OMG!!! My Hard Drive is failing.....need help!!!!!

[Muzaffar]

First of all, if this is in the wrong thread, please ask a mod to move it somewhere more appropriate. Thank you.

Well i think the title says it all. My external hard drive is failing (or so i think) i mean now its like....oh god, i don't know what to say! I mean its hard to explain the situation...... I have an 80GB HD which has 2 separate drives (which means 40GB per drive, still understand?) Well the weird thing is that one of my drives is starting to give me problem! When i try to open a file or even transfer a file from that particular drive, it takes ages for it to load! I even tried to scan for a virus but the virus stopped scanning at 10% (at one of my rFactor files) But i hope i can resolve this first. I tried to burn my files from that drive also give me a headache! Like it always doesn't want to load up and sometimes it would reject the file altogether.

This problem started a few months ago when i was converting videos and stuff. Somehow i didn't realize that one of the converted files was corrupted. I tried to delete it, but it won't! (see photos below) Then i check the properties and saw that it was an empty file, so like i thought it was just fine (things were still okay back then) then i started to install games onto that particular drive and also put some videos there as well. All was fine back then, but over the months the driver seems to get slower and also makes my pc crash more often. I then uninstall the games, but still the problem persist! Am i really abusing my HD? If i was, how come only one drive looks like failing? By the way, i use that HD almost everyday for 12 hours straight? Is that a bad thing? If this is possible, can i reformat just one of my drivers? Any help and suggestion are appreciated. I'm really desperate here......I don't really have much in my HD, just some songs, videos, and photos. I don't really have anything important but those things are really precious to me (cause like it took me days to download that stuff!!!!)

Well here is that file i was mentioning:



(sorry if i sound paranoid, crazy or just plain dumb....)

 

[Thiele]

Hmm, it could be a hardware faliure, or a software or driver problem. You're not running your OS off this drive are you? If so, you'll probably be greeted by a BSOD. (if it is a hardware or driver problem, you could probably still get a BSOD, but not as likely)

 

[Casio]

Hmm, it could be a hardware faliure, or a software or driver problem.

Thank you Captain Obvious.

Although unlikely to solve it, you could always try putting the drive in another PC to see if you can grab the files off that way. If not then salvage what you can from the other petition and buy a new HD. 80GBs are so cheap now they can basically be given away. Personally I wouldn't want to risk a dud drive that's giving you problems with anything important.

 

[Muzaffar]

Hmm, it could be a hardware faliure, or a software or driver problem. You're not running your OS off this drive are you? If so, you'll probably be greeted by a BSOD. (if it is a hardware or driver problem, you could probably still get a BSOD, but not as likely)

Nope, i didn't run any software on my HD (oops, chould have said external Hd just now... ) But if it was a Hardware/Software failure, i should have noticed it by now....

Oh yeah, this maybe off topic but, what is the Temp folder for in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp? Is it safe to delete any files from there? Cause i see that the folder has like 1+GB worth of stuff in it, and i think most of them are junk!

Thank you Captain Obvious.

Although unlikely to solve it, you could always try putting the drive in another PC to see if you can grab the files off that way. If not then salvage what you can from the other petition and buy a new HD. 80GBs are so cheap now they can basically be given away. Personally I wouldn't want to risk a dud drive that's giving you problems with anything important.

Well maybe i'll try that sometime, but i don't know if it will work. Its most likely something thats messing my HD. Cause i think that empty file has been bugging me all along, i don't know why, but it seems to look like the cause of the problem. I tried using all sorts of software, but it won't delete that file. Well another option is to transfer my file onto my internal HD and reformat the external HD and see what happens from there, but its going to take a very long time......

 

[Thiele]

Hmm, i think it's safe, i've got exactly 1.00gb in there.

So it's an external HD? Try it in another PC if possible, if not, have you got a warranty on it? You should probably contact the manufacturer or retailer. First, can you update the driver?

 

[Muzaffar]

Hmm, i think it's safe, i've got exactly 1.00gb in there.

So it's an external HD? Try it in another PC if possible, if not, have you got a warranty on it? You should probably contact the manufacturer or retailer. First, can you update the driver?

