[OF] Master Primary HDD Failed

[virax]

[OF] = Oh ****.

I rebooted, and got this error after it successfully identified my HDD, along with my other drives: Primary Master Hard Drive Fails. I'm not sure if that's the EXACT wording (It could be Master Primary instead, and it could have said failed instead of fails, etc), but my jaw just dropped. I restarted, and got the error again. I quickly opened up my case (after turning it off), made sure everything was plugged in tight, which it was, and tried again.

Success!

Now, I'm worried - is this a sign of imminent total failure, or were my wires just not plugged in well enough? Are there any applications I could download which would assist me in discovering if this HDD is on the verge of breakdown?

[Folk]

Every drive mfg. offers a diagnostic utility.

[koopa]

Look for diagnostics for your drive - drive manufacturers often make them publically available. Failing that, enable SMART in your BIOS (if applicable) and get a decent SMART testing tool.

[legacy-cosmicnut]

I had the same problem with an old drive of mine. I replaced it and had no problems for a while then it started again with the new drive

The funny thing is I am now using this drive in my rebulit PC (cool new hardware ) both drives are running perfectly! :bulb:

Try making sure the plugs are firm, download any BIOS update
AND MAKE SURE YOU KEEP REGULAR BACKUPS! Just in casae the HDD does decide it doesn't want to play anymore!

[legacy-j0ntar]

http://www.steelbytes.com/ download HDspeed and give it a few tests, if it works under some stress then most likely it will be OK. In which case you boot into windows recovery console and do a chkdsk /r on that drive.

[virax]

Originally posted by koopa
... and get a decent SMART testing tool.

Any you might recommend?

Originally posted by j0ntar
http://www.steelbytes.com/ download HDspeed and give it a few tests, if it works under some stress then most likely it will be OK. In which case you boot into windows recovery console and do a chkdsk /r on that drive.

Well, I've already done a chkdisk, but I'll try that other thing.

How long should I test?

[virax]

Oops, double post.

[legacy-skpstr]

It might not be the HDD. I had this problem on a machine at work and it eventually turned out to be the mobo.

[virax]

Eeeeep! That's not cool... did you have to replace it?

[Folk]

Originally posted by j0ntar
http://www.steelbytes.com/ download HDspeed and give it a few tests, if it works under some stress then most likely it will be OK. In which case you boot into windows recovery console and do a chkdsk /r on that drive.

Recommending a benchmark for a possibly failing drive is like recommending gasoline for putting out a fire. Unwise.

[legacy-skpstr]

I had a spare machine of the same spec lying around in which the HDD had gone bye bye, so I just swapped the disk into that one and, voila, no more problems. Did a bit of testing on the old one with another HDD just to make sure, but eventually just threw it in the bin.