Help with Error:

[ryanbatc]

"SMART failure predicted on hard disk etc etc"

I am trying to help a guy out at work, his laptop (old Sony Vaio) gives me this error upon startup. I do get the Sony logo screen very quickly but it then goes right to this error message. The error is not a BSOD, just some standard DOS-style text on a black screen. It also says "Press F1 to continue" If I press F1 it attempts to load Windows XP and epically fails lol "unable to load the operating system"

I can manage to get into BIOS with some quick key presses right after the Sony logo and prior to the error msg though. I attempted to change the boot order so I could have the PC boot from the CD drive and hopefully so I could get a CHKDSK going. But no joy, even with the boot order changed it doesn't really boot from the CD, it keeps giving me that error.

Unfortunately I don't have a ton of parts laying around otherwise I'd try connecting a new laptop HDD...which I don't have

I've googled this and some people say it's just a random error and their hard drives still work perfectly. Well this PC won't boot to Windows so that's why I think the HDD has gone bad

What do you guys think?

[Savage_Hobo]

Well... The last time I saw this error it was about 2 boots before my hard drive got toasted.... I'd suggest pulling all the data off as soon as possible....

You can use something like parted magic to boot (with CD or USB) and then just copy all the files from the old hard drive (if it will mount)....

[Trooper110]

Well, SMART failures can indicate all kinds of things. The most often in my experience is an unexpectedly large number of sector failures. If you have enough bad sectors. or they're located in the boot sector, you may either have an entirely bricked hard drive, or one that needs the MBR rewritten. Best choice imo is that you boot up with either a specific hard drive utility from the HD manufacturer, or run something like Ultimate Boot Disk for Windows (UBCD4WIN) that has some hard drive diagnostics on it. That will give you an idea of whether you can recover data off the drive, or even continue using it.

[ryanbatc]

Hmmm, I sorta think the HDD IS toast!

That UBCD looks interesting, minus the fact that I can't even boot from the CD/DVD! And there is no floppy drive, and of course I can't find my USB jump drive, not sure if it would even read off that anyway. I cannot get a CMD prompt, and it's tough to get into BIOS without a few tries.

Dang I wish I had another drive to test.

Let's say the HDD is done for. Can you buy a new HDD for these sort of notebooks?

Also I forgot to add they already backed up their stuff (whew!) so I can do whatever I need to it.

[Trooper110]

Go wild, lol. Newegg.com - Notebook Hard Drives, Laptop Hard Drives, Notebook Internal Hard Drive, Laptop External Hard Drives, Hard Drive

Changing them is usually as simple as unscrewing the cover where it is, pulling it out carefully so you don't bend any pins, and inserting the new one.

[mapes]

Go wild, lol. Newegg.com - Notebook Hard Drives, Laptop Hard Drives, Notebook Internal Hard Drive, Laptop External Hard Drives, Hard Drive

Changing them is usually as simple as unscrewing the cover where it is, pulling it out carefully so you don't bend any pins, and inserting the new one.

Yep Troopers on the money. although I've seen SMART erroneously declare errors but, hey it's your HD...do you wanna take a chance. They are easy to change...

[juneau]

I highly recommend the WD Scorpio drives. I actually know a few people that are starting to put them into desktop PC's.

[ryanbatc]

hey it's your HD...do you wanna take a chance. They are easy to change...

lol actually its not mine haha, so its easy for me to make a decision, 50-60 bucks on newegg for a ATA drive