Ghost 2003 finds read sector errors, but chkdsk /r reports all fine!

[kwo]

Hi all!

here's the situation:

1. Get virus ridden computer from sister.
2. recover some data
3. Format HD (Maxtor slimline 5400rpm 20GB from Gateway 500SE series)
4. Repartition and reinstall XP Home
5. Install windows updates
6. Remove HD, install in removable cage of *my* computer.
7. Run Norton Ghost 2003 to make a backup onto my hard drive.
8. Ghost barfs with "Read Sector" errors and stops.
9. Run Maxtor powerMax v4.06 and *LOW Level* format drive
10. Maxtor says format complete, no problems.
11. Run Maxtor complete scan of hard drive - *NO* problems/bad sectors found
12. Put HD back in sister's computer, repartition and reinstall windows
13. Take out computer and put in my computer to Ghost a backup onto one of my hard drives.

14. ...and........Read Sector error's reported by Ghost, AGAIN!

15. Run chkdsk /r on hard drive --> ZERO bad blocks detected!

16. /me scratches head and posts to Anandtech!
17. Awaits HELP!

 

[stevty2889]

when your formated the drive did you do a format /mbr to overwrite the bootsector in case of a boot sector virus?

 

[speed01]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
when your formated the drive did you do a format /mbr to overwrite the bootsector in case of a boot sector virus?

I believe a low level format would have taken care of that.

kwo, what exactly are you needing help with, determining if the drive is actually bad or getting the Ghost image from it? If all you want is the image, when you start Ghost go into the options and tell it to force the clone. You may also want to disable direct IDE access while you're at it since Ghost can have issues with some machines. If you're running Ghost from a command line the switches would be -FRO and -FNI.

Speed

 

[kwo]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

speed01, what I wanted was to know if the drive was actually bad (according to Ghost) or good, according to chkdsk.

It turns out the problem is MOOT!

Why? Well, at about 2:30 this morning, through blinking bleary eyes, I attempted to rethink what was going on. One of the issues I came back to was this funky Maxtor drive from the Gateway machine.

It is a 20GB, but very slim - not a typical 3.5" drive. In addition, the jumper configurations are all weird - no "single" setting, just master, slave, or Cselect. The drive was originally set at CSelect when in the Gateway - but I couldn't seem to access the drive with that when I plunked it into my desktop system (Gigabyte 7N400Pro).

So, I had reset the jumper to 'Master' - even though it is the only device on the channel. That allowed me to manipulate the drive in XP, but whenever I tried to run Ghost, I had those "read errors" (notice the quotes, now?)

Well, I thought - why don't I just reset the jumper to CSelect and put it back in my sister's Gateway, and just Ghost to her CDRW drive?

I did that and, what do ya' know, *ZERO* errors!

So, this tells me that somehow, my MB had problems properly accessing the drive and allowing Ghost to read it. (I had tried all those switches like disabling Int13, direct IDE, UDMA, etc.... - none of them worked.)

I can't tell you how miffed, yet glad I was that the problem was from my desktop's perspective, and not her HD.

So, I reinstalled XPHome( yes the low level format had erase all the work up to that point, and it turns out I didn't have to do that at ALL! ) and am now on my way......

So, thanks for trying to help, but now I've learned yet *another* thing - knowledge is a great thing....but not at 3am in the morning, for me!

(As a side note, as this is a lower-end system, the PS has a really low +12v rail, so I didn't think it could handle 7200rpm drives, I tried Staples and BestBuy, ready to buy a 5400rpm drive, but you know what? They had NONE - don't carry em instore. I was shocked!)