Gaming A disk read error occured with craptop

[Guild McCommunist]

So, I got this old (well, not old old but relatively old) laptop from my dad when he was moving, since he no longer needed it. I don't know the exact specs but I know it's an IBM Thinkpad or something like that. I'm not too great with the deep, deep workings of a computer, FYI. Anyway, it was working fine for a month or so, although it crashed randomly now and then. One day I'm booting it up and I notice it's taking a while. It then crashes and when I try to boot it up next, it boots to "A disk read error has occured. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart". Of course, whenever I restart, it just goes to this screen again. It won't even load Windows. I can still access the BIOS though, and I've tried changing the boot order but nothing has come of it. I currently can't find a Windows XP (or other operating systems) disc around, nor can I find the right screwdriver to crack it open and see which hard drive is which. From my internet searches, it says I should change the boot priority to the Hard Drive Disc, then CD-ROM drive, then FDD. I've tried that, but still nothing. What's my best option? If I did find the Windows XP disc, could I just make it boot the XP disc and wipe it clean? I can try sending it into the local computer guy to fix it, but I figured that if I can do it myself, what's the point?

If the laptop is done for then it's done for. It was pretty old anyway.

 

[Raki]

So, I got this old (well, not old old but relatively old) laptop from my dad when he was moving, since he no longer needed it. I don't know the exact specs but I know it's an IBM Thinkpad or something like that. I'm not too great with the deep, deep workings of a computer, FYI. Anyway, it was working fine for a month or so, although it crashed randomly now and then. One day I'm booting it up and I notice it's taking a while. It then crashes and when I try to boot it up next, it boots to "A disk read error has occured. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart". Of course, whenever I restart, it just goes to this screen again. It won't even load Windows. I can still access the BIOS though, and I've tried changing the boot order but nothing has come of it. I currently can't find a Windows XP (or other operating systems) disc around, nor can I find the right screwdriver to crack it open and see which hard drive is which. From my internet searches, it says I should change the boot priority to the Hard Drive Disc, then CD-ROM drive, then FDD. I've tried that, but still nothing. What's my best option? If I did find the Windows XP disc, could I just make it boot the XP disc and wipe it clean? I can try sending it into the local computer guy to fix it, but I figured that if I can do it myself, what's the point?

If the laptop is done for then it's done for. It was pretty old anyway.

can you download a Linux Live Disc image and burn it? (or make a livependrive?)
I would do that and look if the HDD is recognized...if so it should be just some fucked up windows installation (maybe the MBR killed?)
if not maybe the HDD is dead or the IDE controller is dead, but I don't guess so

 

[Guild McCommunist]

So, I got this old (well, not old old but relatively old) laptop from my dad when he was moving, since he no longer needed it. I don't know the exact specs but I know it's an IBM Thinkpad or something like that. I'm not too great with the deep, deep workings of a computer, FYI. Anyway, it was working fine for a month or so, although it crashed randomly now and then. One day I'm booting it up and I notice it's taking a while. It then crashes and when I try to boot it up next, it boots to "A disk read error has occured. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart". Of course, whenever I restart, it just goes to this screen again. It won't even load Windows. I can still access the BIOS though, and I've tried changing the boot order but nothing has come of it. I currently can't find a Windows XP (or other operating systems) disc around, nor can I find the right screwdriver to crack it open and see which hard drive is which. From my internet searches, it says I should change the boot priority to the Hard Drive Disc, then CD-ROM drive, then FDD. I've tried that, but still nothing. What's my best option? If I did find the Windows XP disc, could I just make it boot the XP disc and wipe it clean? I can try sending it into the local computer guy to fix it, but I figured that if I can do it myself, what's the point?

If the laptop is done for then it's done for. It was pretty old anyway.

can you download a Linux Live Disc image and burn it? (or make a livependrive?)
I would do that and look if the HDD is recognized...if so it should be just some fucked up windows installation (maybe the MBR killed?)
if not maybe the HDD is dead or the IDE controller is dead, but I don't guess so

That's actually kinda funny, I'm downloading Ubuntu now. I didn't have much in the way of vital data on my laptop (mainly just some emulators, a bunch of junk from my dad's old job, and anime), so I couldn't give two shits if the data was wiped clean.

