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PC-detective gaming GAF: my PC is dying on me, what's wrong help!

L

Ledsen

Member
So we had a power outage while my computer was running, and now it won't boot correctly... the system is

Proc: i5 2500k
RAM: 8 GB
Mobo: Gigabyte Z68 AP-D3
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB (system disk)
HDD: Western Digital 500 GB (storage disk)
GFX: GTX 560Ti
Case: Fractal Define R3
PSU: Fractal Design Tesla 650w 80+
(note: there is NO CD/DVD-drive in this system)

- When I start the computer, it shows all the usual startup screens (where it DOES SHOW the SSD and HDD, so it does recognize them!), then the following:

Code: 
Loading Operating System...

A disk read error occured
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

This happens every time I start the computer. However, the BIOS has not reset itself. I've had problems where I couldn't boot into Windows because the BIOS set itself to IDE instead of AHCI, but this is not the case, BIOS is fine.

- So I thought... maybe the SSD broke from the power outage? Let's try to boot from a USB stick with Windows 7 installation files on it. Well, no dice. I've tried ALL the boot options in the BIOS (USB FDD, USB-ZIP, USB-CD etc) and none of them will boot the USB stick. I tried the same USB stick in my laptop, and it boots to Windows installation flawlessly. But on here, the stick is bypassed and the system tries to boot from the SSD.

- If I unplug the SSD and HDD and try to boot from the USB (two different USB ports, all different boot settings in the BIOS) I get the following error:

Code: 
DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

So my problems are twofold...

1. I can't boot into Windows.

2. I can't boot from USB to try and fix the problem/re-install Windows.



So, PC gaming GAF... what should I do? How do I diagnose the error? If something is broken, how do I know what it is so I can RMA it or buy a new one? I thought it was the SSD, but since I can't even boot from USB I'm thinking mobo, but how do I know :( Help :(
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
Usually when you don't have the correct SATA mode you'll BSOD.

I think it is what it says it is. If you have a USB drive with 8+ GB you could boot from Ubuntu Live and look at disk health to confirm your drive has imminent failure or already failed.

I've never seen bad RAM cause that, but interesting things happen when RAM is bad. So you could also run memtest86+.
 
I

Iadien

Guarantee I'm going to screw up this post? Yeah.
I'm guessing CD/DVD drive is no option?

Also, is your SSD listed in the bios?

I had a recent issue where my SSD with my OS on it was no longer listed in the bios. To fix that I had to use a windows repair disc and go to command prompt and type in: bootrec.exe /fixmbr
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
Iadien said:
I'm guessing CD/DVD drive is no option?

Also, is your SSD listed in the bios?
Click to expand...

Yeah, make sure it's listed and it's priority #1. Sometimes newer motherboards default with UEFI and mess up boot. If you updated BIOS recently maybe it enabled that...I'm not sure.

Also, I recommend making a RAID1 volume with a second storage HDD for precisely the reason of HDD failure. They're like light bulbs these days.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
WTF? It suddenly booted to Windows! This is after trying maybe 30-40 times without success? What is happening? Okay, now that I'm in, what I want to do is run a check on EVERYTHING to make sure nothing is broken. How do I do that? And how could this happen, that it suddenly works again?
 
C

China Dont Care

Banned
Holy shit i was having the exact same problem, re installing windows 8. I had a handy repair disk and booted off that.

I even got that message DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER
 
S

SneakyStephan

Banned
I had this error once (I think it's the same one), it can sometimes be caused by the sata cable not being properly seated or simply being bad, try a different one.

If not, keep trying with some luck it manages to boot eventually and your pc will attempt to fix the boot sector. (I gave up with mine, tried again the next day and it got past that error and into recovery mode)
 
I

Iadien

Guarantee I'm going to screw up this post? Yeah.
Ledsen said:
WTF? It suddenly booted to Windows! This is after trying maybe 30-40 times without success? What is happening? Okay, now that I'm in, what I want to do is run a check on EVERYTHING to make sure nothing is broken. How do I do that? And how could this happen, that it suddenly works again?
Click to expand...

Did you unplug it and leave it unplugged for 15+ minutes? Sometimes that fixes it and allows the SSD to reset.
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
Ledsen said:
WTF? It suddenly booted to Windows! This is after trying maybe 30-40 times without success? What is happening? Okay, now that I'm in, what I want to do is run a check on EVERYTHING to make sure nothing is broken. How do I do that? And how could this happen, that it suddenly works again?
Click to expand...

I had a Crucial C300 that bricked. It would not read/write for 30 seconds in the OS, so I tried updating firmware to resolve it and it bricked. So I'd backup stuff now. Maybe look into BIOS and firmware updates but be cautious.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
Iadien said:
Did you unplug it and leave it unplugged for 15+ minutes? Sometimes that fixes it and allows the SSD to reset.
Click to expand...

Yes, I unplugged the SSD for quite a while. Could the power surge have made the system go crazy somehow, temporarily?
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
Iadien said:
Did you unplug it and leave it unplugged for 15+ minutes? Sometimes that fixes it and allows the SSD to reset.
Click to expand...

