Faulty HDD?

NiallFH

I tried to re install Windows yesterday due to some re occuring problems I had been having.

It got to Expanding Windows Files and froze on 24%, went online for a look and saw that it seemed to be a problem with the disc, so I burned another one which got to expanding Windows Files and froze at 64%.

Looked a bit more online and found people saying it could be a problem with the HDD so I completly wiped/formatted the HDD and tried again, still froze on 64%.

It could of course still be a problem with the disc so I'm going to burn another one and try it later but it seems unlikely?

Anyone seen this before and know what the problem is? Have read the HDD might just be done, hoping that isnt the case

kingtiger

sounds like the HD, you could always boot Windows for a USB stick just to check

but I have also seen a RAM stick going bad and giving that kind of error before

wobbles-grogan

Sounds like a HDD problem tbh.

If your going to burn another DVD, make sure you burn it at the slowest speed possible (Usually 2x), that will gave it the least chance of being faulty. But, even still, i would imagine its the hard drive...

yeppydeppy

Download Hirens boot cd and boot it off that - there are a number of different diagnostic tools on it.

NiallFH

kingtiger wrote: »

sounds like the HD, you could always boot Windows for a USB stick just to check

but I have also seen a RAM stick going bad and giving that kind of error before

I have no USB big enough for windows though, max I have is a 4 GB and I think I would prefer just order a new HDD and know it would fix it rather than wait on a new usb that might not ><

I dont think its the RAM though as it was giving no problems prior to my attempting to re install windows. That said neither was the HDD...

yeppydeppy wrote: »

Download Hirens boot cd and boot it off that - there are a number of different diagnostic tools on it.

Will look into that now thanks.

Also I burned the CD at the slowest speed the second time, first time I'm not really sure what speed

NiallFH

Just a bit more information that might be useful.

The problems I was having were virus related, all the hardware was fine before.

Whne I was doing the re install, I deleted all partitions as it wouldnt let me continue the install before I removed them.

Then ran a program called Direks Boot and Nuke, took about 14 hours and it basically did the erasing of all data and wiped the HDD.

The install froze on 64% before and after the Direks Boot and Nuke. Which gave no errors when it ran and said it completed successfully.

SomethingElse

Sounds like it could be a faulty disc to me. Try burning it at the slowest speed possible, and use the 'worst' disc you have. I've had the same problems when burning an operating system before, namely ubuntu, and I found my 52x CD-RW discs kept freezing, while in the end a 4x CD-R I burned worked perfect.
Hope this helps.

NiallFH

SomethingElse wrote: »

Sounds like it could be a faulty disc to me. Try burning it at the slowest speed possible, and use the 'worst' disc you have. I've had the same problems when burning an operating system before, namely ubuntu, and I found my 52x CD-RW discs kept freezing, while in the end a 4x CD-R I burned worked perfect.
Hope this helps.

I'm hoping it is tbh, not keen on having to continue to use my laptop until a new HDD arrives lol.

I used ISOBurner to burn the DVD (x2 speed was the slowest it offered). I'm going to try a few different programs today and see if any of them work. The DVD's I'm using are from the same pack as the one's I used to burn the original disc for this computer. No idea where the original disc is though

ThePandaboy

If your have problems with HDD drive try UBCD and complete wipe the hard drive. And start from there again. That is what i did when it happened to me

NiallFH

ThePandaboy wrote: »

If your have problems with HDD drive try UBCD and complete wipe the hard drive. And start from there again. That is what i did when it happened to me

How long does it take wiping it? I tried another program that did the same thing but it took 14 hours I dont think I want to go through that again lol

ThePandaboy

Mine is 500gb and it took 2 hours.

NiallFH

ThePandaboy wrote: »

Mine is 500gb and it took 2 hours.

Site for its blocked in work here, I will get onto it at home with the laptop and try it.

Making two new ISO discs with Nero and ImgBurner.

Incase these dont work and it proves to be the HDD I think I will upgrade to a 120 GB SSD, is there a good thread about with some SSD info? Don't want to open a new topic on it if it's been done a few times already

Tij da feen

Get a Samsung 830 128gb off of dabs. They're just north of the 100 quid mark and it's a very good SSD.

wobbles-grogan

wobbles-grogan wrote: »

Sounds like a HDD problem tbh.

If your going to burn another DVD, make sure you burn it at the slowest speed possible (Usually 2x), that will gave it the least chance of being faulty. But, even still, i would imagine its the hard drive...

That's an old-fashioned thing. With modern DVD drives and media, the best speed is usually the rated speed or maybe a step or two below.

Burning at the lowest possible speed is likely to result in a crap burn.