MPnet geek support

[Andrew116]

Ok I have a 160GB External hard drive. I turned it on and nothing happened. The light was on and it just kept clicking the same pattern over and over. Then (this was on my Windows XP Comp) an error came up "Data Error (cyclic redundancy check)."

I don't know what that means. So wondering what would happen I tried it on my new iMac and Disk Utility came up. But it didn't recognize it.

How can I bring this drive back to life. I really don't want to lose all of the stuff on it. Many of the things on it are for college and still need to be accessed.

Any help?

P.S. scanned it for viruses, adware and spyware and came up with nothing.

[Fade]

I think CRC errors indicate hardware problems, try a CHKDSK

Specifically, bad sectors and lots of them

[Valkyries]

what every you do, do not take it to Bestbuy or any company with something similar to geeksquad (sry dont know where you are from thou)

How old is the drive?
Look Up a program called "Spinrite"

[Chulo]

DO NOT take it to any Box store - they will just rip you off and copy all your stuff.

is/has your HD been making any strange sounds? (clicks and such)
What make is the HD? each company has a HD diagnostic software
If its a slave, then after its connected does it show up on your "drive" list?

[TheKiwi]

That's generally not a good sign. If you are serious about getting your data back do not run chkdsk or any other file recovery programs. Just by examining the disk, they can make things worse. If your data is worth money to you, you might have to talk to a forensic data recovery company. Expect to pay $$$ though.

BTW: Does anyone else think we need a "Fix my computer" sticky, like the the Autoshop one?

[Andrew116]

In response:

1. I wont take it to anyone cause of that I dont want them all over my sh1t

2. Yes it has been making weird noises (clicking and such)

3. Make is Seagate (yes not one of the most quality drives on the market.

4. WTF is a "external flange mechanism"?

5. I'll looking in to Spinrite


ADDON:

What about using The Unix program dd to recover the files to my mac.
6. I think that there should be a comp fix sticky

[Chulo]

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/sup...oads/seatools/
is a diagnostic tool
The clicking sounds is not good

[Invisigoth]

1) sticking a Windows formatted HD into a Mac will not work (is not a good idea)

2) run chkdsk (Start/Run/Type Chkdsk/Press Enter)

3) Get a HD recovery tool

4) Good luck

[Andrew116]

I have a disk that I picked up a while ago called Search and Recover 3 will this help me.

Also dl'd the Seagate tools and the drive passed the Short DST but failed on test (the long and sort generic as it is called) and wasn't able to do any of the other tests. So it told me nothing.

[TheKiwi]

Hurrah. Geek support sticky is open. Remember folks, the more information the better. Screenshots of the error message can help too.

[Mr. Bunny]

Been thinking we need something like this for awhile now. Glad it's finally around. Do we have anyone like shocker1 that is the equivalent in the geek world?

[TheKiwi]

I'm not nearly as godlike with computers as Shocker is with autos but I do this kind of tech support stuff for a living. There's a number of others out there too like Pandy.

[shocker1]

I'm not nearly as godlike with computers as Shocker is with autos but I do this kind of tech support stuff for a living. There's a number of others out there too like Pandy.

Good break out the Fluke or like multimeter and check the resistance of that antenna wire. (see service center)

[T3ngu]

Been thinking we need something like this for awhile now. Glad it's finally around. Do we have anyone like shocker1 that is the equivalent in the geek world?

I have too dedbunniez. Its a good sticky.

Cyclic redundencies are bad. I think you wont have much luck. Further, any time HDD's especially the WD ones, click, thats the begining of the ends. I have kill 6 or so.

The only other thing I would suggest is running the Check Disk in windows with the auto fix and scan and attempt recovery options.

Otherwise do a format x: and start again.

Sorry forgot to add. If if freezes your PC while running the check, thats also bad.

For those of you who listen to podcasts heres a good one that I listen to here

I'm not nearly as godlike with computers as Shocker is with autos but I do this kind of tech support stuff for a living. There's a number of others out there too like Pandy.

I always wanted to work with computers but don't. For a few years now I have been helping people in my spare time, i really like it. I used to be in charge of our groups computers (around 30).

TheKiwi = "have you tried rebooting"

[TheKiwi]

...
I always wanted to work with computers but don't. For a few years now I have been helping people in my spare time, i really like it. I used to be in charge of our groups computers (around 30).

One of those things its easier to like as a hobby than as a job.