This LED flash pattern, Orange, Orange, Orange, Orange, Green (Repeats) indicates a internal failure of the Battery. Pressing the charge indicator button on the battery (If equipped) will give a 1 3 5 LED on indication which also indicates a failure in the battery.
The battery may still function, but at less than optimal performance and will have a progressively shorter functional life until it dies.
The only way to resolve the issue is to replace the battery.
@
Friday, July 1, 2011
How to troubleshoot a system that will not boot to the hard drive.
- Ensure that there is no diskette in the A: drive if system is equipped with a 1.44 Floppy Diskette Drive. If a disk in the drive, remove it and reboot.
- Boot to the BIOS, reset defaults, reboot
- If system still will not boot to the hard drive, power off, disconnect all peripheral items (Printer, scanner, external drives and USB drives) reboot.
- At this point, boot to Diagnostics partition, or CD (F12 menu on some systems, Some HP systems have Hard drive diags in BIOS, Fn+Power for Dell Portables, CTRL+ALT+D for some Dell Desktops) If the hard drive fails diagnostics, replace the hard drive. If the drive passes diagnostics, it is not a guarantee the drive is good, just no fault was detected.
- If the drive passes diags, then see if you can boot to a Windows CD/DVD. If you can't, either remove, turn off in BIOS or disconnect the hard drive, and see if you can boot to the Windows Media. If you can with the HDD disabled/removed/disconnected, again, replace the HDD.
- If you can boot to the Windows Media, then go to Recovery Console in XP and run CHKDSK /R (Vista or Windows 7, run the repair my computer option off the menu, this may take multiple passes to fix) If this fails to resolve, then boot back to recovery console and run BOOTCFG /REBUILD (This is already done in Vista/7 in the repair tool)
- If that fails, you will most likely be reinstalling Windows. If the Windows install crashes during a file copy, try RAM modules one at a time (Windows install is still the best RAM test we have) If the Windows install still crashes, replace the Hard Drive.
Antivirus Facts?
Antivirus Tips and FYI
To start, NO antivirus can get rid of or disable all Viruses.
None can do it and at some point ALL of them admit it.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a fact that is usually stated on every antivirus website.
Any antivirus is only as good as it's latest update, no matter WHEN you bought it or how new it is.
Most antivirus distributors disable advanced heuristics functions to encourage you to continue using their product, since heuristics analysis is more memory intensive than a basic scan.
You NEED advanced heuristics to catch virii before they can change your files, so if it isn't turned on now, do it before you continue reading.
No antivirus will do you ANY good if you turn off intelligent background scanning.
If that little icon is on your taskbar telling you that you are protected from several billion viruses but the automatic scanner is disabled then you may as well not have it installed.
Remember that new viruses are created every day, not all work, not all can harm you but most can.
Most virii are designed to attack windows (Microsoft Versions) of every type.
Almost any other type of OS (Operating System) is safer than windows by some degree.
Since new malware IE Virii get their start from email and web browsing, it is important to protect those areas first and best.
Since new Invasive and harmful virii are identified almost weekly, you need to realize that, before a cure can be found SOMEONE has to get infected.
That someone may be you!
Remember that few antivirus companies routinely scour the web in search of new Viruses to to circumvent and disable.
For them to know what virii to prevent disable or destroy, the Provider of the antivirus needs for you to tell them that you were infected.
Most quality antivirus manufacturers provide a plugin or scheduler that alerts them automatically when a virus is found on your computer.
Some provide a pop up notice that says you were infected with a virus such as mydoom32a. It then asks if you want to send a report to the company for analysis, always say yes.
While your antivirus may CALL the virus for instance (mydoom32a), that may not actually BE the real name of the virus.
Many types of Virii share the same or a similar code and often have the same or similar characteristics, yet are radically different.
So sending in that report only protects you and the other few hundred thousand people who may become infected.
Protect yourself
No matter which antivirus you have currently installed on your PC, you may still have a worm, Trojan, virus or bug somewhere on your PC.
If you feel that you are infected there are several simple steps you can take to completely destroy the bug.
Remember that, just because your antivirus program happened to stop an attack last week, it doesn't mean that it stopped every attack or even completely removed all traces of the last attack from your PC.
One example of this is the Virus Vault.
Open whatever antivirus you have, look for the vault or virus storage area.
Find the tab that allows you to send this file or information to the AV company, then EMPTY the vault.
Set up scheduling.
This may seem like a tedious process but scheduling is important for continued safe operation of your PC.
Open your scheduler and choose a time that you will not be active on your PC.
Set all of your scanning methods to the most stringent settings available then save and exit.
Make sure that you have allowed for at least 2 hours of undisturbed scanning for every 100 gigabytes of data stored on your hard drive.
In other words, make sure you wont be getting up and messing with the PC before the scan is finished.
