Disk Read Error accompanied by odd symbols

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mothhive

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Hey guys, I had a very strange error this morning when I turned my computer on and was hoping someone would be able to figure it out.

Basically, my PC failed to boot, and I got the "A disk read error occurred" message, but it was accompanied by various strange symbols and the message "Press Ctrl+Alt+Fel to restart". That's not a typo, it said "Fel" with an F, not "Del". Here's a photo I took of it:

ezrf.jpg


My computer is fairly old, I think about 6 years old now, but I haven't really had any problems with it. The only thing that has changed recently is that a few days ago I installed more RAM, but it was working perfectly fine on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and I was able to shut down and boot it no problem each day, and had no problems at all last night when shutting down.

I didn't really get a chance to try and solve this problem myself this morning as I had to head to work, but I'd appreciate any suggestions for me to try later. Also, any explanation of why the message I received appears so strangely would be great as when I did a quick search for anything like that on Google, I didn't find anything, which is a little worrying.

Thanks in advance!
 
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mothhive

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Unfortunately it doesn't even detect an installation to repair. :(
 
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mothhive

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It is showing up in the BIOS, and when I try and repair, I can see there is a C Drive listed when browsing for drivers, but is not accessible and doesn't show the size and freespace. My second HD with all my games appears fine though.

I tried taking out all the RAM sticks but one, and also cleared the CMOS, but that hasn't helped.

As a result of trying to recover, I'm no longer getting the disk read error, I'm instead getting a Windows Error Recovery screen, with options to Launch Startup Repair or Start Windows Normally.

Launching repair gives me System Recovery Options, but it can't identify an operating system or find a system image.

Starting Windows Normally brings up the Windows 7 Loading Screen for a few seconds and then there is a blue screen and it resets.
 
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mothhive

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After my last message, I tried swapping cables as well as using different SATA slots on the motherboard, but nothing worked, so unless anyone has any other suggestions, I think I'm just going to have to get myself a new hard drive.

If I do get a new hard drive, what would be the best way to try and access the files stored on my current one?
 
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mothhive

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Just ordered myself a new hard drive, but was wondering if it is possible that the new RAM I put in last week could have caused the old hard drive to fail. Is that even possible? The RAM was bought used, so it might not have been in the best condition.
 
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Akashdeep

Akashdeep

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No, your RAM can't do that.

Do you have updated BIOS and CMOS reset?

Whenever you upgrade your hardware, you should ensure updated BIOS and CMOS reset.
 
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mothhive

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Ah, just thought I'd double check since it seemed like too much of a coincidence this happened shortly after installing more RAM, and I didn't want to break a brand new Hard Drive because of the same problem. :)

I recently tried looking for a BIOS update, but unfortunately XFX removed all support for my motherboard (790i Ultra SLi) from their website some time ago.

I reset the CMOS last night and it didn't seem to help.
 
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mothhive

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I tried removing the 2 new sticks and there was no change. Even removed one of the original ones to leave just 1 stick (as recommended by someone earlier) but unfortunately that didn't help either.
 
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mothhive

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Have a new HDD arriving tomorrow and I'm hoping that'll sort all the problems. If it does, what's the best way to try and recover the files from my old HDD?

Also, are there any other things I can try in the meantime? My PC is pretty much my sole source of entertainment as I don't have a TV or a Console, so it's going to be pretty boring at home tonight! lol
 
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lonewolf7

lonewolf7

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You have tried everything possible, so I think the HDD is dead, atleast the signs lead me to think of that. I have never seen RAM killed HDD, its just a coincidence. Let the new HDD arrive. After that install windows on it, then we will think of data recovery from dead HDD. And don't buy any data recovery software right now. It could be just waste of money. There are tons of free data recovery software's out there.

You can try the broken HDD on another system(if you have access), else there is nothing to do right now.

Here is two good data recovery softwares : http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec free and decent.

http://download.cnet.com/Zero-Assumption-Recovery/3000-2248_4-10061981.html not free but the trial version will serve the purpose.

And don't worry your RAM wont kill the new HDD. But check the RAM you bought used with memtest86 to be sure they are not faulty.

http://www.memtest.org/
 
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mothhive

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Thanks! Actually downloaded Memtest about 2 hours ago and have created a bootable USB stick so I can check tonight. Might as well do something useful while waiting for the new HDD! :)
 
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Akashdeep

Akashdeep

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First get a New working HDD. Get data recovered from the old HDD.

When time comes for your motherboard issues, you will have to to the same for it too. :)

A bitter truth: Whatever beast kinda build today you have, will be a poor one after 5 years. :)
 
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mothhive

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USB didn't end up working, so I burned a CD with the Memtest iso and had it running while I prepared food. First pass was completely fine, but the second one came up with one error. So far no others have appeared. Is that anything to worry about?

I was going to instally new HDD after I finished eating, but should I hold off and see if any more errors occur first?
 
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F

fzabkar

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The message is coming from BIOS, not the HDD.

That has to be a RAM fault. The error is in a single bit (0x46 versus 0x44).

C:\>debug
-e 100 "Ctrl+Alt+Fel"
-e 110 "Ctrl+Alt+Del"
-d 100 11f
0100 43 74 72 6C 2B 41 6C 74-2B 46 65 6C Ctrl+Alt+Fel
0110 43 74 72 6C 2B 41 6C 74-2B 44 65 6C Ctrl+Alt+Del
-q
 
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mothhive

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After about 3 hours of Memtest, 4 errors came up. After a bit of research, it seemed like loosening the timings on my RAM and/or reducing the speed would help (apparently some motherboards have issues with all RAM slots being filled), so I loosened the timings a little and after another 3 hours had no errors, but left it on overnight just to double check. This morning it showed 3 errors after 10 hours, so I think I'm going to have to maybe reduce the speed as well and see if that helps.

Didn't install my new HDD yet as it seems like the repeated memory errors may have actually been what caused the old one to fail, so going to wait until they're cleared up. Won't be able to do this until the weekend though as I'm away for a few days but I'll update as soon as I can, and hopefully we can get back to sorting out recovering files from my old HDD, rather than messing about with RAM! :)
 
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mothhive

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I have now managed to find speeds and timings that produced no errors, and have reinstalled windows on a new HDD. I've hooked up the old one again to try and recover the data from it, but unfortunately when I try to access the drive in Windows Explorer, it comes up with the message "D:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable".

Are there any ways I can recover the data, or is it a write off?

Update: Saw someone in another thread recommending Recuva, and that seems to have found a ton of files and is in the process of recovering them. Hopefully, that'll work, but I'll keep you updated!
 
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