vista says drive is faulty?

[tigerboyce]

I have been running my PC "my system" for only about 4 weeks now and after having a bit of a test with the OS and getting around it and installed a few stuff that was slowing it quite down (AOL i think) (VISTA WAS ACTIVATED) i decided to start fresh again and formatted and did a fresh vista install the other day and everything was fine.

Then last night vista brought a message up saying that the

"drive is faulty and is about to fail you should backup your data now"

Although i didnt bother as i have no other files on there atm other than gfx card drivers and an antivirus atm so i thought it was pointless.

Is this an actual problem? because not only if it fails ill have no drive, but the major problem is that i didnt get round to activating vista yet so if it fails ill never get a chance to rgister it losing my OEM liscence.

RMA? or Waiting game?

[DratUK]

Use the Western Digital diagnostics to help determine whether it is the drive or not.

http://support.wdc.com/download/?cxml=n&pid=999&swid=30

The above is the bootable cd dos version.

Hope this helps.

[tigerboyce]

how do i make a bootable cd? i dont have Nero or EZ CD

and extended test is the best choice?

• SELECT DRIVE - Always choose this option first, as it determines which drive you will be working on.
• QUICK TEST - This option tests your drive quickly for any major physical problems. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
• EXTENDED TEST - This option checks your drive thoroughly and it can repair any correctable errors. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, some data loss may occur, depending on the errors found and the errors corrected. Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
• WRITE ZEROS TO DRIVE - The Write Zeros option, wipes any and all data off your drive. This option used when your data is no longer usable or recoverable. If you no longer need any data from your drive and would like to start over, run this option to set your drive to an as new condition. NOTE: Please make sure that you have selected the correct drive to perform this function on as once ran, no data will be recoverable.
• VIEW TEST RESULTS - You can see the results of the test you just performed
• PRINT TEST RESULTS - Test results can be printed with this option. USB printers are not supported
• LOG FILE OPEN/CLOSE - You can access the log file which is generated automatically
• ENTER AND PRINT RMA INFORMATION - Information pertaining to each drive tested can be customized and printed with this option.
• HELP - Brief descriptions of each option in addition to explanations of error codes are available in this option.
• QUIT - Reboot your system once you have completed the selected tasks
  

[tigerboyce]

i did an extended test and about 20 seconds in it stopped with this message:



That doesnt look good to me and it made no attempt to repair anything..

whats the next step?

[chuckskull]

Double check all your cabling, and try another set if possible, otherwise RMA it, if you include that screenie you wont have any trouble,

[tigerboyce]

should i include the test CD or not, or is thsat overdoing it..

oh, and ive never RMAed before, do i do scan or manafacturer, its only like 4 weeks old

[IAmATeaf]

Looks like it got a load of bad sectors which it's reallocated but has now run out.

I think you can check it's warranty status on line but if it's only 4 weeks old I'd contact Scan in the first instance to see what they say or can do.

[tigerboyce]

it was ordered on 16march, and delivered 20th. which makes it like 9 weeks! wow that was longer than i thought.

I can give scan a ring monday hopefully but is that out of scan time? i hope not

[chuckskull]

You can do it all from here; http://web6.scan.co.uk/Support/Query.ASP?QueryType=R

First year is usually back to scan, second year back to manufacturer.

[tigerboyce]

sieng as the data doesnt matter, will doing option 4 make a difference?

4. WRITE ZEROS TO DRIVE - The Write Zeros option, wipes any and all data off your drive. This option used when your data is no longer usable or recoverable. If you no longer need any data from your drive and would like to start over, run this option to set your drive to an as new condition. NOTE: Please make sure that you have selected the correct drive to perform this function on as once ran, no data will be recoverable.

I am going to check what the RMA print option shows as that may give some info

[tigerboyce]

oh, the RMA is only a Form type thing that you can print out, why you would want to do that in DOS i dont know..

What do i actually include in the SCAN form? like what went wrong etc and the screenie link?

[chuckskull]

oh, the RMA is only a Form type thing that you can print out, why you would want to do that in DOS i dont know..

What do i actually include in the SCAN form? like what went wrong etc and the screenie link?

Include pretty much the information you've included in this thread. Description of the problem and the screenie. Thats about all you need. Scan will issue you an RMA number then you pack it up and post it. They'll test it, if they find it faulty, they'll send you back another drive.

[moogle]

scan, login then click the contact us button on the side. if its out of scans warranty period (thankfully its not) then you'd have to deal with wd.