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Other: Personal Computer Problems

nyyankyfannyyankyfan Posts: 63
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum

Any computer experts out there in collecting land? I have an HP computer and I got a "FAIL" error for the attribute "Raw Read Error Rate" when I ran the Smart Disk utility. I was also getting a Windows file missing error when I tried to Boot. The problem was intermittent so I was able to boot up Windows occassionally. I decided to repair Windows as I thought this missing Windows file might be mimicking a hardware problem. Anyway I used the Utility that came with HP and on initial reboot it gave new User Accounts. The former "Documents and Settings" Folders still exist for the old User Accounts but I can not access the files for one of the accounts because the folders were made "PRIVATE". HELP!!!! Luckily I have made a farely good habit of backing up most of the important files on another computer connected to my Wireless home network, but I can not be sure.

Comments

  • MooseDogMooseDog Posts: 1,946 ✭✭✭
    The RAW read error rate is a value that tells you how often the drive has errors when reading from the disk. Most drives will experience some errors all the time, but I would guess this message is saying that there are more errors than should be based on a certain threshold in the software. The most obvious diagnosis would be that your hard drive is starting to fail mechanically. If the drive is making more noise than usual, like a high pitched whine or grinding noises, then it is probably on its deathbed.

    Before taking it into a shop or spending money to replace it though, I would open up your computer and check a couple of things. First, make sure your cables are seated firmly on both the drive end and the controller/motherboard end. Sometimes those drive cables, if not firmly in place will cause issues like this Secondly, make sure the power connector is firmly seated in the drive. And thirdly, if you PC has been on a while feel the outside of your drive and see how hot it is. Heat is the enemy of all computer parts, and if the drive gets very hot and there is not enough air circulation around it it could very well fail.

    In as much as hard drives are so cheap these days I'd be inclined to replace it.
  • nyyankyfannyyankyfan Posts: 63

    Moosedog, my hard drive is very quiet. If I need to are they easy to replace? What is involved? What about not being able to get to folders whic were set to private for old User Accounts? THANKS!
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