Archive

Archive for the ‘Hard Disks’ Category

Aug
19


I have one external USB harddisk that I use for my entire documents backup. I take them with me during travelling but always leave it in my hotel room just in case if I lost or damage my laptop. So basically when I leave it, anyone can find it and plug it in any USB port and voila… he/she will have a full access of all my documents.


After googling, I found a nice and free disk encryption tool. It’s called truecrypt. Here are the features I copied from the website:

Main Features:
- Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk.
- Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive.
- Encrypts a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication).
- Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent.
- Provides two levels of plausible deniability, in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password:
1) Hidden volume (steganography – more information may be found here).
2) No TrueCrypt volume can be identified (volumes cannot be distinguished from random data).
- Encryption algorithms: AES-256, Serpent, and Twofish. Mode of operation: XTS.


For more information go to their website at: http://www.truecrypt.org/

Jul
07

Sharkoon’s Quickport is an elegant docking station for Serial-ATA drives, letting you attach them without having to open your PC. The Quickport is equipped with a USB interface, making it universally usable. But is that all?


You can never have enough hard disk space. After all, disks just fill up far too quickly these days, inevitably forcing you to buy a new drive. The side effect of this strategy is that you’ll sound find yourself the master of a good sized collection of magnetic storage media – especially if you’re a photographer, work with lots of video or simply enjoy recording TV shows to your computer.



The trouble is that PCs are equipped with only a limited number of connection options. Once all of the internal interfaces are in use, you have to use one of the external ones. Until now, this required a USB or Firewire adapter or even an external HDD enclosure. All of these solutions are comparatively cumbersome to use.

Installing the HDDs in your computer’s case when switching between different disks means you’ll always need to use a screwdriver. The steps of this procedure: open the case, find the connectors, arrange the cables, attach them, install the medium, close the case. If you have to do this frequently, you’ll soon begin to favour the “convertible” version – you’ll either use your case “with the top down” (i.e. open), or rout the cables outside so you can attach the drives more quickly.



The Serial ATA specification allows for a hard drive to be connected to a running PC thanks to a feature called Hot Plug ‘n’ Play. In practice, more often than not the end result is that your PC will crash, losing your data as it reboots itself. Obviously, this is not a viable solution.



This is where Sharkoon comes in with its Quickport. This docking station is designed to rest stably and firmly on your desk. All you have to do is insert the drive into the slot on the top of the device, saving you all of the hassle with running cables. Only the Quickport itself needs to be connected to the PC via USB cable. Just seconds after the docking station is switched on, the freshly created USB drive will show up in your system – no drivers needed.

Jul
07

Western Digital was created in 1970 in California. This company specialises in data storage solutions and manufactures internal and external hard drives for home users and businesses.


Through its Ontrack® Data Recovery services, Kroll Ontrack offers Hitachi hard drive recovery solutions and multiple service options:


  • Any interface: (IDE, EIDE), Serial ATA (SATA), SCSI, SAS, and Fibre Channel
  • Any combination of drives: single hard drive or multiple RAID drives
  • 2.5″ Hard drives
  • 3.5″ hard drives
  • Laptop hard drives 2.5″ SATA 150MBps, SATA 300MBps
  • Desktop hard drives 3.5″ SATA 150MBps, SATA 300MBps
  • EIDE drives
  • External/USB drives

Jul
07
Question
Do you know of any good disk utility programs that can recover, repair or at least deal with a hard drive that has bad sectors?  Are there any free downloadable programs out there?  
Thank you,
Landon  
Answer
Hi,It is best to use the tools on the operating system first, below is soem accepted wisdom for sector repair. Note: Backup al your work first, if the errors continue to occur, then your have drive issues that will ultimately compromise your data.

here are the steps (Both WIndows and Mac described below)

 

For Windows

  Steps:
1.     Double-click on My Computer to open the My Computer window.

2.     Select the disk that you want to diagnose and repair.

3.     Choose Properties from the File menu. You should see the Properties window for the drive that you selected.

4.     Choose the Tools tab.

5.     Click the Check Now button under Error Checking Status.

6.     Depending on your version of Windows, choose either “Thorough” or “Scan for and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors.”

7.     Click on Start.

For Mac OS

  Steps:
1.     If youre running Mac OS 9.2 or an earlier version, search your hard drive for a file called Disk First Aid. You can use this Apple-supplied utility to verify and repair disk errors.

2.     If Disk First Aid says it can verify but not repair your disk because its the startup disk, you should restart your Mac from the System CD-ROM disc that came with your computer. Hold down the C key during startup to force the Mac to start from the CD-ROM. Older Macs, pre-G3, need to press the Command- Opt-Shift-Delete combination.

3.     If Disk First Aid fails to fix all the problems it detected the first time you run it, try running it a few more times

4.     If youre running Mac OS X, youll find that Disk First Aid has been made part of the Disk Utility program, which youll find in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. Click on the First Aid tab after launching Disk Utility

Jul
07

In modern advanced Windows operating system, renaming the name or label of the hard disk drive, partition or volume is an easy task, just like how user renames a file or folder. Normally when formatting a hard disk drive or partition volume, user can enter a label for the volume. And, for user who need to perform the renaming in command prompt DOS environment, the old good “label” utility comes to help.

Label, label.exe is a command-line utility to view or change the label or name of the computer disk drives that is available in most Microsoft MS-DOS and Windows operating system including Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and likely all future versions of Windows OSes.


To use label.exe to create, change, or delete the volume label of a disk, use the following syntax:


LABEL [drive:][label]


For example,


label c: myvolume


Above command will label the C: drive to “myvolume”. Note that the label command only work if the disk is not write protected.


User can also simply enter “label” command to view current label on the working drive, and when doing so, automatically get a prompt to enter new label if wanted to change the name of the partition.


Be careful when label a volume with ASCII or other extended characters, as ScanDisk in MS-DOS 6.0 or lower cannot recognize the characters, hence assume the label is corrupt or incorrent data, and will attempt to fix the label. If scandisk attempts to fix the harddisk’s label, it may remove all information and place it into a CHK file.

Besides, fdisk utility also cannot delete the partition with unrecognizable characters. However, user can always use label utility to rename and change the name of volume for deletion in fdisk to work

Jul
07

The Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB WD20EADS hard drive boosts the capacity game to a whole new level. This $299 drive crams 2 terabytes into a single drive–making this drive a boon to anyone with a large data archive, multimedia library, or space-hogging video collection.


Weve used words like gargantuan and massive before to describe the capacity of a hard-disk drive, but this model blows all other examples away. Western Digital is the first drive maker to achieve 2TB in one drive. The previous top honors for capacity went to the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB drive.


This capacious internal drive provides an areal density of 400 gigabits per square inch on four 500GB platters. The drive is also part of WDs Green Power line of hard disk drives, billed as environmentally friendly drives due to their lower power consumption.


In our PC World Test Center benchmarks, the 2TB drive came in fifth place among all drives tested–one better than its nearest-capacity competitor, Seagates Barracuda 7200.11 1TB. Its performance was above average and bettered that of its sibling, the Caviar Green 1TB WD10EACS, which finished ninth overall in our performance tests.


This model lagged behind our performance leaders (the Western Digital RE3 Enterprise 500GB and the WD VelociRaptor) on some results–most notably, the write-intensive disk imaging test that we perform as part of PC WorldBench 6. On other core metrics, though, the 2TB drive performed very competitively. For example, it completed our “write files and folders” test in 112 seconds and our “write large files” test in 92 seconds. On each of those tests, its results were off those of our performance leaders by a dozen seconds or less.


The 2TB drive has several WD technologies inside that the company says enable this model to achieve its balance of price and performance. StableTrac reduces vibration by securing the motor shaft at both ends, and this in turn permits accurate head tracking during read and write operations. IntelliPower, according to WD, adjusts the balance of spin speed, transfer rate, and caching algorithms for optimal balance between performance and power consumption. IntelliSeek optimizes seek speeds to enable lower power consumption, noise, and vibration. And WDs NoTouch ramp-load technology keeps the recording head from touching the disk media.

The storage fiend in me salivates at the thought of 2TB in a single 3.5-inch hard-disk drive. Such a high ceiling on capacity means that I no longer need to make choices about where Im storing my data; instead, I can better organize and consolidate my data across multiple subjects. But even though I like the idea of consolidating my data under a single roof, I shudder to think what the costs to recover a ginormous 2TB drive might be if anything should go amiss.


I also admit that, at first blush, the 2TB models $299 price tag gives me pause. That is, until I realized that its $.15 per gigabyte cost is actually fairly competitive with that of other drives on the market; the only difference is that this particular drives supersize capacity skews the upfront costs accordingly.


The slight lag in performance shouldnt be enough to deter people who have large data libraries from getting the WD Caviar Green 2TB WD20EADS. Nor should it put off casual and professional digital media enthusiasts, who will rightly crave this drive. For these audiences, the price and performance tradeoffs are a small price to pay for the honor of packing a 2TB drive inside.

Jul
07

WHATs NEW 


  • Data Acquisition using ATmega8   Build the AVR ADC board and PC software for temperature logging.
  • Solar Server   Build the solar station for insolation measurement with Ubuntu server 7.10 and a 24-bit Delta-sigma converter.

  • Single-Side PCB for Easy-Downloader V1.1  Easy build and small size single side PCB for the 2051 programmer board.
  • Tiny2313 Development Board  Easy build AVR Tiny development board.

  • MTK-85 The 8085 Microprocessor Training Kit.

















    Data Acquisition System using VB and 89C51

    PIC 3rd Harmonic meter PIC18F2550 Project Board Solar Recorder 8051 scope using Nokia 3310 LCD 89S52 Project Board



    AT89C2051/4051
     

  • Mathematical Manipulation of Pure Sine Wave Inverter using ATMEL 89S2051  Didik Rostyono and Harsono Hadi explain how to produce the sinewave output inverter using the ATMEL microcontroller! (available only in pdf file (274kB), click the link to download it)


  • AT89C4051 as RTC  updated Realtime Clock with LCD by Ajay Bhargav, featuring big size number!

  • xTimer V1.0 with 4094  New design xTimer using CMOS shift register 4094 for driving 7-segment LED directly! .

  • AT89C4051 as RTC  Realtime Clock with LCD by Ajay Bhargav from India.