Well, I don't think it'd be the Windows installation because Windows has been working fine on that since my dad got it a few years back.

If Ubuntu doesn't work, I'll send it to the computer guy. Odds are that for $20 he'd fix it (if it's not a hardware problem, that is) and maybe even throw on Windows 7 (if possible) and some cool other gadgets.

Thanks for the help! At least I know I'm on the right track.

 

[Raki]

your dad still left data from his old job on that laptop?...hopefully no customer-related data o.0

well, nearly every windows before 7 managed to fuck up randomly over here...

I guess it's just a fucked up MBR
And those IBM Thinkpads are durable beasts...also IIRC the one you have is a T4X one, right? Those ones had some problems with flexing motherboards...but this would turn out differnt than this

 

[Guild McCommunist]

your dad still left data from his old job on that laptop?...hopefully no customer-related data o.0

well, nearly every windows before 7 managed to fuck up randomly over here...

I guess it's just a fucked up MBR
And those IBM Thinkpads are durable beasts...also IIRC the one you have is a T4X one, right? Those ones had some problems with flexing motherboards...but this would turn out differnt than this

Well, it was his old job and all the relevant data was given to whomever took over his job when he left.

Anyway, I got around to installing Ubuntu, and right now it's just a black screen with a lot of text that's coming up after the installation was apparently completed. Not quite sure if that's good or bad, since I can't make heads or tails of if this text is bad or good. Well, I'll see how it turns out in the end.

 

[Raki]

your dad still left data from his old job on that laptop?...hopefully no customer-related data o.0

well, nearly every windows before 7 managed to fuck up randomly over here...

I guess it's just a fucked up MBR
And those IBM Thinkpads are durable beasts...also IIRC the one you have is a T4X one, right? Those ones had some problems with flexing motherboards...but this would turn out differnt than this

Well, it was his old job and all the relevant data was given to whomever took over his job when he left.

Anyway, I got around to installing Ubuntu, and right now it's just a black screen with a lot of text that's coming up after the installation was apparently completed. Not quite sure if that's good or bad, since I can't make heads or tails of if this text is bad or good. Well, I'll see how it turns out in the end.

well, if it's customer related data and maybe you'll look over it...and you'll tell your friend about it because it's really funny that manager XYZ did something stupid...oh then your friend may post it into the internet...now if your dad's old company somehow finds out where it did come from your dad can be sued since he most likely did sign a NDA, that's why I would wipe that HDD first...

well what's written on that black screen?

 

[Guild McCommunist]

your dad still left data from his old job on that laptop?...hopefully no customer-related data o.0

well, nearly every windows before 7 managed to fuck up randomly over here...

I guess it's just a fucked up MBR
And those IBM Thinkpads are durable beasts...also IIRC the one you have is a T4X one, right? Those ones had some problems with flexing motherboards...but this would turn out differnt than this

Well, it was his old job and all the relevant data was given to whomever took over his job when he left.

Anyway, I got around to installing Ubuntu, and right now it's just a black screen with a lot of text that's coming up after the installation was apparently completed. Not quite sure if that's good or bad, since I can't make heads or tails of if this text is bad or good. Well, I'll see how it turns out in the end.

well, if it's customer related data and maybe you'll look over it...and you'll tell your friend about it because it's really funny that manager XYZ did something stupid...oh then your friend may post it into the internet...now if your dad's old company somehow finds out where it did come from your dad can be sued since he most likely did sign a NDA, that's why I would wipe that HDD first...

well what's written on that black screen?

I know what you mean, but the issue of his data doesn't really matter anymore. I'll get into why in a little bit.

