Hdd Failure?

[imported_SteveB]

I'll start withe this. Every now and then, when my machine is not running any applications (apart from the ones in the back ground), it will spontaniously restart. When it does this, the primary HDD (Western Digital 160GB 8MB cache, which is split into 2 partitions, one 5gb for my OS, and the rest for storage) is not found. I get the "Insert System Disk..." error message. Only when I turn OFF the machine, and back on does it find the HDD again.
Now, when I rebooted tonight, I got a message saying "Predicted Hard Disk Failure". I pulled it out, to write down the serial number so I could advance RMA it. When I plugged it back in, it worked, with no message.
I have my two hard drives on rounded cables that are neither shielded, nor grounded. I'm going to put them back on regular ribbon cables to see if that'll help. I have not heard any sounds or have had any trouble, except what I've described.
Anyone have any ideas, or need any more info?

My hardware setup is this:
Asus A7V8X Motherboard with the latest BIOS update
Corsiar XMS PC3200 DDR400 Ram (ran a Memory test overnight, no errors)
Athlon XP 2400+ (runs at around 50C with a load)
Thermaltake 420watt PSU
Windows XP Professional SP1 (I reformatted to see if it was a Windows problem, but it continued)

Thanks.

SteveB

 

[LiLithTecH]

Are you running the ASUS C.O.P.?
Are you sure the CPU is not overheating?

Have you checked the EVENT LOG for any clues?

 

[MrChad]

Replacing the IDE cable is a good idea. Your hard drive or motherboard may be failing. If I were you, I would continue monitoring the issue but run regular backups. If it fails again, RMA the drive and see if the new one fixes the problem.

 

[imported_SteveB]

I run Asus Probe v2.21.00
My CPU isn't overheating. It may be the motherboard.

 

[SJP0tato]

Easiest way to be more or less sure about the status of the HDD is to run Western Digital's drive test. It can be gotten Here as the diagnostic utilities. You should be able to set it up on a floppy, boot up then run both the quick and extended tests for the harddrive. It'll probably take a couple hours for the extended test.

These types of tests aren't 100% accurate, but do a decent job in detecting bad hardware. If you do get an error code, be sure to write it down as it will greatly speed up the RMA process if it comes to that.

 

[airfoil]

Have you enabled S.M.A.R.T. from the BIOS and checked for errors during the boot sequence? Assuming there's no problems there, check the power supply and IDE cables, they're most likely the culprits.

 

[imported_SteveB]

where is the S.M.A.R.T. option. I looked for it, but didn't see it. I have the latest BIOS revision.

 

[imported_SteveB]

Well, where is the Asus RMA order request. I can't find anything on their site. I'll keep looking though.

 

[LiLithTecH]

Originally posted by: SteveB
where is the S.M.A.R.T. option. I looked for it, but didn't see it. I have the latest BIOS revision.

To check if SMART is enable (the default is disabled) go in to the
BIOS, and in the MAIN MEnu

Highlight PRIMARY MASTER
then press <ENTER> for the Sub-Menu

There you will see SMART Monitoring [Disabled] or [Enabled]

 

[mrEvil]

HA! Sounds familiar. RMA the drive...trust me. It will fail again. There is a reason you get that error message. I am currently RMAing a WD 100GB drive for the 3rd time and am quite p!ssed about it. Drive starting throwing the predictive drive failure errors back in April. I had it shut down due to moving from then until June. Guess what....I was using it to do PVR and it went out again....hard this time. First time I used the WD utility to fix it....not this time.

Check the cable first, but if that was not the only thing on the IDE channel, it's the drive...which is my guess. I believe I am finished purchasing WD drive....had to RMA the last 2....and this last one will be the 4th WD1000BBRTL that I've had.

 

[stevennoland]

This sounds like your HD's might be overheating. Are your drives in enclosures like the Cooler Master Cool Drive 3 or the Vantec "Vortex", or are they behind your intake fan?

 

[Smilin]

You're off to the right start: try different cables.

Also, if you haven't already, hard set the master/slave jumper rather than cable select. You can also try a different controller. Check your system event logs too. They may give an indication of a controller problem in addition to some delayed write failures.

That error you saw sounds kinda like SMART is already running on your system - and it's telling you your drive is dieing.