  • saver6  Latest design night light saver, built with sdcc.
  • xTimer V1.0   4-Channel Timer, 89C4051 MAX7219 display driver. Source code with sdcc available now!
  • 89C2051 Proto Board   Layout PCB for experimenting with 89C2051 & AVR uController by M Asim Khan, Pakistan.
  • Download Now ezdl4 ! New PC software for Easy-Downloader V1.1 and V2.0. No problem with unsorted hex file. Automatically detect COM Port and programmer board. Updated EZ4.1.

  • Easy-Downloader V1.1 with SDCC Renovated programmer board with SDCC, complete schematic and layout with MAX232 for rs232 level converter!
  • Easy-Downloader V1.1 Serial interface programmer board for writing intel HEX file to the AT89C2051/4051 flash based microcontroller. New EZ Uploader V3.0 for Window and PCB file are included.
  • Make Your Own Single-Side PCB for Easy-Downloader V1.1  I am very happy with my student, Plermjai(his name means feel delighted too) Inchuay (his family name means angel helps him), who provides me his page describing how-to-make a single side PCB for the Easy V.1.1. So cool! his prototype was made by hand writing with a pen for making PCB! Available now single side with Protel format.

  • Very Easy Single-Side PCB for Easy-Downloader V1.2  Puiu Chiselita from Romania provides us a very easy single-side PCB with some modification for RS232 level converter and indicating LED. Puiu detailes how to make the board at home and gives some useful trick to making a board easier.
  • Experimenting the 2051 with C Programming I provide this page for beginners who interested in using C and Assembly for the 2051/4051 chips, e.g., driving dot LED, scanning 7-segment and keypad, connecting dump terminal, stepper motor, SSR, interfacing I2C EEPROM, display driver, calculating CRC-16, etc.
  • Night Light Saver V5.0 I have designed a device that controls a night light at home. The saver uses 2051 chip and a small triac. The saver features low-cost, simple installation, no battery backup, and save energy.

  • Clock Controller V1.1 The Clock V1.1 provides the same function as the saver does but with additional 4-digit LED display and 4-key input for setting the clock and turn on/off AC load. The circuit uses single 2051 chip, and relay or opto-triac output for driving AC load. source code with sdcc for 8051!
  • DigiThermo V1.0 Build a laboratory instrument that measures time and temperature. A 89C4051 interfaces 16×1 line LCD, 3-digit DVM CA3162 and LM35D precision temperature sensor. This device is capable of providing 0.1C readout.
  • Miniature Real-Time Controller This is my long history home-use-controller that has been using at my home since 1997. The Miniature Real-time Controller has a 2051 chip with timer6.asm, an open collector 74LS07 and MAX232 chip. The scheduler of on/off time for 6-channel output is downloaded via PC.
  • Line Follower ROBOT Controlled by 2051  Award Winner from VINGPEAW Competition 2543 by my student, again, Plermjai Inchuay.  He provides this page describing his robot platform, control circuit by 2051 chip, black tape sensor, and control program in C. See MPEG file how the robot tracks the course during competition.




  • 8051 Microcontroller Family
     

  • Fan Thermostat  Build a simple fan thermostat with LM35, ADC0804 and 89C51.
  • Data Acquisition System with VB   Build a data acquisition system with Visual Basic and the 89C51.
  • The 89Sxx learning board  Build a simple and cheap 89Sxx MCU learning board by Tahan Prahara, Indonesia.
  • The 89C51 PABx Mohammad Shakeel from Pakistan describes how to build a simple PABx board using the 89C51.

  • 89S52 Project Board Simple 89S52 board for student projects.
  • Controller for Hybrid Power Plant The 89C51 control board for controlling photovoltaic-wind turbine and diesel engine. Developed by Didik Rostyono from Indonesia.
  • LCD Thermometer 2nd version of Thermistor Thermometer.
  • Thermistor Thermometer Simple thermometer made with NTC thermistor.
  • Digital Clock with Alarm using DS1307 new design by Ajay Bhargav, best for student projects.

  • SPI Flash Microcontroller Programmer V3.7, new hardware and software for programming 89Sxx and AVR chips. Designed by Mohammad Asim Khan.
  • New 8051SBC Brown-out protection, WDT, 20×4 LCD BUS interface. Simple scope using Nokia 3310 LCD.
  • ATMEL 89 Series Device Programmer more chips and easy-use devices programmer!
  • S-52 Simple Microcontroller Learning Board Simple hardware for beginner to learn 8051 microprocontroller, single side pcd with ISP loader designed by Prahlad Purohit from India.

  • Cheap Cable of Asims ISP Loader for 89Sxxxx Simple hardware for code programming new series MCU from ATMEL, 89S51, 89S52, 89S53, 89S8252.

  • ISP Flash Programmer V3.0a Flash programmer using ISP designed by M Asim Khan for AVR and 89Sxx series. Updated software! (recommended for applications)
  • MiniLOGGER V3.0 New design data logger board, 64kB T89C51RD2, 4-channal 12-bit ADC, built-in LCD and 128/512kB battery backup memory. New page for minilogger DC Amplifier for Pyranometer
  • USB & GLCD expansion board for 8051SBC  Simple circuit for USB and 128×64 GLDC interface.

  • Experimenting the 8051SBC with c51 compiler sample code and startup file for 8051SBC. Using a popular c51 compiler with monitor program.
  • 8051SBC V1.0 New generic tool for learning microprocessor. The 8051SBC, Microprocessor Learning Board. More commands and peripherals. Complete schematic, PCB layout and firmware are available now.(recommended for applications)
  • Easy-Downloader V3.0 New design the flash programmer board specially for 89C55WD. The lock and erase functions are now implemented and tested.(not recommended)
  • Easy-Downloader V2.1 Simple modification of Easy programmer V2.0 enables the 89C55WD to be programmed. The beta version of EZ55.HEX and source code EZ55.C are available for download.

  • M Asim Khans Programmer Ver 3.1  Latest M Asim Khans Programmer featuring more chips, enhance programming speed, support Window2000/XP. New target chips, 87C51 and 87C52.
  • C52EVB V2.0 with 32KB eeprom boot loader  New Microprocesssor Learning Board for 89C52 CPU with 32KB external eeprom. Modified PAULMON2 provides program saving and boot loading.
  • Easy-Downloader V2.0 The simple programmer for 40-pin AT89C51/52/55. Modified firmware for free compiler 8051, sdcc. Beta version for 89S51 and 89S52, a bit hardware modification.
  • Using Easy-Downloader V1.1&V2.0 with Unsorted HEX Files  Kurnia Wijaya from Jakarta Indonesia helps me writing the program that sorts the intel hex file generated by some compilers.

  • How Easy-Downloader V2.0 Connects Host PC  Details description of simple protocol between programmer board and host PCs software.
  • Program the AT89S8252 and 89S53 with Easy-Downloader V2.0  Upgraded EZ52 to EZ53.hex enabling the Easy-Downloader to program 89S8252 and 89S53 chips without any modifications.
  • Make Your Own Single-Side PCB for Easy-Downloader V2.0  This work was contributed by Bruno Macio from Brazil, a single-side PCB for Easy II with MAX232C for RS232 level converter. For those who use Portuguese may ask him directly.
  • Very Easy Single-Side PCB for Easy-Downloader V2.2  A variant single-side PCB of Easy V2.0 contributed by Puiu Chiselita from Romania.
  • EZ Uploader V3.0 Download a window version of EZ and EZ2, the beta EZ3, automatically connects the Easy-Downloder V1.1 or V2.0 to an available COM1-4 port.

  • EZ Uploader V3.1 Upgraded EZ3.0 with additional READ command and SAVE AS Intel-HEX file.
  • C-52 Evaluation Board This board uses 89C52 with a modified 8kB PAULMON2 monitor program, 32kB SRAM for writing application program. The C-52 EVB was designed for studying “Assembly and C Language Programming for Microcontrollers”. Latest PCB file included.
  • C-52 EVB Robot Controller Use a C-52 EVB for simple robot experiments. Build a simple two wheels robot with L293 H-Bridge driver and IR sensor. Write a C program controls robot tracked with black tape.
  • MiniLOGGER V1.0  Build your own a personal data logger having 8-channel analog input -99mV to 999mV with 1mV resolution (CA3162), 3-digit dual slope integrating converter, battery backup 256kB SRAM, RTC, RS232C, direct connected  internet server for remote data retrieving. Example circuit and data for measuring Insolation and Air temperature is included. (not recommended)

  • Connecting MiniLOGGER with Easy-Server V0.9  Run Easy-Server V0.9 on PC connected to internet gateway enabling remote access the MiniLOGGER.
  • Simple RS422 Converter for Minilogger  Build a simple RS422 converter for the Minilogger.



  • Jul
    07

    Brien M. Posey, MCSE

    In Part 1 of this article series, I explained some techniques that you could use to combat hard disk problems if the problem in question was related to a physical breakdown of the hard disk itself. However, the vast majority of hard disk failures are software related. In a software related failure situation, the techniques that I shared with you in Part 1 wouldn’t apply.  You must apply a different set of techniques when attempting to recover from a  software related (or logical) hard disk failure. In this article, I’ll explain some new techniques that you can use for doing so.

    Before We Begin

    Before I get started, I need to explain that the technique that you would use to recover from a logical hard disk problem is highly dependant on the nature of the problem. For example, if a virus were to destroy your master boot record, then you’d use a different repair technique than you’d use if you were trying to recover a lost file. Therefore, in the sections that follow, I’ll explain some techniques that you can use to recover from various types of problems.

    Master Boot Record Failure

    Before I can really explain how to go about fixing a master boot record failure, you need to know what the Master Boot Record does. The Master Boot Record is a specific location on the hard disk that your system’s hardware automatically reads when you boot the system. The Master Boot Record contains a pointer that directs the system to the boot sector. The reason that your system has to have a Master Boot Record is that depending on the size of your hard drive, the partition structure, and which partition is flagged as active, the boot sector can exist in a variety of places. Therefore, the system needs code that will always exist in the same place (the master boot record) to point the way to the boot sector.

    There are a variety of things that can cause the Master Boot Record to fail. One of the most common causes of a Master Boot Record failure is performing a full restore on your hard disk. Some backup programs will restore the contents of the individual partitions, but won’t update the master boot record to point to the active partition. If this (or any other type of Master Boot Record failure) happens to you, there are a couple of things that you can do to recover.

