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Is this hard drive dying?



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 25th 06, 09:21 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware
Hawkins
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 4
Default Is this hard drive dying?

Neighbour complains that she can no longer load her Scrabble CD. I manage
to get it to start via the Run box but it will not start from its normal
shortcut and other CDs cannot be read.
I started to do some long overdue housekeeping and when I got Scandisk it
would start, recycle many times but would not progress to the end.
Is this a indicator that the hard drive is going south or should I do some
other checks to be certain ?

Richard


  #2  
Old September 25th 06, 09:52 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware
Mart
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,190
Default Is this hard drive dying?

Taking the second point first, try running Scandisk in Safe Mode as 'other
background running processes' can often cause Scandisk to recycle in Normal
Mode.

To boot into Safe Mode :-
There is an 'Official' (documented) MS method for WinMe - as per a search
for 'safe mode' in Help and Support Centre will find - by holding down or
'stabbing at' the Ctrl or the F8 keys as the pc boots from cold.

A further couple of methods are by using the Shift key as above, or when
your machine is running in Normal Mode, run msconfig.exe and on the General
tab, select Advanced and check the 'Enable Startup Menu' box. (Not
forgetting to disable it when you've finished g)

Regarding the CD's being unable to be read issue - the CD-ROM *might* just
be failing and *probably* unrelated to the Scandisk issue. You need to
check-out the CD-ROM in Real Mode DOS.

To 'see' it in Real Mode DOS, Boot, using your WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk
in the A: drive.
Select option 2. Start computer with CD-ROM support.

Let the screen information scroll until you eventually see a line which
should report a drive letter for the CD-ROM - but note that it may not
necessarily the same letter as you would expect to see in Windows.

For example, you may see the CD-ROM becoming the E: so the screen should
show:
Drive E:= Driver MSCD001 UNIT 0
Your CD-ROM Is Drive E


When the boot disk finally settles down, you will be presented with an A:\
prompt.

Now put a (data) CD into the CD-ROM and at the A:\ prompt, type "E:"
(no quotes and note the colon after the letter E) Then Press Return.

Now, at the E:\ prompt, type "DIR /P" (no quotes and note the space) Then
press Return.

You should see a listing of the CD contents. - Try several CD's

Come back with your results. Give EXACT errors reports - if any.

Mart


"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Neighbour complains that she can no longer load her Scrabble CD. I manage
to get it to start via the Run box but it will not start from its normal
shortcut and other CDs cannot be read.
I started to do some long overdue housekeeping and when I got Scandisk it
would start, recycle many times but would not progress to the end.
Is this a indicator that the hard drive is going south or should I do some
other checks to be certain ?

Richard



  #3  
Old September 25th 06, 11:18 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware
Hawkins
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 4
Default Is this hard drive dying?

Hi Mart,

Scandisk ran with no problems in safe mode so that puts my worst fears to
rest!

Starting from the WinMe floppy went OK.
The first result was CDR101 : Not ready reading drive E.
Second CD actually read its contents OK.
Put the first one in again an hey presto it showed its contents.
Put in another CD and got the same error message again.
Then at another try all was OK.

I then restarted ME and tried the Scrabble CD again. It hung for a while
with the activity light pulsing slowly. I was on the point of giving up when
the CD drive sprang to life and the game loaded.

So does this mean the CD drive is on the Blink, literally, or is there any
further treatment I can give it ?

Thanks very much for your spot on diagnosis so far.

Richard.
..
"Mart" wrote in message
...
Taking the second point first, try running Scandisk in Safe Mode as 'other
background running processes' can often cause Scandisk to recycle in
Normal Mode.

To boot into Safe Mode :-
There is an 'Official' (documented) MS method for WinMe - as per a search
for 'safe mode' in Help and Support Centre will find - by holding down or
'stabbing at' the Ctrl or the F8 keys as the pc boots from cold.

A further couple of methods are by using the Shift key as above, or when
your machine is running in Normal Mode, run msconfig.exe and on the
General tab, select Advanced and check the 'Enable Startup Menu' box. (Not
forgetting to disable it when you've finished g)

Regarding the CD's being unable to be read issue - the CD-ROM *might* just
be failing and *probably* unrelated to the Scandisk issue. You need to
check-out the CD-ROM in Real Mode DOS.