Well the thing is, i didn't buy the HD. It was late uncle's HD that i'm using. I don't know where he bought it or how the driver was installed. I just plug it in and use it. So is there a side effect of doing that?

 

[Casio]

Well maybe i'll try that sometime, but i don't know if it will work. Its most likely something thats messing my HD. Cause i think that empty file has been bugging me all along, i don't know why, but it seems to look like the cause of the problem. I tried using all sorts of software, but it won't delete that file. Well another option is to transfer my file onto my internal HD and reformat the external HD and see what happens from there, but its going to take a very long time......

If it's only the single file you can't delete then try to get everything else off that partition (It shouldn't take that long, just leave it on for the day) and try a straight format.

 

[DQuaN]

Open My Computer, right click the drive and select properties. Click the tools tab and run error checking. See what it comes up with.

 

[Muzaffar]

Open My Computer, right click the drive and select properties. Click the tools tab and run error checking. See what it comes up with.

Well i tried, but it come up with nothing. ( i tried both on normal and in safe mode as well.) Guess i have no luck with this driver.....*sigh*

 

[G.T]

I agree with getting everything off that partiton if you can and then formatting it. If there is still something wrong afterwards, even after trying it in another PC, then there is definitely something wrong.

How old is the drive? If it's still within warranty contact the manufacturer if the problem is still there.

 

[V1P3R]

I guess since there's a thread on it, I also have an HD problem. It will show up on my computer and it will show x space taken up but when I go to look at the contents it won't show anything. I used a software call "recover me files" and it showed everything but then later I had to restart and it showed everything as "recovered" label on it, not the original file name. The reason I'm bummed about it is because I will be losing all my mp3 collection for one.

 

[Muzaffar]

I agree with getting everything off that partiton if you can and then formatting it. If there is still something wrong afterwards, even after trying it in another PC, then there is definitely something wrong.

How old is the drive? If it's still within warranty contact the manufacturer if the problem is still there.

Well, i don't know how old the driver is or where is the warranty (cause its not mine, it was my late uncle's HD that i'm using) I'm trying the best i can to move all the files away from the HD, but some of them had an error while i move them:

I don't really know what that means or what to do with it. But somehow i feel like the HD has corrupted some of my files already.... But anyways, if i'm going to reformat my HD, can i reformat just one half of the HD? (the one that is giving me the problem) The other half seems to be okay, no problem at all. So like if i reformat my HD and that thing still appears (the corrupted empty file) what am i supposed to do then? This is getting worse by the moment.....

 

[opendriver]

So you have one physical drive and 2 logical drives?

One of your Logical drives may have to many sub folders/directories:

the\fact\that\you\have\lots\of\sub* directories\and\longfilenames\and\this\might\be\causing\it

 

[Casio]

I don't really know what that means or what to do with it. But somehow i feel like the HD has corrupted some of my files already.... But anyways, if i'm going to reformat my HD, can i reformat just one half of the HD? (the one that is giving me the problem) The other half seems to be okay, no problem at all. So like if i reformat my HD and that thing still appears (the corrupted empty file) what am i supposed to do then? This is getting worse by the moment.....

Yes. If by half you mean the one patition. It's no different than if you had 2 seperate harddrives.

 

[Muzaffar]

Well thanks for helping out, but now its gone way too far then i expected.... I mean now, my pc is going fry like "censored:!!! Like yesterday, my pc won't shut down properly (it freezes when i shut down and turn off. Had to reset the pc, go into the user log in screen and turn off the pc from there) and just now was even worse!!! Took me 5 minutes to reach the log on screen, then when i'm connected to the internet and tried to open Mozilla, again my pc freezes (for a few minutes) and when i tried to log in at GTPlanet, again it freezes, and then my bitcomet had a message said " your bitcomet isn't running properly, please shut down" or something along the line. I even tried to play the music on my Limewire, it like always freezes every few seconds!!! I can't even enjoy using this computer anymore......

Oh yeah, i tried to transfer my files onto the local drive and on my other half of the external HD, some of the files freezes my pc when i click on it (or even have the pointer on it! ) When it does get back to normal and tried to move it into another drive, it takes soooo long to move (like it says 200+ minutes!!!!! The file was only 400MB) and then like almost halfway through, that message appears!!!

opendriver19a: The file wasn't big and my file didn't have a long name or long file path. It was like I:/rFactor downloads/(the file) and transfer it to H:/rFactor downloads/ So like how thats supposed to be long?