    Keep in mind that with the Master Boot Record out of commission, the system won’t be bootable. Therefore, you’ll have to use a boot disk to accomplish the repair. If your system is running Windows 9x, then you can use the boot disk that I showed you how to make in Part 1. Simply boot the system off of the boot disk and use the FDISK /MBR command. If on the other hand, you’re working with a Windows 2000 based system, boot the system from the Windows 2000 boot disks and enter the Recovery Console. When the Recovery Console loads, use the FIXMBR command to make the repair.

    Boot Sector Failure

    Another common type of failure is a boot sector failure. The boot sector is the file that tells the system which file to begin loading during the boot process. For example, in a Windows 9x environment, the boot sector tells the system to begin loading the IO.SYS file.

    The most common cause of a boot sector failure is an infection from a boot sector virus. A boot sector virus replaces your normal boot sector with viral code. Some viruses make a backup copy of the original boot sector at the time of the initial infection. With such viruses, all you have to do to repair the damage is to disinfect the system using a product such as the Norton Anti Virus. Because such products know the behavior of specific viruses they know where the original boot sector was backed up to and can remove the viral code and replace it with your original boot sector (assuming that the original boot sector hasn’t been overwritten.

    Of course not all virus authors are kind enough to develop viruses that backup your original boot sector before infecting the machine. With some viral infections, the original Master Boot Record is gone forever. Likewise, boot sector failures aren’t always virus related. In either case, you must reconstruct the boot sector manually, to return the system to its previous state.

    There are a couple of different methods that you can use to repair the boot sector. One of the most reliable methods is to completely reinstall the operating system. Of course doing so takes some time and can get a little hairy. Therefore, I recommend trying a couple of shortcuts before you go through the trouble of reinstalling the operating system.

    If you’re using a Windows 9x environment, boot the system from the floppy disk that you created in Part 1 of this article series. When the system boots, enter the command SYS C:. In many cases, entering this command will repair the problem and make your system bootable once again. If you’re using Windows 2000, boot the system to the Recovery Console and then enter the FIXBOOT command.

    Accidentally Deleted Data

    Another common hard disk problem is that needed files may have been accidentally deleted. Normally, when this happens, you’d simply go into the Recycle Bin and get them back. However, if the files were deleted by an application (through an automated script), or if they were deleted through the command prompt, then the files won’t be in the Recycle Bin.

    What happens when files are deleted is that the file isn’t actually removed. Instead, the first character of the file name is replaced with a question mark. The question mark tells the operating system not to display the file. Unfortunately, the question mark also gives the operating system permission to use the disk space currently used by the deleted file, to store other files. Therefore, if you want to recover a deleted file that isn’t in the recycle bin, you’ll have to do so quickly, before the operating system overwrites the file.

    Older operating systems, such as DOS 6.22 contained a command called UNDELETE w3hich you could use to recover lost files at the command prompt level. The utility simply asks you what the first character of the file name is supposed to be, and then recovers the file. Unfortunately, UNDELETE isn’t included with Windows 9x. However, if you have an old copy of DOS laying around, I have been able to use an old copy of UNDELETE on a DOS 6.22 boot disk to recover deleted files off of a Windows 9x machine. As I’ll explain later, there are also utilities out there that will do this for you.

    Cross Linked Files and Bad Sectors

    Perhaps the most common hard disk problems are also the most minor. These include things like cross linked files, lost chains, and bad sectors. Any time that you encounter such problems, they can usually be repaired through SCANDISK, assuming that you’re using a Windows 9x environment.

    If you’re running Windows 2000 and have a hard disk that’s formatted as NTFS, then you’re not supposed to have these problems. NTFS uses a transaction logging system that keeps common hard disk problems to an absolute minimum. However, even NTFS isn’t perfect. It’s still possible to have hard disk problems, even in an NTFS environment. If you do have hard disk problems in Windows 2000, try using the CHKDSK command to fix the problem. CHKDSK will ask you to reboot your machine and will then correct the problem during the reboot. This process may take some time to complete though, as CHKDSK is very thorough. There’s also a less sophisticated version of CHKDSK that’s included with Windows 9x, but you’re usually better off using SCANDISK.

    Of course SCANDISK and CHKDSK aren’t your only repair options. There are a plethora of third party hard disk repair tools out there. When it comes to repairing the more common hard disk problems, I prefer to use Norton’s Disk Doctor. Disk Doctor is included in Symantec’s Norton System Works 2001. In my own personal experience, Disk Doctor tends to do a little bit better of a job repairing common problems than Scan Disk does. It also offers some recovery options for bigger disasters.

    The Total Recovery Solution

    So far, everything that I’ve talked about has been directed at repairing minor and fairly common hard disk problems. However, you may be wondering what course of action that you should take when the big one hits. For example, what do you do if someone accidentally uses FDISK and deletes a critical partition, or formats a drive full of data.

    In the past, your options in such situations have been very limited. There weren’t many tools out there that were up to tackling the task at hand. In a major hard disk crash, or accidental formatting or FDISKing, you were basically at the mercy of the few available tools and your own individual skills. I’ve personally recovered lost data the hard way, but doing so takes several hours and you usually end up losing some of the data any way.

    Because of these hellish past experiences, I was very excited to discover a new tool from Winternals software (www.winternals.com). This new tool is called Disk Commander. Disk Commander is designed to help you to recover from all of the really bad types of hard disk crashes and data loss situations.

    I normally shy away from whole heartedly recommending a product to my readers. However, like just about everything else that the people at Winternals Software have developed, Disk Commander is worth its weight in gold. Disk Commander does more than just salvage deleted files, it allows you to recover from many different data loss situations that you would normally not be able to recover from. What makes this utility even better is that it works on FAT 16, FAT 32, and NTFS partitions, and will recover data regardless of why it was lost.

    Unlike other data recovery tools, the system doesn’t even have to acknowledge a partition’s existence for the software to work. You can literally salvage data from volumes that the operating system can’t access, even if the operating system doesn’t recognize the volume as a valid partition or can’t assign a drive letter to it. The utility also repairs volumes that have been damaged by a virus, or that have been accidentally deleted by FDISK or by the Windows 2000 / NT Disk Administrator. Of course this utility also allows you to recover deleted files that don’t appear in the Recycle Bin, and allows you to unformat a partition to recover from an accidental format. Disk Commander will work even if the system is unbootable. The only situation that Disk Commander is unequipped to deal with is hard drives that contain physical damage (such as would occur from being dropped).

    Disk Commander is an absolutely amazing product. License prices start at about three hundred dollars. You can acquire Disk Commander at www.winternals.com

    Conclusion

    In this article, I’ve explained that the technique that you’d use to recover from a logical hard disk failure is totally dependant on the nature of the failure. I then went on to explain several different techniques that you can use to recover from various types of hard disk problems.

