Hard Drive Problems

[Drerunsit]

Hello everyone. I recently built a media center PC with the following components:

- AMD A4-3400 2.7Ghz
- ASRock A75M-ITX
- Corsair 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 1333 Memory
- Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB
- APEX MI-008 Mini-ITX
- Sony BWU-500S Blu-Ray Burner
- Windows 7 Ultimate

Now, the problem I've been having since Day 1 is that my HDD NEVER boots into the OS on the first try. I get stuck on the BIOS screen and the HDD light doesn't activate. I have to manually reboot by holding the power button, and the OS loads just fine on the second attempt. This happens like clockwork every time. Additionally, if I put the computer to sleep (either manually or because of prolonged inactivity), it will not wake from sleep. I've tried using the keyboard to wake it, as well as pushing and even holding the power button. Nothing happens. I have to disconnect the power cord. Then, when I reconnect it, it resumes from its sleep state.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: Also, I have two external drives connected to the PC via USB

 

[Virgorising]

Forgive my not knowing, but did you list yr PSU in yr specs?
And, are you running 32-bit or 64-bit?
Have you considered adding RAM beyond yr 4 GBs?

 

[denis280]

What is your boot order

 

[Drerunsit]

My PSU is built-in to the case, I am running 64-bit Windows, and my boot order is BD-R drive, main HDD, and then externals

 

[Virgorising]

My PSU is built-in to the case, I am running 64-bit Windows, and my boot order is BD-R drive, main HDD, and then externals

Denis, it seems, nailed the problem. See? U gotta be Canadian!:sneaky: Change yr boot order putting the HDD first and see if that fixes things.

 

[Drerunsit]

Denis, it seems, nailed the problem. See? U gotta be Canadian!:sneaky: Change yr boot order putting the HDD first and see if that fixes things.

I have tried this, but to no avail. I have also updated the BIOS and tried to boot without any external drives attached. No dice.

 

[Virgorising]

I have tried this, but to no avail. I have also updated the BIOS and tried to boot without any external drives attached. No dice.

Sigh. I guess, not for the first time, I got too happy too fast. But, why did you change boot order back to other than yr main drive?

Have you run diagnostics on the drive? Maybe yr ini/boot files may be a little corrupt? Do you have your original OS disk?

I would get and run the official MS Fix it tool and see what it comes up with. It can also fix things if finds. I think this is right link, but not positive:

http://www.pc-file.com/microsoft-fix-it-center?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PC_US_en_TopTail_Utilidades&utm_content=Microsoft-Fix-it-Center&utm_term=microsoft%20fix%20it%20center

Sorry you are having this frustration!:\

 

[Drerunsit]

I changed it back so that if I needed to boot from my Windows disc, it would be the first in line. Just a habit, I suppose. I'll run the Fix It tool and see what happens. Any chance the mobo could be to blame?

 

[Bubbaleone]

My PSU is built-in to the case, I am running 64-bit Windows, and my boot order is BD-R drive, main HDD, and then externals

What's the make/model of the case with built-in PSU? I ask because the sypmtoms you're describing could be attributed to a mis-matched or failing PSU. It also sounds like you may have a corrupt BCD Store which could explain why it hangs at the BIOS screen. Have you ever attempted to repair the BCD via the Windows Recovery Environment? Have you ever run chkldsk or sfc on the volume?

.

 

[Virgorising]

I changed it back so that if I needed to boot from my Windows disc, it would be the first in line. Just a habit, I suppose. I'll run the Fix It tool and see what happens. Any chance the mobo could be to blame?

I am not qualified, but know stuff at my level and have good instincts....and this in no way sounds like a mobo issue. To me, sounds like corrupt files or, my first thought, was perhaps not adequate PSU,or marginal RAM, which is why I asked about those.

Pls report back!

 

[Drerunsit]

Fix It Tool found and corrected the following:

- Hibernation file is not large enough
- Repair critical battery action (though it's not a laptop)
- USB selective suspend is disabled

I'll have to see if this did anything at all

 

[Virgorising]

What's the make/model of the case with built-in PSU? I ask because the sypmtoms you're describing could be attributed to a mis-matched or failing PSU. It also sounds like you may have a corrupt BCD Store which could explain why it hangs at the BIOS screen. Have you ever attempted to repair the BCD via the Windows Recovery Environment? Have you ever run chkldsk or sfc on the volume?

.

