I have recently experienced some problems with my hard disk.

It's a Maxtor Diamondmax 10 250Mb ATA 16Mb drive. It was running perfectly
until a few weeks ago when I could not remove Microsoft .Net framework v2
beta without a BSOD. I tried to download and install the official .Net v2
release but Windows Update reported a failed installation every time.

My PC was running fine so I just ignored .Net v2.

Then I noticed that my antispyware program was causing a BSOD whenever I did
a complete system scan (AdAware).

The my anti-virus software caused a BSOD whenever I tried a full system scan
(McAfee).

I was advised to run a scan on my HD - which froze when checking the data
area - even when I ran it from boot.

My PC is otherwise running perfectly I should add. But it appears than
anything that scans the entire HD caused a BSOD or freeze. My defrag program
(DsikKeeper) runs OK.

So I was beginning to think that it was a physical fault on my drive.

I was advised to go my manufacturer's website and download software to check
the drive. I did. I visited Maxtor.com and read lots of conflicting advice
about how to check one of their drives. I downloaded MaxBlast (because it
says that this can check for errors - it can't). I downloaded PowerMax
because one page says that it can't scan ATA drives and another page says
that it can check ATA drives. Although this software identified the ATA
controllers, it did not manage to find my ATA drive. So I could not run this
check on my drive. I would like to state that Maxtor's website is a mess of
hard to follow, difficult to navigate, contradictory information. I only
wanted some advice on how to check one of the products.

So I don't know what to do.

Should I try to re-install Windows (XP Pro SP2)? Or should I simply conclude
the drive is a damaged and return it (it's only 9 months old)?

It's obviously no good that I can't scan my system for viruses or spyware.

Thanks in anticipation.

Cheers.

Bobby

Bobby wrote:

> I have recently experienced some problems with my hard disk.
>
> It's a Maxtor Diamondmax 10 250Mb ATA 16Mb drive. It was running
> perfectly until a few weeks ago when I could not remove Microsoft .Net
> framework v2 beta without a BSOD. I tried to download and install the
> official .Net v2 release but Windows Update reported a failed
> installation every time.
>
> My PC was running fine so I just ignored .Net v2.
>
> Then I noticed that my antispyware program was causing a BSOD whenever
> I did a complete system scan (AdAware).
>
> The my anti-virus software caused a BSOD whenever I tried a full
> system scan (McAfee).
>
> I was advised to run a scan on my HD - which froze when checking the
> data area - even when I ran it from boot.
>
> My PC is otherwise running perfectly I should add. But it appears than
> anything that scans the entire HD caused a BSOD or freeze. My defrag
> program (DsikKeeper) runs OK.
>
> So I was beginning to think that it was a physical fault on my drive.
>
> I was advised to go my manufacturer's website and download software to
> check the drive. I did. I visited Maxtor.com and read lots of
> conflicting advice about how to check one of their drives. I
> downloaded MaxBlast (because it says that this can check for errors -
> it can't). I downloaded PowerMax because one page says that it can't
> scan ATA drives and another page says that it can check ATA drives.
> Although this software identified the ATA controllers, it did not
> manage to find my ATA drive. So I could not run this check on my
> drive. I would like to state that Maxtor's website is a mess of hard
> to follow, difficult to navigate, contradictory information. I only
> wanted some advice on how to check one of the products.
>
> So I don't know what to do.
>
> Should I try to re-install Windows (XP Pro SP2)? Or should I simply
> conclude the drive is a damaged and return it (it's only 9 months
> old)?
>
There is no point trying a software solution to a hardware problem. You
have to determine the health of the hard drive. Try SeaTools from
Seagate. It can check the health of other mftrs.' hard drives.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User