    Jul
    07
    Click the MS Knowledge Base reference number to go to that article Description of the How-to article or problem
    The 50 most popular Knowledge Base articleshttp://support.microsoft.com/gp/topkbs
    927520 You cannot select or format a hard disk partition when you try to install Windows Vista – When you try to install Windows Vista, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms: • The hard disk on which you want to install Windows Vista is not listed. • You cannot select a hard disk partition on which to install Windows Vista. • You cannot format a hard disk partition or partitions. • You cannot set the correct size for a hard disk partition. • You receive the following error message: Windows is unable to find a system volume that meets its criteria for installation
    Windows Vista support for large-sector hard disk drives – Hard disk drive manufacturers will soon start producing hard disk drives that contain physical sector sizes that are larger than the traditional 512 bytes per sector. For example, sectors may be 1 kilobyte (KB), 2 KB, or 4 KB. This change will enable manufacturers to improve the capacity, the performance, and the reliability of their hard disk drives. This article discusses Windows Vista support for large-sector hard disk drives. APPLIES TO • Windows Vista Ultimate • Windows Vista Starter • Windows Vista Home Premium • Windows Vista Home Basic • Windows Vista Enterprise • Windows Vista Business 64-bit edition • Windows Vista Business • Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition • Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition • Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit edition • Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit edition
    946084 Stop error message when you start a Windows Vista-based computer: “0xC1F5″ - When you start a Windows Vista-based computer, you receive the following Stop error message on a blue screen: 0xC1F5 – This issue occurs because the Common Log File System (Clfs.sys) driver does not fix the $TxfLog file when the file is corrupted. In addition to the Stop error message, Windows Vista may not start during startup until the offending [hard] disk [drive] is removed from the computer.
    837783 The hard disk space requirements for Windows XP Service Pack 2 - This article describes the hard disk space that is required when you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) on a computer that is already running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or that is already running Microsoft Windows XP Professional.
    313348 How to partition and format a hard disk in Windows XP - Describes how to partition and format your hard disk when you install or upgrade to Windows XP.
    315265 How to perform disk error checking in Windows XP – Describes how to check your hard disk drive for disk errors in Windows XP.
    307844 How to change [hard disk or CD/DVD] drive letter assignments in Windows XP – Also visit Changing Drive Letters in Windows XP?http://www.dougknox.com/tips/xp_drive_letters.htm
    300044 How the System Restore Tool Handles Hard-Disk Space Usage – This articles describes how the System Restore tool handles hard-disk space usage, particularly where low disk-space issues are concerned. Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Professional
    285107 Description of the Low Disk Space Notification in Windows XP – When a Windows XP-based computer is running low on disk space, you receive a “Low Disk Space” message that, when clicked, starts the Disk Cleanup Wizard. This article describes the conditions in which you receive the “Low Disk Space” message.
    326683 The system partition may be assigned a drive letter other than the one that you expect when you install Windows XP - Describes a problem where the system partition is assigned a drive letter other than C when you install or upgrade to Windows XP and a Zip drive is connected to the computer. To resolve this problem, disconnect the Zip drive and reinstall Windows XP.
    310541 “Drives Contents Have Changed: Restarting” Message When You Use Disk Defragmenter – When you use the Disk Defragmenter tool to defragment your hard disk, you may receive the following message: Drives Contents Have Changed: Restarting… This issue can occur if a program (such as an antivirus program or a screen saver) is running on the drive when the Disk Defragmenter tool is running. • Windows XP Home EditionWindows XP Professional EditionWindows XP 64-Bit Edition
    922379 Disk Defragmenter does not work on a Windows XP-based computer – When you try to use Disk Defragmenter on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer, the following symptoms may occur: • When you click Analyze or Defragment, nothing happens. • When you try to use the Defrag.exe command-line tool, you receive the following error message: Windows cannot connect to the Disk Defragmenter engine. Additionally, when you open the Properties dialog box for the local hard disk and then click the Tools tab, one of the following symptoms may occur: • The Defragment Now button is unavailable. • When you click Defragment Now, you receive the following error message: The Disk Defragmenter is not installed on your computer. To install it, double-click the Add or Remove Programs icon in Control Panel, click the Install/Uninstall tab, and then follow the instructions on your screen.
    811150 [The Windows XP] Setup [installation program] repeatedly stops and restarts – When you try to install Microsoft Windows XP, you may experience a repeating chain of events that includes some or all of the following: When you try to install Microsoft Windows XP, you may experience a repeating chain of events that includes some or all of the following: • You receive the following error message when you try to format your hard disk during setup: Setup has performed maintenance on your hard disk. You must restart your computer to continue with Setup. • You receive the following message during setup: Setup is unable to perform the requested operation on the selected partition. This partition contains temporary Setup files that are required to complete the installation. • The computer stops responding (hangs or freezes), and then you receive the following fatal error message: An error has been encountered that prevents setup from continuing. One of the components that windows needs to continue setup could not be installed. Data error “cyclic redundancy check”
    330140 Hard Disk Does Not Appear in My Computer or in Windows Explorer – When you try to upgrade to Windows XP, or when you try to install a hard disk on your Windows XP computer, the hard disk may not appear in Windows Explorer or in My Computer, even if the hard disk does appear in Device Manager and in Disk Management console. You cannot use Disk Management console to assign a letter to the hard disk. • Windows XP Professional EditionWindows XP Home Edition
    316505 Windows XP Does Not Recognize All Available Disk SpaceWindows XP may not recognize all of your available disk space. For example, you may have a hard disk with a capacity of more than 30 gigabytes (GB), but according to the Disk Management utility or Windows Explorer, you have only 2 GB of disk space capacity. As a result, even though you have ample hard disk space, you may receive the following error message: Low Disk Space. You are running out of disk space on <drive letter>.
    831426 Chkdsk.exe or Autochk.exe [the hard drive diagnostic programs in Windows XP] starts when you try to shut down or restart your computer – When you try to shut down, restart, or start your computer, the Chkdsk.exe or the Autochk.exe program may start automatically and start to scan your hard disks. This issue occurs without any user interaction. This issue occurs if any one of the…
    888402 Hard disk volume monitoring may stop in Windows XP – Describes how hard disk volume monitoring may stop on a computer that is running Windows XP. Provides a hotfix to resolve this problem.
    833394 Windows Explorer seems to stop responding after you remove a secondary hard disk drive – If you remove a secondary hard disk drive from a laptop computer in certain circumstances, the computer seems to stop responding. Specifically, if you remove a secondary hard disk drive from a disk drive bay in a laptop computer while the system is in a sleep state, Microsoft Windows Explorer seems to stop responding. The sleep state occurs when the computer is either on standby or is in hibernation. The computer may be unresponsive for as long as two minutes. Additionally, the drive letter that represents the secondary hard disk drive is still visible in Windows Explorer. • Windows XP ProfessionalWindows XP Service Pack 1aWindows XP Home Edition
    330140 Hard Disk Does Not Appear in My Computer or in Windows Explorer – When you try to upgrade to Windows XP, or when you try to install a hard disk on your Windows XP computer, the hard disk may not appear in Windows Explorer or in My Computer, even if the hard disk does appear in Device Manager and in Disk…
    330100 Connecting a hard disk drive in slave only mode leads to system halt during resume from standby – A computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP or a later operating system stops responding during resume from standby, and you receive the following KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR stop error message: 0x0000007a (e163a3e4,c000000e,bf8e9313,0697f860) or 0x000000F4 (0×00000003, Parameter2, Parameter3, Parameter4) Note Parameter2, Parameter3, and Parameter4 in the stop error may vary. This problem occurs on a computer in which Windows XP or a later operating system is installed on a hard disk that is configured as a subordinate and no other device is connected to the same IDE controller channel (primary or secondary).
    315679 Problems with Drive Overlay Programs in Windows XP – You may experience one or more of the following symptoms: After the first reboot of Windows XP Setup, you may receive one of the following error messages:No operating systemSetup has determined that Drive C: is corrupted and cannot be repaired.
    884069 Problems with the network, hard disk drive, or storage drivers cause an unexpected program crash in Windows XP – Describes a workaround for an issue in Windows XP where problems with the network, hard disk drive, or storage drivers cause an unexpected program crash.
    Hard Disk Runs Continuously After You Install MS Office XP
    331958 Hard disk may become corrupted when entering standby or hibernation or when writing a memory dump – If your computer has an ATA Packet Interface (ATAPI) hard disk that is larger than 137 gigabytes (GB), you may experience any of the following symptoms:• Your computer may restart instead of resuming from hibernation. • You may experience hard disk corruption when your computer enters either standby or hibernation. • You may experience hard disk corruption when Windows XP writes a memory dump file as a result of an unrecoverable Windows error (or Stop error). • Windows XP Home EditionWindows XP Professional
    812581 Error Message When You Install and Configure a Subordinate Drive – When you try to configure a secondary hard disk on your computer to be a subordinate (also known as slave) drive, you may receive the following error message: There was a problem installing your hardware, Code 28 one of the Filter Drivers… • Windows XP Professional Edition
    822800 “Missing or corrupt Ntfs.sys” error message when you restart Windows XP after you convert your hard disk to the NTFS file system – You can use the following command to convert your hard disk from the FAT 32 file system to the NTFS file system: convert drive: /fs:ntfs When you use the command, after the computer completes the conversion and you restart Windows XP, you may receive an error message similar to the following error message: Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32DriversNtfs.sys – This problem may occur if the Ntfs.sys file is missing or becomes corrupted when you convert your hard disk to NTFS. Back to the top. • Windows XP Professional EditionWindows XP Home Edition
    896536 Drive letter that is assigned to the primary hard disk partition is not correct when you perform a CD-ROM-based clean installation of Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP – When you create a primary partition on the hard disk to install Windows, Windows Setup assigns the drive letter E or a drive letter that follows E to the hard disk partition instead of the drive letter C. The exact driver letter depends on how many removable devices you have. Sometimes, the driver letter that is assigned to one of the removable devices is G or H. • Windows XP Professional Windows XP Home Edition
    812448 “Limited Virtual Memory” Error Message When You Start Your Computer After You Install Or Remove a Hard Disk [Applies to Windows 2000 Professional Edition]
    812446 Hard Disk Problems Cause Error Messages When You Start Your Computer. – When you start your computer, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following: Hard disk drive failure When you start your computer from a Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk, and then try to use the Fdisk.exe (FDISK) program to view…
    282530 How to Prevent Drive Letters from Changing After You Add a Hard Disk or a CD-ROM. – This article describes how to configure your computer so that drive letters are less likely to change after you add a new hard disk or CD-ROM. [Applies to Windows 95/98/98 SE/ME]
    189092 Problems with Hard Disk and CD-ROM Drive After Upgrading – After you upgrade to Windows 98, the following symptoms may occur: You cannot gain access to your CD-ROM drive. Hard disks connected to the integrated drive electronics (IDE) controller are using MS-DOS Compatibility mode.
    255867 How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk – This article describes the Fdisk and Format tools and how to use them to partition or repartition a hard disk. This article describes the following topics: How to Use the Fdisk and Format ToolsImportant Considerations [Applies to Windows 95/98/Me]
    130179 Troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility Mode on Hard Disks – The Performance tab in System properties shows that one or more of the hard disks in your computer is using MS-DOS Compatibility mode. MS-DOS compatibility mode may be in use either for the file system or for virtual memory. • Windows 95 Windows 98 Standard Edition Windows 98 Second Edition Windows Millennium Edition
    160043 Error Message: Error Defragmenting Drive . Windows Could Not… – When you run Disk Defragmenter (Defrag.exe), you may receive the following error message: Error Defragmenting Drive . Windows could not access part of the drive. Click Help and carry out the instructions for running ScanDisk. • Windows 95Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition
    188096 Error Message: Setup Checked the Hard Disks on Your Computer… – While you are installing Windows 98, you may receive the following error message during the ScanDisk portion of Setup: Setup checked the hard disks on your computer and found that there may be problems. You need to check all of your drives before…
    263044 FDISK Does Not Recognize Full Size of Hard Disks Larger than 64 GB – When you use Fdisk.exe to partition a hard disk that is larger than 64 GB (64 gigabytes, or 68,719,476,736 bytes) in size, Fdisk does not report the correct size of the hard disk. • Windows 98 Second EditionWindows 98 Standard Edition Windows 95
    218160 Disk Defragmenter Hangs After Choosing Disk to Defragment – The Disk Defragmenter tool may stop responding (hang) after you choose a disk to defragment. This behavior can occur due to corrupt files, folders, or bad sectors on your hard disk. This behavior may also occur if a program that is running in the… • Windows 98 Standard EditionWindows Millennium Edition
    327202 The Fdisk.exe [FDISK] utility may not be able to create a hard disk partition that is larger than 128 GB – Fixes a problem where Fdisk.exe may not be able to create a partition larger than 128 GB when you try to partition a hard disk that is larger than 128 GB. • Windows Millennium EditionWindows 98 Second EditionWindows 98 Standard Edition
    243450
    ScanDisk Errors on IDE Hard Disks Larger Than 32 GB [Applies to Windows 95/98/98 SE]
    245436 How To Determine Your Hard Disks Cluster Size [Applies to Windows 95/98/98 SE]
    275003
    Cannot Boot Windows Me After Defragmenting Hard Disk
    273017
    Fast Shutdown Fails to Flush IDE Cache – Windows 98/Me – Windows IDE Hard Drive Cache Package

    Jul
    07

    Features & Specifications
    Seagate’s Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB internal HDD has a 7200-RPM spindle speed and can operate with SATA 3.0Gb/s or 1.5Gb/s with NCQ. Seagate promises the average latency to be 4.16ms and the drive uses a 32MB cache. Four platters and eight heads compose the internals of the drive. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB internal HDD has a mean time before failure of 750,000 hours and requires 2.8 VDC to operate. Shock tolerance while the drive is operating is 63Gs with shock tolerance of 300Gs when the drive is not operating. Acoustics are 2.7 bels at idle and 2.9 bels during seek.

