Re: A disk read error occurred; Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

<dynamicbliss@xxxxxxxxx> wrote

Ever since the last time I restarted my Windows XP PC, I get the
following error:

A disk read error occurred
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

This has happened before, and my solution was to backup all the data,
reformat the drive, and then put all the data back again. This is
very time-consuming, and a pain in the ___! The drive appears OK when
connected as a slave, and I even ran Norton Disk Doctor on it and no
errors are found.

I'd like to find out #1, why this problem has happened and seems to re-
occur from time to time, and #2, if there is a better way of fixing it
short of keeping a spare drive on hand to do a data-transfer,
reformat, date-transfer-back, which is a major hassle and takes a long
time to do. Even after that, some applications need to be
reinstalled, because something about this procedure makes them lose
their registered status.

This could be a hard drive problem, a driver cabling problem, a controller problem or maybe even a power supply problem. Start by downloading a drive diagnostic utility from the hard drive manufacturer's web site. This will create a bootable CD or floppy. Boot from that and run the diagnostics on the drive. (As an aside IMO you can do without Norton DD or any of the Norton home products. You are better off without them.)

Second issue, you state the solution is to backup of all your data and... Well by that time it's too late to be backing up your data. You should always have a full and complete backup of important data.

I suggest you invest in a drive imaging program such as Acronis True Image (ATI). Use this to create compressed images of the hard drive and store these on an external USB connected hard drive (consider burning a copy to DVD for redundancy). ATI can also do file backups. This takes care of two issues, backup up the data and giving you a means to quickly recover the system in case of disaster. The most recent image can be restored quickly.
--
Rock [MVP - User/Shell]

.

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