Re: PC won't boot whilst 2nd HDD is connected anymore
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Posted by ~misfit~ on May 10, 2008, 7:49 pm
Please log in for more thread options > On Sat, 10 May 2008 11:15:14 +0100, "Tony Tee"
>>> At what exact point during the reboot process does it stop?
>>
>> Immediately, doesnt do a single thing, just sits there with a black >> screen and a flashing cursor in top left of screen. >
> Most often this is a sign it couldn't find a valid boot > device. It depends on the speed of the machine and the definition if "immediately". Is the graphics card BIOS showing? (Does it usually?) Is any of the POST sequence showing? (Doesn't sound like it to me.) If it can't find a valid boot device it will still go through the first part of POST, checking CPU, RAM, then detecting FDD/HDDs before it hangs. It sounds to me like there's something more fundamental wrong here (if in fact "immediately" *does* mean instantly). Wrong as in the second HDD dying was the cause of the original no-boot scenario. Most PCs will run fine (on a hardware level) for a long time with malware present If even the graphics BIOS isn't showing then perhaps the HDD in question is just causing such a catastrophic power or I/O conflict that it's stalling the whole POST sequence. Of course this presupposes that there was a hardware problem at roughly the same time as the malware problem. In fact a malware problem wouldn't have prevented the PC from booting at the POST stage. I know that it's unlikely that two things happened at once or close together but Occam's Razor tells us that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one and in this case the simplest explanation is that the second HDD is dodo-dead. Dead in a way that includes a short of some sort that prevents the PC from POSTing. The discovery and subsequent cleaning of the malware on drive C is a red herring. I would guess that the HDD died a gradual death, first causing errors of the sort the OP described (and attributed to malware previously) when trying to do a repair install of Windows. Errors that prevented the IDE controller from finding any drives. Now, if indeed "immediately" is being used correctly, it seems that the drive has gone from being in ill health to having shucked this mortal coil. If the data is important prehaps it's time for the freezer trick? However, if t'were me, firstly I'd try the drive in another PC, in an external enclosure or use a USB/IDE adapter. TTFN, -- Shaun. | |||||||||||||
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Posted by Rod Speed on May 10, 2008, 8:40 pm
Please log in for more thread options > Somewhere on teh intarweb "kony" typed:
>> On Sat, 10 May 2008 11:15:14 +0100, "Tony Tee"
>>>> At what exact point during the reboot process does it stop?
>>> >>> Immediately, doesnt do a single thing, just sits there with a black >>> screen and a flashing cursor in top left of screen. >>
>> Most often this is a sign it couldn't find a valid boot >> device. >
> It depends on the speed of the machine and the definition if > "immediately". Is the graphics card BIOS showing? (Does it usually?) > Is any of the POST sequence showing? (Doesn't sound like it to me.) > > If it can't find a valid boot device it will still go through the > first part of POST, checking CPU, RAM, then detecting FDD/HDDs before > it hangs. > It sounds to me like there's something more fundamental wrong here > (if in fact "immediately" *does* mean instantly). Wrong as in the > second HDD dying was the cause of the original no-boot scenario. Most > PCs will run fine (on a hardware level) for a long time with malware present > If even the graphics BIOS isn't showing then perhaps the HDD in
> question is just causing such a catastrophic power or I/O conflict > that it's stalling the whole POST sequence. > > Of course this presupposes that there was a hardware problem at > roughly the same time as the malware problem. In fact a malware > problem wouldn't have prevented the PC from booting at the POST stage. > I know that it's unlikely that two things happened at once or close
> together but Occam's Razor tells us that the simplest explanation is > usually the correct one Occam's Razor says nothing of the sort and isnt relevant to fault finding anyway. > and in this case the simplest explanation is that the second HDD is dodo-dead.
Simplest is completely irrelevant to what is the actual fault causing the symptoms seen. > Dead in a way that includes a short of some sort that prevents the PC from
POSTing. The discovery and subsequent
> cleaning of the malware on drive C is a red herring.
