Hard drive problem

[Buzz]

This morning, when I put the computer on I got the following screen(see pic) and when I restarted, everything was normal except that partitions 'D' and 'E' would not open. When I tried to open it, a message appeared saying that it needed to be formatted. Both the partitions were almost full. I have not done any new software or hardware installations and the computer was fine last night. Also 'C' seems fine and I don't have any problem accessing it. I have just this one hard drive with 3 partitions: C, D & E. I'll be grateful to anyone who can help me out with this.

 

[rhitwick]

Are you able to access them from command prompt?
And from safe mode?

Try and report.

Attachments don't work here, so host it in some imgehosting site and then post the link here (imgx.com, picasa.com etc)

 

[Buzz]

@rhitwick,
I can access the partitions in safe mode but not in command prompt(It says that 'D' does not have a recognized File system).

And here's the link to the pic: *picasaweb.google.com/Buzz040/Desktop?authkey=Gv1sRgCOyh4LuW08GW7wE#5381350093866275794

 

[rhitwick]

Goodness!!! That is a BSOD not a simple message. Do fear it like hell.

Well, this is the explanation and possible solution.

Stop 0x00000077 or KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR

The Stop 0x77 message indicates that a page of kernel data requested from the paging (virtual memory) file could not be found or read into memory. This Stop message can also indicate disk hardware failure, disk data corruption, or possible virus infection.
Possible Resolutions:

• Stop 0x77 messages can be caused by bad sectors in the virtual memory paging file or a disk controller error. In extremely rare cases, depleted nonpaged pool resources can cause this error. If the first and third parameters are zero, the stack signature in the kernel stack is missing, which is an error typically caused by defective hardware. If the I/O status is 0xC0000185 and the paging file is on a SCSI disk, check for cabling and termination issues. An I/O status code of 0xC000009C or 0xC000016A indicates that the requested data could not be found. You can try to correct this by restarting the computer. If a problem with disk integrity exists, Autochk, a program that attempts to mark bad disk sectors as defective so that they are not used in the future, starts automatically. If Autochk fails to run, you can manually perform the integrity check yourself by following the instructions to run Chkdsk provided in "Stop 0x00000024 or NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM" earlier in this list.

• Another cause of Stop 0x77 messages is defective, malfunctioning, or failed memory hardware, such as memory modules, Level 2 (L2) SRAM cache, or video adapter RAM. If you added new hardware recently, remove and replace it to determine if it is causing or contributing to the problem. Run diagnostics software supplied by the system manufacturer to determine if the component has failed.

• The problem might also be due to cracks, scratched traces, or defective components on the motherboard. If all else fails, take the system motherboard to a repair facility for diagnostic testing.

Source: *www.geekstogo.com/forum/Windows-XP-Blue-Screen-Death-STOP-Codes-t43519.html

As per the description provided above, it seems ur HDD is having some issue. Do run a chkdsk with autofix option. And post result.
Do it from command prompt not by right clicking on the drive.
Again, do it from safe mode.

 

[Buzz]

Today I couldn't access 'D' & 'E' in safe mode either. Running chkdsk in safe mode gave a message saying that the drive could not be locked, even when I tried the /x parameter. However I managed to run chkdsk in Recovery Console - It did not find any problems, it just stated the amount of free and used space and some other statistics.

How could I access D & E in safe mode yesterday but not today? Also if something is wrong with my hard drive then how come I can access 'C' ?

 

[rhitwick]

Its not that if u develop bad sector in ur d drive ur total drive won't be accessible. U may continue to access rest of the space as long as they are not affected.

But, AFAIK, bad sector increases with time.
I asked u to post the scan result, and u posted "some statistics"...now to help remotely, we need some info too.

 

[Buzz]

I asked u to post the scan result, and u posted "some statistics"...now to help remotely, we need some info too.

Sorry about that.
I took a pic of the screen after running chkdsk. Here's the link:
*picasaweb.google.com/Buzz040/Desktop?authkey=Gv1sRgCOyh4LuW08GW7wE#5382053870282171122

 

[rhitwick]

Why /p??
As per this site,

CHKDSK /P does nothing...
The CHKDSK /P command is diagnostic only...it performs and exhuastive check of the drive, but does not make any changes to the drive. In otherwords, it doesn't fix anything.

Now, on the other hand, the CHKDSK /P /R will locate bad sectors and recover readable information.

Source: LINK

Try with /p /r and post result.
Even if u don't have bad sector, I want XP to show "0 KB in bad sector"... only /p does not bring such parameter...
Please be patient and try it.

 

[Buzz]

I ran chkdsk with /p /r. Here's the pic:
*picasaweb.google.com/Buzz040/Desktop?authkey=Gv1sRgCOyh4LuW08GW7wE#5382092063951957650

 

[rhitwick]

Somehow I feel ur disk has generated bad sector, but unable to show u that.

Such problem I faced once, and later (2-3 months) the HDD just stopped responding.

Would u like to recover data format those partitions?

b4 this, can u do a virus scan with Avira, RemoveITPro, EMOCO AntiMalware, NOD32 (I ask to do all of these). Install-execute-un-install (optional)

If yes, try these steps:-

1>Get a linux live CD.
2>Boot from it, access those drives get backup in some USB drives. Take only important files only, don't crave for something that u can easily get later.
3>Do a low-level format. Delete all partitions.
3.5> Try to get a Win98 CD and boot from it, go to command prompt and run scandisk in the whole partition (optional)
4>Make new partition and install XP

 

[Buzz]

How do I do a low-level format? Also, according to this site; *www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/formatLow-c.html ; low level formatting isn't a good idea on modern drives.

How do I do a virus scan? Should I install the antiviruses on 'C' and then run them?

 

[Buzz]

Is there any way for me to do a virus scan through the linux CD so that I can scan 'D' and 'E' as well?

 

[rhitwick]

How do I do a low-level format? Also, according to this site; *www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/formatLow-c.html ; low level formatting isn't a good idea on modern drives.

Oh...okz, don't go for it then. Just delete all partitions, yes delete not format and then create new partitions, then install XP

How do I do a virus scan? Should I install the antiviruses on 'C' and then run them?

Yes...I guess, C is the only drive u can access now right?

 

[Buzz]

Will post as soon as scans are complete. In the meanwhile thanks, rhitwick, for all your help. I really appreciate the time and effort you spent in helping me.

 

[Buzz]

Tried installing anti viruses on C and scanning but the moment a scan would begin the comp would restart.

So then I tried Avira's rescue CD, but that would get stuck while booting. After that I tried Kaspersky's rescue CD which worked perfectly except for the fact that it took 11 hrs to scan about 65 Gb. It found a virus and deleted it.

Now the comp is fine, D and E are accessible again and all the data seems to be intact.