If all goes well, you will wake up to find a scan completed, a result window and scan time completion notification.
This varies with different versions, but you will always see some type of notice.
If you wake and discover that the PC has rebooted (which is evident by the obvious lack of a notification window) or has shut down, then your work is just beginning.
Lets Clean This Mess up!
If the scenario above describes you to ANY degree then this is your best answer for removing the threat, my best answer anyway.
First thing to remember is, your antivirus failed or it wouldn't have rebooted or shut down without posting a Result Screen.
Don't PANIC!
Your antivirus doesn't stink just because it got nuked.
What you do now is download at least 3 of the best free antiviruses you can get. My choices are usually, Avast then Quickheal followed by the weakest, AVG. The first thing to do, however is run a malware cleaner and removal tool such as Malwarebytes or Spybot since most viruses target Antivirus programs, not malware killers. This will prepare you for the next step.
This step is almost too easy.
1. Uninstall your Current Antivirus, it has already been compromised and the executable (.exe) may have been over written by the virus.
2.Install Avast, do an update, scan (remove virus as needed) then uninstall.
Repeat this step with the other 2 Free Antivirus programs until you have completely removed all traces.
If all went well, you removed the virus, if it didn't, then leave the last Antivirus in the list installed.
Go to my computer and right click your Primary hard drive and go to properties, then tools then choose defrag.
This method is always my last choice since the active scanner will see and examine every file processed with defrag.
Most Antiviruses choose NOT to scan every file, and by doing so usually overlook a file that has been renamed to keep itself hidden.
When doing the defrag the antivirus will treat every file as if it were an executable, at least most do.
If a virus is found during defrag simply follow the removal instructions as each new virus is encountered.
Now for the final step
This final step is also quite simple and easy to do.
Use a cache cleaner such as Advanced System Care, Windows Washer, Eastec Eraser or Evidence Eliminator if you have a copy, (Windows Washer is usually a free download) .
Do a cleanup of unwanted and unnecessary files, but ESPECIALLY the Internet Exploder Cache file!
Also choose (clear paging file at reboot or shutdown) if that is listed.
If it says you need a reboot then Reboot, BUT if the antivirus alerts you that a virus has been found deal with that first, then proceed.
When all virii have been found and reboot is recommended then press that little ok button and reboot.
After your windows has completely reloaded, you need to delete and remove your windows restore file and make a new one.
Go to Control Panel, system then hardware and open system restore.
Click turn Off system Restore, apply, then reboot .
When your PC comes back on, repeat these steps to turn ON system Restore.
What this does is eliminate any SAVED virus traces left from previous infections.
Just to be safe now, uninstall the antivirus you have installed and reinstall your antivirus of choice.
Update, then rescan and go back to whatever it is you do when you aren't messing with your PC.
The reason you use the 3 antiviruses is simply because each of those versions I listed are based on different signature types, and are aggressive to specific virus types more than the others are.
One of them attacks adware and spyware as well.
Remember, just because you LIKE your antivirus, and just because your antivirus Looks great to you runs fast, and is user friendly Doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best one you can get for cash or free.
It just happens to feel good to YOU!
One side note on Norton antivirus that you may not know.
While MOST antiviruses stop or kill an email virus BEFORE it can be downloaded and hurt you, Norton downloads it and saves it, THEN tries to kill it.
This leaves you exposed to the consequences if Norton FAILS to disable or kill the virus.
Another thing you should never use is Stopsign Antivirus or ANY of their line of products.
They come with masked spyware so nasty that they sued and won an injunction to suppress it from detection by most popular spyware detectors.
They say this advertising, and Information Gathering tool is the reason for the low price and is completely harmless.
When you call their corporate headquarters or the toll free number they give, and ask what etrust is and WHY they load their product down with so many megs of spyware they get extremely defensive and start reciting a well planned speech about how harmless it is.
Users soon begin to see an influx of unwanted junk email that they never had before.
Their browser sometimes gets hijacked when they reboot, and windows becomes more unstable the longer they use it.
Yet they claim to have a superior spam killer for your in-box?
E-trust and E-acceleration have been on the hit list of most non corporate Spyware killers for years.
My opinion?
Dont Buy it.
To start, NO antivirus can get rid of or disable all Viruses.
None can do it and at some point ALL of them admit it.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a fact that is usually stated on every antivirus website.
Any antivirus is only as good as it's latest update, no matter WHEN you bought it or how new it is.
Most antivirus distributors disable advanced heuristics functions to encourage you to continue using their product, since heuristics analysis is more memory intensive than a basic scan.
You NEED advanced heuristics to catch virii before they can change your files, so if it isn't turned on now, do it before you continue reading.
No antivirus will do you ANY good if you turn off intelligent background scanning.
If that little icon is on your taskbar telling you that you are protected from several billion viruses but the automatic scanner is disabled then you may as well not have it installed.
