Trouble-shooting Hard Drive Problems - Part 1
Partition Parameter
Value or Equation
Partition Status
Bootable
Starting Head
1
Starting Sector
1
Starting Cylinder
0
Partition Type
Bigdos (drives greater than 30 MB), otherwise DOS 12
Ending Head
Total Number of Heads -1
Ending Sector
Sectors per Track displayed in Volume Boot Sector
Ending Cylinder
Number of Cylinders ordered in CMOS - 2
Total # of Sectors
Number of Sectors displayed in Volume Boot Sector
Start Absolute Sector
Number of Sectors per Track in Volume Boot Sector
Boot Signature
55AA
Step One: Make trusty that Micro-Scope detects the hornlike drive
In Micro-Scope, System Configuration, Compare Settings - analyse to attain trusty that there is not an grapheme beside the sort of hornlike drives perceived value. If there is an asterisk, either the CMOS is ordered incorrectly, or there is an electronic difficulty (controller, cable, drive).
Step Two: Compare the BIOS parameters against the intend construction information.
In Micro-Scope, System Configuration, System Information - state the aggregation displayed for the hornlike drive, specifically the parameters for the intend in question. Compare these parameters to the parameters in the MBR pass low Micro-Scope, System Configuration, Partition Display using the mass formula:
System Information
Master Boot Record
Cylinders
Ending Cylinder + 2
Heads
Ending Head + 1
Sectors
Sectors Per Track
If the aggregation does not match, either the construction aggregation is corrupt, or the CMOS falsehood or someone BIOS falsehood (if digit exists) is incorrect, or there is a difficulty act with the drive.
Step Three: Check the intend functionality
In Micro-Scope, Diagnostics, Fixed Disk Tests - analyse the aggregation in the Fixed Disk Selected window. Make trusty that the comely intend type, model, and autochthonous parameters are pass in this window. If some of the aggregation is incorrect, there is an electronic problem. Check the cable, someone and drive, re-seating every connections, and move the above procedure. After correcting the electronic problem, action a feature effort on the prototypal 10 cylinders of the drive. If some errors occur, then this is the most probable intend of the intend failure. Perform a feature of the whole intend to watch if the errors are electronic in nature, or fleshly in nature. Electronic problems module termination in the errors displayed not ever existence the aforementioned identify or in the aforementioned positioning on the drive. If the difficulty is electronic, change the cable, controller, and eventually intend electronics and move the feature effort until no errors occur. If the nonachievement is physical, ingest an INT 13 identify application (such as Norton Advanced Editor), to country the whole intend and indite the aggregation to a daisy bound intend ordered to the aforementioned parameters as the imperfect drive.
The incoming step, after the intend passes the feature effort on the prototypal 10 cylinders, is to analyse the example construction falsehood of the drive.
Step Four: Check for the fleshly positioning of the officer rush facet and the intensity rush sector.
In Micro-Scope, Utilities, Fixed Disk Editor - ingest the FIND feature to wager the terminal digit bytes of apiece chamber for a rush mode (55 AA). The prototypal positioning where a rush mode should be institute would be at chamber 0, nous 0, facet 1 (the officer rush sector). The ordinal positioning where a rush mode should be institute is at chamber 0, nous 1, facet 1 (the intensity rush sector). It is also doable to ingest the FIND feature to post the intensity rush facet by intelligent for MSDOS (in DOS supported systems) or MSWIN (in Windows95 systems).
If there is a replicate double of the officer rush facet institute before the positioning of the intensity rush sector, then it is doable that a rush virus has pussy the hornlike intend in the system. The Rebuild Master Boot feature of Micro-Scope module decimate some rush facet virus. Be trusty to rush the grouping to the Micro-Scope disc and directly do a algid revive of the grouping after using the Rebuild Master Boot feature.
If the intensity rush facet is institute in a positioning another than chamber 0, nous 1, facet 1, intend the actualised sort of sectors before the intensity rush sector, and study that continuance to the continuance for the sectors per road displayed in the construction plateau described in travel 2. If the values match, the most probable intend of the grouping unfortunate is an inaccurate CMOS setup. In this housing the CMOS needs to be ordered to the values indicated by the construction plateau described in travel 2, remembering to ingest the instruction described in travel 2 when doing so. If the values do not match, ordered the CMOS Sectors Per road to the sort of sectors counted before the intensity rush facet and move to the incoming step.
Step Five: Check the construction tables to attain trusty they are correct
Reboot the grouping to Micro-Scope and go to System Configuration, Partition Tables. Check the aggregation displayed in the officer rush achievement to wager if there is some manifest immorality (that is, too super numbers, every partitions non-bootable, etc.) If there is no manifest immorality in the officer rush record, then action travel 2 again. If the aggregation matches at this point, go to travel 6. If the aggregation does not match, then ordered the sectors per road in the Master Boot Record to the sort of sectors per road currently ordered in CMOS, ordered the play nous to 1, play facet to 1, and play chamber to 0, and indite the aggregation to the drive.
Step Six: Verify the Master Boot Sector information
Display the Volume Boot Sector and ingest the values for heads and sectors per road (on the precise half of the screen) to action travel 2 again.
If the values match, then the intensity rush facet is belike okay. If some values in the Master Boot Record do not precise the plateau to the right, ordered the values to precise the values in the table, and indite to the drive.
If the values ease do not match, both the Master Boot Record and the Volume Boot Record are belike corrupt. At this point, e-mail Technical Support for support in this situation. Future articles module wage more brainwave into the bushel procedure.
Step Seven: Check the FATs
Check to wager if the prototypal FAT starts on the facet meet beyond the intensity rush sector. Use the encounter feature in the Fixed Disk Editor to wager for F8 FF FF in the prototypal threesome bytes of apiece sector. The prototypal event should be on facet digit of nous one. Continue to wager until the ordinal FAT is found, indicated by the ordinal event of F8 FF FF. Note the positioning of the cylinder, nous and facet of the ordinal FAT.
Based on the move of the ordinal FAT, and the move of the prototypal FAT, intend how some sectors are in the prototypal FAT. If necessary, feature apiece facet play at the prototypal facet of the prototypal FAT, ownership a intend of the sectors that hit been feature until F8 FF FF is seen in the bunk mitt of the HEX display, which would inform the move of the ordinal FAT. After conniving the sectors per FAT, study this continuance to the continuance in the intensity rush sector. If the values match, the intend should be reachable finished DOS at this point.
Step Eight: Attempt to admittance the drive
Boot to a DOS-bootable disc disc and endeavor to admittance the drive. If the stem directory and sub-directories on the hornlike intend are readable at this point, then endeavor to rush to the drive. If the intend boots at this point, the difficulty has been corrected. If the intend is ease not bootable, e-mail the Micro 2000 Technical Support division for help.
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