3 replies to this topic

[oscartheclimber]

I have a HP DV2911 with Vista Home Edition that crashed due to some type of HDD failure.

Problem is that when I boot up vistaPE will load, and then it appears to access the HDD, where it just hangs. If the HDD drive is removed vistaPE load normally and quickly. With the HDD installed I end up with a dark screen with only the cursor visible, and lately no drive activity.

If vistaPE is developed to recover crashed systems, why am I hanging at this point, and what is the work-around.

TIA

[MedEvil]

While waiting for a proper answer, i would try a XP based PE like LiveXP, NaughtyPE or a BartPE.
The PE1 are longer around and should have less issues left.

[Wonko the Sane]

If vistaPE is developed to recover crashed systems, why am I hanging at this point, and what is the work-around.

Sure, VistaPE - like any other PE can be used to recover crashed systems but only WITH FULLY WORKING HARDWARE! (software/OS crashes)

I have a HP DV2911 with Vista Home Edition that crashed due to some type of HDD failure.

If the HDD failure is of an electric/electronic/mechanical one, and creates a problem during spin up or initial reading, NO PE will ever be able to boot with that drive attached.

In this cases, you are supposed to (choose one):

• use a "simpler" OS like DOS, that may be "less picky" to boot the machine and run the HDD manufacturer diganostic tests, hint: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
• connect the drive through a USB interface to another FULLY WORKING computer

It is also possible (though less probable) that the problem (still electric/electronic related) is NOT actually in the hard disk, but resides in the laptop's hard disk controller (and shows itself when a drive - even a working one - is connected to it's bus.


Wonko

[oscartheclimber]

Sure, VistaPE - like any other PE can be used to recover crashed systems but only WITH FULLY WORKING HARDWARE! (software/OS crashes)




If the HDD failure is of an electric/electronic/mechanical one, and creates a problem during spin up or initial reading, NO PE will ever be able to boot with that drive attached.

In this cases, you are supposed to (choose one):

• use a "simpler" OS like DOS, that may be "less picky" to boot the machine and run the HDD manufacturer diganostic tests, hint: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
• connect the drive through a USB interface to another FULLY WORKING computer

It is also possible (though less probable) that the problem (still electric/electronic related) is NOT actually in the hard disk, but resides in the laptop's hard disk controller (and shows itself when a drive - even a working one - is connected to it's bus.


Wonko

Thanks for the replies - that is ultimately the route I took. I picked up a cable yesterday afternoon (along with a new hdd just in case.) It was a bit of a challenge getting it setup; chkdsk has been running all night fixing errors. Hopefully my data is (mostly) intact.