Remember that new viruses are created every day, not all work, not all can harm you but most can.
Most virii are designed to attack windows (Microsoft Versions) of every type.
Almost any other type of OS (Operating System) is safer than windows by some degree.
Since new malware IE Virii get their start from email and web browsing, it is important to protect those areas first and best.
Since new Invasive and harmful virii are identified almost weekly, you need to realize that, before a cure can be found SOMEONE has to get infected.
That someone may be you!
Remember that few antivirus companies routinely scour the web in search of new Viruses to to circumvent and disable.
For them to know what virii to prevent disable or destroy, the Provider of the antivirus needs for you to tell them that you were infected.
Most quality antivirus manufacturers provide a plugin or scheduler that alerts them automatically when a virus is found on your computer.
Some provide a pop up notice that says you were infected with a virus such as mydoom32a. It then asks if you want to send a report to the company for analysis, always say yes.
While your antivirus may CALL the virus for instance (mydoom32a), that may not actually BE the real name of the virus.
Many types of Virii share the same or a similar code and often have the same or similar characteristics, yet are radically different.
So sending in that report only protects you and the other few hundred thousand people who may become infected.
Protect yourself
No matter which antivirus you have currently installed on your PC, you may still have a worm, Trojan, virus or bug somewhere on your PC.
If you feel that you are infected there are several simple steps you can take to completely destroy the bug.
Remember that, just because your antivirus program happened to stop an attack last week, it doesn't mean that it stopped every attack or even completely removed all traces of the last attack from your PC.
One example of this is the Virus Vault.
Open whatever antivirus you have, look for the vault or virus storage area.
Find the tab that allows you to send this file or information to the AV company, then EMPTY the vault.
Set up scheduling.
This may seem like a tedious process but scheduling is important for continued safe operation of your PC.
Open your scheduler and choose a time that you will not be active on your PC.
Set all of your scanning methods to the most stringent settings available then save and exit.
Make sure that you have allowed for at least 2 hours of undisturbed scanning for every 100 gigabytes of data stored on your hard drive.
In other words, make sure you wont be getting up and messing with the PC before the scan is finished.
If all goes well, you will wake up to find a scan completed, a result window and scan time completion notification.
This varies with different versions, but you will always see some type of notice.
If you wake and discover that the PC has rebooted (which is evident by the obvious lack of a notification window) or has shut down, then your work is just beginning.
Lets Clean This Mess up!
If the scenario above describes you to ANY degree then this is your best answer for removing the threat, my best answer anyway.
First thing to remember is, your antivirus failed or it wouldn't have rebooted or shut down without posting a Result Screen.
Don't PANIC!
Your antivirus doesn't stink just because it got nuked.
What you do now is download at least 3 of the best free antiviruses you can get. My choices are usually, Avast then Quickheal followed by the weakest, AVG. The first thing to do, however is run a malware cleaner and removal tool such as Malwarebytes or Spybot since most viruses target Antivirus programs, not malware killers. This will prepare you for the next step.
This step is almost too easy.
1. Uninstall your Current Antivirus, it has already been compromised and the executable (.exe) may have been over written by the virus.
2.Install Avast, do an update, scan (remove virus as needed) then uninstall.
Repeat this step with the other 2 Free Antivirus programs until you have completely removed all traces.
If all went well, you removed the virus, if it didn't, then leave the last Antivirus in the list installed.
Go to my computer and right click your Primary hard drive and go to properties, then tools then choose defrag.
This method is always my last choice since the active scanner will see and examine every file processed with defrag.
Most Antiviruses choose NOT to scan every file, and by doing so usually overlook a file that has been renamed to keep itself hidden.
When doing the defrag the antivirus will treat every file as if it were an executable, at least most do.
If a virus is found during defrag simply follow the removal instructions as each new virus is encountered.
Now for the final step
This final step is also quite simple and easy to do.
Use a cache cleaner such as Advanced System Care, Windows Washer, Eastec Eraser or Evidence Eliminator if you have a copy, (Windows Washer is usually a free download) .
Do a cleanup of unwanted and unnecessary files, but ESPECIALLY the Internet Exploder Cache file!
Also choose (clear paging file at reboot or shutdown) if that is listed.
If it says you need a reboot then Reboot, BUT if the antivirus alerts you that a virus has been found deal with that first, then proceed.
When all virii have been found and reboot is recommended then press that little ok button and reboot.
After your windows has completely reloaded, you need to delete and remove your windows restore file and make a new one.
Go to Control Panel, system then hardware and open system restore.
Click turn Off system Restore, apply, then reboot .
When your PC comes back on, repeat these steps to turn ON system Restore.
What this does is eliminate any SAVED virus traces left from previous infections.
Just to be safe now, uninstall the antivirus you have installed and reinstall your antivirus of choice.
Update, then rescan and go back to whatever it is you do when you aren't messing with your PC.
