XP installation dies while installing (drivers) 34 minutes to go.

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I thiought I had my system well protected. Usally I leave it on. Because I was leaving town for a long weekend I shut it down. On my retrun it would not boot. I got a blue screen after the little blue blocks went across the screen under the logo a coulpe of times. Using a boot progrem i found that the drive had been totally wiped. The 80 Gig drive showed only as a 3gig.

I took it to my backup system and conected it as a slave. When I turned on the system it destroyed the c: drive of the backup. Now I have lost all programs and data.

Biting the bullet I formatted the C drive on the backup system and began to reinstall XP. I get to the installation of the drivers with an indication of 34 minutes when the install freezes. I have disconnect everything but the mouse. The mouse is a logitech wireless trackball. I have tried over 15 times to restart. The system freezes at the same spot every time.

The drive is a Seagate serial ATA /100. I ran the utility program for the drive. It has been formated twice and zeros written to the whole drive twice.

I can not tell you how frustrated I am about this. I even wiped out my backup. I'm afraid to connect the original drive to any thing. is there a way of destroying what ever is on the drive so I can format and reuse the drive?

Any suggestions would be welcomed. I'm going to go get a bottle of Rum and medicate myself.

Thanks
Conshy

PS - Here is the results of the from the Seagate utility test. I think it is reading where the install fails. The drive is OK - right, based on the last paragraph.

SeaTools Desktop v3.00.07

Copyright (c) 2004 Kroll Ontrack Inc. 6/12/2005 @ 4:02 PM

The following information has been generated by SeaTools Desktop. Use

this information to help you recognize and resolve potential data access

problems.



System Information:

BIOS Date 11/03/03

Conventional Memory size 630 K

Extended Memory size 1046436 K

IO Channel type PCI

Drive Information:

SIZE MODEL

--------- ---------------------

160 GB ST3160023A



Serial Number = 5JS3F6WX

Int13 Num = 80, PHYS CHS = 16383x16x63.

ParmTable CHS, Rsvd = 19457x255x63

PARTITION CYLINDER SIZE

---------- ------------ ----

# Type Start End MB

PRIMARY

1 NTFS 0 19455 160041



Diagnostic Results:

Seagate DiagATA Quick Test Result: Passed

Recommendation:

The "Quick Test" is adequate for most situations.

Consider running the "Full Test" which

verifies each sector on the drive if you need to run a more

comprehensive diagnostic.





Results from Seagate's DiagATA/SCSI:

-----------------------------------------------------------------

DIAGATA.EXE Version 3.07.40526ML

Copyright (c) 2002 by Seagate Technology, LLC. All rights reserved.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Timer Resolution: 0.000122

Short Test Begin: 12-Jun-2005 15:00:43

Cable Test - 0 Errors

Buffer Test - 0 Errors

Identify Data

Model Number: ST3160023A

Serial Number: 5JS3F6WX

Firmware Revision: 8.01

Default CHS: 16383-16-63

Current CHS: 16383-16-63

Current Capacity: 16514064 Sectors

Total Capacity: 312581808 Sectors

Conductor Cable Reported

ID Method: CSEL

SMART Enabled

SMART Check: Passed

DST - Passed

SMART Check: Passed

Short Test Passed: 12-Jun-2005 15:01:15

SMART Disabled



-----------------------------------------------------------------

End results from Seagate's DiagATA/SCSI

ATA Full Test Result: Passed





Results from Seagate's DiagATA/SCSI:

-----------------------------------------------------------------

DIAGATA.EXE Version 3.07.40526ML

Copyright (c) 2002 by Seagate Technology, LLC. All rights reserved.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Timer Resolution: 0.000122

Long Test Begin: 12-Jun-2005 15:01:17

Cable Test - 0 Errors

Buffer Test - 0 Errors

Identify Data

Model Number: ST3160023A

Serial Number: 5JS3F6WX

Firmware Revision: 8.01

Default CHS: 16383-16-63

Current CHS: 16383-16-63

Current Capacity: 16514064 Sectors

Total Capacity: 312581808 Sectors

Conductor Cable Reported

ID Method: CSEL

SMART Enabled

SMART Check: Passed

Full Scan (0 to 312581808) - Passed

Elapsed Time: 1.01 Hours

Estimated Internal Transfer Rates

Min: 9.27Mb/s Max: 658.26Mb/s Avg: 370.14Mb/s

Long Test Passed: 12-Jun-2005 16:01:48

SMART Disabled



-----------------------------------------------------------------

End results from Seagate's DiagATA/SCSI





File Structure Test Result:

Partition 1 (NTFS (160 GB) ) Result: Failed with critical Errors



NOTE: Any report of possible errors in the file system tests are for

informational purposes only. We suggest you should consider testing with

the official file system diagnostic utilities for your operating system.

Seagate is not able to assist with troubleshooting or reviewing

file system test results.





******************************************



Recommendation:

All selected physical diagnostics passed.

If you are not experiencing data loss and SeaTools reports File

System Structure errors, they may be caused by a lock-up or

failure to shutdown Windows correctly. Many times, these errors

may be repaired through normal system maintenance which

includes using the Windows provided "Defrag" and

"Scandisk / Chkdsk / Error Checking" utilities.

If you are experiencing a hardware error, you should isolate

the cause and replace the failing component. If you are unsure how

to proceed with repairs, contact a computer professional. After

completing any maintenance tasks, run SeaTools again to

verify that all errors have been repaired. If errors continue to

occur, the system may not be stable. Again, contact a computer

professional.
 
XP install and drive concerns

I was going to use a large magnet to destroy any info on the drive. Your suggestion may be better. I still need to get past the 34 minute spot of the XP installation. The system is useless now. I was able to format the backup system drive but XP won't load.

Thanks for the reply,

Conshy
 
Oh yes. Sanitizing the disk is far better than magnets for destroying data. :)

Edit: the link I gave wasn't for the software I know and was thinking of. It's a similar product, and the site does give a reasonable description of what a sanitizer does... The one I was thinking of was literally called 'Disk Sanitizer' by East-Tec. Sadly, it seems it's no longer available for download from their site (one assumes that they wish to sell more of a newer product - I liked the simplicity of the old one! lmao).

I'll see if I can find a download link elsewhere.
 
Ya, DON'T USE A MAGNET!!!

For sure you will destroy all the data, but you will probably destroy the harddrive also. A magnet can damage the read head. Even if that isn't damaged, the residual magnetism will cause all kinds of headaches for you.
 
I've not been able to find a link to the east-tec product :(

It's probably out there somewhere, but I'd probaly find it on a p2p network most easily (which would be kinda naughty really.)

The link I pointed you to should be able to give you their sanitizer, but it sounds like a pain in the proverbial backside to do so, given that you give them your number and they call you :(

I'll find another. Shouldn't take long.

edit: Very similar program. Maybe it's gone open source, or perhaps it's concidence. Either way it'll do the job and it's easy to use.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Just boot the computer with the dban floppy or CD (your choice) with the hard drive connected, and away you go.
 
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