hard drive suddenly not detected

AMD vs. Intel · 12-15-2005, 07:31 PM

My 120Gb western digital SATA drive suddenly stopped being detected. It's only a few weeks old. After I formatted with the windows xp disk it started loading windows and got stuck on this one file for a couple of hours, and I had to reboot. When I restarted the hard disk was making funny clicking noises and it wouldn't get detected at startup.

I don't want to check the heads or anything because it will void my warranty. I've tried using a different SATA cable and I changed the power from SATA power to legacy (NOT both at once) but it still didn't change. Should I get it replaced or is there a way to fix it without the hassle?

PCBruiser · 12-15-2005, 07:45 PM

Go to the WD site. There is a downloadable diagnostics floppy based program. When you run it it will create a bootable floppy. Boot from the floppy and run the diagnostics. That kind of a clicking noise is not good. It is usually from one of two sources - both bad.; The first is that one of the flying read/write heads is hitting a platter. The second is that the head controller servo motor is going bad and stuck moving the head back and forth. Neither is fixable outside of the factory. That diagnostics program will tell you for sure, but I think you have a dying drive if not a dead one.

BTW, using their diagnoistics disk will NOT void your warranty. They will require that you do that anyway to get the error code for an RMA of the drive anyway.

AMD vs. Intel · 12-15-2005, 07:46 PM

thanks, I got the floppy now when I tested my HD before so I'll give it a check... it detected my hd again but it still makes the clicking noise and won't go past the first startup screen.

I think its intermittend. It gets detected and sometimes it doesn't. The floppy is doing strange things, it isn't going past loading Caldera Dr-Dos.

kryten100 · 12-16-2005, 02:09 AM

If you're overclocking, set your box back to stock speeds before running the WD diagnostics.

AMD vs. Intel · 12-16-2005, 09:45 PM

I haven't been able to try overclocking it yet. I haven't been able to get anything working on it properly

. I contacted gigabyte, awaiting response.

12-15-2005, 07:31 PM	#1
AMD vs. Intel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 35	hard drive suddenly not detected My 120Gb western digital SATA drive suddenly stopped being detected. It's only a few weeks old. After I formatted with the windows xp disk it started loading windows and got stuck on this one file for a couple of hours, and I had to reboot. When I restarted the hard disk was making funny clicking noises and it wouldn't get detected at startup. I don't want to check the heads or anything because it will void my warranty. I've tried using a different SATA cable and I changed the power from SATA power to legacy (NOT both at once) but it still didn't change. Should I get it replaced or is there a way to fix it without the hassle? __________________ Thermaltake Soprano Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra-939 Limited Edition Athlon 64 3200+ 2x 512 Kingsmax MPXC22D-38KT3R Dual Channel MSI RX800SE 256 G7 Cordless Laser G15 Gaming Keyboard WD 120GB SATA, Seagate 300GB Sata Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music Samsung SyncMaster 740N 17in Packard Bell 15in
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12-15-2005, 07:45 PM	#2
PCBruiser Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 13,497	Go to the WD site. There is a downloadable diagnostics floppy based program. When you run it it will create a bootable floppy. Boot from the floppy and run the diagnostics. That kind of a clicking noise is not good. It is usually from one of two sources - both bad.; The first is that one of the flying read/write heads is hitting a platter. The second is that the head controller servo motor is going bad and stuck moving the head back and forth. Neither is fixable outside of the factory. That diagnostics program will tell you for sure, but I think you have a dying drive if not a dead one. BTW, using their diagnoistics disk will NOT void your warranty. They will require that you do that anyway to get the error code for an RMA of the drive anyway.
(Offline)

12-15-2005, 07:46 PM	#3
AMD vs. Intel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 35	thanks, I got the floppy now when I tested my HD before so I'll give it a check... it detected my hd again but it still makes the clicking noise and won't go past the first startup screen. I think its intermittend. It gets detected and sometimes it doesn't. The floppy is doing strange things, it isn't going past loading Caldera Dr-Dos. __________________ Thermaltake Soprano Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra-939 Limited Edition Athlon 64 3200+ 2x 512 Kingsmax MPXC22D-38KT3R Dual Channel MSI RX800SE 256 G7 Cordless Laser G15 Gaming Keyboard WD 120GB SATA, Seagate 300GB Sata Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music Samsung SyncMaster 740N 17in Packard Bell 15in Last edited by AMD vs. Intel : 12-15-2005 at 07:58 PM.
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12-16-2005, 02:09 AM	#4
kryten100 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 12	If you're overclocking, set your box back to stock speeds before running the WD diagnostics.
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12-16-2005, 09:45 PM	#5
AMD vs. Intel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 35	I haven't been able to try overclocking it yet. I haven't been able to get anything working on it properly . I contacted gigabyte, awaiting response. __________________ Thermaltake Soprano Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra-939 Limited Edition Athlon 64 3200+ 2x 512 Kingsmax MPXC22D-38KT3R Dual Channel MSI RX800SE 256 G7 Cordless Laser G15 Gaming Keyboard WD 120GB SATA, Seagate 300GB Sata Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music Samsung SyncMaster 740N 17in Packard Bell 15in
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