The reason you use the 3 antiviruses is simply because each of those versions I listed are based on different signature types, and are aggressive to specific virus types more than the others are.
One of them attacks adware and spyware as well.
Remember, just because you LIKE your antivirus, and just because your antivirus Looks great to you runs fast, and is user friendly Doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best one you can get for cash or free.
It just happens to feel good to YOU!
One side note on Norton antivirus that you may not know.
While MOST antiviruses stop or kill an email virus BEFORE it can be downloaded and hurt you, Norton downloads it and saves it, THEN tries to kill it.
This leaves you exposed to the consequences if Norton FAILS to disable or kill the virus.
Another thing you should never use is Stopsign Antivirus or ANY of their line of products.
They come with masked spyware so nasty that they sued and won an injunction to suppress it from detection by most popular spyware detectors.
They say this advertising, and Information Gathering tool is the reason for the low price and is completely harmless.
When you call their corporate headquarters or the toll free number they give, and ask what etrust is and WHY they load their product down with so many megs of spyware they get extremely defensive and start reciting a well planned speech about how harmless it is.
Users soon begin to see an influx of unwanted junk email that they never had before.
Their browser sometimes gets hijacked when they reboot, and windows becomes more unstable the longer they use it.
Yet they claim to have a superior spam killer for your in-box?
E-trust and E-acceleration have been on the hit list of most non corporate Spyware killers for years.
My opinion?
Dont Buy it.
How to reset computer hard drive passwords ?
So many people are fooled by the helpful novice PC Tech who just learned how to install ram into his antique hand me down laptop.
Fooled into believing that a simple removal of the Laptop Cmos battery can reset the Bios and wipe out all passwords.
Well it can't !!
Try as you might, jumping the battery contacts, leaving the Cmos battery out for a day, a week, a month, a YEAR will not Reset your Bios password!
The same applies for the hard drive for different reasons.
The only way that gets fixed is by sending it back to the manufacturer and paying some good hard cash. I have personally seen PC bench techs in my own company Crowing I CAN DO IT! Only to see them reduced to blubbering red eyed zombies many days later.
Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM started selling notebooks with trusted computing hardware some years ago, which locks specialized encryption keys in a data vault, essentially a chip on the computer's motherboard. This Is NOT the Bios Chip, it is separate and not easily found identified or hacked.
Lets summarize what we have so far.
1. No, you can't reset a Bios password on a Laptop with a simple Bios battery reset.
2. No, you can't reset a laptop hard drive locked with a password unless you access Bios on that same motherboard which is of course also locked with the security chip.
What you CAN do,
The case for Dell Laptop Security Chips, problem and solution.
Most laptop or notebook computers feature enhanced BIOS security, and BIOS passwords on laptops are hard to bypass. Several companies offer laptop security chip services that can be used to bypass the BIOS password on Dell laptops or notebooks and reset the security. They can provide a master password from the Dell Service Tag of your Dell laptop. This master password will allow you to bypass the existing password and enter the BIOS and reset the unknown password. To generate the master password they need to know the Dell Service Tag of your unit. Dell Master Password Recovery does not require soldering or disassembly of the laptop and supports most Dell models.
Dell BIOS passwords can also be reset by replacing the laptop security chip. Passwords can also be recovered from security chips that have been removed from laptop or notebook systems. These passwords may be required to attempt to unlock protected hard disks. Passwords recovered from these chips are the original BIOS passwords and may be the same as the hard disk password, but are not guaranteed to be the same and may not unlock the hard disk.These are usually damaged in the process of recovering the passwords and are not suitable for replacement into a computer.
The case for Fujitsu
Fujitsu has been leading the charge on a new generation of secure devices, as that is becoming more and more a concern not just for companies, but for individuals, who now store sensitive data on their laptops more than ever before.
The new security setup, co-developed with Willcom, consists of a special receiver and an encrypted hard drive. The decryption codes are kept on the receiver chip, and the hard drive can?t be accessed without them. So under normal operation everything is just peachy. But let?s say you get your bag stolen at a coffee shop, that?s when the fun begins.
The chip is always on whether the laptop is, and is always connected (as long as there?s coverage) to Willcom?s PHS network. You can tell it to do one of two things: lock the PC so it can?t boot, or delete the decryption key, rendering the hard drive totally unreadable.
So you see the risks with just two brands of notebook here.
You must decide if that 300 to 1500 dollar laptop is worth all this bother.
Before you decide to lock your Bios or Hard Drive with a password, you'd best be sure that you have a great memory, or the ability to securely store that password in such a way and such a place that it can't be lost.
For those who have received a laptop from a friend, bought one off of Ebay, or simply had it land in your PC shop with a password this word of warning applies. Verify that the person you got it from is the original owner or take the risk that utilities such as Dells theft deterrent program will send out information about you to the authorities. The watchword here is, If you have the Laptop, you must be guilty.