> I would guess that the HDD died a gradual death, first causing errors
> of the sort the OP described (and attributed to malware previously) > when trying to do a repair install of Windows. Errors that prevented > the IDE controller from finding any drives. Now, if indeed > "immediately" is being used correctly, it seems that the drive has > gone from being in ill health to having shucked this mortal coil. That wont normally produce the symptoms seen. > If the data is important prehaps it's time for the freezer trick?
> However, if t'were me, firstly I'd try the drive in another PC, in an external
enclosure or use a USB/IDE adapter.
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Posted by Tony Tee on May 12, 2008, 7:03 pm
Please log in for more thread options FIXED.
All I did was swop the sata HDD connections over on the motherboard, (nothing swopped at the actual hard drive side) so where the C drive was plugged into one thingy on the motherboard, and the 2nd drive plugged into the other, I just swopped them around on the board and it booted up fine also recognising my 2nd hard drive. (I had tried various swopping bits over til I got to that, but everything was pointing to the fact that it was trying to boot from the 2nd HDD first). So somehow, its managed to change the boot order/sequence over. I wonder how its managed to do that?!!!!!! I wonder if my work here is done,,, or there's anything else I should be doing now? cheers all for trying to help. >> Somewhere on teh intarweb "kony" typed:
>>> On Sat, 10 May 2008 11:15:14 +0100, "Tony Tee"
>>>>> At what exact point during the reboot process does it stop? >>>> >>>> Immediately, doesnt do a single thing, just sits there with a black >>>> screen and a flashing cursor in top left of screen. >>> >>> Most often this is a sign it couldn't find a valid boot >>> device. >>
>> It depends on the speed of the machine and the definition if >> "immediately". Is the graphics card BIOS showing? (Does it usually?) >> Is any of the POST sequence showing? (Doesn't sound like it to me.) >> >> If it can't find a valid boot device it will still go through the >> first part of POST, checking CPU, RAM, then detecting FDD/HDDs before >> it hangs. >> It sounds to me like there's something more fundamental wrong here >> (if in fact "immediately" *does* mean instantly). Wrong as in the >> second HDD dying was the cause of the original no-boot scenario. Most >> PCs will run fine (on a hardware level) for a long time with malware >> present >
>> If even the graphics BIOS isn't showing then perhaps the HDD in
>> question is just causing such a catastrophic power or I/O conflict >> that it's stalling the whole POST sequence. >> >> Of course this presupposes that there was a hardware problem at >> roughly the same time as the malware problem. In fact a malware >> problem wouldn't have prevented the PC from booting at the POST stage. >
>> I know that it's unlikely that two things happened at once or close
>> together but Occam's Razor tells us that the simplest explanation is >> usually the correct one >
> Occam's Razor says nothing of the sort and isnt relevant to fault finding > anyway. > >> and in this case the simplest explanation is that the second HDD is
>> dodo-dead. >
> Simplest is completely irrelevant to what is the actual fault causing the > symptoms seen. > >> Dead in a way that includes a short of some sort that prevents the PC
>> from POSTing. The discovery and subsequent cleaning of the malware on >> drive C is a red herring. >
>> I would guess that the HDD died a gradual death, first causing errors
>> of the sort the OP described (and attributed to malware previously) >> when trying to do a repair install of Windows. Errors that prevented >> the IDE controller from finding any drives. Now, if indeed >> "immediately" is being used correctly, it seems that the drive has >> gone from being in ill health to having shucked this mortal coil. >
> That wont normally produce the symptoms seen. > >> If the data is important prehaps it's time for the freezer trick?
>
>> However, if t'were me, firstly I'd try the drive in another PC, in an
>> external enclosure or use a USB/IDE adapter. >
> | |||||||||||||
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Posted by Rod Speed on May 12, 2008, 8:24 pm
Please log in for more thread options
> FIXED.
