Vista Sata Drivers

R088ieS86 · 31 May 2010 at 18:32

Hi Guys,

I've got a laptop which is having some HDD issues.
I've tried connecting it to 2 of my other PCs and explorer freezes when trying to open my computer and disk management.

I stuck it into the freezer for an hour. And i can now get to the option "Launch Startup Repair"

I get to the System Recovery Options and it asks which OS to repair, but it doesn't have one, so i go into load drivers.

My question is does anyone know where the Sata drivers are either in the Windows\System32 folder or on the vista setup disc?
I've had a scout around but can't find them.

SiriusB · 31 May 2010 at 20:09

If it is causing two other computers to freeze up when readig it - this would suggest the HDD is knackered...

andy_mk3 · 31 May 2010 at 20:13

HDD is knackered, it's not a driver issue.

R088ieS86 · 31 May 2010 at 20:19

Yeh i'm almost admitting defeat. Just trying to get the data off of it.
So far I can transfer data for 12mins before it refuses to transfer any more.
At which point i have to cool it down again.
Its going to take a while to get all the music off it!!!
:eek:

R088ieS86 · 31 May 2010 at 20:21

Yeh i know its not a driver issue but i needed them to see if i could boot into vista.
Managed it by grabbing the drivers from the Acer Website, but like i said, 12minute window before it blue screened!

SiriusB · 31 May 2010 at 21:14

You could try using a Linux Live CD - such as Mint. May last longer than Windows while grabbing your data.

R088ieS86 · 31 May 2010 at 21:29

I've never used that before.
Im up for anything at this point - is it CD/DVD bootable?

SiriusB · 31 May 2010 at 22:59

yup, just download Linux Mint, burn it to disc then boot from it. Will give you the option to boot into a Live desktop. Nothing installs as it all runs from RAM.

theheyes · 31 May 2010 at 23:48

SiriusB said:
You could try using a Linux Live CD - such as Mint. May last longer than Windows while grabbing your data.

I agree with this - if you are booting from said disk then that's just time wasted not doing file copies. Perhaps try leaving it in the freezer longer as well.

this_is_gav · 1 Jun 2010 at 10:32

USB controllers are often more resilient than SATA controllers. Dying hard drives will often continue to work in my IcyBox USB enclosure when my PC itself won't pick them up. Clearly this is only going to work if the problem is electrical rather than a mechanical one, but it does have a remarkable success record for me.

If you've got an external enclosure it's certainly worth a shot!

PS, I should stress they're not normally my hard drives, usually trying to get data off a dying laptop hard drive or something!

R088ieS86 · 2 Jun 2010 at 20:33

Hey guys, massive thankyou for this, Mint managed to stay afloat for 30mins before the HDD gave out. All Data Recovered, New HDD installed and running like a dream!

2 Thumbs way way up!

theheyes · 2 Jun 2010 at 21:16

Glad to hear it worked. Has it taught you to back up though?