Casio: Are you using windows vista? I don't have an interface like that. Mine is a windows XP professional version 2002 SP2 ( i think) and there is 2 seperate external drive folders. Like if i had to format one of my drivers, i had to format both of them? 🤬!!!!

Well my pc is getting worse by the day, was only a small problem a few days ago, now becomes a huge headache....*sigh* well i'll still try to save my pc from obscurity, but its less likely to fix this unless there is a miracle going to happen (which by the way, never will!!!!) so thanks for the help guys, now i need to really solve this problem......Oh 🤬, now i wish i can shatter my pc into a million pieces, but i can't!!!

 

[Casio]

Casio: Are you using windows vista? I don't have an interface like that. Mine is a windows XP professional version 2002 SP2 ( i think) and there is 2 seperate external drive folders. Like if i had to format one of my drivers, i had to format both of them? 🤬!!!!

I was on a Vista Machine at the time. But it doesn't matter, it's the same for XP.

Can you just go into My Computer and take a Screenshot of all your drives. Or at least explain your computer clearly. Do you have an internal HD with 2 partitions and trying to run an external, or did you mean something different when you said 'I just plug it in and use it'? What partition are you running Windows? etc.

 

[Muzaffar]

I was on a Vista Machine at the time. But it doesn't matter, it's the same for XP.

Can you just go into My Computer and take a Screenshot of all your drives. Or at least explain your computer clearly. Do you have an internal HD with 2 partitions and trying to run an external, or did you mean something different when you said 'I just plug it in and use it'? What partition are you running Windows? etc.

Well ok. I'll just show you the photo....



This is my internal HD:


and this is my external HD:


Well i think you said about the "internal HD with 2 partitions and trying to run an external" is true, even though i don't know what a partition is....Anyhow, what i meant by "I just plug it in and use it" is that i just plug in the external HD and use it straight away. I didn't install any drivers or anything...and it worked just fine!

 

[Casio]

A partition is when you have 1 Physical Drive, as in, you open up your computer and you only have one HardDrive in the HardDrive hole. However, you split it in two (Partition it) to give the illusion that you actually have two separate drives, for whatever reason you need to do that.

Now, if this is the case, I assume that from that picture Local Disk (C: ) and Local Disk (D: ) are the single internal drive, but are individual partitions? Correct?

And the same with Hard Drive (H: ) and (I: ). Correct?

If so, what drive is Windows installed on, what drive do you have all your programs on, what drive can't you delete things off, and what drive can't you move things onto?

 

[Muzaffar]

A partition is when you have 1 Physical Drive, as in, you open up your computer and you only have one HardDrive in the HardDrive hole. However, you split it in two (Partition it) to give the illusion that you actually have two separate drives, for whatever reason you need to do that.

Now, if this is the case, I assume that from that picture Local Disk (C: ) and Local Disk (D: ) are the single internal drive, but are individual partitions? Correct?

And the same with Hard Drive (H: ) and (I: ). Correct?

If so, what drive is Windows installed on, what drive do you have all your programs on, what drive can't you delete things off, and what drive can't you move things onto?

Well i guess you are correct. I don't really know all these things....

I install windows on the C Drive (which is normal) and i install most of the programs on the C drive as well as the D drive. I can't delete that one thing on my I drive (the one in the 1st post) but thats about it. I can't move some files from the I drive to the other drivers, but i can move all the other files without problem.

But tell me, isn't there any way i can remove that empty file?

 

[Casio]

But tell me, isn't there any way i can remove that empty file?

I think you'll just have to format the I: drive, don't worry, formating the I: drive won't get rid of anything on the other drives.

I asked about the other stuff, because if your problem is solely confided to your external drive then you shouldn't be having any issues with Windows' Boot Speed and programs running. Which makes me think you've got a nasty virus of some sort which would also explain why you can't delete that file on your I: drive. Do you have the same problems when your external isn't connected?

Do you run any anti-virus software? If not, get some, and run it. Many free ones are around and I think quite a few members here use them.

 

[Thiele]

Yes. If by half you mean the one patition. It's no different than if you had 2 seperate harddrives.

