1. #1

    Help: Power went out while defragging!

    Hello MMO-Champion Community =]

    Alright, so about a year ago I was defragging my hard drive. The power went out. I tried to reboot my computer, but after leaving it on for a while it didn't really do anything. So I booted from my Windows 7 disk, wiped the hard drive, and ran a clean install.


    I thought that this would fix the problem, but the power outage must have caused some hardware damage. My computer now sits at the BIOS screen when first turned on for about 5 mins. At the BIOS screen it shows the processor right away, and then freezes taking several minutes to display the RAM. After finally displaying the RAM it boots up normally. The whole boot up process went from about ~1 minute to ~5 minutes after the outage.


    When I am logged in the computer runs some applications fine, and others are very slow to respond. Disk Defragmenter takes about 15 minutes to load, iTunes is really slow too. I can't run a anti-virus like Norton without the computer becoming unusably slow and unresponsive. I am careful where I go on the interwebs though, and run Malwarebytes daily. I can run WoW just fine, and Starcraft II runs well considering my system specifications.


    The computer randomly ran like new or before the outage for about a week, but then went back to it's slow sluggish ways. I also tried booting with 1 stick of RAM at a time to try and find a dead stick (I have 4x 1GB). I thought I had found one so I removed it. It ran fine for about a week with 3GB of RAM, but then went back to being sluggish.


    I have upgraded the PSU, graphics card, and added 2GB of RAM since I bought the system. These upgrades were all pre-outage. So I know a bit about computer stuff, or at least I think lol. I am trying to figure out how I can get the system to run as well as it did originally. I have considered replacing all the RAM, motherboard, and hard drive. I don't really have the funds to upgrade to a new system right now. If any computer gurus out there could help me out it would be much appreciated. =]

    (P.S. sorry for the long post, but I tried to include as much info as possible)

  2. #2
    The Patient Unrully's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Northern California
    Posts
    247
    I'd try a spare harddrive and see if your having the same problems. If so, new drives really aren't too expensive. Can pick a decent sized 7200RPM drive up for 20-40 bucks on newegg.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Synthaxx View Post
    Sounds like it might have overvolted or undervolted your RAM, and damaged it. It's possible the motherboard has got a fault now as well, and if it has, it's unlikely the HDD has an issue. Try running a RAM diagnostic tool. If it says it's ok, it's probably the motherboard. If it's not, then it's the RAM. RAM is incredibly sensitive to even slight fluctuations in it's "environment", so it's the most likely source, especially with the symptoms you describe.
    Alright, I will try running a memory diagnostic and see what I get. Thanks!

  4. #4
    Deleted
    memtest 86+ is the best memmory testing tool, just dl the iso and burn it on a disk and just boot from the dvd drive. You should let it loop for atleast 12h and 0 errors is the only acceptable outcome otherwise something is fucked up.

    Have you tried testing all sticks after the change of PSU? Bad/broken PSUs can cause a ripple wich crashes components much like henry built his fords.

    If the MB is bad it can show any symptom from all the components combined. If you got a friend with the same socket try testing his MB or if you got a friend with the same ram type DDR/DDR2/DDR3 try testing your rams in his computer doing a memtest.

  5. #5
    The Lightbringer Christan's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    ATX
    Posts
    3,143
    ofc to see if it is the HDD try running the hard drive on another computer? plus what synthaxx said.
    Still I cry, tears like pouring rain, Innocent is my lurid pain.

  6. #6
    Scour the internet for "Hiren's Boot CD" and download, then burn to a CD or copy to a USB Drive.

    Restart your computer, and run the memory diagnostic tool it comes with. It should take about 1hr per GB of memory, but if it passes, then rest assured your memory is working fine and is powered correctly. It also tests the North/Southbridge, and processor, just to make sure the pathways too and from the memory are also working.