No, A laptop motherboard is not just like a Desktop motherboard squeezed into a smaller space. They are two different types of electronics entirely, right down to the processor. While some Older models of laptop can use a standard Desktop Processor, they still won't have the same replacement parts as a desktop motherboard. Your Laptop is more expensive than a comparable type of Desktop PC for other reasons than inflated pricing. The components inside are more expensive to manufacture than conventional motherboard parts and represent the best, or close to the best that micro-electronics can offer.
These rules apply to most if not all present day laptops and most laptops manufactured in the last 5 or so years. So before you buy that password locked laptop, realize that the original owner could have easily had it unlocked by the manufacturer for either a nominal fee, or in some cases for free by providing his registration and warranty information.
Yes, with the right skills, patience and time you may be able to find that pesky little security chip, and you may even be able to disable it, but you still wont have the hard drive password if one is installed, so you will be buying a new hard drive right away.
For those who decide this is something they want to try I applaud you.
Do your research, learn the 2 pin technique to clear that password, or desolder that chip and replace it with a new one. The choice is yours.
My take on all this is simple.
There are far too many Broken Laptops available on Ebay for cheap that may just need a screen replacement, keyboard, hard drive or just a new battery for me to be wasting my time trying to hack a security chip on a Laptop with no guaranteed results.
Fooled into believing that a simple removal of the Laptop Cmos battery can reset the Bios and wipe out all passwords.
Well it can't !!
Try as you might, jumping the battery contacts, leaving the Cmos battery out for a day, a week, a month, a YEAR will not Reset your Bios password!
The same applies for the hard drive for different reasons.
The only way that gets fixed is by sending it back to the manufacturer and paying some good hard cash. I have personally seen PC bench techs in my own company Crowing I CAN DO IT! Only to see them reduced to blubbering red eyed zombies many days later.
Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM started selling notebooks with trusted computing hardware some years ago, which locks specialized encryption keys in a data vault, essentially a chip on the computer's motherboard. This Is NOT the Bios Chip, it is separate and not easily found identified or hacked.
Lets summarize what we have so far.
1. No, you can't reset a Bios password on a Laptop with a simple Bios battery reset.
2. No, you can't reset a laptop hard drive locked with a password unless you access Bios on that same motherboard which is of course also locked with the security chip.
What you CAN do,
The case for Dell Laptop Security Chips, problem and solution.
Most laptop or notebook computers feature enhanced BIOS security, and BIOS passwords on laptops are hard to bypass. Several companies offer laptop security chip services that can be used to bypass the BIOS password on Dell laptops or notebooks and reset the security. They can provide a master password from the Dell Service Tag of your Dell laptop. This master password will allow you to bypass the existing password and enter the BIOS and reset the unknown password. To generate the master password they need to know the Dell Service Tag of your unit. Dell Master Password Recovery does not require soldering or disassembly of the laptop and supports most Dell models.
Dell BIOS passwords can also be reset by replacing the laptop security chip. Passwords can also be recovered from security chips that have been removed from laptop or notebook systems. These passwords may be required to attempt to unlock protected hard disks. Passwords recovered from these chips are the original BIOS passwords and may be the same as the hard disk password, but are not guaranteed to be the same and may not unlock the hard disk.These are usually damaged in the process of recovering the passwords and are not suitable for replacement into a computer.
The case for Fujitsu
Fujitsu has been leading the charge on a new generation of secure devices, as that is becoming more and more a concern not just for companies, but for individuals, who now store sensitive data on their laptops more than ever before.
The new security setup, co-developed with Willcom, consists of a special receiver and an encrypted hard drive. The decryption codes are kept on the receiver chip, and the hard drive can?t be accessed without them. So under normal operation everything is just peachy. But let?s say you get your bag stolen at a coffee shop, that?s when the fun begins.
The chip is always on whether the laptop is, and is always connected (as long as there?s coverage) to Willcom?s PHS network. You can tell it to do one of two things: lock the PC so it can?t boot, or delete the decryption key, rendering the hard drive totally unreadable.
So you see the risks with just two brands of notebook here.
You must decide if that 300 to 1500 dollar laptop is worth all this bother.
Before you decide to lock your Bios or Hard Drive with a password, you'd best be sure that you have a great memory, or the ability to securely store that password in such a way and such a place that it can't be lost.
For those who have received a laptop from a friend, bought one off of Ebay, or simply had it land in your PC shop with a password this word of warning applies. Verify that the person you got it from is the original owner or take the risk that utilities such as Dells theft deterrent program will send out information about you to the authorities. The watchword here is, If you have the Laptop, you must be guilty.
