video as I was going but mine went in a different direction, I wasn't seeing the same options as the video when I was in there a ways. But thats how its going, everything is not working properly. I just did a quick summery:

-------------------------

Basically what is happeneding is the pc reboots after its open for 3-10 minutes. I can't open anything, its like it opens part way and then it never opens again. The pc either freezes up or reboots on its own. It won't let me open avg but I can still get a scan started but it reboots after a few minutes. Here is what has happened:

pc crashed while watching a video
rebooted and it ran a chkdsk (its runs this about every other boot)
couldn't open firefox, can't open IE
couldn't uninstall firefox, says it's open
ran a system scan, at about 21% it rebooted
reboot, scan, rebooted at 20% or so
can't open avg
reboot, get windows auto update...?
no matter what I do it reboots after a few minutes or freezes up
try to use sys restore, reboots, same thing, didn't help
try to do a recovery, won't work
try a repair, get error messages, won't complete
reformat, reboots to original windows
reformat, gets stuck at the last minute, hard boot, opens old windows.
Look in drive j, 2nd HD, and there is windows in there
avg is updating

I am thinking the hd is bad. I really could use a larger one anyway, this is only 300 gig. I really hate to buy right now because prices are up.

fishead · Feb 09, 2005

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fishead · Feb 09, 2005

I tried unplugging the secong HD so I would know whats going on and reformat failed, it picked up toward the end. Gave lots of error code I wrote down.

I unplugged the main hd (which I see is ied, and 2nd hd is sata) and plugged the second one back in and rebooted.

Windows opened, my old os with all my files and everything was saved. It isn't crashing, although it wouldn't find driver for the cd drive I replaced.

So it does look like its the HD. I don't see where I can use another sata so I may have to go with pata like the original is. It even has wiring for 2nd hd with the ied, I don't know why I thought I needed sata other than there was a hookup, so I had bought the wires to use it.

So I am looking at getting a new HD and then figuring out how to get my original set up onto the new HD. I did take notes so many I can retrace what I did. I think it was the repair or something.

rb2d2 · Sep 25, 2004

I had just typed a large post for you when in the meantime you posted again. I was wondering about those two copies of Windows and was going to suggest you unplug the first HDD and see if it would boot from the second one.

If you can find a ATA/IDE HDD that would be good if you intend to ever install XP on there. It's might be next to impossible to install XP on a SATA HDD.

sunny

rb2d2 · Sep 25, 2004

fishead · Feb 09, 2005

I disconnected the main hd and using the smaller one. At first it worked ok but now its doing the exact same thing. I can't do a virus scan, it reboots soon after it starts. Looking on line I see talk about ram card and I did put one in recently, but I doubt thats it. I don't think its the hd after all.

It won't let me reformat, it just wants to die and be junked I guess. Its over my head. I may have to hire someone or just get a new pc. It seems beyond repair.

fishead · Feb 09, 2005

I pulled that new ram card and now running a scan, and its got further than it has before, no reboot yet.

fishead · Feb 09, 2005

As far as the sata, why would hp have the hd on ied when it could have used sata plug that is handy...?

also:
how-to-diagnose-bad-ram