Where do i turn next (bad hard drive)

dean_ham · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:06

Basically by switching the pc on i get the options safe mode, safe mode with control panel etc etc start windows normally. About 5-6 different options...

No matter what i select windows xp bar starts loading up then pc resets and the options again re appear....

Tried re installing windows but says it needs to reformat the partition because its a bad hard drive.

Pressing F12 when pc is booted brings up the boot device menu.
Ive selected no.5 IDE drive diagnostics

WDC WWD800BB-75FJA1 - FAIL. RETURN CODE: 7

Ive downloaded ultimate boot cd, and booted that up but there are no tools for western digital hard drives

Any idea what return code 7 is and whats the best software tools to fix my hard drive and recover my data

Thank you!

Dean

dean_ham · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:11

Just found this on some dell us forum.....

For anyone that needs an answer to this question I spoke with a Dell Tech and he said return code 7 means bad tracks or sectors.

Does this mean my hd is screwed

bye bye data?

Kerplunk · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:13

Slave the HDD in another PC to retrieve the data.

wizardmaxx · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:16

one eve I shut down the computer, and it hung. the next day it booted with this message: "unmountable boot volume" this is the bios.
"fail: return code 7"
I ran the sata diagnostics that came with the western Digital and it said
"uncorrectable data error or media write protected" at data block 53,877,929

dean_ham · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:17

Kerplunk said:
Slave the HDD in another PC to retrieve the data.

tried that... when the hdd was put into the other pc the pc ran a lot slower, and when i selected the hdd in my computer it said the hard drive has not been formated, do u wish to formated yes/no.

I should be receiving my new pc parts today and ill try and slave it in my new system to see if i can recover any data

wizardmaxx · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:21

http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm

Try this software. Afaik its based on the old rescue18b prog and may be able to find lost data.

dean_ham · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:25

wizardmaxx said:
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm

Try this software. Afaik its based on the old rescue18b prog and may be able to find lost data.

ok thanks did u use this program to resolve your problem with you hdd....

btw its an IDE drive not sata if thats any help.

cheers

edit: cant use that software because i cant get into windows at all

wizardmaxx · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:27

Used the old rescue prog tons of times, mostly for other people though. Takes hellava long time, but recover many files through it. The other one I use a bit is this one.

http://www.recovermyfiles.com/

wizardmaxx · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:30

dean_ham said:
edit: cant use that software because i cant get into windows at all

You will have to get someone to make up a boot cd for u ....BartPE works wonders and you can integrate recovery software as well. U will need spare hdd for copying across though.

dean_ham · 24 Oct 2006 at 13:32

Found this

http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?cxml=n&pid=4&swid=30
Instructions:
Diagnostics Bootable CD:
Download the Diag504cCD.zip or Diag504cCD.iso file to your desktop.
Extract the Diag504cCD.zip file to your desktop with a file extraction utility. (Alternately you have the option to download the iso version of the file which does not require extraction with a zip utility).
You will see a new file named Diag504cCD.iso on your desktop.
You must use a CD burning program (such as Nero Burning Rom or EZ-CD Creator) to burn a CD from the .ISO image.
You can now boot the computer to the diagnostics CD. Make sure your boot order in your BIOS is set to boot to the CD-ROM drive first.
You will see the following options:
SELECT DRIVE - Always choose this option first, as it determines which drive you will be working on.
QUICK TEST - This option tests your drive quickly for any major physical problems. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
EXTENDED TEST - This option checks your drive thoroughly and it can repair any correctable errors. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, some data loss may occur, depending on the errors found and the errors corrected. Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
WRITE ZEROS TO DRIVE - The Write Zeros option, wipes any and all data off your drive. This option used when your data is no longer usable or recoverable. If you no longer need any data from your drive and would like to start over, run this option to set your drive to an as new condition. NOTE: Please make sure that you have selected the correct drive to perform this function on as once ran, no data will be recoverable.
VIEW TEST RESULTS - You can see the results of the test you just performed
PRINT TEST RESULTS - Test results can be printed with this option. USB printers are not supported
LOG FILE OPEN/CLOSE - You can access the log file which is generated automatically
ENTER AND PRINT RMA INFORMATION - Information pertaining to each drive tested can be customized and printed with this option.
HELP - Brief descriptions of each option in addition to explanations of error codes are available in this option.
QUIT - Reboot your system once you have completed the selected tasks
Select the task you wish to perform.

wish me luck! lol