No, A laptop motherboard is not just like a Desktop motherboard squeezed into a smaller space. They are two different types of electronics entirely, right down to the processor. While some Older models of laptop can use a standard Desktop Processor, they still won't have the same replacement parts as a desktop motherboard. Your Laptop is more expensive than a comparable type of Desktop PC for other reasons than inflated pricing. The components inside are more expensive to manufacture than conventional motherboard parts and represent the best, or close to the best that micro-electronics can offer.
These rules apply to most if not all present day laptops and most laptops manufactured in the last 5 or so years. So before you buy that password locked laptop, realize that the original owner could have easily had it unlocked by the manufacturer for either a nominal fee, or in some cases for free by providing his registration and warranty information.
Yes, with the right skills, patience and time you may be able to find that pesky little security chip, and you may even be able to disable it, but you still wont have the hard drive password if one is installed, so you will be buying a new hard drive right away.
For those who decide this is something they want to try I applaud you.
Do your research, learn the 2 pin technique to clear that password, or desolder that chip and replace it with a new one. The choice is yours.
My take on all this is simple.
There are far too many Broken Laptops available on Ebay for cheap that may just need a screen replacement, keyboard, hard drive or just a new battery for me to be wasting my time trying to hack a security chip on a Laptop with no guaranteed results.
Hard Drive troubleshooting procedure?
Its a complete procedure for hard drive troubleshooting will 4 part guide.Cliock the link below:---
Click this link for section 1:--
------------
Click this link for section 2:--
--------------
Click this link for section 3:--
-------------
Click this link for section 4:---
----------
Go through section 1 to 4 one by one for complete troubleshooting.
Hard Drive troubleshooting ?
When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below
This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft
Windows XP to run on your computer:
To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
# Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.
To setup Windows XP now and Repair Install , press ENTER. do not choose "To repair a
Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R", (you Do Not want to load Recovery Console). I repeat, do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console".
# Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.
# Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair.
# Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot. Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears. Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact.
If all goes well, your installation will complete and you will re back where you were before this nightmare began, but if not, a clean drive and a reinstall will be your only option.Rather than format your drive and add excess wear to the head, platter and spindles you will simply run the XP CD and when it comes time to choose a partition, you will choose to delete the existing partition, make a new partition, then do a (Quick) NTFS format. This will allow you to do a hard drive recovery later if you choose to do so, without destroying the data you may want to restore with a hard drive recovery tool.
Continue the install and have the Driver Recovery CD ready after windows boots to reinstall your drivers. You can usually put this in the drive and let windows find it and install the drivers from there. Some driver recovery programs can do this with a single click and reinstall for you.
Now all that's left to do is copy those files on the other PC to your newly installed Windows partition and drag the files to where they belong from the saved folder on the other PC's Desktop.
The End of the Tale
If none of what has been written so far applies to you, and your hard drive is clicking like a mad castanet player, there is yet one method that may save you AND your data.That clicking sound is a head servo seeking either the park position or the end position of your drive, or it could just be emulating Tom and Jerry, who really cares at this point?
What we want it to do, is pipe down and do it's job. Most people will trash a drive at this point, and I can definitely see why, since it may well be a lost cause. But this is not always the case.
Sometimes your drive may just have a malfunctioning chip on the control board and THAT, my dear friends, can be replaced.
The only real trick here is to find a drive exactly like yours and swap the control boards, save the data as per the procedures above, swap them back and use the new drive.
Having tried everything listed above, and even some things below you may still have a drive that simply doesn't function as you know it should. This is the time for that Manufacturers CD I mentioned at the beginning of the article. That process is as simple as booting the PC from the CD with the faulty drive in place and following the on-screen instructions. Run ALL the tests, and if the errors just keep on coming, you can trash that drive, confident in the fact that you did everything possible to try to save it.
Good Luck Future PC Techs
And Remember, be an honest Tech or Just don't bother.
Bob
Caution This article May be subject to bouts of editing or whimsy without a moments notice.
This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft
Windows XP to run on your computer:
To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
# Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.
To setup Windows XP now and Repair Install , press ENTER. do not choose "To repair a
Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R", (you Do Not want to load Recovery Console). I repeat, do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console".
# Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.
# Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair.
# Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot. Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears. Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact.
If all goes well, your installation will complete and you will re back where you were before this nightmare began, but if not, a clean drive and a reinstall will be your only option.Rather than format your drive and add excess wear to the head, platter and spindles you will simply run the XP CD and when it comes time to choose a partition, you will choose to delete the existing partition, make a new partition, then do a (Quick) NTFS format. This will allow you to do a hard drive recovery later if you choose to do so, without destroying the data you may want to restore with a hard drive recovery tool.
Continue the install and have the Driver Recovery CD ready after windows boots to reinstall your drivers. You can usually put this in the drive and let windows find it and install the drivers from there. Some driver recovery programs can do this with a single click and reinstall for you.
Now all that's left to do is copy those files on the other PC to your newly installed Windows partition and drag the files to where they belong from the saved folder on the other PC's Desktop.
