Can a hard drive lose it's memory

[MMYoung]

First noticed problems with my Slackware install. Things that used to work no longer did. I initially blamed this on using the "current" directory and the new updates there. So I reinstalled but then REALLY had problems. Reinstalled again, during the install of the ASCII package got a "funny" screen with a lot of symbols on it, rebooted and reinstalled from a different CD drive. Never have gotten my Slackware back up to speed. So I blamed it on my CD's. I logged into Windows and downloaded fresh 9.1 iso's and burned them to disk. During my time in Windows the monitor went blank and I had to hit the reset button to restart the computer. Tried to reinstall Slack, still have problems.

I booted into MDK 10 and got error messages saying that a device had been removed and did I want to run the config for it. This happened for my mouse and both CD/DVD drives. At least afterwards it did boot and everything worked fine, at least for the few minutes that I was using it.

All this mess peaked my curiosity so I booted into Fedora (Core 1), which I have had installed for a while and have never had a minutes problem out of, and guess what, got the Fedora GRUB boot screen and I selected the appropriate kernel and when it started booting I got a text mode screen that said "Welcome to Mandrake 10 Community". The kicker was that it was loading the Fedora kernel that I had selected (2.4.22-2175.ntpl I think) and it was actually loading the modules from my MDK install!

Has ANYONE here had any problems like this before? I've been pulling my hair out for the past few days trying to get Slackware installed and could I actually have a hard drive that is going south quick?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

TIA,
MMYoung

[Digit0]

To your original question, place a big magnet on top of your HD and watch a Hardware formating happen in front of your own eyes.

Originally posted by MMYoung
I booted into MDK 10 and got error messages saying that a device had been removed and did I want to run the config for it. This happened for my mouse and both CD/DVD drives. At least afterwards it did boot and everything worked fine, at least for the few minutes that I was using it.
Those errors are strange but sounds more like a faulty file system (or possibly something going on with mobo or HD starting to go), try fsck.

I selected the appropriate kernel and when it started booting I got a text mode screen that said "Welcome to Mandrake 10 Community". The kicker was that it was loading the Fedora kernel that I had selected (2.4.22-2175.ntpl I think) and it was actually loading the modules from my MDK install!


Yes, the one (two maybe) times I tryed to dual boot distros with Mandrake this happened every time, not enough space on my HD(ves) so I did not stick with dual booting and never bothered to look for the answer (my guess would be somthing to do with lilo).

[mrBen]

Grab a hard-disk checking tool from the website of the drive manufacturer.

Double check your cable connections.

[MMYoung]

Digit0 - I've been running a dual, even triple and quadrupal, boot for over a year (including MDK) and have never had the problem I've described before now. Of course I use Boot Magic to access Windows and Linux. I've never installed lilo to the MBR, I always install it to the root partition.

mrBen - I've got the IBM Hard Drive Fitness test utility (I have an IBM Deskstar 60 Gb HD) and over the past year I've had to "low level" format the drive twice due to bad sector problems. The low level format (suggested by HFT) fixed the problem temporarily, it seems.

I think my problems began with a previous mobo that had an over voltage problem in the 5 volt line (?), was actually running in excess of 7 volts most of the time and I wasn't overclocking. I didn't realize I had this problem until I started getting weird disk errors and I eventually lost a CDRW (Plextor) and a DVD drive because of it. I was hoping that it hadn't affected my HD but I think I might as well get ready to bite the big one and buy a new HD, might even get a new processor while I'm at it.

Thanks for the help, I'll probably run the HDFT again just to make sure.

Later,
MMYoung

[psi42]

If the above suggestions don't help, try writing zeros to the drive. Sometimes brute force just works. :)

[JohnT]

I've been pulling my hair out for the past few days trying to get Slackware installed


Could you please post a pic? I use Slackware and am curious as to what I would look like if I ever get to that point.:D
BTW...what FS are your using?

[MMYoung]

Originally posted by JohnT
Could you please post a pic? I use Slackware and am curious as to what I would look like if I ever get to that point.:D
BTW...what FS are your using?
I would post a pic but they have laws against such displays of public ugality ;)!