As for the black screen, it had a bunch of stuff about errors and what not. I realized it was just repeating the same lines over and over again so I restarted it. Through further research I realized that the hard drive for my laptop failed... Bummer. Still, I have an external hard drive, so right now I'm installing Ubuntu on that and then I can just boot it up with that. Anyway, since the hard drive failed, it's no longer usable. I did delete all data off of it before hand though, just because I wanted to see if it would change anything and I've always wanted to start fresh.

Anyway, Ubuntu is installing on my external HDD and if that works (which I'm guessing it will), I'll keep you informed.

Anyway, thanks for all the help you've given so far. I'm not great at using computers (I mean I know a few ins and outs, but nothing too complex, just what I know to keep my by), and you've really help explain everything to me. So from me, a great big thanks.

 

[Raki]

Anyway, thanks for all the help you've given so far. I'm not great at using computers (I mean I know a few ins and outs, but nothing too complex, just what I know to keep my by), and you've really help explain everything to me. So from me, a great big thanks.

you're welcome

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Anyway, thanks for all the help you've given so far. I'm not great at using computers (I mean I know a few ins and outs, but nothing too complex, just what I know to keep my by), and you've really help explain everything to me. So from me, a great big thanks.

you're welcome

Okay, so it installed, and when it boots from my external hard drive it says "GRUB loading", then after a little bit it says "error: no such disc found" and shows "grub rescue>" where you put in commands. What do I need to put in?

 

[Raki]

Anyway, thanks for all the help you've given so far. I'm not great at using computers (I mean I know a few ins and outs, but nothing too complex, just what I know to keep my by), and you've really help explain everything to me. So from me, a great big thanks.

you're welcome

Okay, so it installed, and when it boots from my external hard drive it says "GRUB loading", then after a little bit it says "error: no such disc found" and shows "grub rescue>" where you put in commands. What do I need to put in?

hm that sounds similar to a error I once had with grub...is your internal disc still in the laptop?
I once wanted to boot up a eeePC from a SD card and the grub on the SD card booted the linux on the internal disc

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Anyway, thanks for all the help you've given so far. I'm not great at using computers (I mean I know a few ins and outs, but nothing too complex, just what I know to keep my by), and you've really help explain everything to me. So from me, a great big thanks.

you're welcome

Okay, so it installed, and when it boots from my external hard drive it says "GRUB loading", then after a little bit it says "error: no such disc found" and shows "grub rescue>" where you put in commands. What do I need to put in?

hm that sounds similar to a error I once had with grub...is your internal disc still in the laptop?
I once wanted to boot up a eeePC from a SD card and the grub on the SD card booted the linux on the internal disc

The internal disc is still in there but I'm pretty sure it's shot.

I sent a PM off to FAST, so maybe he can help when he has the chance. I also posted the question on the Ubuntu support forum.

Anyway, I really need to just take a break from this. I'm actually just downloading some low-key games for my DS to just take my mind off the issue.

Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[Raki]

well, what helped back then was to remove the internal disk from the boot order in the BIOS or just take it out

 

[Deleted member 35947]

Veering slightly away from linux and installing to an external drive. Is your internal drive still being detected by the system bios? If it is, it may just have physical errors and could still be usable if you do a thorough scan, where bad sectors are marked and won't be used.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

@Raki: I can't remove the internal disc. I just don't have the tools for it.

Veering slightly away from linux and installing to an external drive. Is your internal drive still being detected by the system bios? If it is, it may just have physical errors and could still be usable if you do a thorough scan, where bad sectors are marked and won't be used.

It is still detected and it says in the LiveCD version of Ubuntu that the disk has too many bad sectors and should be replaced.

 

[Raki]

@Raki: I can't remove the internal disc. I just don't have the tools for it.

Veering slightly away from linux and installing to an external drive. Is your internal drive still being detected by the system bios? If it is, it may just have physical errors and could still be usable if you do a thorough scan, where bad sectors are marked and won't be used.

It is still detected and it says in the LiveCD version of Ubuntu that the disk has too many bad sectors and should be replaced.

well then try taking out the internal HDD out of the boot order in the BIOS