The End of the Tale
If none of what has been written so far applies to you, and your hard drive is clicking like a mad castanet player, there is yet one method that may save you AND your data.That clicking sound is a head servo seeking either the park position or the end position of your drive, or it could just be emulating Tom and Jerry, who really cares at this point?
What we want it to do, is pipe down and do it's job. Most people will trash a drive at this point, and I can definitely see why, since it may well be a lost cause. But this is not always the case.
Sometimes your drive may just have a malfunctioning chip on the control board and THAT, my dear friends, can be replaced.
The only real trick here is to find a drive exactly like yours and swap the control boards, save the data as per the procedures above, swap them back and use the new drive.
Having tried everything listed above, and even some things below you may still have a drive that simply doesn't function as you know it should. This is the time for that Manufacturers CD I mentioned at the beginning of the article. That process is as simple as booting the PC from the CD with the faulty drive in place and following the on-screen instructions. Run ALL the tests, and if the errors just keep on coming, you can trash that drive, confident in the fact that you did everything possible to try to save it.
Good Luck Future PC Techs
And Remember, be an honest Tech or Just don't bother.
Bob
Caution This article May be subject to bouts of editing or whimsy without a moments notice.
Hard Drive troubleshooting?
Have your Windows CD handy as it will ask you to place it in the tray.
And Finally
Use a driver saver tool to avoid all that cruising the internet for the motherboard drivers your computer came with. This will save you from hours of frustration and fix any lost drivers that windows or malware have destroyed or corrupted. I use (Driver Backup 1.0.0.1) Which is
available at Cnet's download.com. Copy the files you save to a flash drive or CD and you will never regret it!
The DEAD Hard Drive! Or is it?
If all else has failed and Windows no longer starts up as it should, you will have ended up here in the Uh Oh area!
By now your local PC shop has told you that you have a virus and you need to format your hard drive because they are too incompetent and lack the skill and education to remove the virus with a standard Antivirus that any moron can buy at the local Costco, Walmart Target store or mall.
You didn't think they actually used anything you can't buy yourself did you?
The sad fact here is, that most people can do everything most every PC repair shop does on a daily basis in their own home with very little effort. Most PC shops simply Start your PC and if it won't start Windows properly, they will tell you that a hard drive wipe or (Format) is the only
way to save your computer.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Using the basic methods I have described above you can solve most of these problems yourself.
If you have a virus, just refer to my Article titled (Virus Facts and FYI).
Remember that almost no PC shop will care one iota about your personal data, or how long it took you to scan those family photos you use as a screensaver, or the Long reports you wrote for the Boss, or that novel you have been working on for the past 3 years.
There are some exceptions of course, and there are some genuine Computer Techs who will go that extra mile just to see you smile. But most of these guys have messy hair, work at home or smell like last nights Pizza. These guys are the ones you want. Not all of them are as wise as they should be, and some have Ego's the size of Dallas, while others will unscrupulously swap parts with your PC to upgrade their own PC hoping you will never find out. I know of a large computer firm near me that does this routinely and they have the whole town fooled.
But they DO exist, and have a head full of knowledge that will benefit you tremendously should you find the right one. So if you feel inadequate to use the steps provided so far, find a guy that has no shop, but everybody knows and trusts with their PC,
Back to the dead drive, (sorry I wandered)
So here you are with a hard drive that no longer boots or runs windows.
What about your data? You can save that with a USB to IDE/SATA connector.
This little device usually sells for under $20 and can be attached to any hard drive you care to place on it except for the SCSI variety.
To use this device, you will need to:
1. Remove your hard drive from your PC
2. Find a PC with enough free hard drive space to store your data on.
3. Scan the drive for viruses and malware with this other PC.
4. Scandisk and Defrag it to speed up data transfer and eliminate errors.
How do I know where to find the files I want to save?
Here is what you need to do first:
1, In XP go to (Tools), then (Folder Options) then (View) and uncheck anything that says hide.
2. Then go to (My Computer) and open your main drive, Usually C:
3. Open a folder called (Documents and Settings)
4. Look for a folder with your Login name and open it.
5. Do not drag these folders to your computer (Application Data, Cookies, My Recent Documents, NetHood, PrintHood, SendTo, Start Menu,
Templates, or Windows) as these will be useless on your newly formatted drive. If you have to format! and we really DON'T want to do that!
6. Create a new folder on the desktop of this other PC and call it anything you want and drag the rest of the folders there.
Take care to not delete or move any of these folders since we will be trying to restore your computer to as close to the pre-crash state as we can without losing data. If all goes well, your desktop will look the same, your (My Documents) folder will be intact, and most, if not all of your original programs will run as they did before your PC crashed.
Now you have a backup copy of your crucial files and can safely try to revover your hard drive and windows installation.
What if I use Outlook or Outlook Express!
