Operating System Cannot be Found

[irishcrazy2005]

Okay, I am worried that my hard drive might be getting ready to crash or die or something, and I was wondering what you guys think. Here is the background:

For several weeks now I have been having problems burning material onto CD and DVD. For awhile I thought that this might be because the drive had become very fragmentated with large FLAC and VOB files which could not be defragged using Windows Defragmentator. Whenever trying to burn a disc (either with Nero or Roxio) I usually get some sort of "Data cannot be read" error. For awhile, after a series of deleting large files and running the defrag again, I could burn successfully. Now, I cannot burn certain things again. Some things seem to work, but other folders fail every time.

Now, this morning I wake up and expect to find my computer turned on and happily uploading over BT (how I left it last night). Instead I find a black screen that says "Operating System Cannot Be Found." I almost had a heart attack, but thankfully I was able to turn it off and back on and it started up okay. Now I am in a rush to make another backup of my data (specifically I accidentally erased all of my pictures on DVD), and I cannot get them to burn off. Fails every time.

So, in your opinion, is my drive about to die, or is this something else? Thanks.

-Phil

P.S. Most of the time, instead of actually getting an error message in Roxio, the buffer level just immediately drops to about 1% and the estimated time to completion shoots up to some ridiculous number, although it does actually continue to burn. I only got one error from Roxio, and that was for an ISO of a DVD-A disc

[Ted]

First thing - back up your valuable data.

What OS are you using?

Do you have a floppy disk or CD in the drive? Maybe your computer crashed and tried to reboot but found a disk with no OS on it.

Turn off the computer and open the case and make sure all cards/cords/cables are seated tight. Make sure to check out the RAM sticks too.

Do a RAM test. This one is a good one.

Let us know how it goes. I doubt it's your HD, but it's always possible. How old is the HD? How much free space is on it?

[irishcrazy2005]

Luckily I already have backups of most everything. The unfortunate part is that anything I have to back up still is very difficult to burn off (as noted in my above post). Anyhow, there may have been a blank DVD sitting in the drive, although I can't remember for sure now. You are probably right and that was it. I am still very concerned about my lack of ability to burn stuff though. I will run this RAM check. I'm on a laptop, so opening the case is out of the question. I'm running Windows XP Pro. The hard drive (whole computer too) is only one year old. It is an Emachines M6811. I think that I answered all of your questions in this rambling post.

-Phil

[Ted]

Your burning issues may be related to bad RAM or low HD space. How much HD space is available?

[irishcrazy2005]

20+ gigs :-(

[Ted]

Did the RAM test ok? How large are the files that you're trying to burn? What file system is the HD - FAT32 or NTFS?

[irishcrazy2005]

Haven't done the RAM test. Just back from lunch and am about to try it now. I'm running NTSC. I'm having problems with files of many sizes, but mostly DVDs. This includes one DVD image that's about 4 gigs, the rest are VIDEO_TS folders. I also had problems burning my whole My Pictures folder though. It burned eventually, but took like two hours (usually less than 30 minutes). The buffer was at 1% almost the whole time.

-Phil

P.S. I have a 64-bit AMD processor. Will this RAM test still be okay? It says it's for x86 architecture computers, but I'm not sure what that means.

EDIT: I'll have to do the test when I get home, because I don't have any CDs laying around to make a boot disc

[Ted]

This memory test (version 1.6)is supposed to work with AMD64s.

The reason I asked about FAT32 or NTFS (that IS what you meant, isn't it?)is because FAT32 can't handle files over 4GB and I was thinking that may be your problem.

After the RAM test and verifying that you're using NTFS, you m,ight want to try uninstalling your burning software and drivers and reinstalling them. Something may be corrupt. Check for updated versions on the manufacturers website after installing.

[irishcrazy2005]

Yeah, I did mean NTFS, lol, and I know that I am running it for sure because I formatted this drive myself. I will try the RAM test this evening.

It is unlikely that it is the burning software, as I have had discs fail using Roxio, Nero, and EAC.

Thanks for all your help as usual Ted.


-Phil

[Ted]

Let us know how it goes.

[ssamadhi97]

Originally Posted by Ted

I doubt it's your HD, but it's always possible.

What makes you think so? A failing HD is the first thing I would've suspected in this case (well, next to bad ram maybe)

[TheMamba]

Hard drive, RAM, or heat would have been my guesses.

I don't think you should run a laptop that long. they will run hot. get a laptop cooler and an external drive.

Originally Posted by irishcrazy2005

Yeah, I did mean NTFS, lol, and I know that I am running it for sure because I formatted this drive myself. I will try the RAM test this evening.

It is unlikely that it is the burning software, as I have had discs fail using Roxio, Nero, and EAC.

Thanks for all your help as usual Ted.


-Phil

Your symptoms sound a lot like how my computer was behaving before the hard drive died. Has your computer been slowing down as well? Are you starting to hear a strange sound coming from your computer? Maybe these symptoms haven't shown up yet--I know the burning problem came first and the other symptoms took a while to show up in my case.

I'm going to recommend running the hard drive checking utilities that go with your hard drive. If you get a SMART status error, contact the manufacturer immediately, because that's sufficient ground for an RMA in most cases. When we tried to run the hard drive checking utility on my dying hard drive, it wouldn't even run because SMART status on my drive failed (the most severe kind of SMART error). We told Gateway about it, and they shipped me a replacement immediately (well, if you can consider a refurbished Hitachi a true replacement for a Western Digital).

[irishcrazy2005]

Okay, the RAM test seemed to check out just fine. I can also burn things again (at least the two things I tried to burn). I really think that this is a defragmentation issue. I will post back here if any problems reoccur.

Sarah, what kind of utilities would this be? I don't see any sort of OEM hard drive utilities.

-Phil