KeithMacDonald

Join Date 11/2004

My computer is screwed.

REALLY screwed.

I have a new computer, barely 4 months old, heck, around 3 months old, and it has a HUGE problem.

1.)When it starts up, it gives a window saying something like this "Pri master HDD(S.M.A.R.T.) Status BAD, Backup and Replace. Press F1 to continue."

2.)Another message I will get, when my computer just restarts for no reason, is something like "Primary Hard Drive FAIL. Press F1 to continue"

3.)It restarts when moving a file from zip to folder (as far as I can tell)

4.)I just reinstalled XP and it's still doing it.

Any advice, or more details needed?

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More on part 4.)

I reinstalled XP because a system file had gone missing, I had done nothing to remove it. all I had done was uninstall 3ds max trial, 3ds max reference files, and the gmail notifier.

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Check all the power plugs between the PSU and the drive. If the computer is running and you move the wires and hear a click, you have a short.

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oh yeah and something rattles when the hard drive speeds up.

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when i press down on the top of the case it stops rattling...

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http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000184.htm

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

Noisy drive....already?

Sounds like the hard drive is on the way out...or there is an intermittent connection issue [short]...

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This is what the link says->

Issue:

Receiving S.M.A.R.T. status bad backup and replace error.

Additional Information:

S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) is a diagnostic method originally developed by IBM that at that time referred to as "Predictive Failure Analysis". This technology was developed for IBM mainframe drives to give advanced warning of drive failures. Based on this diagnostic, Compaq announced IntelliSafeTM, which was submitted to the ATA/IDE standards committees and the resulting standard was named S.M.A.R.T.

S.M.A.R.T. analyzes many of the mechanical attributes; over time, some failures can be predicted by detecting if the hard disk drive is moving out of tolerance. While the S.M.A.R.T. technology can detect upcoming issues, not all hard drive failures are predictable.

Some of the Major Hard Disk Drive manufacturers now including the S.M.A.R.T Technology in their hard disk drives are IBM, Western Digital, Maxtor, Quantum, Seagate and Fujitsu

Not all hard drive failures are predictable, but by analyzing many of the mechanical attributes over time, some failures are predictable and this is what S.M.A.R.T. does. S.M.A.R.T. measures many attributes of the user's drive over time and decides if they are moving out of tolerance.

Also see our S.M.A.R.T dictionary definition for additional information and related links to this term.

Cause:

Hard disk drive is bad or is going to fail soon.

Solution:

Backup your information and contact the manufacturer of the computer or hard disk drive for replacement or additional help. In some very rare cases the S.M.A.R.T. implementation on your computer may have issues of its own and may need to be patched before replacing the hard drive.

Additional Q&A:

If I am receiving the S.M.A.R.T. error, is it ok if I continue to use my hard disk drive and do not replace it?

As stated above, S.M.A.R.T. is designed to detect upcoming failures in the hard disk drive. While it is possible that the hard disk drive may not fail for several months, it is still inevitable that the hard disk drive will fail. It is ok to continue to use the hard disk drive, however, we highly recommend that if you are still under warranty that you consider getting the drive replaced before your warranty runs out.

Note: Many users can also enable / disable the S.M.A.R.T detection through their CMOS setup. Additional information about entering CMOS setup can be found on document CH000192.

1720 - smart hard drive detects imminent failure

This error message is related to S.M.A.R.T and is an indication of failure. See above recommendations for additional details.

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

Hard disk drive is bad or is going to fail soon.

Time to replace it.....just 'maybe' the old one can be used to dump non-critical data onto...but if it's going....then it's going....and when it's gone....so is the data...

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Corky_O

Join Date 04/2004

Might want to get yourself a second drive, and use it to test the system (install the OS on the new drive, if all is well - the first drive is probably defective. If not, you will have a second drive for storage or backup image).

Just my 2 cents.

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+493

New HD asap, it's the only way to be sure. Spontaneous reboots are XP's way of telling to the HD is failing...been there, done that

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Since it is only 4 mos. old, you will get a new drive for free. I had the same thing happen to me with this computer, exept I never got the warning until it was already gone. I now have EVERYTHING on my computer backed up, and continue to backup all new things daily or weekly. The computer companies must not be making things like they use to. Just like everything else. We have 2 computers that are at least 10 years old that are still working, and have never had a problem. I got this computer the week before Thanksgiving in 2003, and by that March the hard drive was gone. I am so sorry this happened to you. It looks like you at least have a chance of getting it backed up before it goes down.