(This will only work if you can still access windows)
This is usually only a problem on PC's where the email client is based on the ISP's settings and local mail delivery system. Saving your Emails is as easy as clicking one email item, going to the Edit tab and selecting all, then copy and past the selected Emails to the folder of your Choice, Obviously you should name it My Email or some such thing. Do the same for any Folders you created with your email client by opening them, select all, then copy and paste. When your new windows installation finishes (if you end up reinstalling) Simply drag and drop them right into the email clients inbox window and you'll be good as new.
Now you can reinstall your hard drive to your original computer and begin the data recovery, or reinstallation process. This will require you to use your original Windows CD and Product key.
On To The Real Fun Now !!
# Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order.
And Finally
Use a driver saver tool to avoid all that cruising the internet for the motherboard drivers your computer came with. This will save you from hours of frustration and fix any lost drivers that windows or malware have destroyed or corrupted. I use (Driver Backup 1.0.0.1) Which is
available at Cnet's download.com. Copy the files you save to a flash drive or CD and you will never regret it!
The DEAD Hard Drive! Or is it?
If all else has failed and Windows no longer starts up as it should, you will have ended up here in the Uh Oh area!
By now your local PC shop has told you that you have a virus and you need to format your hard drive because they are too incompetent and lack the skill and education to remove the virus with a standard Antivirus that any moron can buy at the local Costco, Walmart Target store or mall.
You didn't think they actually used anything you can't buy yourself did you?
The sad fact here is, that most people can do everything most every PC repair shop does on a daily basis in their own home with very little effort. Most PC shops simply Start your PC and if it won't start Windows properly, they will tell you that a hard drive wipe or (Format) is the only
way to save your computer.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Using the basic methods I have described above you can solve most of these problems yourself.
If you have a virus, just refer to my Article titled (Virus Facts and FYI).
Remember that almost no PC shop will care one iota about your personal data, or how long it took you to scan those family photos you use as a screensaver, or the Long reports you wrote for the Boss, or that novel you have been working on for the past 3 years.
There are some exceptions of course, and there are some genuine Computer Techs who will go that extra mile just to see you smile. But most of these guys have messy hair, work at home or smell like last nights Pizza. These guys are the ones you want. Not all of them are as wise as they should be, and some have Ego's the size of Dallas, while others will unscrupulously swap parts with your PC to upgrade their own PC hoping you will never find out. I know of a large computer firm near me that does this routinely and they have the whole town fooled.
But they DO exist, and have a head full of knowledge that will benefit you tremendously should you find the right one. So if you feel inadequate to use the steps provided so far, find a guy that has no shop, but everybody knows and trusts with their PC,
Back to the dead drive, (sorry I wandered)
So here you are with a hard drive that no longer boots or runs windows.
What about your data? You can save that with a USB to IDE/SATA connector.
This little device usually sells for under $20 and can be attached to any hard drive you care to place on it except for the SCSI variety.
To use this device, you will need to:
1. Remove your hard drive from your PC
2. Find a PC with enough free hard drive space to store your data on.
3. Scan the drive for viruses and malware with this other PC.
4. Scandisk and Defrag it to speed up data transfer and eliminate errors.
How do I know where to find the files I want to save?
Here is what you need to do first:
1, In XP go to (Tools), then (Folder Options) then (View) and uncheck anything that says hide.
2. Then go to (My Computer) and open your main drive, Usually C:
3. Open a folder called (Documents and Settings)
4. Look for a folder with your Login name and open it.
5. Do not drag these folders to your computer (Application Data, Cookies, My Recent Documents, NetHood, PrintHood, SendTo, Start Menu,
Templates, or Windows) as these will be useless on your newly formatted drive. If you have to format! and we really DON'T want to do that!
6. Create a new folder on the desktop of this other PC and call it anything you want and drag the rest of the folders there.
Take care to not delete or move any of these folders since we will be trying to restore your computer to as close to the pre-crash state as we can without losing data. If all goes well, your desktop will look the same, your (My Documents) folder will be intact, and most, if not all of your original programs will run as they did before your PC crashed.
Now you have a backup copy of your crucial files and can safely try to revover your hard drive and windows installation.
What if I use Outlook or Outlook Express!
(This will only work if you can still access windows)
This is usually only a problem on PC's where the email client is based on the ISP's settings and local mail delivery system. Saving your Emails is as easy as clicking one email item, going to the Edit tab and selecting all, then copy and past the selected Emails to the folder of your Choice, Obviously you should name it My Email or some such thing. Do the same for any Folders you created with your email client by opening them, select all, then copy and paste. When your new windows installation finishes (if you end up reinstalling) Simply drag and drop them right into the email clients inbox window and you'll be good as new.
Now you can reinstall your hard drive to your original computer and begin the data recovery, or reinstallation process. This will require you to use your original Windows CD and Product key.
On To The Real Fun Now !!
# Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order.
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