Re: hard drive

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

The recovery cd's are 8 diskd that we made when the unit was purchased. I
will download some tools and check the hardware and post back. Thank you
again !!


"Bob Harris" wrote:

Do you really have a disk image on CDs (or DVDs), or is it possible that
what you are calling a recovery disk is really just bootable CD with a
program that restores an image form a hidden partition on the hard drive?
The latter is a favorite trick of PC makers, to save them some money. But,
it also would mean that the so-called recovery disks are useless without
getting a new hard drive form the same PC makers and with that special
hidden partition with an image of your make/model of computer.

One way to tell is to read the CD/DVD in a known good PC. Is the size 600+
Meg? If so, that could be all of XP, plus a few required drivers. But, if
the optical media is under about 100 Meg, it is more likely it is merely one
of those recovery programs.

As for testing a PC, I agree that a systematic approach is the way to go.
There are stand-alone testers for some components, such as RAM and hard
drives. These run from bootable floppies to bootable CDs. With respect to
the hard drive, if you can find the make (or drive not computer), then go to
the drive maker's support site and look for free testing tools.

An alternative that will work on many PCs is to download the free ultimate
boot CD on a good PC, burn to CD on same PC, then boot the bad PC from it.
http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/ This CD can test many things, and includes
hard drive testing software from several major makers of drives.

Another way to test hardware is to download, burn, and boot from a "live"
LINUX CD, such as KNOPPIX. If the PC can run from this CD, then probably
the hardware (except possibly the hard drive) is OK. And, even the hard
drive could be tested via attempting to read it (e.g., list directory, open
a txt file, etc) If you get errors attempting to boot, then suspect a bad
motherboard or something attached to it (e.g., video card), RAM. KNOPPIX is
free, and includes drivers for almost any PC's hardware. For testing,
download the CD image, not the DVD image. The DVD merely has more
applications programs, but none are going to help you diagnose hardware
problem. I suggest version 5 of KNOPPIX, as that appears to be stable.
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

Finally, when testing, be sure to NOT have any peripherals plugged into the
PC, except for mouse and keyboard. That is, no printer, no scanner, no
iPod, no USB pen drives, no external hard drives, and especially no USB
hubs. And, do not have any unused cables plugged into the PC. If any of
these are bad in just the wrong way, they could prevent a PC from booting.

"Phil" <Phil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E9E87F3A-8DB0-4F62-8095-9427CB457B00@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
First, i hope i'm in the correct area. I have an HP a324x desktop. The
computer would keep shutting down and restarting during use. I tried
changing
the power supply. Did not work. I figured i would try the recovery option
on
HP. In doing so, i received messages that it could not extract some files.
dll files. Partially thru the computer shut down and restarted. Now the
computer will not start. I then tried the recovery discs. I chose the
proper
boot and inserted disc 1. after several minutes of just a blinking line on
a
black screen i get a message saying " windows could not start because of
the
following file is missing or corrupt... windows root system 32\hal.dll.
Does anyone have an idea what I should try from here? Perhaps a new hard
drive? And if i were to get a new drive would i be able to load it using
the
recovery discs?
Might they be bad?

Thank you in advance for any imput.





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