Hello all,

michaelk:

Yes, I am sure that the HDD is /dev/hda. It is a master (first one) as I only have one HDD drive connected to the computer.

kev82:

This problem with the fdisk and cfdisk happened way before I formatted the whole HDD.

I did the command:

root@slackware:/# dd if=/dev/hda of=/tmp/mbr.bin bs=1 count=512
dd: /dev/hda: Input/output error
root@slackware:/#

It failed. =(

Yes sir, I do need to get a partition table... then I would be able to install linux on it =)

I already did try the dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda bs=5... etc but it did not succeed. I will try to use the dos bootdisk to use the mbr option. =)

ricdave:

Yes, I do have a Windows bootdisk. I am not too sure how to use a bit editor . I do 90% believe it was messed up by a virus because I did not check the file I opened... a very big mistake. I say this because my system had suddenly restarted for no obvious reason.

I do hope someone has the script they are more than willing to share. =) I will be so gratefull!

I will now work and then go to sleep and start tommorrow with the bootdisks.

Thank you all for your wonderful help
Sincerely,
Abid Kazmi

to be honest if dd cant read from the disk then i think you can say with 95% certanty the disk is buggered.

Hello all,
I am sorry that I haven't gotten back to you so far. I am still having troubles and buying a new HDD is too much for me . I still have hope that my HDD will funtion.

I am currently on http://www.google.com/ searching ways to totally clean the HDD.


Thank you for all your help,
Sincerely,
Abid Kazmi

you could probably get a second hand one off ebay for a few quid

Hello,
I can buy a new HDD of Ebay as you have said but now I have this urge to figure out what is wrong with the HDD. Also how it can be fixed. It is detected at POST (bootup) meaning it hasn't crashed.

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Abid Kazmi

POST detection means the controller of the HDD is ok, not the data on it. Sorry to be the one with the bad news.

Download from Maxtors website. Maxblast. Will wipe, partition, and format hdd.
You will lose all data, of course.

still having the problem? Post the solution when and if you find it please... Could help a lot other users.

Thanx

Hello all,
Sorry again to get you back so late. I have school going on with my studies.

pe2338:
Hehe. Yes, I figured that but this whole HDD problem is bad news unfortunately =( "Controller of the HDD is ok," that was good news

ricdave:
Currently I am downloading the file maxblast_3_cd_iso.zip
I will try it monday and/or tuesday.

Ciccio:
No problem . I will definitely post the solution. Knowledge is free . I am very experienced with all operating systems and troubleshootings. Never ran across a problem such as this. So as soon as I find out, I will post here for other users.

Thank you all very much,
Sincerely,
Abid Kazmi

1. Burned the mxblst3CD.iso
2. Put the disc in the computers CD-ROM
3. mxblst3CD loaded with graphical options
ÙÙÙÙÙ Run MaxBlast 3 Installation Software

This option will run MaxBlast 3 disk installation software. Use this option to partition, format, and copy files to your new drive.

ÙÙÙÙÙ Create MaxBlast Installation Diskette

Create a bootable floppy disk containing the MaxBlast installation software. Required only for systems that are not capable of booting from a CD-ROM.

ÙÙÙÙÙ Create Maxtor ATA/SATA PCI Driver Diskette

Create a floppy disk containing the drivers for the Maxtor Ultra ATA/100, ATA/133, and SATA/150 PCI cards.

This diskette is required for new system installations of Windows NT, 2000, and XP to recognize hard drives attached to a Maxtor ATA/SATA PCI card. Users with a currently installed version of Windows do not need to create this diskette.

ÙÙÙÙÙ Create PowerMax Diskette

Create a bootable floppy disk containing the PowerMax hard disk diagnostic utility. This version of PowerMax is only compatible with ATA drives. To download the latest version of PowerMax, visit www.maxtorkb.com

4. I chose "Run MaxBlast 3 Installation Software"
5. Gives me a black screen with a blinking "_"
6. Says:
1 file(s) copied
1 file(s) copied

It says that serveral times, screen goes black, says that, black again, says that, ... and then finally goes back to the options.

Any ideas?

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Abid Kazmi

Hello all,
Sorry to keep everyone waiting. I E-Mailed Maxtor several times for an answer for why their software didn't work. They simply just ignored it from my point of view. I will still try other software that may help me solve this software. Maybe even make a bash script. It will help me and other people, hopefully, save time in case of this same problem.

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Abid Kazmi

Hello all,
I am still searching for a solution . If anyone has any creative ideas that may work? Please post.

Thank you all very much,
Sincerely,
Abid Kazmi

Hello all,
Still it is unfortunate that the HDD is not working. Just two days ago, my other mate helped me out by telling about the Active@ NTFS program. Currently the program finished scanning for bad/corrupted/damaged partitions. There was a damaged partition. I tried their KILLDISK software that erases the whole HDD (I'm predicting it's in someways similar to the 'dd' cmd) but am confronted with "Error 187 Bad blocks #(0-62)" or something similar to that.
Anyone have ideas?

Thank you,
Sincerly,
Abid Kazmi

It seems like a bad MBR. sorry

Buy another HDD.

Hi everybody,
p2338:
Hmm... this is sad. Isn't there any other way to restore the Master Boot Record? Well, atleast I tried various method but none seem to work. I never thought it would've been this much hassle.

Thank you all,
Sincerely,
Abid Kazmi