    Test Machine
    I tested the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB internal HDD in a test machine with the following specifications:

    • CPU- Intel QX6850
    • Mainboard- XFX 680i
    • RAM- 2GB OCZ DDR2 6400
    • OS- Windows XP Pro

    Benchmark’s & Testing
    To test the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB internal HDD I used HD Tach, Sandra XII, and times the moving of a large file folder to and from the drive with a stopwatch. The first test up for the drive is HD Tach.
    HD Tach
    HD Tach showed that the random access time for the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB internal HDD was 12.7ms and the average read speed was 86.3MB/s. To compare the Hitachi 1TB drive recorded a read speed of 72.6 MB/s and a random access time of 12.8ms. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB internal HDD was significantly faster in HD Tach’s read speed tests.
    Sandra XII
    Next up was testing with Sandra XII using the physical discs benchmark. The drive index for the Seagate drive is 75MB/s and the random access time was 13ms. To compare the Hitachi 1TB drive recorded a drive index of 79MB/s and the same 13ms random access time. In Sandra XII, the Hitachi Deskstar 1TB wins.
    File Read & Write
    The final test was the copy of 435MB of photos in a folder to the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB internal HDD and then writing the same folder back to the other system drive in my computer. It took 1-minute and 19-seconds to write the folder to the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB internal HDD and it took 28-seconds to copy the same folder back to another system drive.

    Jul
    07

    Problem


    My hard drive is recognised properly by the BIOS at start-up, shows up properly in the Device Manager and appears in My Computer, but I can only create four partitions with FDISK [used in Windows 98 and Windows Me. Alternatives are the partition programs that can be used from within Windows XP or from the Windows XP CD, PartitionMagic]. There is still plenty of drive space that I cant partition and format.

    Answer


    You have created four primary partitions; the maximum number of primary partitions that Windows can create. To create more partitions, you have to create an extended partition and then create logical drives (partitions) within the extended partition. Each logical drive will have its own drive letter assigned to it by Windows (E:F:G: – etc.).

    You should be able to find an option to create an extended partition. Its immediately apparent in FDISK, but youll have to find out how to do it with other partitioning utilities. When it has been created, youll have the option to create logical drives within that partition. Windows XP allows you to partition hard drives from its CD, or from Start => All Programs => Administrative Tools => Computer Management => Disk Management. The hard drive partitions are represented graphically by rectangular spaces under headings for each drive (Disk 0, Disk 1, etc.). To create an extended partition, right-click on any empty space (unpartitioned space), and select the option to create an extended partition. There has to be an existing partition on the boot drive because Windows XP is operating from one. Alternatively, use the free QTParted. See the next item for information on it. It can create new partitions or resize existing partitions very easily.

    source:http://www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/HDDProblems.htm#defragstops

    Jul
    07
    What are the specifications for the 120GB USB Series I external drive (model WD1200B005RNx)?

     

    Interface Specifications
    • USB 2.0 and 1.1 compliant
    • Serial bus data transfer rates of up to 480 Mb/sec
    • One external “B” 4-pin USB receptacle
  • Hot-swap capability
  • System Requirements

    PC Users

    • Available USB port (USB 2.0 host required for Hi-Speed USB performance)
    • 64 MB RAM or higher
    • Pentium II processor or higher
    • Windows 98SE (Second Edition) or higher

    Macintosh Users

    • Available USB port (USB 2.0 host required for Hi-Speed USB performance)
    • 32 MB RAM or higher
    • True G3 processor or higher
    • Mac OS X v10.0 or later
    Technical Documentation (PDF format)
     

     

    Drive Specifications
    Formatted Capacity 120,034 MB
    Model Number WD1200B005-RNx
    Order Number WD1200B05RNx
    UPC Code 7 18037 10476 8

     

    Performance Specifications
    Average Read Seek 8.9 ms average
    Track-to-track Seek 2.0 ms average
    Average Latency 4.2 ms nominal

     

    Physical Dimensions
    Height 1.74 in. (44.20 mm) ± .10
    Length 8.61 in. (218.75 mm) ± .10
    Width 6.08 in. (154.43 mm) ± .10

     

    Power Requirements
    AC Input Voltage 100-240 VAC
    AC Input Frequency 50-60 Hz
    AC Input Current 0.6A max (RMS)

     

    Environmental Specifications
    Operating Temperature 0°C to 40°C
    Non-Operating Temperature -20°C to 65°C
    Warranty
    Warranty Period 1 year (USA), 2 year (Europe) 

    CAPACITY
    As used for storage capacity, one megabyte (MB) = one million bytes, one gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes, and one terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment.

    BUFFER/CACHE
    As used for buffer or cache, one megabyte (MB) = 1,048,576 bytes.

    TRANSFER RATE/INTERFACE
    As used for transfer rate or interface, megabyte per second (MB/s) = one million bytes per second, and gigabit per second (Gb/s)= one billion bits per second.

    Jul
    07

    HARD DRIVE MECHANIC – Data Recovery, Hard Drive Repair and Diagnostics Software. Restore a crashed hard drive, recover lost data and bring your dead PC back to life! The Hard Drive Mechanic is the ONLY PC hard drive recovery software designed so anyone can get their PC back up and running in minutes! Diagnose and Repair any crashed Hard Drive with The Hard Drive Mechanic. Fix disk errors and Recover Lost Data with a few simple on-screen menus. The Software will then do all the work by running complex tests, phases, and algorithms which it will use to fix your PC. If you can read, point and click, you can fix your own crashed PC. Our Hard Drive Diagnostics software will tell you what has failed, you Click on the problem to repair it. IT IS JUST THAT SIMPLE. RECOVER HARD DRIVES THAT HAVE BECOME INACCESSIBLE. The Hard Drive Mechanic handles both physical and logical drives so recovering crashed partitions becomes seamless and easy. No computer is too old because this software will work with Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, XP and 2000. The Mechanic also creates rescue disks that allow you to restore the hard drive to its original condition before you used the software, so that there is absolutely no risk to you. The Mechanic Gold Special Edition will Repair: – Disk Boot Failure – Invalid Drive Specification Error – Damaged FAT – An Invalid Media Error – Corrupted Partition – Missing Operating System – Formatted Hard Drive – Virus Damaged File System – Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, XP and 2000 – FAT 32 and NTFS THE HARD DRIVE MECHANIC GOLD SPECIAL EDITION IS THE MOST COMPLETE AND COMPREHENSIVE DRIVE RECOVERY SYSTEM ON THE INTERNET. Before you spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to recover your crashed hard drive, try The Hard Drive Mechanic FIRST. Backed by a 30 day, 100% Money Back Guarantee, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? Fix crashed hard drives quickly and easily with The Hard Drive Mechanic.

     

     

    Company: Repair My Drive
    Title: Repair My Hard Drive
    License: Shareware
    Price: 69.97
    Version: 2007
    Program Size: 2676 KB
    Operating System: Win98,WinME,WinNT 3.x,WinNT 4.x,WinXP,Windows2000,Windows2003,Windows Vista Starter,Windows Vista Home Basic,Windows Vista Home Premium,Windows Vista Business,Windows Vista Enterprise,Windows Vista Ultimate,Windows Vista Home Basic x64,Windows Vista Home Premium x64,Windows Vista Business x64,Windows Vista Enterprise x64,Windows Vista Ultimate x64
    Date Released:   28-06-2007

    how can i fix my hard disk?

     
     

    Just wondering what really good tools for fixing a bad hard disk. when im installing mepis it stops shortly into the formating. i had this problem with another distro so im assuming my HD is bad, any ideas on how to fix this whithout buying a new HD? 
    Try partioning and formatting with qtparted and see if you get any errors. Go to K Menu > System > File System > Qtparted. 

    Do you have any other OS on this drive or is it empty. Is there enough space if not empty for the install? 
    If you think you have a bad hard drive why do you want to install anything on it?  
    Here is a link for the Ultimate boot cd that has a lot of tools. There isnt any charge for it. There is a windows and linux version. 
    To read about go here:
    http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ 
    To download full cd go here:
    http://public.planetmirror.com/pub/ubcd/3.4/ubcd34-full.zip 
    If you need anymore help please post back with version of Mepis your installing and hard drive specs. 
    A Day Without M$ Windoze is a Great Day Indeed !!!

     

    Jul
    07

    Keeping your software and drivers current helps keep your PC running smoothly, but locating and matching the right updates for your machine can be frustrating and time-consuming. With VersionTracker Pro, you dont need an IT department. VersionTracker Pro scans your hardware AND software to determine the right updates for your drivers and applications.





    • Free scan now!—Faster initial scan gives a quick view of your applications and drivers in need of an update. Purchase to enable downloading, uninstall, and the full Versiontracker Pro feature set.
    • Know instantly when updates become available—VersionTracker Pro monitors all of your installed hardware and software, and alerts you as soon as updates become available.

    • Information finds you—VersionTracker Pro brings you reviews, ratings, system compatibility, features, bug fixes, and download links for each update.
    • Manage the information influx—Customize VersionTracker Pro to only show you information on the installed software you care about. Group applications to fit your work style.

    download From Its Home Site

    Jul
    07

    Problem

    My desktop PC sometimes reboots of its own accord. Recently, at startup, dire warnings appeared asking me to run Chkdsk with a surface scan. It has quality components – a 350W power supply from http://www.quietpc.com/, an Asus A7NX8 Deluxe motherboard, and an AMD Athlon XP 3200+ processor. It seems to be getting worse with time. I have tested the AC mains power cable with a continuity meter, and removed and reseated the memory modules, the hard-disk-drive power connector and connection to the motherboard. The hard drive is a Samsung SP1213N, so I tested it with Samsungs hard-drive diagnostic utility, which reported no problems. The surface scan performed by Chkdsk was successful. I have also removed and replaced the silicone heatsink compound between the processor and the cooling unit.

    Answer


    It is advisable to begin by removing all of the removable components connected to the motherboard (memory modules, modem, video, sound, network cards, etc.) so that you can clean their contact points and then reseat them. You should also inspect the motherboards capacitors, which are the large cylindrical objects wired to it, for any signs of bulging or leakage. The capacitors regulate the power supply to components such as the memory modules. If one or more of them are failing or failed, voltage drops can occur that make the computer reboot.


