Categories of Hard Drive Failure and its Recovery

Hard drive is defined as a computer hardware that holds and spins magnetically coated disks in order to read and write data on it. The data thus stored is persisted by system even when it is turned off. The hard drive is composed of several mechanical and electronic components. For this reason, this storage media gets gradual or steep break-down while it is working and performing. A hard drive failure is the most popular term used when a hard drive stops working. It primarily occurs when one or more physical components of hard drive fails and stops working as expected. As the general solution, you should replace such failed hard drive and use your recent data backup to restore the information. However, while the valid backup is unavailable, you need to consult a hard drive recovery technician that could assist you to recover lost data from a physically crashed drive.

Typically, hard drive failure can be categorized in two basic classes: Gradual Hard Drive Failure and Sudden Hard Drive Failure

Gradual Hard Drive Failure

Such failures occur due to surface wear, slow breakdown of hard disk components and bad sectors on surface. You can recognize a failing hard drive by any of these signs:

1. Operating system errors and crashes

2. S.M.A.R.T errors indicating that hard drive failure is imminent

3. Chkdsk errors

4. Data starts vanishing

5. Slow system performance

It is recommended to backup all the stored data if you observe any of the aforementioned symptoms.

Sudden Hard Drive Failure

Sudden hard drive failure characteristically represents the condition when you cannot access the data anymore. The hard drive appears almost dead. You might infer a sudden hard drive failure with any of the below symptoms:

a. Hard drive is not recognized by CMOS setup

b. Hard drive fails in POST check and operating system cannot see it

c. No or repetitive hard drive seek activity sound. The hard drive might emit clicking or ticking sounds.

Such failed hard drives need to be diagnosed using high-tech recovery techniques, performed through hard drive data recovery services. Since hard drive internals are sensitive to dust-like particles, Hard Drive Recovery is provided by opening them in safe Clean Room surroundings.

Stellar Information Systems Limited is the leading organization providing safe and advanced Hard Drive Data Recovery services. Facilitated by Class 100 Clean Rooms, the disk recovery services is available for all SATA, IDE, EIDE, PATA and SCSI hard drives. Stellar offers risk-free services for all Desktop, Laptop, RAID, SAN, NAS and Server hard drives.

Repair, Reinstall or Upgrade XP may cause Windows File Loss

There can be loss of critical files, which are stored in All Users folder, My Documents, settings, default program template, which are stored in Default User folder after repairing, reinstalling or upgrading to Microsoft Windows XP. You might find that the Start menu shortcuts are missing and Startup group items, music files, pictures, documents are not available, which are stored in Shared Documents folder. This behavior results into critical file loss and require hard drive recovery software to be sorted out.

This issue could take place after you carry out any of the below give actions on your computer, which has Microsoft Windows XP preinstalled by the computer manufacturer (also called OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturer):

You reinstall Microsoft Windows XP in same folder, by clicking the “Upgrade (Recommended)” after running Winnt32.exe, or by clicking “Install Windows XP” link on “Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP” screen, which appears when you insert Windows XP CD. It is also called as performance an in-place installation or in-place upgrade.

You repair Microsoft Windows XP by booting your computer from Windows XP CD, pressing Enter to set up Windows XP, then pressing R for repairing selected installation.

You upgrade Windows XP Home Edition installation, which was preinstalled by the computer manufacturer to retail version of the Windows XP professional.

Root of the problem

This issue could take place if Undo_uimode.txt file is available in Windows\System32 folder on your hard drive when you carry out any action, specified above. This file is created by the wizard, which runs when you start your computer with Microsoft Windows XP preinstalled by the computer manufacturer.

How to work sort out this problem

You can work around this issue by restoring your critical data and applications from the most recent backup. If the backup is either not available or it is not updated, then you need to carry out hard drive recovery to get your lost files back.

It is the process of retrieving missing, lost or inaccessible files, which can not be accessed in normal way. Recovery is best possible through third party applications, known as File Recovery Software. These software are capable of thoroughly scanning the damaged hard drive and retrieve all of the lost data from it. These applications have interactive and simple graphical user interface to enable easy and quick recovery.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most comprehensive and advanced tool to recover all sorts of files from FAT32, VFAT, NTFS and NTFS5 file system partitions. This File Recovery Software is designed for Microsoft Windows 7 RC1, Vista, 2003, XP and 2000.

Windows File Loss Due to Missing Configuration and System Files

Upgrading to the latest or later version of an operating system is a common practice for Microsoft Windows users. Up-gradation is generally performed to take advantages of added features in the newer version. Though, you upgrade the operating system for good, but in some situations it might prove damaging for your system. Sometimes, after upgrading the operating system, your computer might not start and may make all of your mission critical and valuable files inaccessible. This behavior of Microsoft Windows computer results into file loss and require windows hard drive recovery to be resolved.

After upgrading the Windows operating system, when you attempt to start your computer, you might come across the below given error message:

“C:\Winnt\System32\autoexec.nt The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application”

When this error message occurs, you have to close all the applications that you are trying to open.

Grounds of the issue

You might encounter this problem due to missing or corrupt Config.nt, Autoexec.nt and Command.com files of Microsoft Windows operating system.

When this situation takes place, you can not start any of the applications and sometimes your system does not even boot up. Due to this behavior, you might come across serious problems and fall in need of file recovery.

Resolution

As stated above, this problem generally occurs due to missing or lost system files. In such situations, the operating system can not successfully complete the boot operation and this condition occurs. To sort out this problem, repair the operating system with the help of bootable disk of relevant Windows version.

In case if repair process can not help you to solve the issue, you need to format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. This process will replace the damaged operating system and system files. Although, this method is able to resolve most of such issues, but also has a downside. It deletes all of the files from your hard drive and cause serious file loss situations.

In such cases, you are required to go for hard drive recovery software. These are effective and powerful third party applications, which are capable of effectively scanning the affected hard drive and retrieve all of the missing files. These software have self-descriptive and graphical user interface to allow easy recovery.

Hard Disk Error Management and Recovery

Sometimes you don't realize that it is normal for a hard disk to face errors during reading, as part of its regular operation. As hard disks are pushed to the limits of technology , with tracks and sectors spaced closer together, weaker signals used to prevent interference and faster spin rates produced by the spindle motor the chances of an error happening while reading the disk go up noticeably. In fact, the state of technology has advanced to the point where it is not practical to even try to avoid them.

Having actual errors appear to you while using the hard disk is intolerable, since you count on your disk reproducing the data you store on it reliably for a period of years. Hard disk manufacturers know how important this is and so incorporate special techniques that allow them to detect and correct hard disk errors. This allows them to make faster, higher-capacity drives that seems to the user to be error-free. The more the technology for storing data is pushed, the more sophisticated the error correction protocols must be to maintain the same level of reliability.

Making a drive that actually produced read errors infrequently enough that error detection and correction wasn't necessary, would mean greatly reducing performance and capacity. This is sort of like touch-typing there's a school of thought that says "if you aren't making any mistakes at all, you're going too slow". If correcting mistakes is easy, as it is with a word-processor, it's better to type 100 words per minute and correct an error or two, than type 75 words per minute error-free. As long as the errors are detectable and correctable, and they don't occur too often, it's better to plan for them, and then tolerate and deal with them, than to be too conservative in order to eliminate them.

"Invalid Product Key" : A problem while Installing Windows XP

To install Windows on system, a user must activate it using the product key. After entering the product key while installing Windows if system reports it invalid, the possibility is that a wrong product key has been entered. But despite of the right key , there might be several reasons causing this behavior including hard drive damage. In case of hard drive damage, you need to replace it and restore lost data from backup. In case the backup fails to restore, hard drive recovery solutions come as rescue.

While trying to install Windows XP on your computer, when you try to enter the product key, you encounter the similar error displaying on screen:

“The CD Key which you entered is invalid. Please try again.”

You might also receive an error telling that the product key used is invalid.

Cause

The above error might be the outcome of below possible reasons:

1. Using an invalid product key

2. An antivirus program is scanning the computer

3. Windows XP installation CD is damaged

4. Hard disk is damaged

5. Incorrect system date in CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) settings

6. Some extra drivers are installed that are interrupting the installation

Solution

You should follow these steps to solve the existing problem:

1. Make sure that the product key you are entering is correct. Try making use of keyboard number keys instead of numeric keypad

2. Disable antivirus software scan. You need to ensure that no antivirus software is turn in computer BIOS

3. Replace the Windows XP installation CD if damaged

4. Ensure that the hard disk is not damaged. If it is, replace the hard disk and restore lost data from backup. Contact hard drive recovery service professionals if no or invalid backup is available.

5. Verify CMOS settings for correct system date

6. To provide clean installation of Windows, restart Windows without the installed extra drivers

7. You can also try copying Windows XP installation files to hard drive using command prompt

Hard Drive Recovery

It is the dedicated help provided by recovery experts to recover lost data from physically crashed drives. Hard drive recovery software professionals undergo several sophisticated processes using advanced techniques in Clean Rooms in order to recover the lost data.

"Error: 0xc0000034" while Installing Windows Vista SP1 or SP2

A service pack is a collection of updates to a software delivered in the form of a single installable package. Many companies, such as Microsoft or Autodesk, release a service pack when the number of individual patches to a given program reaches a certain limit.

In order to resolve earlier bugs and provide new set of features, Microsoft provides its latest updates of Windows version as service packs. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 are two service packs that come available with major hardware and software support updates. At times, when you try to install either of the service pack on your Windows Vista based system, the installation fails and gives error while you try to boot the system. Such situations might force you to reformat the hard drive and restoring the lost data from backup. In cases when backups prove inefficient to restore the lost information, you should use hard drive recovery software to completely recover the lost data.

As an example, you attempt to install Windows Vista SP1 or Windows Vista SP2. The setup runs successfully through Stage 1 and Stage 2. But at Stage 3, after the second reboot, system fails to start. You observe a black screen displaying the below error message:

“Error: 0xc0000034”

Solution

To fix this error, perform following steps:

1. Boot your system using Windows Vista recovery disc or DVD

2. Next, choose the language option when prompted for

3. Choose ‘Startup Repair’ option in ‘System Recovery’ options

4. The ‘Windows Vista Recovery Environment’ should prompt to restore the system to an earlier restore point. Click ‘Yes’ to automatically restore the system

5. If it doesn’t prompt any such option, you need to start ‘System Restore’ manually in System Recovery options. This will allow the system to get back to the state when system was actually working

6. If problem persists, you need to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows. Use your last clean backup to get all the data.

Sometimes, backup fails to restore data because it is corrupted, not updated or absent. Such situations require that you scan your hard drive using hard drive recovery software. Designed with powerful and safe hard drive scanning technology, these applications provide effective hard drive data recovery in all logical data loss cases. Moreover, they empower you with graphically rich user interface.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the powerful Hard Drive Recovery application that is compatible with Windows 7 (currently in RC1), Vista, XP, 2003 and 2000. The application uses advanced searching procedures and provide Disk Imaging and Drive Cloning like features. It is a suitable product to be used with NTFS5, NTFS, VFAT and FAT32 file systems

Windows XP Setup Repeatedly Crashes - How to Solve this Issue

While Installing Windows XP , setup runs through several steps of installation. But if it finds hard drive in corrupted state, it prompts errors and won’t allow the installation to continue further. If hard drive is damaged, you might need to either reformat it or replace it. In such situations, it is required that you have an updated copy of significant data. However, if no backup is available or it exists in invalid state, you should use hard drive recovery software to recover it.

While trying to install or upgrade to Windows XP, you might observe following symptoms with its setup:

1. One can encounter the similar error message while 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.”

2. You try to format the hard drive but it returns an error that the setup has performed some maintenance task on your hard drive and hence cannot continue

3. Your computer system freezes with CRC errors on screen.

Cause

Your hard drive is suffering from major physical or logical corruption issues. Windows XP setup shows aforementioned symptoms when it attempts to repair these errors.

Solution

You need to apply these methods in order to solve the existing issue:

1. You can continue running the Setup program and allow it to repair the hard drive itself. You can try out running it several times.

2. If Setup cannot fix hard drive corruption, you should use Recovery Console to run chkdsk /r command logical disk corruptions, if any. Reformat the hard drive if it could detect but cannot repair the hard drive and restore lost data from backup. Use hard drive recovery applications if you fail to restore from backup.

3. If chkdsk cannot detect the hard drive, the hard drive is physically damaged. Replace the hard drive and restore lost data using backup. Contact hard drive recovery service professional for assistance in case of backup concerns to extract the data from physically crashed drive.