problems after changing OS from XP to XP Pro

[kaotikvizion]

(this happened after my father inlaw changed his OS to XP pro from XP)

Im working on my father in laws computer. he has been having a problem with booting, kinda. when he turns on the computer it stops at the screen that shows all devices & thier status, he wants it to go straight to running the OS instead of stopping here & then he physically has to push <F2> to continue. as Im looking at this screen at the bottom it says

-Pri Master Hard Disk: S.M.A.R.T. Status Bad, Backup and Replace-

from what Ive read and understand so far as Im half way through A+ essentials Is that while the BIOS was going through POST it determined that the hard drive is going bad & recognizes that it needs to be backed up & replaced, is this a safe assumption? would it be safe to say that a new hard drive could be the answer to this?

 

[oldskool]

S.M.A.R.T. is for determining if a hard drive is possibly starting to go bad, so that would be my guess. Let's see what others have to say, though. I am not 100% positive.

 

[Lexluethar]

yup, means there is a hardware failure on the hard drive and it should be replaced. SMART is a BIOS device that can detect hard drive issues before the end user sees them. It is not 100% accurate so this is by no means an end all. What it does mean is you should backup your hard drive ASAP then run some diag utilities to see if the drive is truely going bad.

Either way I would be backing up your data ASAP and on a regular basis at this point.

 

[kaotikvizion]

if the HDD is Failing would he or would it be ok to back up files on the internet or would he have to use a hard drive. hes going to need a HDD to use this computer I know, but I dont know if he has the money to buy it right now. also, his two computer (his and his wifes) are right next to eachother

(GET READY FOR THE NOOB QUESTION OF THE DAY)

since they are right next to eachother is there any way to link the two comps & back it up on his other comp like peer-to-peer?

 

[Lexluethar]

Yup, you have to purchase a crossover cable to connect the two computers.

OR, you could just take the drive that is failing out, hook it up as slave on the other computer, boot the other computer then copy the files that are needed over using windows.

I really don't get the question of backing files up to the internet, yes you can do that but it requires money, which if you can't afford a 40 dollar hard drive you won't be able to pay for the high cost of offsite internet backup (high cost because it would be a per month basis and you don't know how long you'd need to keep the files stored).

 

[septic]

usb to usb I can't answer. But I would take it easy with the c:drive your trying to retrieve info on.

<F2> to continue

I couldn't tell from this if your actually getting all the way into XPpro. If the info you want is sensitive> irreplaceable pictures etc... I would get an external device and get it backed up promptly. Keep in mind- backing up onto your other pc can infect the other pc. If its IEDE in both the failing C and your other C you can just physically pull the C from the bad and install it in the good pc as a D drive. Just make sure your boot order is correct in BIOS. And the IEDE flat ribbon cable would have to have two plug-ins for this application. When I want to do a 3rd back-up for a couple pictures or a small file I just email it to myself and yahoo stores it for me.
I said the same thing as lexluether did I just type to slow

 

[kaotikvizion]

thanks you guys rock so Ive told him our theory & he said that screen has been up for atleast 3 years??? so could the HDD really be the culprit? he swears that since he changed it to XP PRO thats it is the bios not the HDD. oh and yes he can press F2 and load XP PRO.

 

[patonb]

If you have a router, setup a simple network, with a shared drive on the good pc and copy paste it there.

 

[Lexluethar]

You can change the option in the bios to where it won't stop for anything unless it is critical. Look for an options in there like 'halt on nothing but critical errors.'