Is that Vista, looks very modern.

 

[Muzaffar]

I think you'll just have to format the I: drive, don't worry, formating the I: drive won't get rid of anything on the other drives.

I asked about the other stuff, because if your problem is solely confided to your external drive then you shouldn't be having any issues with Windows' Boot Speed and programs running. Which makes me think you've got a nasty virus of some sort which would also explain why you can't delete that file on your I: drive. Do you have the same problems when your external isn't connected?

Do you run any anti-virus software? If not, get some, and run it. Many free ones are around and I think quite a few members here use them.

The first thing is that its not i virus (or so i think....) cause i scan it and it was fine. Okay, maybe it may have a virus....I am using an Avira Antivir PersonalEdition Classic. Its probably one of the best anti virus out there (i think) i scan all the other files and they were okay, but when i scan the I: drive, after a few files, it froze.... I didn't know what to do and i closed the application. Then i scan with Spybot Search and Destroy as well as AdAware SE Personal and they picked up nothing...

Ok, this problem does spread to my Windows' Boot Speed and programs running, but if i remove my external HD, it seems to be fine. No problem and no lag whatsoever. But then i will have nothing to do.....(somehow my windows live needs to run with the HD in.... ) So like, is there anything i can do now? Download a new anti virus and scan again?

The good news is i can format just 1 of the drives and not the whole drive. Thank god......

Edit: Well here is a video of how bad my pc runs.... (sorry about the low quality video....)

 

[Thiele]

Hmm, today i'm getting a similar problem with my 32mb psp memory stick. It works fine when i put my 1 gig one in. But i'm getting this:



Does anyone know what that means? It's simalar to the other 2 that are on here:

I am also getting very slow loading times on it aswell, Windows explorer stops responding temporarily everytime. It's probably because i got the card stuck in a larger slot on the printer and used a knife to dig it out, it's been happening since then.

 

[G.T]

It's probably because i got the card stuck in a larger slot on the printer and used a knife to dig it out, it's been happening since then.

Intelligent decision...

 

[Thiele]

Nevermind, it did it with my 1 gig memstick aswell, i just restarted my PC, and both were fine after that. That sure was weird though.

 

[Muzaffar]

Well, i think i might solve the problem already....phew. I've decided to reformat my I: driver with some of those undeleted files with it. I did manage to transfer some of my other files onto the Local HD, so it probably wouldn't bother me as much. I could always download it again.....(which probably takes a month to download....👎) The thing is now, i left my PC on last night and until now, its only half way through reformatting. Is it supposed to be that long to reformat? Do i need to try and reformat it again?

 

[Thiele]

It shouldn't take that long, if you keep getting problems reading and writing, most likely there is something physically wrong with your drive, in that case you will have to look at the warranty or buy a new one.

 

[Casio]

Well, i think i might solve the problem already....phew. I've decided to reformat my I: driver with some of those undeleted files with it. I did manage to transfer some of my other files onto the Local HD, so it probably wouldn't bother me as much. I could always download it again.....(which probably takes a month to download....👎) The thing is now, i left my PC on last night and until now, its only half way through reformatting. Is it supposed to be that long to reformat? Do i need to try and reformat it again?

Depending on your computer it can take ages. It's when it doesn't do anything for any length of time it when you have a problem. Take note of where it has progressed too, come back in a good few hours (or overnight). If nothing has changed then you'll probably have to can it because it's not worth the trouble fixing.

 

[Muzaffar]

Well thanks for advising me, but i did manage to reformat my pc already. Now it feels so much better than before!!!!! (well i stopped half way and did a quick format and it was like....woah! that fast! Didn't take more than 10 minutes to reformat) Although now i need to download lots of stuff now.... but it is a really small price to pay. But still, some of my applications did sometimes make my pc lag a bit, need to defrag and do some virus scan now. But all is well now, i really really appreciate your help guys!!!!!

 

[Casio]

Personally I think the key to keep a computer running quickly is to always have an up-to-date anti-virus and avoid 'dodgy' sites like the plague. When you download or install a program and then don't have to need to use it, just uninstall it. Also get rid of as many things from the start-up as possible.

Doing simple things like this has allowed me to never have had to format a drive, ever, in about 10 years.