Hi all,
I recently dug an old computer out of my storage room, but it didn't work quite right, giving me this error upon boot:
A disk read error has occured
Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart
I found out from a Ubuntu Live CD that the HD wasn't completely dead, but the NTFS partition wasn't healthy, and that I should use chkdsk /f on the drive from windows.
I decided to try to reinstall Win XP, but it would only give me a black screen after the "Setup is inspecting your system configuration" message.
I've tried the SpinRite 6 utility, but it found nothing wrong.
Should I go out and see if I can recover the data using a HD to USB converter, or just buy a new HD, and see if it solves my problem?
Well, you have bad sectors so your disk is trashed. I don't know if you can recover from a corrupted drive, but it's worth a try.
Buying a new HD will be necessary.
Try repairing the MBR from within the Ubuntu LiveCD:
http://www.arsgeek.com/2008/01/15/how-to-fix-your-windows-mbr-with-an-ubuntu-livecd/ (http://www.arsgeek.com/2008/01/15/how-to-fix-your-windows-mbr-with-an-ubuntu-livecd/)
Try ERD Commander 2008, it's a Windows based Live CD with tons of recovery utilities aimed directly at Windows XP / Vista.
As a last resort try a low level format (aka zero fill).
I just tried ERD commander, but it's giving me the Blank-Screen treatment, just like with the Windows XP installation disk.
I'm beginning to suspect about your RAM. It could be bad or poorly seated in its slot. Try running Memtest86 for a couple of hours and see if anything red comes up on the screen - it should already come in your Ubuntu CD, otherwise you can download it and make a bootable CD out of it.
My RAM completed a Pass of Memtest without an error, but I should let it run longer, right?
EDIT: Wow, I figured out that I'm able to access my hard drive's files from the Ubuntu Live CD. I'm backing them up to an external HD.
So, my RAM isn't defective, my HD still works, but windows XP installation refuses to show up. What's wrong here?
Could be anything from a slightly corrupt filesystem to a slightly bad optical drive. Try low level formatting the drive after backing up your files, and if that doesn't work try another CD-ROM drive.
As long as you can boot from your optical drive, download and burn a copy of Hitachi's Drive Fitness test. It's been a useful piece of freeware for me to test and possibly diagnose hard drive issues.
Alright, a bit ago, I went to MicroCenter and got a PATA HD (which the sales person said is the same as IDE) and 1 GB of ram. The ram fit in fine, but the windows installation can't seem to see the hard drive.
The weird thing is that the BIOS detects the hard drive, but apparently, windows can't.
EDIT: Great. I managed to get windows XP to detect the hard drive so I could install it, but now I'm right back where I started. It's giving me the disk read error again.
Nevermind, I got it to work now.
Thanks for the help guys!
Uhh, I think my laptop just ate a CD of mine. >_>
I put it in the CD tray, and apparently I didn't push it down hard enough, even though it clicked like it went down all the way. I pushed in the CD tray, and then it ended up not going in all the way, so I pulled the tray back out, but the CD wasn't on it, and it's now somehow stuck in the CD slot directly above where the tray would be when closed.
What do I do?
Got some screwdrivers?
...If you're implying that I open my laptop, I do not.
Otherwise, I don't know what you're getting at.
Yeah, that's what I would do.
As long as you don't have shag carpeting. :P
Turn your laptop upside down, angle it slightly toward the side your CD drive is on with the drawer open, & shake it from side to side until your cd emerges. If this doesn't work, get out your screwdriver and grounding strap. :P
Well, I found a guide that tells which screws to remove in order to remove the optical drive. I removed the screws it said, and nothing happened.
I did however find out what's holding the CD in there. Somehow, when I was closing the tray the first time, I pushed the CD up above the tray, so it's now resting on the tray shielding. If I can actually manage to get the drive out, the CD will come right out. I just don't know how since doing what the guide said didn't work.
If it's anyone's concern, here's the guide:
http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Qosmio-X305/laptop-disassembly-2.htm
Edit*
Had to pull really hard on the drive after removing said screws. Like, I needed to use quite a bit of force. I think it was because of the pressure that said CD was adding against the drive..possibly. Anyway, fixed it now.