I thought same stuff.....but on a less expert level than bubbaleone.

 

[Drerunsit]

What's the make/model of the case with built-in PSU? I ask because the sypmtoms you're describing could be attributed to a mis-matched or failing PSU. It also sounds like you may have a corrupt BCD Store which could explain why it hangs at the BIOS screen. Have you ever attempted to repair the BCD via the Windows Recovery Environment? Have you ever run chkldsk or sfc on the volume?

.

The case is APEX MI-008 Mini-ITX. I'm not familiar with BCD Store. Running chkdsk now

 

[Virgorising]

Fix It Tool found and corrected the following:

- Hibernation file is not large enough
- Repair critical battery action (though it's not a laptop)
- USB selective suspend is disabled

I'll have to see if this did anything at all

Interesting. Pls report back!

 

[Drerunsit]

Chkdsk found no issues. Sfc /scannow completed with the following message:

"Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them."

 

[Virgorising]

Chkdsk found no issues. Sfc /scannow completed with the following message:

"Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them."

Interesting. It did feel like corrupt files to me. Tell me, have you rebooted since running all you have done starting with the MS fix it thingy?

Pls stop worrying about yr board.....your board, I will bet, is just fine.

I have not tried repair console since running XP Pro.....I assume W7 has one. Does it?

I am not understanding the repair critical battery action. Could this refer to yr CMOS battery? Maybe it is not fully seated?

 

[denis280]

try running sfc /scannow a few more time.and if that don't do the trick.you will have to use the windows cd.and do a repair.

 

[Drerunsit]

I looked into the files which could not be fixed... there were three and they all referenced iassdo.dll.mui

Rebooting now

 

[Virgorising]

I looked into the files which could not be fixed... there were three and they all referenced iassdo.dll.mui

Rebooting now

Excellent. We will look forward to learning about any improvements. One reason I do internal backup, including boot files, ini files, etc......is THIS KINDA SITUATION.

 

[Drerunsit]

Well, same issue after reboot. It won't boot into the OS. Had to hard reboot again.

 

[Virgorising]

Well, same issue after reboot. It won't boot into the OS. Had to hard reboot again.

Sigh. Very disappointing. I am afraid you will have to do repair to fix the corrupt files. Do you have your original disk?

When did you do yr initial installation? You said this issue presented immediately, yes? How long ago was that?

Did you already migrate yr files from another system? If not, perhaps you should do a clean instal.

 

[Bubbaleone]

The case is APEX MI-008 Mini-ITX. I'm not familiar with BCD Store. Running chkdsk now

That's a purpose-built case and ITX PSU so it being bad is doubtful, IMHO. These links give clear descriptions of both Boot Configuration Data and the BCD Store. To access the WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) boot your Windows 7 installation media. When you get to the Install Windows screen, select the Repair option located at the lower-left corner. The repair tool will then scan for existing Windows installations and attempt to repair any problems. It's not a guarantee that a BCD repair will be successful but it is where to get started (after running chkdsk) in the process of eliminating potential causes for the boot hang.


,

 

[QuietDad]

That case only has a 250W power supply in it. If it was my my machine, I would set the boot order to Externals (like USB) to boot from a flash drive, The CD, The Hard drive. Hard drive is always last in case I need to boot diagnostic routines and such. I'd set it this way, if nothing else it gives your HD more time to spin up, then replace the power supply with at least 350W, my preference is 500.

 

[Bubbaleone]

Well, same issue after reboot. It won't boot into the OS. Had to hard reboot again.

Having sfc report unfixable corrupt files isn't good. If you just want to get your PC up and running, without having to perform a lot of fairly technical diagnostic work that will involve being proficient with the CLI, you can simply perform an in-place upgrade installation (aka repair installation). There's no need to format your drive and reinstall Windows. An in-place upgrade installation will keep all of your third-party programs and all of your personal data completely intact and ready to use after the operation completes. The Windows operating system is restored to the same state as a fresh installation, thus any previous problems from corrupt files, missing files, or a corrupt BCD Store will be completely repaired. The only caveat is that you'll have to reinstall all Windows updates and there will also be two large temp files created in C:\ (you can safely delete these afterward). Here's how to perform an in-place upgrade installation: Win7′s no-reformat, nondestructive reinstall.
.

 

[Drerunsit]

Okay. I'm going to attempt to repair with the original disc first. If that fails to resolve the issue, I will attempt the non-destructive reinstall.