    Next, if the above test works, run "HDD Regenerator" also found on the boot CD. This will run a sector by sector, bit by bit hard drive scan. It will copy what it finds in each sector to memory, randomly fill in that sector with 1's and 0's a few times, making sure the sector is fit for "active duty" and then replace with the original information. This keeps your data intact, while running the deepest low level format of your drive that you can.

    Make sure you run memory test first, since, if your memory is corrupted in some way, and the HDD Regen tool copies the information in a sector to the bad area of memory, it will corrupt and you'll loose information on your drive.

    Also, make sure you boot from it, not the windows version
    Quote Originally Posted by flargimmer
    Enjoy those socially awkward moments when a chick asks you what you do for a living.
    Regarding Ensidia clearing all Ulduar content in less than 48 hours of release.

  7. #7
    I sugest getting a battery backup
    ~Locking this thread because of too much stupidity.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Ryttge View Post
    memtest 86+ is the best memmory testing tool, just dl the iso and burn it on a disk and just boot from the dvd drive. You should let it loop for atleast 12h and 0 errors is the only acceptable outcome otherwise something is fucked up.

    Have you tried testing all sticks after the change of PSU? Bad/broken PSUs can cause a ripple wich crashes components much like henry built his fords.

    If the MB is bad it can show any symptom from all the components combined. If you got a friend with the same socket try testing his MB or if you got a friend with the same ram type DDR/DDR2/DDR3 try testing your rams in his computer doing a memtest.
    Alright, I'm going to try memtest 86 tonight. Thanks for all your suggestions so far. I ran windows memory diagnostic it came up with 0 errors, but I doubt it's very good. I'll let you guys know the results of the memory test tomorrow

    ---------- Post added 2010-12-28 at 08:17 AM ----------

    Memtest 86 resulted in no errors. So I think it may be the hard drive? I'll try finding a friend that can help me test it.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Corruptpanda View Post
    Alright, I'm going to try memtest 86 tonight. Thanks for all your suggestions so far. I ran windows memory diagnostic it came up with 0 errors, but I doubt it's very good. I'll let you guys know the results of the memory test tomorrow

    ---------- Post added 2010-12-28 at 08:17 AM ----------

    Memtest 86 resulted in no errors. So I think it may be the hard drive? I'll try finding a friend that can help me test it.
    When you state that it takes the system a long time to go through the memory and then it boots tells me is not the hard drive but probably your main board if the memory came back fine. I would unplug the hard drive from the system and boot the system if it still takes a long time to boot It sounds like it is the motheboard. Try setting the motherboard to default settings and see if that works better. If you still think its the hard drive do some hard drive tests. The Hiren's boot cd has some hard drive diagnostics on there that should work.

  10. #10
    It's extremely unlikely that it's the hard drive that it's the problem. Checking the RAM during boot up is a function for the POST process, which has nothing to do with the hard drive and everything to do with the motherboard and BIOS.

    Try resetting the BIOS first. Your motherboard is probably fried if that doesn't work, and potentially your CPU or graphics cards. Test each individually if you can.
    I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Anaema View Post
    It's extremely unlikely that it's the hard drive that it's the problem. Checking the RAM during boot up is a function for the POST process, which has nothing to do with the hard drive and everything to do with the motherboard and BIOS.

    Try resetting the BIOS first. Your motherboard is probably fried if that doesn't work, and potentially your CPU or graphics cards. Test each individually if you can.
    I took the battery out to reset the BIOS and nothing has changed. So I'm probably going to look for a new motherboard

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Corruptpanda View Post
    I took the battery out to reset the BIOS and nothing has changed. So I'm probably going to look for a new motherboard
    Before you do, remove and reseat all components and cables one by one, ensuring they go back in the right place. Also check for any damage to said cables.

    I've had systems go wonky because of cables being strange, though this was back in the days of UDMA66 and 100 IDE devices.
    5800X | XFX 7900XTX | Prime X570 Pro | 32GB | 990Pro + SN850 2TB | Define 7

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •