types of errors Flashcards
Read/write failure
caused by damaged sectors on the hard drive or by hard drive failure.
Run the chkdsk command to scan the drive for damaged sectors.
f the hard drive has completely failed, you will need to replace the drive and restore the data from backup.
Slow performance
This can be caused by memory or hard drive
If you do not have enough memory, there will be excessive paging. In this case, add more memory. If you think the hard drive itself is causing the performance issue, check the hard drive to see if it has sufficient free space
Run the defrag utility to defragment the hard drive and increase hard drive performance.
Loud clicking noise
This often occurs right before the hard drive dies
completing a backup of your data should be your first priority. Then replace the hard drive and restore the data from the backup.
Failure to boot
If the system cannot locate the boot files, it cannot boot. If you suspect this is the problem, you should ensure that your BIOS is set to boot from the drive where the boot files reside. Also, it may be necessary to check the BOOT.INI file to ensure that the partition information is entered correctly. Finally, you may have to repair corrupted boot files. You should use the Recovery Console to repair corrupt system files. Finally, check to make sure that the connections to your hard drive are still intact. If you receive any Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) errors, research the specific error you receive to find out what you need to do.
Drive not recognized
This usually involves either an incorrect master/slave setting or the inability of the BIOS or operating system to recognize the drive. Check to make sure that the master/slave jumpers are configured appropriately. Check the BIOS to make sure that the disk parameters are configured appropriately. Finally, you made need to install the appropriate drivers for the operating system. This may require that you obtain the third-party drivers from the hard drive vendor. In legacy systems that do not support drives higher than 504 MB, you may need to implement logical bus addressing (LBA).
OS not found
This usually is a software issue where the boot sector cannot be located. Reboot the computer into the Recovery Console and repair the operating system.
RAID not found
f hardware RAID is implemented in the computer, the problem is usually with the RAID controller. Check the controller and replace as necessary
If software RAID is implemented, make sure that the BIOS is set to RAID. You should also check all RAID connections. Finally, test the individual RAID drives
RAID stops working
This is usually caused by the failure of a single hard drive in the RAID array.
Proprietary crash screens (BSOD/pin wheel)
If a BSOD occurs after you install a new hard drive or new drivers, you should immediately suspect the hard drive as the cause.
Remove the hard drive or roll back its driver to troubleshoot the BSOD. If the BSOD no longer occurs, you should then research the change you made to discover if there is a known issue with the hard drive or driver. Make sure that you only remove one hard drive or roll back one driver at a time to help determine the true cause of the BSOD. Pinwheel errors are Apple computers equivalent to BSOD. Pinwheel errors occur when users see the spinning rainbow pin wheel. Causes include bugs in applications, event processing issues, and virtual memory issues.
Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.)
It reports on such hard drive parameters as read error rate, throughput performance, and seek error rate. The main purpose of using S.M.A.R.T. is to ensure that you receive warnings prior to a complete drive failure so that the drive can be replaced before complete failure.
