Hard Drive Problems (Hard disk)

 

The most common problems originate

From corruption of the master boot record, FAT, or directory.Those are soft problems which can usually be taken care of
with a combination of tools like Fdisk /mbr to refresh the master boot record followed by a reboot and Norton disk doctor
or Spinneret.

The most common hardware problems are a bad controller, a bad
drive motor, or a bad head mechanism.

• Can the BIOS see and identify the hard drive correctly? If

  it can't, then the hard drives onboard controller is bad.

• Does the drive spin and maintain a constant velocity? If it

  does, that's good news. The motor is functioning.

• If the drive surges and dies, the most likely cause is a

  bad controller (assuming the drive is cool). A gate allowing

  the current to drive the motor may not be staying open. The

  drive needs a new controller.

• 

• Do you hear a lot of head clatter when the machine is

  turned on and initialized (but before the system attempts to

  access the hard drive). Head clatter would indicate that the

  spindle bearings are sloppy or worn badly. Maybe even lose and

  flopping around inside.

• There is always the possibility that the controller you are

  using in the machine has gone south.