Vocademy

Hard Disk Troubleshooting

Error Messages

Fixed Disk Error

Drive not connected or specified in configuration

Invalid Drive Specification or..
The system cannot find the drive specified

No partition created with specified drive letter

NO ROM BASIC SYSTEM HALTED or
Press any key to reboot or
Disk boot error or
The computer tries but fails to boot from the network

No active partition

Invalid media type

Not formatted

GRUB Loading, please wait or
error 17

Has Linux Master Boot Record

Fix with Windows command:

FDISK /MBR (Windows XP and earlier),
bootsect.exe (Windows 7 and later)

Click of Death

The infamous Click of Death (originally coined for Iomega Zip drives) is caused when the read/write head repeatedly resets as the drive tries to find the sector it is trying to read. This is usually a sign of complete failure of the drive electronics. If you have an identical drive, you may be able to revive the drive by swapping the circuit board from the good drive to the bad one. Once revived, you can decide which drive to keep and which to back up and discard, depending on which one you trust more.

The Click of Death can also signify the drive not spinning (see below).

Drive not spinning

Drive power

If you don't hear the platters spinning, the first thing to check is the power connection. Try different power connections or use a voltmeter to ensure the power connector isn't bad.

Stiction

The motor that spins the hard disk platters has little starting torque. As such, they occasionally cannot overcome the stiction (static friction) that develops in the bearing or between the read/write heads and the platters after the drive has been shut down for some time.

Stiction can often be overcome by tapping on the drive. Sometimes, especially with 2.5-inch drives, flicking the drive with a finger is enough to break the stiction. A 3.5-inch drive may need more force to overcome stiction, but be careful not to hit it too hard. If tapping the drive doesn't get the drive to work, more advanced recovery techniques are required.



Vocademy