    Spontaneous reboots can also be caused by software, such as a corrupt or bad device driver. To make sure that this is not the case, try booting the system from a CD/DVD with its own bootable operating system. To boot the system from a CD means having the CD/DVD drive set as the first boot device in the BIOS. You cold try using the free Knoppix Linux from http://www.knoppix.com/. It would be best to buy a cheap, ready-made bootable CD, because the download of the ISO file that you download and burn to a CD/DVD using the “Burn a disc image” option of CD/DVD burning software, such as Nero, is a huge 697MB download.

    Many brand-name PCs, including most Dell PCs, come with built-in diagnostics that bypass Windows. A particular brand-name PCs diagnostic software can also be provided on a CD.


    The Ultimate Boot CD from http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ contains several diagnostic programs and is self-booting.


    It could be difficult to determine the cause of the rebooting if the computer only reboots once a day. In any case, if you have the Ultimate Boot CD, run its memory tester. You might have to leave it running all day or longer to find out if the reboots were caused by hardware. Just remember to set the CD/DVD drive to the first boot device in the BIOS so that the system boots from the CD that you created. If necessary, visit the BIOS section of this site for information on how to do that.

    If your computer reboots while running any of these options, you then know that the problem is hardware-related, not software-related. If the computer runs utilities without rebooting, then the problem is being caused in Windows by software, such as a bad device driver. If the cause is a bad driver, it could be fixed by downloading an installing the latest drivers for all of computers devices from their manufacturers sites. Some computers provide live driver updates. For example, laptop or desktop computers that are made by MSI, or which have an MSI motherboard, have the MSI Live Update feature that scans the system for updates and allows you to choose which drivers to install. You run the utility while online. It shows the version that is installed and the online version. If the online version has a higher number, an update is available that you should install. You can also make use of Microsoft Update, which provides Windows updates and third-party drivers, and and the free Belarc Advisor, which can be used to identify the hardware (and software) installed on a computer.


    How to download updates and drivers from the Windows Update Catalog – http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323166

    Many of the methods of recovering Windows XP dealt with on the Recovering Windows XP section of this site, including System Restore, a repair installation of XP, and the Recovery Console, can be used to fix software-related problems.


    If one or more reboots occurs while the alternative operating system is running, you have to look for a hardware cause. If the power cable that connects the computer to the mains supply is old, replacing it may fix the problem. The connector that fits into the back of the computer can often be loose-fitting and not make good contact. Moreover, the fuse holder that holder a fuse in the 13A plugs used in the UK can be the source of another improper connection.


    Since Windows was insisting on performing a surface scan on the hard disk drive, it could not read or write to a particular area or areas of the drive. During the scan, it marks any unusable clusters as bad so that the system wont use them. It also attempts to move data from them. The Event Viewer logs should provide useful details. You can bring it up by entering eventvwr.msc in the Start => Run box.

    You can use the MHDD utility on the Ultimate Boot CD to check the hard drive for intermittent lockups that Chkdsk or the drive manufacturers diagnostic utility didnt detect. (You can also download MHDD as a free diagnostic utility from http://hddguru.com/.)


    However, note that it is possible but rare for a hard-drive problem to cause a computer to reboot; such a problem is far more likely to cause a computer to lock up. It is far more likely that faulty memory or a faulty motherboard or processor has created a corrupt command that has been sent to the hard disk drive, thereby creating an apparent but not actual disk error that is causing the computer to reboot.

    The computer is getting into its old age, so a hardware problem of some sort is not unlikely. If the problem is being caused by a faulty power supply, motherboard, processor, or memory, the only way for a home user to find out which component is responsible is to take the computers base unit to a reputable computer repair shop, or swap those components with known good ones until the culprit is discovered.

    Jul
    07

    Your search for simple, stylish and hassle-free solution for your backup ends with Toshiba. The Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive comes in many vibrant shades such as electric blue, frost white, carbon grey and hot rod red. 

     
    Design
    This portable external hard drive is a unique combination of style and storage. The Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive is slim and light to carry your important files in a single box anywhere on the go. 

    Features
    This unique storage box includes backup software, NTI Shadow, which enables you to backup your valuable files without a click of a button. You just have to plug-in this portable hard drive to your computer and execute the software to back up your valuable files such as digital photos, office documents, movies and others. The software runs automatically in the background and saves them automatically in the external hard disk drive. 
    Compatibility
    The portable hard disk drive by Toshiba is compatible with PCs and MACs. In addition, this device does need any external power adapter for functioning, as it comes with USB powered that allows you to go anywhere with your data. 

     
    The Toshiba portable hard drive is available in different model names for each memory sizes such as: 

    • Toshiba 250GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive – HDDR250E03X
    • Toshiba 320GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive – HDDR320E03X
    • Toshiba 400GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive – HDDR400E03X
  • Toshiba 500GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive – HDDR500E03X
  • Toshiba USB 2.0 External Hard Drive – Technical Specification Table 

     

     

     

    Manufacturer Toshiba
    Model Name USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
    Dimensions (H x W x D) in inches 0.65 x 3.19 x 5.0
    Weight 6 oz
    Available Memory Capacities 250GB, 320GB, 400GB and 500GB
    Power USB. External power adapter is not required.
    Colours Available White, Blue, Red, Grey
    Interface High Speed USB
    Drive Speed 5400 rpm
    Buffer Size 8MB
    Box Content External Drive
    USB 2.0 cable
    Installation Guide
    Warranty 3 years

    Jul
    07

    Hiren Boot CD bir bilgisayar teknisyeni yada en az orta seviye bir kullanıcının acil durumlarda imdadına koşan bir CD. içerisinde program olarak yok yok.
     Bir açılış CD si olan Hiren in içinde 100 ü aşkın sistem tamir ve bakım programı var. Hepsi dos modda çalışan kendini kanıtlamış programlar. Hiren adında bir hintli tarafından oluşturulan ve sürekli yenilenen Hiren boot CD ile tamir, bakım vb. işler için gerekli olabilecek programlar bir menü sistemi ile ulaşılabilen başlatılabilir bir CD imajında bir araya getiriliyor.
     CDde yer alan ve birçoğuna zaten aşina olduğumuz programların listesini kendi sitesinde bulabilirsiniz. Hirens Boot CD yi sürücünüze takıp biligisayarınızı CD sürücüden başlatarak kullanıyorsunuz. Bir programi kullandıktan sonra kendinizi komut satırında bulursanız m yazıp enter tuşuna basın bu sizi CD deki tüm programların listelendiği bir menüye götürecektir.
     
     Bu ünlü boot cd ile bilgisayarızda sorun olduğu zaman bilgisayarınızı bu cd ile boot edebilir, sorun giderebilirsiniz. İçerdiği birçok programı kurmadan direkt olarak kullanmanıza olanak tanıyan, her bilgisayar kullanıcısında olması gereken bir boot Cd!
     
     —Bu Boot CD ile yapabileceğiniz bazı işlemler :
     ¤ Dosya sistemi oluşturma,biçimlendirme,yeniden boyutlandırma
     (Tüm popüler formatlar Ext2/3,NTFS,FAT16,FAT32).
     ¤ Disk bölümü yedekleme ve disk yedekleme.
     ¤ F-Prot ve McAfee ile virüs taraması yapabiliyor.
     ¤ Windows yönetici şifresini sıfırlama (NT/2K/XP).
     ¤ Dosya kurtarma (Silinen ve formatlanmış diskler için)
     ¤ Donanım testi (Tüm PC donanım bileşenlerini test eder)
     ¤ Donanım performans testi (Benchmarking).
     ¤ Disk arızalarını tespit eder ve onarır
     (HDDRegenerator ile fiziksel hasarları düzeltme).
     ¤ Dosya yöneticileri.
     ¤ Bilgisayarlar arası bağlantı kurabilme
     (LPT, Serial ve ETH üzerinden)
     ¤ Dos modda NTFS bölüme erişebilme.
     ¤ Boot yöneticileri.
     ¤ Dos modda USB desteği.
     ¤ Tüm MSDOS harici komutları.
     ¤ Windows için dos modda otomatik program başlatma yönetimi.
     ¤ Windows için Tweaker ve Ad-aware taraması.
     ¤ Farklı DOS modlarında başlatabilme.
     ¤ Windows sürücülerinin yedeklenmesi ve yedekten geri alınması.
     Hirens BootCD 8.9 – All in one Dos Bootable CD which has all these utilities.
     
     Partition Tools:
     - Partition Magic Pro 8.05 – Best software to partition hard drive
     - Acronis Disk Director Suite 9.0.554 – Popular disk management functions in a single suite
     - Paragon Partition Manager 7.0.1274 – Universal tool for partitions
     - Partition Commander 9.01 – The safe way to partition your hard drive,with undo feature
     - Ranish Partition Manager 2.44 – a boot manager and hard disk partitioner.
     - The Partition Resizer v1.3.4 – move and resize your partitions in one step and more.
     - Smart Fdisk 2.05 – a simple harddisk partition manager
     - SPecial Fdisk 2000 – SPFDISK a partition tool.
     - eXtended Fdisk 0.9.3 – XFDISK allows easy partition creation and edition
     - GDisk 1.1.1 – Complete replacement for the DOS FDISK utility and more.
     - Super Fdisk 1.0 – Create, delete, format partitions drives without destroying data
     
     Disk Clone Tools:
     - ImageCenter 5.6 (Drive Image 2002) – Best software to clone hard drive
     - Norton Ghost 11.0 – Similar to Drive Image (with usb/scsi support)
     - Acronis True Image 8.1.945 – Create an exact disk image for complete system backup and disk cloning.
     - Partition Saver 3.30 – A tool to backup/restore partitions.
     - COPYR.DMA Build013 – A Tool for making copies of hard disks with bad sectors
     
     Antivirus Tools:
     - F-Prot Antivirus 3.16f (1003) – Very good virus scanner (with ntfs support and easy to use menu)
     - McAfee Antivirus 4.40 (1003) – a virus scanner (with ntfs support and easy to use menu)
     
     Recovery Tools:
     - Active Partition Recovery 3.0 – To Recover a Deleted partition.
     - Active Uneraser 3.0 – To recover deleted files and folders on FAT and NTFS systems.
     - Ontrack Easy Recovery Pro 6.10 – To Recover data that has been deleted/virus attack
     - Winternals Disk Commander 1.1 – more than just a standard deleted-file recovery utility
     - TestDisk 6.7b – Tool to check and undelete partition.
     - Lost & Found 1.06 – a good old data recovery software.
     - DiyDataRecovery Diskpatch 2.1.100 – An excellent data recovery software.
     - Prosoft Media Tools 5.0 v1.1.2.64 – Another excellent data recovery software with many other options.
     - PhotoRec 6.7b – File and pictures recovery Tool.
     
