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haymaker
06-20-2007, 09:22 PM
Hi Rob and other inteligent computer gurues,
I have farmed all my life and have fixed and repaired everything on the farm. But this past week I have entered into the electronic gizmoes of a HP Pavilion 8670C. Ripped out the Maxtor 30GB 5400rpm hard drive and replacing it with a WD1200JB 120GB 7200 rpm hard drive.
Reason- Computer wouldn't start up like it should and that was after the HP had been Adawared, updated adawared, updated virus protection and scanned, and disk Defragmenting and I don't know what else the girl did to the old HP, but I think it was to much for it to stand so it took vacation.
What it said was Explorer caused an invalid page fault in module Explorer.EXE at 0177I00401f31. Cluster 278528and another cluster are corrupted, then something about Fat Cluster 282846. and a bunch of other numbers.
I called a friend that said that the hard drive crashed. So I am hoping that by installing the new hard drive, that will help get us back up and going. Then I am hoping to transfer my girl's files of embroidery sew programs, patterns and designs and all the other stuff from the old drive to the new hard drive.
Well I should ask you computer genius guys what you think the real problem is with this Pavilion.
Also while I have this thing apart, I would like to install a couple USB ports on to the front of the tower that can be connected to the mother board that says USBHD that is 5 pins long with only 4 pins. xoxxx.
Another goal would be to hyperdyze this HP Pavilion w/win98SE so that it can fly without crashing and burning. What can be done to up the horsepower here?
Already maxxed out the ram to 384MB.
Processor is Intel PentiumIII 600EB MHz but somewhere I read that it could handle an 800EB. Is there something better out there or wont' it make much difference?
Putting in 120GbB hard drive.
Any other suggestions?
I have asked lot of questions here so I better quit for now.
Thanks for any answers or advice, Haymaker

PS. after reading all the threads, I am thinking I would like to create a super computer someday too, but can't right now, have to get HP up and running first

The Wise Monkey
06-27-2007, 07:49 AM
Hi haymaker.

Have you tried running Scan Disk on the drive? This program checks through a hard disk and determines any errors that there might be. To run this, go to Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools->ScanDisk, iirc. Select the "Thorough" search option, and click start.

This may take a while, but it may also be able to sort out the problem.

haymaker
06-27-2007, 09:10 AM
Hello Wise Monkey,
When firing up the HP, the blue screen comes up and asks how you want to start it, safe mode is one option and there are other options too but you click on any of the options, you will not get very far before the error sign comes up and says press any key to continue. I press a key and it will then go into shutdown mode.
I can't seem to wake it up long enough to get to Scan Disc :(
That is why I am putting in a new Hard Drive and then run system restore disk.
Then I will try to get file off the old drive before I try to run a recovery disk on it. Thanks for reply, Hay Maker

Sstellethyss
06-27-2007, 07:24 PM
Sounds like you already got a plan but just in case...

First idea: If you can hook up two hard drives to your current machine then get your new one up and running and hook up your broken one as a slave drive. Run windows from your new one and use its utilities to diagnose your broken one. I hope you can do this either with your own machine or at a friends house, as the second idea is more complicated.

Second idea: Since you can't even get to windows, the only other thing that comes to mind is making a bootable diagnostics disc for your machine. This isn't the most simple process.. but if you visit this URL they will give you a lengthy but good breakdown of the process and when you're done you will have a wonderful tool to help diagnose your current issues and any issues to come.

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

As far as hyperdyzing your machine, the parts shouldn't be very expensive to max out, but when it comes to stability that's up to your motherboard, mainly. I'm not sure how old it is but if you can find information on it you should still be able to get a decent idea on what parts to upgrade to.

I would have to say that from the parts you'd mentioned I'd hardly say that upgrading your current machine is worth it, but to each their own. Not too long ago I came across a computer system in Wal-Mart that was only $500 and had very good parts for such a cheap machine. From what I can remember it was an AMD 2.x GHz, 1Gb RAM, and what made me stand there for 10 minutes in disbelief was that it included a 17" flat panel monitor. I almost walked out of the store with it, but my boyfriend talked me out of it. In any case the point is that it's not very expensive anymore to get a setup that will completely blow away anything you can do with your current limitations.

Good luck getting those files back! I know how heartbreaking it can be when your hard drive suddenly decides that it's had enough. :o

haymaker
07-17-2007, 01:24 AM
Well I installed a 120 Gig Western Digital WD1200JB into old HP Pavilion 8670C. Ran the origional recovery disc and had to do some reformatting and it went along pretty smoothly. Finally something seemed to go right for a change! :)
Then I change the connection on WD drive to master with slave and hooked up Maxtor 30 Gig drive. (the origional drive). I was able to remove some of the programs off the Maxtor :) but then hit a snag where it had corrupted data in one of the files I was down loading and guess what, Lost my downloaded info and then the drive took the last step over the hill.:mad: - I decided to try running a total recovery on the Maxtor drive and it would go off and not respond to anything, just sit there and jump the arm back and forth without proceeding any where. In fact it had a a track you could see in the disc inside. (I had to see what it was doing after it was not fixing itself.):rolleyes:
I decided that while it is apart, I stuffed a new 2nd hard drive in, a Maxtor 40 gig Now I will send folders, files, programs and backup files down to that drive. Hopefully that will help protect us from another total disaster if that happens again. -
Before I buttoned up the tower, I did a check on how warm the harddrives were from prolonged running, the WD was just warm and the Maxtor was next to hot. I had read somewhere that the Ms ran hotter, now I know. Next HD will be a WD.
With the new drives in, the computer is back to running again. Really seems to run better, so... now I am thinking about maybe changing the processor being it is only an Intell Pentium III 600MHz slot 1 133MHz and either find an 800 MHz as HP recommends for maximum support or maybe go up to 1 GHz in the Intel family.
Hope to hear your thoughts on this next adventure in playing with the processors.
Thank you Wise Monkey & Sstellethyss for previous advises, Haymaker

The Wise Monkey
07-17-2007, 01:52 AM
Its a shame that you weren't able to recover your data, but I'm glad that you now have a working computer again. :)

I've always been a fan of the WD HDs - top quality brand. Good luck with your processor fun!

haymaker
07-17-2007, 02:12 AM
Hi WiseMonkey,
Thanks for such a comment about the WD HDs, to tell you the truth, if I get a chance to purchase another WD1200JB HD for a relatively cheap price, I would replace that Maxtor. Then I would have a duplicate set in C drive and D drive. And could be interchangeable.:)
As for the lost data on the origional 30 gig max, I have not given up total hope yet in retrieving the important files yet. Need to sit down and understand the workings of the harddrive and how to make it work even if it does not want to.:D
As for the processor fun, I am wondering where one could look to find out the inormation about upgrading or overgrading the HP computer;)
Thanks again, Haymaker

The Wise Monkey
07-17-2007, 02:45 AM
This may sound like a radical step, but there is one thing you could try.

Get one of those zip-lock food storage bags, but some kitchen towel in there and shove your HD in there as well, then put it in the freezer overnight. This contracts the metal in the HD, so if there is a problem with the head touching some other part, you might be able to run it long enough to get the data out.

I've used this method several times, and it is suprisingly effective. :)