HP Mini Netbook HDD failed - Linux Mint LiveCD would not work? (Why not??)

KatanaDV20 · 26 Jul 2011 at 23:49

Hey guys just wanted to know your thoughts on this?

A buddy of mine has a HP Mini netbook whose HD has failed. But she wanted to try and recover some of her saved work on there. And she also wanted internet access etc. So I thought I could attach the external USB CD drive making the netbook boot from a Linux Mint DVD that I have.

However it didnt work :confused:

I then selected "compatibilty mode" which let me see what was goin on on a DOS-like screen and I noticed stuff like "SATA fail"..."I/O fail"...

...Im an absolute n00b @ Linux and only keep the Mint DVD for emergency use as a recovery disk but my question: I thought a LiveCD/DVD loaded only into RAM? Why is it throwing a fuss cuz the HD aint working? Why is Mint:

1. Searching for the HD
2. Realizing that the HD is not working
3. Refuses to load further and stays stuck on the Mint logo screen

Unless of course Im missing something...

Thanks!

PS: I know that even if Mint HAD loaded it would be useless cuz the HD has failed so recovering her documents would be impossible anyway. At least she would have been able to go online though.

I was just interested to see that it didnt even load...its like it WANTED the HD..even though it was a "LiveCD"

PermaBanned · 27 Jul 2011 at 01:36

What makes you think it's the HDD that's the problem in the first place? If that doesn't work and you're having other problems then it could be a controller problem - in other words the motherboard could be shot.

KatanaDV20 · 27 Jul 2011 at 20:16

PermaBanned said:
What makes you think it's the HDD that's the problem in the first place? If that doesn't work and you're having other problems then it could be a controller problem - in other words the motherboard could be shot.

The netbook comes with a HP Diagnostic Utilty (Im guessing this runs of a chip or something). Using this I ran the tests - everything passed except the Hard Drive. It said Hard Drive Failure [303]

Also I could hear the drive clicking at regular intervals..about every 2 secs it would whirr and then stop. Whirr-stop-whirr-stop.

Just bummed that my fabulous Mint DVD wouldnt fire up

masterluke · 27 Jul 2011 at 22:07

Its possible that your pc is otherwise ok and you have hit a mint bug or incompatibility - its more likely (in my opinion) that there is something else wrong with the hardware. If the laptop suffered some impact damage then the disk may not be the only thing thats got broken. Passing a bios diagnostic doesn't necessarily mean that all is well.

KatanaDV20 · 27 Jul 2011 at 23:39

masterluke said:
Its possible that your pc is otherwise ok and you have hit a mint bug or incompatibility - its more likely (in my opinion) that there is something else wrong with the hardware. If the laptop suffered some impact damage then the disk may not be the only thing thats got broken. Passing a bios diagnostic doesn't necessarily mean that all is well.

Looks like youre probably right! Tried several times and it wont work. Tested Mint DVD on my own computer and it works fine.

Given the dead HP back to my friend now, shes given up as well and is using her mates old computer now.

But she has also learned something the hard way - this is what happens when you dont back up!!

masterluke · 28 Jul 2011 at 09:12

Don't give up on the data TOO quickly. You should try putting the broken disk into another machine and then boot from mint. You may find that at least some of the data is readable.

Hairybudda · 28 Jul 2011 at 14:10

You could always do the old ziplock back->freezer trick, it's helped me recover a little data on a few occasions.

KatanaDV20 · 28 Jul 2011 at 23:27

Don't give up on the data TOO quickly. You should try putting the broken disk into another machine and then boot from mint. You may find that at least some of the data is readable.

Hmm I will suggest that to her. From what Ive seen on some forums that model of netbook is notorious for failing hard drives.

You could always do the old ziplock back->freezer trick, it's helped me recover a little data on a few occasions.

Hee hee a good idea, Ive heard this does work on occasion. Wonder what the science is behind this. Does the cold make the HD atoms & electrons happy? I guess you have to work fast before it warms up and goes belly up again.