Computers and Related Hardware/Software

Oooh. Clicking noise? Those are the read/write heads on the hard drives. Not a good sign.

Better start backing up things just in case. Right away.

Clicking noise?...does it sound like a scratching sound? if it does, that means the hard drive arm might be cuting up the discs.... in lamens terms.... your hd is shot... :hehe: I had that happen to me once too... sucks...

try running a surface scan, but even if it doesnt show any bad sectors, it does not necessary mean your hard disk is ok

backing things up is a good idea

does the computers drastically slows down when browsing/viewing through this episode 21?

as for the minidump folder...what windows are you using? minidump is not a windows default folder (at least not xp/98/me) so most probably its an app u installed which might have crashed during hang time

amrayu wrote:i think your hard drive is getting bad. (or atleast where that file is stored).
something like this happened to me before, so what i did was run scandisk and fixed errors, and defrag the hard drive after that.

groink will probably post shortly. he's the computer wiz.. :hehe:

How do I run scandisk? Does this mean that my HD is no use anymore? I have to buy another computer? I have only used this computer for almost 2 years only. Could it be the file problem? Cos when I use BT to dl other things afterwards, nothing happened. Should I just delete the file? Will that sovle the problem?

Sorry for all these questions...he :sweat:

Worst case sceneario is that you have to buy a new hd, about 50 bucks...

To run scan disk, go to my computer, then right click your hard drive and they should be a option of scan disk under the tab tools...

Sounds like bad sectors to me. Backup everything and then call up the company who makes your harddrive and see if they will replace it or repair. What brand is it btw? And how old?

I went to my HD, right-clicked, went to Properties. Under the tools tab I found Error-checking (this will check the volume for errors) and Defragment. I don't see the scan disk. Btw, I'm using Win Xp and I have had this computer since Oct. 2001.

Smiley_18 wrote:I went to my HD, right-clicked, went to Properties. Under the tools tab I found Error-checking (this will check the volume for errors) and Defragment. I don't see the scan disk. Btw, I'm using Win Xp.

Its the same thing.... its called scan disk in w2k i do believe....but thats the one you need to run

Smiley_18 wrote:I went to my HD, right-clicked, went to Properties. Under the tools tab I found Error-checking (this will check the volume for errors) and Defragment. I don't see the scan disk. Btw, I'm using Win Xp and I have had this computer since Oct. 2001.

Yes, error checking is basically the same. Just XP's way of saying things

Help!!! My computer soundcard suddenly went wrong. The drivers for the audio device seems to have dissappeared. I have an HP Laptop with a ESS Allegro soundcard. The device is now Unknown under the System Devices. When I try to install the drivers, the computer restarts and says "Severe system error." I tried downloading an updated driver from the HP site, the message "audio installation false" comes up. What could be wrong?!! The soundcard seems to be fine and I could not find any virus. It just happened all of a sudden!! Plleeeassse help.

eltinator wrote:Sounds like bad sectors to me. Backup everything and then call up the company who makes your harddrive and see if they will replace it or repair. What brand is it btw? And how old?

They might replace, but repair? Nahhh...

What OS are you running?

Try uninstalling, then reboot, and reinstall the audio drivers.

bmwracer wrote:
They might replace, but repair? Nahhh...

hahaha, not sure how they do it with HDs. From my experience with CD drives, well just with Samsung, those cheap bastards gave me back the same CD-ROM! :mad:

I was thinking, geez couldn't they have just sent me a brand new one, it probably wouldn't even cost them that much to do it. Now I'm like heca paranoid about it breaking down again :sweat:

eltinator wrote:hahaha, not sure how they do it with HDs. From my experience with CD drives, well just with Samsung, those cheap bastards gave me back the same CD-ROM! :mad:

I was thinking, geez couldn't they have just sent me a brand new one, it probably wouldn't even cost them that much to do it. Now I'm like heca paranoid about it breaking down again :sweat:

To repair a hard drive, they have to do all of the work in a clean room, so that absolutely no dust or dirt contaminates the drive when they open it up. Then they have to do all of that delicate work to track the problem down... Not a cheap process for sure. It could cost nearly $1K or more... But if the data is that valuable.....

bmwracer wrote:
To repair a hard drive, they have to do all of the work in a clean room, so that absolutely no dust or dirt contaminates the drive when they open it up. Then they have to do all of that delicate work to track the problem down... Not a cheap process for sure. It could cost nearly $1K or more... But if the data is that valuable.....

Wow that sounds pretty troublesome. Yea a replacement would definately be better for the company. But most warranties don't cover all problems right? There was a certain part of the HD that they didn't cover. Can't remember which right now

I finished scandisk. They found the problem.
"Window replaced bad clusters in file 59011 of name \Download..."
The file was from a torrent. Should I delete the file and re-download it again, or is everything ok now?

Smiley_18 wrote:I finished scandisk. They found the problem.
"Window replaced bad clusters in file 59011 of name \Download..."
The file was from a torrent. Should I delete the file and re-download it again, or is everything ok now?

Well, if you drive is still clicking, you could still be in trouble down the line.... You should also defrag as well... Maybe the clicking is due the frgmentation of the disc and it's making your drive's read/write heads go bonkers...

I'd still back everything up as a precaution...

bmwracer wrote:
Well, if you drive is still clicking, you could still be in trouble down the line.... You should also defrag as well... Maybe the clicking is due the frgmentation of the disc and it's making your drive's read/write heads go bonkers...

I'd still back everything up as a precaution...

Yes, but back everything up before performing a defrag or any further repairs. The longer you use the drive, the worst things are going to become. So you're better off using the drive's last minutes of life on a backup rather than a repair.

--- groink

groink wrote:Yes, but back everything up before performing a defrag or any further repairs. The longer you use the drive, the worst things are going to become. So you're better off using the drive's last minutes of life on a backup rather than a repair.

Good point. :applaud:

I have Windows XP. I already tried reinstalling the device and I couldn't install the drivers again, I got the "Severe error" message and Windows automatically restarts. It's either that or I get the "audio installation false" message.

Pllleeeaassse does anyone know about this?