> All I did was swop the sata HDD connections over on the motherboard,
> (nothing swopped at the actual hard drive side) so where the C drive > was plugged into one thingy on the motherboard, and the 2nd drive > plugged into the other, I just swopped them around on the board and > it booted up fine also recognising my 2nd hard drive. > (I had tried various swopping bits over til I got to that, but everything was
pointing to the fact that it was trying
> to boot from the 2nd HDD first).
> So somehow, its managed to change the boot order/sequence over.
> I wonder how its managed to do that?!!!!!!
Could be as basic as the cmos battery going flat or the connection to it being dirty. > I wonder if my work here is done,,, or there's anything else I should be doing
now?
I'd replace the coin cell battery just because its cheap and easy to change. > cheers all for trying to help.
>>> Somewhere on teh intarweb "kony" typed:
>>>> On Sat, 10 May 2008 11:15:14 +0100, "Tony Tee" >>>>>> At what exact point during the reboot process does it stop? >>>>> >>>>> Immediately, doesnt do a single thing, just sits there with a >>>>> black screen and a flashing cursor in top left of screen. >>>> >>>> Most often this is a sign it couldn't find a valid boot >>>> device. >>> >>> It depends on the speed of the machine and the definition if >>> "immediately". Is the graphics card BIOS showing? (Does it usually?) >>> Is any of the POST sequence showing? (Doesn't sound like it to me.) >>> >>> If it can't find a valid boot device it will still go through the >>> first part of POST, checking CPU, RAM, then detecting FDD/HDDs >>> before it hangs. >>> It sounds to me like there's something more fundamental wrong here >>> (if in fact "immediately" *does* mean instantly). Wrong as in the >>> second HDD dying was the cause of the original no-boot scenario. >>> Most PCs will run fine (on a hardware level) for a long time with >>> malware present >>
>>> If even the graphics BIOS isn't showing then perhaps the HDD in
>>> question is just causing such a catastrophic power or I/O conflict >>> that it's stalling the whole POST sequence. >>> >>> Of course this presupposes that there was a hardware problem at >>> roughly the same time as the malware problem. In fact a malware >>> problem wouldn't have prevented the PC from booting at the POST >>> stage. >>
>>> I know that it's unlikely that two things happened at once or close
>>> together but Occam's Razor tells us that the simplest explanation is >>> usually the correct one >>
>> Occam's Razor says nothing of the sort and isnt relevant to fault >> finding anyway. >> >>> and in this case the simplest explanation is that the second HDD is
>>> dodo-dead. >>
>> Simplest is completely irrelevant to what is the actual fault >> causing the symptoms seen. >> >>> Dead in a way that includes a short of some sort that prevents the
>>> PC from POSTing. The discovery and subsequent cleaning of the >>> malware on drive C is a red herring. >>
>>> I would guess that the HDD died a gradual death, first causing
>>> errors of the sort the OP described (and attributed to malware >>> previously) when trying to do a repair install of Windows. Errors >>> that prevented the IDE controller from finding any drives. Now, if >>> indeed "immediately" is being used correctly, it seems that the >>> drive has gone from being in ill health to having shucked this >>> mortal coil. >>
>> That wont normally produce the symptoms seen. >> >>> If the data is important prehaps it's time for the freezer trick?
>>
>>> However, if t'were me, firstly I'd try the drive in another PC, in
>>> an external enclosure or use a USB/IDE adapter. | |||||||||||||
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Posted by ~misfit~ on May 12, 2008, 8:59 pm
Please log in for more thread options (replying through Tony's post as I've had this clown killfiled for years)
>>> I know that it's unlikely that two things happened at once or close
>>> together but Occam's Razor tells us that the simplest explanation is >>> usually the correct one >>
>> Occam's Razor says nothing of the sort and isnt relevant to fault >> finding anyway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_Razor -- Shaun. | |||||||||||||
