# Windows 8.1 not fully loading my Samsung M3 1TB Hard Drive! Please help!



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Hello everybody!


Hope all well & in a helpful mood!


I`m running Windows 8.1, on a Sony Vaio, &, trying to access my music stored on Samsung M3 1TB external hard drive. It seems to load up about 99% of the drive, (after quite a long-ish wait), then, I get a, "pc not responding", message. So near, yet so far, kind of thing, &, I`m tearing my hair out here because of it!


Any help/guidance, would be gratefully received, as all of my research, so far, has not produced anything that`s worked.



Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.2
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 8.1, 64 bit
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3227U CPU @ 1.90GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 3974 Mb
Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000, -2044 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 687088 MB, Free - 594313 MB;
Motherboard: Sony Corporation, VAIO
Antivirus: AVG AntiVirus Free Edition 2015, Updated and Enabled


Thanking you in advance!


----------



## xunman (Aug 13, 2006)

Sound like a classic case of bad sector but it could be other things too.

Lets start off with the easy things first.

- Try plugging the external drive to a different computer. Is it doing the same thing?

- Try booting windows 8.1 in safe mode to see if the external drive load correctly. If the external drive did not lock up during safe mode then a program or a malware might be the culprit

Write down the steps in case you need it. You wont have internet access in safe mode to refer back to this step to revert back to normal boot.

​easiest way: press windows key + r . Type in: msconfig then press enter

​-go to the Boot tab.

​-under Boot Options put a check on Safe boot (minimal boot) then click OK.

​-at this point you can either choose to reboot now or later.

​-Windows 8 will load with basic drivers and services when the computer restarts.

​-uncheck Safe boot to revert back to normal startup when you're finished testing.

- Try a different USB cable. Sometimes a bad USB cable can cause this. This happens to me once.

Let me know if any of those options work.

Sunman


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do! Thanks for the reply!

It does do the same thing in another pc, (with windows 7 installed), i'll try your suggestion tomorrow day, (on my ipad at moment), &, let you know what happens.

Thanks again!


----------



## xunman (Aug 13, 2006)

Just take your time. I am doing well! thanks for asking. I just noticed you're from Yorkshire. How is the weather over there?

If the drive behaves the same when plugging it in another computer, then that means the system is having a hard time reading something. Three things comes to mind; bad sectors / corrupted file, controller board going bad within the external drive, or possibly malware. Did you install any program that came with the drive? Sometimes bundled software can create problems. Try uninstalling any software that came with the drive and see what happens. If the External drive works in safe mode that means a program might be the culprit.

Here are other suggestions you may try. It is a bit advanced but I'll try to make the instruction user friendly and guide you through it.

If my last posted suggestions still points to a hard drive problem then I suggest downloading and install the SeaTools (*will not work in safe mode. Link is at bottom of this post) to check for errors on the drive and possibly get a warranty for it.

After downloading and installing the SeaTools open the SeaTools program.
-Place a check mark on your external drive.
-On the top you will see "Basic Test". Click on it.
-From the drop down menu, do the *SMART Check* first to see if there were any errors recorded by the drive.

After that, you can either do a *Short generic test* or *long generic test*. both will stop and indicate a "Failed" test status if it encountered an error such as bad sectors.

- short generic test will scan the hard drive but not as thorough as the Long test. This test is appropriate for diagnosing most problems.

- The long generic test will scan every sector of the drive and probably will take 2-4 hours since it is a Terabyte drive.

I think you should do the long generic test to check if there any error else where on the drive. If any of the test failed, Backing up data is must on the next to-do list and checking if your drive is still under warranty. If your warranty expired already then we can try and fix the bad sectors using the SeaTools or the included tools in Windows 8.1.

It seems a bit much but lets take it one step at a time. I am writing these in advanced in case you want to do other testing. Hope to hear from you soon.

SeaTools:
http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

Warranty Checker: (seagate owns the Samsung hard drives so support must go through them)
http://support.seagate.com/customer/en-GB/warranty_validation.jsp?form=0

Sunman


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Hello again! 
Thanks for all the advice, appreciated.
Yeah, Yorkshire born & bred! The weathers' okay, for December, not too cold, just okay! 
I've just started a long generic Sea Tools test, &, i've ordered a new usb cable for the drive itself, (£3 off ebay, so, can't grumble, even though i'm from Yorkshire! Ha!)
I'll do the safe mode option after this, if need be, &, report back with outcome, as wanted you to know i was taking/following, your advice.
Thanks again!
Tony


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Hello once more!
Did the Safe Mode option first, (as realised i was testing the, "wdc drive", that's installed with Windows), &, was getting the same response as in normal mode, (external loading so far, then, just getting the, "not responding", message).
I'm now doing the long generic test through the Seagate link, &, it's upto 27 errors, (& counting!), as i type! Not sure what i've done there at all!
If you hear a loud bang, sometime soon, then you'll know it's all gone horribly wrong! Ha!
Thanks again for your help so far!
37 errors now! 
Tony


----------



## xunman (Aug 13, 2006)

Great to hear back from you Tony! HAHA I wonder what error the counter is at now.. Hopefully the hard drive didn't get a meltdown from all those errors! Based from what I have been reading, everything seems to point to *Hardware problem* .