     Testing Tools:
     - System Speed Test 4.78 – it tests CPU, harddrive, ect.
     - PC-Check 6.0 – Easy to use hardware tests
     - Ontrack Data Advisor 5.0 – Powerful diagnostic tool for assessing the condition of your computer
     - The Troubleshooter 7.02 – all kind of hardware testing tool
     - PC Doctor 3.0 – a benchmarking and information tool
     - Test Cpu/Video/Disk 5.6 – a tool to test cpu, video, and disk
     - Test Hard Disk Drive 1.0 – a tool to test Hard Disk Drive
     
     RAM (Memory) Testing Tools:
     - DocMemory 3.1b – RAM Test utility
     - GoldMemory 5.07 – RAM Test utility
     - Memtest86+ 1.70 – PC Memory Test
     
     Hard Disk Tools:
     - Hard Disk Diagnostic Utilities
     - Seagate Seatools Desktop Edition 3.02
     - Western Digital Data Lifeguard Tools
     - Western Digital Diagnostics (DLGDIAG) 5.04f
     - Maxtor PowerMax 4.23
     - Maxtor amset utility 4.0
     - Maxtor(or any Hdd) Low Level Formatter 1.1
     - Fujitsu HDD Diagnostic Tool 6.61
     - Fujitsu IDE Low Level Format 1.0
     - Samsung HDD Utility(HUTIL) 2.02
     - Samsung Disk Diagnose (SHDIAG) 1.28
     - IBM/Hitachi Drive Fitness Test 4.08
     - IBM/Hitachi Feature Tool 2.03
     - Gateway GwScan 3.15
     - ExcelStors ESTest 3.80
     - MHDD 4.6
     - WDClear 1.30
     - Toshiba Hard Disk Diagnostic 2.00b
     - SeaTools for Dos 1.08
     - HDD Regenerator 1.51 – to recover a bad hard drive
     - Ontrack Disk Manager 9.57 – Disk Test/Format/Maintenance tool.
     - Norton Disk Doctor 2002 – a tool to repair a damaged disk, or to diagnose your hard drive.
     - Norton Disk Editor 2002 – a powerful disk editing, manual data recovery tool.
     - Active Kill Disk 3.1 – Securely overwrites and destroys all data on physical drive.
     - HDAT2 4.5.2 – main function is testing and repair (regenerates) bad sectors for devices
     - SmartUDM 2.00 – Hard Disk Drive S.M.A.R.T. Viewer.
     - Victoria 3.33 – a freeware program for low-level HDD diagnostics
     
     System Information Tools:
     - Aida16 2.14 – a system information tool, extracts details of all components of the PC
     - PCI and AGP info Tool (1003) – The PCI System information & Exploration tool.
     - System Analyser version 5.3p – View extensive information about your hardware
     - Navratil Software System Information 0.59.14 – High-end professional system information tool
     - Astra 5.31 – Advanced System info Tool and Reporting Assistant
     - HwInfo 5.0.5 – a powerful system information utility
     - PC-Config 9.33 – Complete hardware detection of your computer
     - SysChk 2.46- Find out exactly what is under the hood of your PC
     - CPU Identification utility v1.12 – Detailed information on CPU
     - CTIA CPU Information – another CPU information tool
     
     MBR (Master Boot Record) Tools:
     - MBR Work 1.07b – a utility to perform some common and uncommon MBR functions
     - MBR Tool 2.2.100 – backup, verify, restore, edit, *******, remove, display, re-write…
     - DiskMan4 – all in one tool for cmos, bios, bootrecord and more
     - BootFix Utility – Run this utility if you get Invalid system disk
     - MBR SAVE / RESTORE 2.1 – BootSave and BootRest tools to save / restore MBR
     - Boot Partition 2.60 – add Partition in the Windows NT/2000/XP Multi-boot loader
     - Partition Table Doctor 3.0 – a tool to repair/modify mbr, bootsector, partition table
     - Smart Boot Manager 3.7.1 – a multi boot manager
     - Bootmagic 8.0 – This tool is for multi boot operating systems
     - MBRWizard 2.0b – Directly update and modify the MBR (Master Boot Record)
     
     BIOS / CMOS Tools:
     - CMOS 0.93 – CMOS Save / Restore Tool
     - BIOS Cracker 4.8 – BIOS password remover (cmospwd)
     - BIOS Cracker 1.4 – BIOS password remover (cmospwc)
     - BIOS Utility 1.35.0 – BIOS Informations, password, beep codes and more.
     - !BIOS 3.20 – a powerfull utility for bios and cmos
     - DISKMAN4 – a powerful all in one utility
     - UniFlash 1.40 – bios flash utility
     - Kill CMOS – a tiny utility to wipe cmos
     - Award DMI Configuration Utility 2.43 – DMI Configuration utility for modifying/viewing the MIDF contents.
     
     MultiMedia Tools:
     - Picture Viewer 1.94 – Picture viewer for dos, supports more then 40 filetypes.
     - QuickView Pro 2.57 – movie viewer for dos, supports many format including divx.
     - MpxPlay 1.54 – a small Music Player for dos
     
     Password Tools:
     - Active Password Changer 3.0.420 – To Reset User Password on windows NT/2000/XP/2003 (FAT/NTFS)
     - Offline NT/2K/XP Password Changer – utility to reset windows nt/2000/xp administrator/user password.
     - Registry Viewer 4.2 – Registry Viewer/Editor for Win9x/Me/NT/2K/XP
     - Registry Reanimator v1.02 – check and restore structure of the damaged registry files of NT/2K/XP
     - NTPWD – utility to reset windows nt/2000/xp administrator/user password.
     - ATAPWD 1.2 – Hard Disk Password Utility
     
     NTFS Ext2FS, Ext3FS (FileSystems) Tools :
     - NTFS Dos Pro 5.0 – To access ntfs partitions from Dos
     - NTFS 4 Dos 1.4 – To access ntfs partitions from Dos
     - Paragon Mount Everything 3.0 – To access NTFS, Ext2FS, Ext3FS partitions from dos
     - NTFS Dos 3.02 – To access ntfs partitions from Dos
     - EditBINI 1.01 – to Edit boot.ini on NTFS Partition
     
     Dos File Managers:
     - Volkov Commander 4.99 – Dos File Manager with LongFileName/ntfs support (Similar to Norton Commander)
     - Dos Command Center 5.1 – Classic dos-based file manager.
     - File Wizard 1.35 – a file manager – colored files, drag and drop copy, move, delete etc.
     - File Maven 3.5 – an advanced Dos file manager with high speed PC-to-PC file transfers via serial or parallel cable
     - FastLynx 2.0 – Dos file manager with Pc to Pc file transfer capability
     - LapLink 5.0 – the smart way to transfer files and directories between PCs.
     - Dos Navigator 6.4.0 – Dos File Manager, Norton Commander clone but has much more features.
     - Mini Windows 98 – Can run from Ram Drive, with ntfs support, Added 7-Zip which supports .7z .zip .cab .rar .arj .gzip, .bzip2 .z .tar .cpio .rpm and .deb, Disk Defragmenter, Notepad / RichText Editor, Image Viewer, .avi .mpg .divx .xvid Movie Player, etc…
     
     Other Tools:
     - Ghost Walker 2003.793 – utility that changes the security ID (SID) for Windows NT, 2000 and XP
     - DosCDroast beta 2 – Dos CD Burning Tools
     - Universal TCP/IP Network 5.9.3 – MSDOS Network Client to connect via TCP/IP to a Microsoft based network. The network can either be a peer-to-peer or a server based network, it contains 85 different network card drivers
     
     Dos Tools:
     - USB CD-Rom Driver 1 – Standard usb_cd.sys driver for cd drive
     - Universal USB Driver 2 – Panasonic v2.20 ASPI Manager for USB mass storage
     - SCSI Support – SCSI Drivers for Dos
     - SATA Support – SATA Driver (gcdrom.sys) and JMicron JMB361 (xcdrom.sys) for Dos
     - 1394 Firewire Support – 1394 Firewire Drivers for Dos
     - Interlnk support at COM1 To access another computer from COM port
     - Interlnk support at LPT1 – To access another computer from LPT port
     