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if you dont have time to spend money on a new drive to back it up-and u have less than 1gb of data sign up for gmail and download the drive (1gb-free) or sign up for x-drive (50mb free).

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i have gmail, and i have a 40 gig hard drive that im going to get an external case for.... not to mention, all my files are gone so im not worried about that one anymore

(i reinstalled XP, remember?)

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i have gmail, and i have a 40 gig hard drive that im going to get an external case for.... not to mention, all my files are gone so im not worried about that one anymore

(i reinstalled XP, remember?), not to mention the fact the rattling noise was their from day 1, on my other comp (my 4 year old+ comp) it doesnt rattler, it works fine, it uses XP home edition also.

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i have one major problem though.... my dad. he HATES the idea that he would have to send the comp back down to vancouver to get a new HD, and he just refuses to accept the fact it is the hardware, not the amount of software i put on it. (if you want the list, just ask)(he blows the software thing out of proportion)

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Usually Warrenties work this way. You have to call the tech support of the company you bought it from, where the warrenty is for. After they go through their list of troubleshooting, they will give you instructions on how to get your new hardware (If it's covered under Warrenty). I know Gateway sent my one customer a new Harddrive and you had to send the old one back after pulling whatever you can off of it.

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he HATES the idea that he would have to send the comp back down to vancouver to get a new HD, and he just refuses to accept the fact it is the hardware, not the amount of software i put on it. (if you want the list, just ask)(he blows the software thing out of proportion)

Wont your computer manufacturer send you the new drive in the mail? That is how I got mine under warranty. We installed it ourselves. The drive was here the day after I told them the old one died. I had to let them "hold" $100 or something like that from my checking account until they got the dead drive back. They even sent the box and labels to send it back. My computer never left the house. And if your dad waits long enough, you wont be able to back up or save anything. It is NOT the amount of progs. you are using.

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id use my system restore cd's if that dont work you can allways format it

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i formatted it, and reinstalled XP. that isnt the problem. also, my dad syas NO to going inside the case.

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i have nothing left on it, it was deleted when i reformatted it...

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oh, man. he is not going to like reading this.

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i had a hard disk do the same thing, and soon after my cdrw went bad..was told that this was caused by power spikes and to make sure that system was on a high damping surge protector(joules rating around 1500 to 2000), and to check my computer power supply for defectiveness. also you might want to check to see what other things you have on the powercircuit that your computer is attached to(wall outlet), and anything that pulls a lot of power such as tv's, fans, or flourescent lights or lowwattage light that have transformers can also cause problems. a friend of mine that had some problems were caused by the small fridge he had connected to the same powerstrip he had his computer on. on last thing is you want to check the fuses on the powerpannel going to the outlet and the powerstrip and inside the computer to make sure they are not damaged. this sounds like a lot and some of it silly but sometimes the simple things are what get us the most!LOL

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PurrBall

Join Date 02/2003

+23

XP restarting for no apparent reason:
Yup. HD failure. If you notice files start disappearing for no good reason (maybe why the system errors came to life) that's a good indication too.

S.M.A.R.T. warnings:
S.M.A.R.T. is actually very smart. Yes, it detects future failures and should always be right if every part of the motherboard and the IDE card is functioning correctly and the BIOS settings are correct. Replace HD NOW!

Primary hard disk master fail:
Actually, sometimes this can be wrong, but in your case it is correct.

I learned the hard way: 6 year old computer without S.M.A.R.T. and no HD detection feature in the system board, it just scanned for O.S., it didnt care at all, and is quite crappy. CD drives not detected, then XP would just start fading in the boot screen and then restart, and then the boot screen wouldnt appear at all, was on phone with Gateway and they had me run something tied into motherboard, GWSCAN and scanned HD. I was presented with code 0256 and that meant my HD was dead with ALL IMPORTANT DATA LOST. I had clues because files were disappearing a few months earlier, but other than that, NO WARNING. Oh well, I was thinking a reformat was in the timetable anyway.

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