To 'see' it in Real Mode DOS, Boot, using your WinMe Startup (floppy) Disk
in the A: drive.
Select option 2. Start computer with CD-ROM support.

Let the screen information scroll until you eventually see a line which
should report a drive letter for the CD-ROM - but note that it may not
necessarily the same letter as you would expect to see in Windows.

For example, you may see the CD-ROM becoming the E: so the screen should
show:
Drive E:= Driver MSCD001 UNIT 0
Your CD-ROM Is Drive E


When the boot disk finally settles down, you will be presented with an
A:\ prompt.

Now put a (data) CD into the CD-ROM and at the A:\ prompt, type "E:"
(no quotes and note the colon after the letter E) Then Press Return.

Now, at the E:\ prompt, type "DIR /P" (no quotes and note the space) Then
press Return.

You should see a listing of the CD contents. - Try several CD's

Come back with your results. Give EXACT errors reports - if any.

Mart


"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Neighbour complains that she can no longer load her Scrabble CD. I
manage to get it to start via the Run box but it will not start from its
normal shortcut and other CDs cannot be read.
I started to do some long overdue housekeeping and when I got Scandisk it
would start, recycle many times but would not progress to the end.
Is this a indicator that the hard drive is going south or should I do
some other checks to be certain ?

Richard





  #4  
Old September 25th 06, 12:27 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware
Mart
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,190
Default Is this hard drive dying?

OK Richard, two things you can try with your CD-ROM (although my *guess* is
that it probably is failing especially if it's more than just a few years
old!) is to run a (commercial) CD lens cleaner in your CD-ROM. This is
normally available from your local record shop (Tesco?) and should only cost
a couple of quid or so.

Secondly, remove the side-cover from your pc and confirm that the cables are
firmly seated in their sockets at the back of the CD-ROM - AND on the
motherboard! - They *may* have vibrated loose.

Failing that, a new CD-ROM - or better still a CD-RW, to allow you to burn
your own CD's - is probably the best solution. Again, replacement CD-ROM's
are quite cheap and CD-RW's are not very much dearer. No particular
recommendations for brands - all probably made at the same factory in Taiwan
(or China), just different badges. Scan the shelves at Tesco - or Google g

Mart



"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Hi Mart,

Scandisk ran with no problems in safe mode so that puts my worst fears to
rest!

Starting from the WinMe floppy went OK.
The first result was CDR101 : Not ready reading drive E.
Second CD actually read its contents OK.
Put the first one in again an hey presto it showed its contents.
Put in another CD and got the same error message again.
Then at another try all was OK.

I then restarted ME and tried the Scrabble CD again. It hung for a while
with the activity light pulsing slowly. I was on the point of giving up
when the CD drive sprang to life and the game loaded.

So does this mean the CD drive is on the Blink, literally, or is there any
further treatment I can give it ?

Thanks very much for your spot on diagnosis so far.

Richard.
.
"Mart" wrote in message
...
Taking the second point first, try running Scandisk in Safe Mode as
'other background running processes' can often cause Scandisk to recycle
in Normal Mode.

To boot into Safe Mode :-
There is an 'Official' (documented) MS method for WinMe - as per a search
for 'safe mode' in Help and Support Centre will find - by holding down or
'stabbing at' the Ctrl or the F8 keys as the pc boots from cold.

A further couple of methods are by using the Shift key as above, or when
your machine is running in Normal Mode, run msconfig.exe and on the
General tab, select Advanced and check the 'Enable Startup Menu' box.
(Not forgetting to disable it when you've finished g)

Regarding the CD's being unable to be read issue - the CD-ROM *might*
just be failing and *probably* unrelated to the Scandisk issue. You need
to check-out the CD-ROM in Real Mode DOS.

To 'see' it in Real Mode DOS, Boot, using your WinMe Startup (floppy)
Disk in the A: drive.
Select option 2. Start computer with CD-ROM support.

Let the screen information scroll until you eventually see a line which
should report a drive letter for the CD-ROM - but note that it may not
necessarily the same letter as you would expect to see in Windows.

For example, you may see the CD-ROM becoming the E: so the screen should
show:
Drive E:= Driver MSCD001 UNIT 0
Your CD-ROM Is Drive E


When the boot disk finally settles down, you will be presented with an
A:\ prompt.

Now put a (data) CD into the CD-ROM and at the A:\ prompt, type "E:"
(no quotes and note the colon after the letter E) Then Press Return.