Interesting. That makes sense because these things are like minicomputers with their own ARM processors and RAM.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
So do I need to buy an UPS (uninterruptable power supple) now? The power here goes out if we use to many appliances at once, which still happens by accident sometimes.
 
S

SScorpio

Member
Ledsen said:
So do I need to buy an UPS (uninterruptable power supple) now? The power here goes out if we use to many appliances at once, which still happens by accident sometimes.
Click to expand...

A UPS would prevent you from losing data if the computer goes out while you are writing to disk and the files wasn't completely written. I would recommend having an electrician taking a look at your wiring and possibly updating circuits. You shouldn't be able to overload a circuit by running several appliances unless everything is on a single circuit such as in an apartment. It's possibly you are currently on a 15A line, and it might be possible to upgrade to a 25A if you are hitting power problems.
 
P

papersleeves

Member
Most of the time this issue is caused by a slightly loose / bad contact with SATA or IDE cable. Unplugging then replugging it back will fix this.

Put your USB stick in the boot order in the bios then press F12 during the splash screen to access the boot menu.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
FUCK I restarted and it's doing the "A disk read error occured" thing again...


FUCK


FUCK

what do I do? How do I diagnose this shit? FUCK

papersleeves said:
Most of the time this issue is caused by a slightly loose / bad contact with SATA or IDE cable. Unplugging then replugging it back will fix this.

Put your USB stick in the boot order in the bios then press F12 during the splash screen to access the boot menu.
Click to expand...

I've re-seated the cable several times, and I've tried every different boot option multiple times. Something is wrong, I just don't know what.
 
S

Sethos

Banned
Try resetting the CMOS.

When in doubt, always reset the CMOS before proceeding.

( Edit: Do it by removing the battery or using the jumper. Some sites suggest doing a BIOS reset but that's not enough )
 
X

xenist

Member
A couple of tricks that have helped me in a decade of IT. If after a power surge your PC acts weird try unplugging the power cord and pressing the power button for a bit. I usually keep it pressed for about half a minute. If that doesn't fix it and you're a little comfortable with your hardware, open your case and unplug and plug everything. RAM sticks, cables, cards. Everything. If it still acts weird and you didn't skimp on your power supply it needs changing 90% of the time.

In your specific case, check if your drive is properly recognized in your BIOS. If not, disconnect it and see if another PC recognizes it. If it doesn't, it's dead.
 
H

hooijdonk17

Member
OK let me get this right;

You've completely unplugged all your SDD and HDD's from the mainboard (Meaning you've unplugged the SATA cables from the mainboard as well)
You've completely unplugged the power molex's to the SDD's and HDD's (so they are not drawing any power)

And you still can't boot from a USB (that another PC can boot from)

That means probably your mainboard or BIOS is fucked.

Make sure to unplug all other USB hardware, especially storage devices.
Do a CMOS clear and retry the USB boot
If that doesn't work try the USB boot with just one memory of stick at a time
If that doesn't work, pull out all other PCI/PCI Express cards and retry

EDIT: In parallel, make sure to try your SSD and HDD in another computer to verify they are actually fine (which I'm 99% sure is the case if you can't boot a USB with these things unplugged)

Tell me if you can get a boot with any of this..
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
Nah, lots of motherboards have trouble booting from USB devices. Some USB ports are more compatible than others.

Drive is probably dead, boot from Linux Live and run disk health check. You can use DVDs here.
 
C

CountertopTable

Neo Member
I have got that before when I had a usb device plugged in. I would try only plugging in the devices you need like kb, mouse, and monitor to see if that helps. Another thing would be to make sure AHCI is enabled and not IDE. Other than that I would say clear the CMOS on your board and see if that helps. Check all your cables again and make sure they are seated properly or even change them out or put them in different order/sata ports to see if that helps. Check the BIOS to make sure the disks are being recognized. If all that fails then try another hard drive in the same system and see if you can use that because then you will know it is your hard drive and not your motherboard.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
Sorry for taking so long, I'm on EU time and it was 1am... I jumped out of bed and started trying this a few mins ago...

- Clearing CMOS didn't work....
- but switching the SATA cable to the HDD did! Some people told me to re-seat the SATA cable, which I did to no avail, but trying a new one was worth a shot... success! I've reset 5 times and so far so good.

So I guess the power outage somehow damaged my SATA cable? The one I was using was actually a few years old so I guess it's not that far-fetched.
Now about a surge protector... I have an outlet splitter from APC, it looks like this
bildl2s6f.jpg
Click to expand...
Is this a surge protector or do I need to buy a new one?

THANK YOU GAF
 
iNvid02

iNvid02

Member
try running chkdsk /r, fixboot, fixmbr from a recovery cd cmd

i had this same issue ages ago on XP and i ended up reinstalling it all, one of the worst errors
 
Grieves

Grieves

Member
iNvid02 said:
try running chkdsk /r, fixboot, fixmbr from a recovery cd cmd

i had this same issue ages ago on XP and i ended up reinstalling it all, one of the worst errors
Click to expand...

Came in here to suggest this.

Sounds like your SSD to a bit of a hit so I'd recommend running a checkdisk across it to clear out any errors / bad sectors.
 
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