What's really driving me nuts is I had a perfectly running install of Slack. Stable and rock solid, never any problems at all. Then I started getting a few intermittant errors and lastly started getting kicked back to the command line with the "lost connection" error. BTW, I have an Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 and am using the most current driver release, however I had problems just using the defauld nv driver as well. Then I started getting that weird crap with Fedora, now the ONLY distro that's working is MDK 10. Well MDK and Windows XP Pro but I've started getting a blank screen with it as well and have to press the reset button to restart. I'm thinking of removing MDK and Fedora and installing Slackware without them to see if that makes any difference.

Oh, I almost forgot, my partitions are formated as ext3.

Now that I type this and looking at what I'm saying here, it sounds like I might be having a video card problem more than a HD problem, or maybe both. I've got an old ATI Radeon AIW I may stick in my PC and try the install again and see what happens. Heck at this point I'm more confused than certian.

Later,
MMYoung

[mrBen]

Originally posted by MMYoung

mrBen - I've got the IBM Hard Drive Fitness test utility (I have an IBM Deskstar 60 Gb HD) and over the past year I've had to "low level" format the drive twice due to bad sector problems. The low level format (suggested by HFT) fixed the problem temporarily, it seems.


Check the warranty at http://www.hgst.com - it might be time for an RMA........

[JohnT]

There were some 60gb Deskstars that were problematic....there used to be a readme on the IBM site.

[hard candy]

As a guess, I would say your video card is overheating. take off the side/bottom/top/whateversideitson panel and look at the video card fan, it's running smooth correct? Hope so.

[MMYoung]

Progress so far.

1. Figured out the "problem" with Fedora booting the Mandrake startup stuff. It was ME! I decided that I needed a LABEL on my MDK partitions similar, no EXACTLY, like the one that was on my Fedora partitions. So I labeled my MDK / partition as / and my /home partition as /home (just like Fedora). Used Partition Magic and removed the labels from the MDK partitions, but left the Fedora labels as I didn't put them there Fedora did, and wonder of wonders Fedora boots normally again.

2. I'm not sure that my hard drive problem hasn't been a video card problem. I have replaced the nVidia card with my trusty old ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon and have Slackware 9.1 installed and didn't have any errors *yet*.

Now I'm fixing to "swaret" up to current (the whole nine yards) and compile the 2.6.4 kernel afterwards and see what shakes loose from there.

Cross your fingers and wish me luck.

Later (and thanks guys),
MMYoung

[MMYoung]

Originally posted by hard candy
As a guess, I would say your video card is overheating. take off the side/bottom/top/whateversideitson panel and look at the video card fan, it's running smooth correct? Hope so.
That could've been the problem as well, lot of "dust bunnies" around the fan. If I can get everything up and running on my ATI without any problems I may stick the nVidia back in just for grins and giggles.

Later,
MMYoung

[JohnT]

1. Figured out the "problem" with Fedora booting the Mandrake startup stuff. It was ME! I decided that I needed a LABEL on my MDK partitions similar, no EXACTLY, like the one that was on my Fedora partitions. So I labeled my MDK / partition as / and my /home partition as /home (just like Fedora). Used Partition Magic and removed the labels from the MDK partitions, but left the Fedora labels as I didn't put them there Fedora did, and wonder of wonders Fedora boots normally again.


I hate when that happens:D

[MMYoung]

Originally posted by JohnT
I hate when that happens:D
Yeah JohnT, sometimes curiosity and "tinkering" ain't a good combination.

Update:
I have my Slackware install up to "Current" status. Haven't compiled the 2.6.4 kernel yet but I did compile and install the ALSA suite (driver, lib, oss & utils) from source and it went fine, no complaints about the gcc-3.3.3 upgrade.

Maybe it warn't the hard drive after all, probably just an overheated nVidia card, as Hard Candy suggested. Before I verify that, I'm going to run with my ATI for a little while yet. Least get everything that I want installed and running the way that I want it to and then Ghost my partitions over to a CD and then put the nVidia card in to see what happens.

Later pards,
MMYoung

[MMYoung]

Hard Candy was right after all. Got everything running the way I wanted it to and then, after blowing all the dustbunnies off the fan of my NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200, put it back in and started back up. Installed the official NVIDIA drivers and everything is running like a Singer sewing machine.

Now I'll just have to remember to clean out that fan and heat sink on my video card ever so often:rolleyes:.

Later pards, and thanks for all the help,
MMYoung