     Windows Tools:
     - SpaceMonger 1.4 – keeping track of the free space on your computer
     - Drive Temperature 1.0 – Hard Disk Drive temperature meter
     - Disk Speed 1.0 – Hard Disk Drive Speed Testing Tool
     - MemTest 1.0 – a Memory Testing Tool
     - PageDfrg 2.32 – System file Defragmenter For NT/2k/XP
     - WhitSoft File Splitter 4.5a – a Small File Split-Join Tool
     - Ghost Image Explorer 11.0 – to add/remove/extract files from Ghost image file
     - DriveImage Explorer 5.0 – to add/remove/extract files from Drive image file
     - Drive SnapShot 1.37 – creates an exact Disk Image of your system into a file while windows is running.
     - Active Undelete 5.1.010 – a tool to recover deleted files
     - Restoration 2.5.14 – a tool to recover deleted files
     - GetDataBack for FAT 2.31 – Data recovery software for FAT file systems
     - GetDataBack for NTFS 2.31 – Data recovery software for NTFS file systems
     - Unstoppable Copier 2.28 – Allows you to copy files from disks with problems such as bad sectors, scratches or that just give errors when reading data.
     - Startup Control Panel 2.8 – a tool to edit startup programs
     - Startup Monitor 1.02 – it notifies you when any program registers itself to run at system startup
     - IB Process Manager 1.04 – a little process manager for 9x/2k, shows dll info etc.
     - Pocket KillBox 2.0 – can be used to get rid of files that stubbornly refuse to allow you to delete them
     - Unlocker 1.8.5 – This tool can delete file/folder when you get this message – Cannot delete file: Access is denied, The file is in use by another program etc.
     - HijackThis 1.99 – a general homepage hijackers detector and remover and more
     - RootkitRevealer 1.7 – Rootkit Revealer is an advanced patent-pending root kit detection utility.
     - Silent Runners Revision 50 – A free script that helps detect spyware, malware and adware in the startup process
     - Autoruns 8.61 – Displays All the entries from startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys, Explorer shell extensions,toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, Scheduled Tasks, Winsock, LSA Providers, Remove Drivers and much more which helps to remove nasty spyware/adware and viruses.
     - Dial a Fix 0.60.0.24 – Fix errors and problems with COM/ActiveX object errors and missing registry entries, Automatic Updates, SSL, HTTPS, and Cryptography service (signing/verification) issues, Reinstall internet explorer etc. comes with the policy scanner
     - CurrPort 1.07 – displays the list of all currently opened TCP and UDP ports on your computer
     - Unknown Devices 1.2 (1003) – helps you find what those unknown devices in Device Manager really are
     - PCI 32 Sniffer 1.1 (1003) – device information tool (similar to unknown devices)
     - NewSID 4.10 – utility that changes the security ID (SID) for Windows NT, 2000 and XP
     - Double Driver 1.0 – Driver Backup and Restore tool
     - DriverBackup! 1.0 – Another handy tool to backup drivers
     - CPU-Z 1.39 -It gathers information on some of the main devices of your system
     - CWShredder 2.19 – Popular CoolWebSearch Trojan Remover tool
     - Winsock 2 Fix for 9x – to fix corrupted Winsock2 information by poorly written Internet programs
     - XP TCP/IP Repair 1.0 – Repair your Windows XP Winsock and TCP/IP registry errors
     - CCleaner 1.38.485 – Crap Cleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool
     - EzPcFix 1.0.0.16 – Helpful tool when trying to remove viruses, spyware, and malware
     - Content Advisor Password Remover 1.0 – It Removes Content Advisor Password from Internet Explorer
     - WinKeyFinder 1.0 – Allows you to View and Change Xp, Windows 2003 and .NET Product Keys
     - Spybot – Search & Destroy 1.4 (1003) – Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software.
     - SpywareBlaster 3.5.1 (1003) – Prevent the installation of spyware and other potentially unwanted software.
     - Ad-Aware SE Personal 1.06 (1003) – find and remove spyware, adware, dialers etc. (a must have tool)
     
     Homepage – http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd
     Size: 70 MB
     
     Download Full (Hiren Boot CD v8.8 + Keyboard Patch)

     Patch İşlemi: – İndirdiğiniz dosyalardan keyboard patch içindeki 3 dosyayıda masaüstünüze çıkarın.(KEYB.DAT, KEYB.SYS, PATCH.BAT)
     - Hirens.BootCD.8.8.iso dosyasını masaüstünüze kopyalayın.
     - Masaüstünüze çıkartmış olduğunuz dosyalardan patch.bat a çift tıklayın.
     - Açılan dos penceresinde önce Y ye, sonra klavyenizde herhangi bir tuşa basın.
     - İşlem tamamlandı. Masaüstünüzde US Patched Hirens.BootCD.8.9 adında bir dosya oluştu. Bunu dilerseniz tıklayıp kullanmaya başlayabilir yada direk Cd ye yazdırarak kendinize bir bootable cd oluşturabilirsiniz. Keyifle kullanın.
     ALINTIDIR

    Jul
    07

    HDNP Max Front CES 2009: LaCie Hard Disk MAX 
    More storage fun announced at CES, this time from LaCie with the arrival of the Hard Disk MAX. 
    I really like the design of a lot of LaCie’s products – there’s something very cool about a relatively staid product looking really well designed and the Neil Poulton-designed Hard Disk MAX is another stunner. 
    The product itself is pretty basic – a 2 drive USB hard disk with RAID 1 or RAID 0 redundancy. A USB port on the front for attaching another hard disk and a maximum storage capacity of 2TB. 

    But this is really all about the industrial design, isn’t it? Yours soon for $269.99 
    HDNP Max back CES 2009: LaCie Hard Disk MAX 
    HDNP Max 3Qleft CES 2009: LaCie Hard Disk MAX

    Jul
    07

    Problem


    I cloned the system on my old IDE hard drive on to my new SATA hard drive that runs from a PCI SATA adapter card. I jumpered and installed the old drive as a slave drive. Unfortunately, when I boot the system, a message comes up saying that there is no operating system (Windows XP).

    Answer


    The old hard drive might not be attached to the correct connector on the ribbon 80-conductor IDE ribbon cable. A slave drive has to be connected to the middle connector on the cable, not the end connector. Click here! to read an illustrated article on installing an IDE hard drive on this site.


    When you boot the computer, enter the BIOS (press the key that the first window says enters Setup). Under the menu item that is usually called Advanced BIOS Features, there is a setting called Boot Sequence or Boot Order. Look for an option to boot from an external controller. If there isnt such a option there should be one called Boot from an SCSI controller. An SCSI controller for SCSI drives works in a similar way to an IDE adapter card. Enable it. Doing that should enable the system to boot from the SATA drive instead of from the motherboards IDE controller. You should also use your partitioning utility (PartitionMagic, etc) to make sure that the primary partition on the new SATA drive is set as Active. You can use Disk Management in Windows XP to make it active. Enter diskmgmt.msc in the Start => Run box to open Disk Management. Right-click on the drive to bring up the menu options.

    Note that it can be tricky connecting both IDE drives and SATA drives to the motherboard. If, say, you install a SATA drive and then install an IDE drive, unless the BIOS is programed to know the difference, the system will usually try to boot from an IDE drive first. If a BIOS update isnt available that allows the two types of drive on the motherboard to be installed so that the system can boot from the SATA drive, youll have to buy a PCI SATA adapter card and set the BIOS as instructed above.

    Jul
    07

    The ‘ dd ‘ command is one of the original Unix utilities and should be in everyone’s tool box. It can strip headers, extract parts of binary files and write into the middle of floppy disks; it is used by the Linux kernel Makefiles to make boot images. It can be used to copy and convert magnetic tape formats, convert between ASCII and EBCDIC, swap bytes, and force to upper and lowercase.
     
    For blocked I/O, the dd command has no competition in the standard tool set. One could write a custom utility to do specific I/O or formatting but, as dd is already available almost everywhere, it makes sense to use it. 
      
    Hard drive failures can occur for many reasons one of the most common thing every user can observer is if your hard disk is having some problems it does make some clicking noise this is one hint i would suggest every user can follow. 
    If you don’t hear any clicking noise it might be some electonics failure in such cases you can use hdparm to turn off some advanced drive features that will get around the part of the electronic component that has failed.Most important setting is turnning off DMA access.If you want more details about hdparm check this article
    Like most well-behaved commands, dd reads from its standard input and writes to its standard output, unless a command line specification has been given. This allows dd to be used in pipes, and remotely with the rsh remote shell command. 
    Unlike most commands, dd uses a keyword=value format for its parameters. This was reputedly modeled after IBM System/360 JCL, which had an elaborate DD ‘Dataset Definition’ specification for I/O devices. A complete listing of all keywords is available from GNU dd with. 

    dd Syntax 
    dd [OPERAND]…
    or: dd OPTION 
    # dd –help 
    This will provide all the available options for dd 
    For more options check dd man page here 
    Using dd you can create backups of an entire harddisk or just a parts of it. This is also usefull to quickly copy installations to similar machines. It will only work on disks that are exactly the same in disk geometry, meaning they have to the same model from the same brand. 
    Creating a hard drive backup directly to another hard drive 
    dd bs=4k if=/dev/hdx of=/dev/hdy conv=noerror,sync or dd bs=4k if=/dev/hdx of=/path/to/image conv=noerror,sync 

    Now we i will explain above example one by one
    if=file 
    Specifies the input path. Standard input is the default. 
    of=file 
    Specifies the output path. Standard output is the default. If the seek=expr conversion is not also specified, the output file will be truncated before the copy begins, unless conv=notrunc is specified. If seek=expr is specified, but conv=notrunc is not, the effect of the copy will be to preserve the blocks in the output file over which dd seeks, but no other portion of the output file will be preserved. (If the size of the seek plus the size of the input file is less than the previous size of the output file, the output file is shortened by the copy.) 
    bs=n 
    Sets both input and output block sizes to n bytes, superseding ibs= and obs=. If no conversion other than sync, noerror, and notrunc is specified, each input block is copied to the output as a single block without aggregating short blocks. 
    conv=value[,value. . . ] 
    Where values are comma-separated symbols 

    noerror 
    Does not stop processing on an input error. When an input error occurs, a diagnostic message is written on standard error, followed by the current input and output block counts in the same format as used at completion. If the sync conversion is specified, the missing input is replaced with null bytes and processed normally. Otherwise, the input block will be omitted from the output. 
    sync 
    Pads every input block to the size of the ibs= buffer, appending null bytes. (If either block or unblock is also specified, appends SPACE characters, rather than null bytes.) 
    Compression Backup 
    dd if=/dev/hdx | gzip > /path/to/image.gz 
    Hdx could be hda, hdb etc. In the second example gzip is used to compress the image if it is really just a backup. 
    Restore Backup of hard disk copy 

    dd if=/path/to/image of=/dev/hdx 
    gzip -dc /path/to/image.gz | dd of=/dev/hdx 
    MBR backup 
    In order to backup only the first few bytes containing the MBR and the partition table you can use dd as well. 
    dd if=/dev/hdx of=/path/to/image count=1 bs=512 
    MBR restore 
    dd if=/path/to/image of=/dev/hdx 
    Add “count=1 bs=446″ to exclude the partition table from being written to disk. You can manually restore the table. 

    More Examples 
    dd bs=4k if=/dev/sda1 of=/dev/sda2/backup.img conv=noerror,sync 
    This command is used often to create a backup of a drive (/dev/sda1) directly to another hard drive (/dev/sda2). The option “bs=4k” is used to specify the block size used in the copy. The default for the dd command is 512 bytes: use of this small block size can result in significantly slower copying. However, the tradeoff with larger block sizes is that when an error is encountered, the remainder of the block is filled with zero-bytes. So if you increase your block size when copying a failing device, you’ll lose more data but also spend less time trying to read broken sectors. 
    If you’re limited on local space you can use a pipe to gzip instead of the “of=” option. 
    dd bs=1024 if=/dev/sda1 conv=noerror,sync | gzip -9 > /dev/sda2/backup.dmg.gz 
    Here dd is making an image of the first harddrive, and piping it through the gzip compression program. The compressed image is then placed in a file on a seperate drive