Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
successful, but very expensive—backups are much cheaper! Choose the right lab, you usually
only get one shot...
7. If the computer recognizes the drive, proceed on to recovering the data by any means you
desire. Note that since the drive is not the boot drive and host operating system, all of the
boot and operating system information are accessible no "in use" files!
8. If the computer does not recognize the drive, especially if set to Auto, go to the BIOS and
set the drive parameters to the manufacturer specified values and reboot. If still no
recognition, try adjusting the values for sector translation. There are several options for the
primary translation type (Normal, LBA, Large, etc.), but please note that there may be other
settings that also effect drive communications. These other settings usually have values of
Yes/No. Some of these other settings are "large drive" (note there are many different names
for this setting), "enhanced mode,” and "block mode.” The important thing is to try different
combinations of any of the settings that effect hard drive communications for the second IDE
channel. Hint, make a list of all of the possible combinations and check off each one as you try
it.
9. Most important, try not to let anything (e.g., operating system or "fix-it" programs) mess
with the disk contents until you have exhausted all other avenues of access. These programs
are great, but should be reserved as the first line of defense against software corruption and
the last resort for hardware corruption. If your problem is a hardware issue, these programs
will usually "finish the job" in terms of denying you the possibility of recovering you data. Only
use them AFTER the hardware problem has been corrected.
From: Dan Miley
I've had this happen before, and one thing that worked for me involved the following:
The Hard Disk Assembly (HDA) is usually separate from the IDE controller board. If the
controller board is the bad part, the data is still good, you just cannot get to it. The symptoms
for this are: Disk not spinning up at all, "drive not found," or "no boot disk available" type
messages. I've swapped the data module (HDA) from the bad drive controller to a good
replacement drive. Usually it's just 4-6 screws and a couple small cables. Use static care
procedures as always when working with computer parts. If the data is good, send the new
HDA and bad board back to be fixed, put the good drive (with original data) back in, reboot,
and away you go.
From: Jack Ho
• First of all, get yourself a Win95/98 startup disk and an emergency boot disk from your
favorite virusscanning software and disk-repairing programs.
• Second, note the number of drives in the system and reboot the machine. When it boots up,
make sure you can hear the all drives spin up. If the spinning sounds are confusing, you may
have to open up the case.
• If any of the drives didn't spin, turn off the PC and take the computer case off. Carefully
unplug the drive cables and power cables and reconnect them. Then power up the system. If
the drives still do not spin, swap the power cables and try again. If they still do not spin, then
you know for sure those drives are dead. To retrieve data from these drives, you may have to
take them to a nearby data recovery center and be prepared to spend some bucks. If they spin
after you swap the cables, then you've got power problems, and you need to replace the power
supply on the system. • If the drive is spinning but the system does not recognize it, such as