Now, at the E:\ prompt, type "DIR /P" (no quotes and note the space)
Then
press Return.

You should see a listing of the CD contents. - Try several CD's

Come back with your results. Give EXACT errors reports - if any.

Mart


"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Neighbour complains that she can no longer load her Scrabble CD. I
manage to get it to start via the Run box but it will not start from its
normal shortcut and other CDs cannot be read.
I started to do some long overdue housekeeping and when I got Scandisk
it would start, recycle many times but would not progress to the end.
Is this a indicator that the hard drive is going south or should I do
some other checks to be certain ?

Richard







  #5  
Old September 25th 06, 04:14 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware
Hawkins
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 4
Default Is this hard drive dying?

Mart,

Many thanks I will try a cleaning gadget first and then the replacement
drive if all the connections are sound.

Richard.
..
"Mart" wrote in message
...
OK Richard, two things you can try with your CD-ROM (although my *guess*
is that it probably is failing especially if it's more than just a few
years old!) is to run a (commercial) CD lens cleaner in your CD-ROM. This
is normally available from your local record shop (Tesco?) and should only
cost a couple of quid or so.

Secondly, remove the side-cover from your pc and confirm that the cables
are firmly seated in their sockets at the back of the CD-ROM - AND on the
motherboard! - They *may* have vibrated loose.

Failing that, a new CD-ROM - or better still a CD-RW, to allow you to burn
your own CD's - is probably the best solution. Again, replacement CD-ROM's
are quite cheap and CD-RW's are not very much dearer. No particular
recommendations for brands - all probably made at the same factory in
Taiwan (or China), just different badges. Scan the shelves at Tesco - or
Google g

Mart



"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Hi Mart,

Scandisk ran with no problems in safe mode so that puts my worst fears to
rest!

Starting from the WinMe floppy went OK.
The first result was CDR101 : Not ready reading drive E.
Second CD actually read its contents OK.
Put the first one in again an hey presto it showed its contents.
Put in another CD and got the same error message again.
Then at another try all was OK.

I then restarted ME and tried the Scrabble CD again. It hung for a while
with the activity light pulsing slowly. I was on the point of giving up
when the CD drive sprang to life and the game loaded.

So does this mean the CD drive is on the Blink, literally, or is there
any further treatment I can give it ?

Thanks very much for your spot on diagnosis so far.

Richard.
.
"Mart" wrote in message
...
Taking the second point first, try running Scandisk in Safe Mode as
'other background running processes' can often cause Scandisk to recycle
in Normal Mode.

To boot into Safe Mode :-
There is an 'Official' (documented) MS method for WinMe - as per a
search for 'safe mode' in Help and Support Centre will find - by holding
down or 'stabbing at' the Ctrl or the F8 keys as the pc boots from cold.

A further couple of methods are by using the Shift key as above, or when
your machine is running in Normal Mode, run msconfig.exe and on the
General tab, select Advanced and check the 'Enable Startup Menu' box.
(Not forgetting to disable it when you've finished g)

Regarding the CD's being unable to be read issue - the CD-ROM *might*
just be failing and *probably* unrelated to the Scandisk issue. You need
to check-out the CD-ROM in Real Mode DOS.

To 'see' it in Real Mode DOS, Boot, using your WinMe Startup (floppy)
Disk in the A: drive.
Select option 2. Start computer with CD-ROM support.

Let the screen information scroll until you eventually see a line which
should report a drive letter for the CD-ROM - but note that it may not
necessarily the same letter as you would expect to see in Windows.

For example, you may see the CD-ROM becoming the E: so the screen should
show:
Drive E:= Driver MSCD001 UNIT 0
Your CD-ROM Is Drive E

When the boot disk finally settles down, you will be presented with an
A:\ prompt.

Now put a (data) CD into the CD-ROM and at the A:\ prompt, type "E:"
(no quotes and note the colon after the letter E) Then Press Return.

Now, at the E:\ prompt, type "DIR /P" (no quotes and note the space)
Then
press Return.

You should see a listing of the CD contents. - Try several CD's

Come back with your results. Give EXACT errors reports - if any.

Mart


"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Neighbour complains that she can no longer load her Scrabble CD. I
manage to get it to start via the Run box but it will not start from
its normal shortcut and other CDs cannot be read.
I started to do some long overdue housekeeping and when I got Scandisk
it would start, recycle many times but would not progress to the end.
Is this a indicator that the hard drive is going south or should I do
some other checks to be certain ?

Richard









  #6  
Old September 26th 06, 07:47 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware
Hawkins
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 4
Default Is this hard drive dying?

Just to let you know the final outcome.
A lens cleaner did not fix things but it is a useful thing to have in stock.
I had saved a DVD/CD drive from another computer and this has replaced the
suspect drive.
I now have a very happy neighbour who can not only get back to her favourite
Scrabble game but she can Boogie on down to the latest Pop videos, well why
not she is only about 76 years young !!

Thanks again Richard.

..
"Mart" wrote in message
...
OK Richard, two things you can try with your CD-ROM (although my *guess*
is that it probably is failing especially if it's more than just a few
years old!) is to run a (commercial) CD lens cleaner in your CD-ROM. This
is normally available from your local record shop (Tesco?) and should only
cost a couple of quid or so.

Secondly, remove the side-cover from your pc and confirm that the cables
are firmly seated in their sockets at the back of the CD-ROM - AND on the
motherboard! - They *may* have vibrated loose.

Failing that, a new CD-ROM - or better still a CD-RW, to allow you to burn
your own CD's - is probably the best solution. Again, replacement CD-ROM's
are quite cheap and CD-RW's are not very much dearer. No particular
recommendations for brands - all probably made at the same factory in
Taiwan (or China), just different badges. Scan the shelves at Tesco - or
Google g

Mart



"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Hi Mart,

Scandisk ran with no problems in safe mode so that puts my worst fears to
rest!

Starting from the WinMe floppy went OK.
The first result was CDR101 : Not ready reading drive E.
Second CD actually read its contents OK.
Put the first one in again an hey presto it showed its contents.
Put in another CD and got the same error message again.
Then at another try all was OK.

I then restarted ME and tried the Scrabble CD again. It hung for a while
with the activity light pulsing slowly. I was on the point of giving up
when the CD drive sprang to life and the game loaded.

So does this mean the CD drive is on the Blink, literally, or is there
any further treatment I can give it ?

Thanks very much for your spot on diagnosis so far.

Richard.
.
"Mart" wrote in message
...
Taking the second point first, try running Scandisk in Safe Mode as
'other background running processes' can often cause Scandisk to recycle
in Normal Mode.

To boot into Safe Mode :-
There is an 'Official' (documented) MS method for WinMe - as per a
search for 'safe mode' in Help and Support Centre will find - by holding
down or 'stabbing at' the Ctrl or the F8 keys as the pc boots from cold.

A further couple of methods are by using the Shift key as above, or when
your machine is running in Normal Mode, run msconfig.exe and on the
General tab, select Advanced and check the 'Enable Startup Menu' box.
(Not forgetting to disable it when you've finished g)

Regarding the CD's being unable to be read issue - the CD-ROM *might*
just be failing and *probably* unrelated to the Scandisk issue. You need
to check-out the CD-ROM in Real Mode DOS.

To 'see' it in Real Mode DOS, Boot, using your WinMe Startup (floppy)
Disk in the A: drive.
Select option 2. Start computer with CD-ROM support.

Let the screen information scroll until you eventually see a line which
should report a drive letter for the CD-ROM - but note that it may not
necessarily the same letter as you would expect to see in Windows.

For example, you may see the CD-ROM becoming the E: so the screen should
show:
Drive E:= Driver MSCD001 UNIT 0
Your CD-ROM Is Drive E

When the boot disk finally settles down, you will be presented with an
A:\ prompt.

Now put a (data) CD into the CD-ROM and at the A:\ prompt, type "E:"
(no quotes and note the colon after the letter E) Then Press Return.

Now, at the E:\ prompt, type "DIR /P" (no quotes and note the space)
Then
press Return.

You should see a listing of the CD contents. - Try several CD's

Come back with your results. Give EXACT errors reports - if any.

Mart


"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Neighbour complains that she can no longer load her Scrabble CD. I
manage to get it to start via the Run box but it will not start from
its normal shortcut and other CDs cannot be read.
I started to do some long overdue housekeeping and when I got Scandisk
it would start, recycle many times but would not progress to the end.
Is this a indicator that the hard drive is going south or should I do
some other checks to be certain ?

Richard









  #7  
Old September 26th 06, 10:33 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware
Mart
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,190
Default Is this hard drive dying?

You're welcome Richard and thanks for the feedback. I'm pleased that your
neighbour is now up and running (or dancing?) through her word game.

Also, good to know that it's not just me who can't throw things away g

Mart


"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Just to let you know the final outcome.
A lens cleaner did not fix things but it is a useful thing to have in
stock.
I had saved a DVD/CD drive from another computer and this has replaced the
suspect drive.
I now have a very happy neighbour who can not only get back to her
favourite Scrabble game but she can Boogie on down to the latest Pop
videos, well why not she is only about 76 years young !!

Thanks again Richard.

.
"Mart" wrote in message
...
OK Richard, two things you can try with your CD-ROM (although my *guess*
is that it probably is failing especially if it's more than just a few
years old!) is to run a (commercial) CD lens cleaner in your CD-ROM. This
is normally available from your local record shop (Tesco?) and should
only cost a couple of quid or so.

Secondly, remove the side-cover from your pc and confirm that the cables
are firmly seated in their sockets at the back of the CD-ROM - AND on the
motherboard! - They *may* have vibrated loose.

Failing that, a new CD-ROM - or better still a CD-RW, to allow you to
burn your own CD's - is probably the best solution. Again, replacement
CD-ROM's are quite cheap and CD-RW's are not very much dearer. No
particular recommendations for brands - all probably made at the same
factory in Taiwan (or China), just different badges. Scan the shelves at
Tesco - or Google g

Mart



"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Hi Mart,

Scandisk ran with no problems in safe mode so that puts my worst fears
to rest!

Starting from the WinMe floppy went OK.
The first result was CDR101 : Not ready reading drive E.
Second CD actually read its contents OK.
Put the first one in again an hey presto it showed its contents.
Put in another CD and got the same error message again.
Then at another try all was OK.

I then restarted ME and tried the Scrabble CD again. It hung for a while
with the activity light pulsing slowly. I was on the point of giving up
when the CD drive sprang to life and the game loaded.

So does this mean the CD drive is on the Blink, literally, or is there
any further treatment I can give it ?

Thanks very much for your spot on diagnosis so far.

Richard.
.
"Mart" wrote in message
...
Taking the second point first, try running Scandisk in Safe Mode as
'other background running processes' can often cause Scandisk to
recycle in Normal Mode.

To boot into Safe Mode :-
There is an 'Official' (documented) MS method for WinMe - as per a
search for 'safe mode' in Help and Support Centre will find - by
holding down or 'stabbing at' the Ctrl or the F8 keys as the pc boots
from cold.

A further couple of methods are by using the Shift key as above, or
when your machine is running in Normal Mode, run msconfig.exe and on
the General tab, select Advanced and check the 'Enable Startup Menu'
box. (Not forgetting to disable it when you've finished g)

Regarding the CD's being unable to be read issue - the CD-ROM *might*
just be failing and *probably* unrelated to the Scandisk issue. You
need to check-out the CD-ROM in Real Mode DOS.

To 'see' it in Real Mode DOS, Boot, using your WinMe Startup (floppy)
Disk in the A: drive.
Select option 2. Start computer with CD-ROM support.

Let the screen information scroll until you eventually see a line which
should report a drive letter for the CD-ROM - but note that it may not
necessarily the same letter as you would expect to see in Windows.

For example, you may see the CD-ROM becoming the E: so the screen
should show:
Drive E:= Driver MSCD001 UNIT 0
Your CD-ROM Is Drive E

When the boot disk finally settles down, you will be presented with an
A:\ prompt.

Now put a (data) CD into the CD-ROM and at the A:\ prompt, type "E:"
(no quotes and note the colon after the letter E) Then Press Return.

Now, at the E:\ prompt, type "DIR /P" (no quotes and note the space)
Then
press Return.

You should see a listing of the CD contents. - Try several CD's

Come back with your results. Give EXACT errors reports - if any.

Mart


"Hawkins" wrote in message
...
Neighbour complains that she can no longer load her Scrabble CD. I
manage to get it to start via the Run box but it will not start from
its normal shortcut and other CDs cannot be read.
I started to do some long overdue housekeeping and when I got Scandisk
it would start, recycle many times but would not progress to the end.
Is this a indicator that the hard drive is going south or should I do
some other checks to be certain ?

Richard











 




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