It does seems like the hard drive itself is failing but I probably know once I see the log file of the scan. When the scanning finished, upload the log here either copy and paste or upload the log using the "manage attachment" under the reply box.

You can view the log in the the SeaTools by going into "Help" then "View Log File". A window will pop up. The log is named with the same name as the hard drive ID in the SeaTools.

Incase you want to upload the log file. It is located in ... C:\program files(x86)\seagates\seatools for windows\
you should see txt files. Choose the one that matches the ID of the external drive.

So far its not looking good. If you did the SMART Check, did it report anything? (it's a quick scan). Hopefully the long scanning finished by the time you reply to this haha.

Is your drive still under warranty? If it is, note the error code. You could use that for RMA. I linked the warranty check in the second post in case you need to check it.

If the drive is no longer under warranty... there is something you can try. You could try taking the drive out of the external casing and connect it directly to a PC if possible. This will rule out if it's a bad "usb - SATA bridge " or not . The USB board that bridges the connection to the SATA hard drive might be going bad but the hard drive itself might still be good. This has happened to me in the past. I thought my external was dead but after removing the drive from its enclosure and hooking it up to my PC everything works fine. That gave me time to back up the data before it really went bad haha. Keep me updated .


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do fella! Hope all well.

Firstly, AARRGGHH!

Sorry about that, just needed a bit of primal screaming out of my system! 

The long generic test got upto about 2,500 errors, &, took 7 hours plus to do so, &, rightly or wrongly, i stopped the test, as t'was becoming very annoying! In addition, i did a short test, &, it failed.

One thing that did happen, though, was, a message came on screen, (seperately to the SeaGate test), saying, "E:\ is not accessible. Data error (cyclic redundancy check)".

I did a bit of research, &, somebody had done a chkdsk & a chkdsk fix & managed to sort their issue out. I haven't done that, as yet, because i wanted your opinion first, (you seem to know what you're talking about!) 

Thinking about it, it might be best to do the uncasing of the hard drive route, &, see what happens? 

I'll go with whatever you recommend.

On a totally seperate note, it was quite frosty earlier, (here ends the West Yorkshire weather report!)

Thanks again for all your support so far. It's very much appreciated! 

Take care!

Tony.


----------



## xunman (Aug 13, 2006)

Greetings Tony! I am doing well. Just brewing some coffee haha.

I would actually stop that scan if it was going 4+ hours with that many errors too! So there was nothing wrong with stopping the scan. With that many errors looks like the bad sectors have been spreading.

I was about to mention chkdsk /f (fixes bad sectors) after the result. With more than 2000+ errors it might take a while to fix and there's a high chance you will loose some data but at least you still *might* regain access to backup some files. SeaTools have the *"fix all"* under basic test (short and long) which also tries to fix bad sectors.

You probably seen this in your research but i'll mention it any way. When you fix bad sectors it doesn't always "fix" the bad sectors. The program just mark the sectors as Bad and unreliable so that next time data will not be written on that same spot. These bad sectors are actual physical damage in the disc of the hard drive. So even if the program manage to fix it, the drive can still be unreliable and pretty soon will turn in to a fancy paper weight! Some will turn out to be OK but a drive like yours is a sign that it's good time to replace it.

At this point, If you're not thinking about sending the drive through warranty to exchange for a new one, you could remove the hard disk out of the casing and hook it directly to a PC (Opening up the case will void the warranty) internally and see if the computer can at least regain access to the drive without freezing and rule out if the USB-SATA bridge is causing any problems. . Just make sure you have extra SATA cables (one for power and one for data) and a slot to connect the hard drive internally.

Next I would think about the files that is being stored on the hard drive. If there are a lot of important files then you might want to do a back up (disc clone imaging + a recovery program ).

If there isn't much then you can try the chkdsk /f or the fixall in seatools. Then back up as many files as you can. Hopefully the program does not become unresponsive during the fix.

If you are thinking about sending it through warranty then do the fix without taking the drive out of the casing.

Lots of options to pick from. It just depends if you decide send it to be serviced or not.

By the way, Christmas is around the corner. Probably a new external drive will look nice on your wish list .

A nice cup of hot tea is perfect on a frosty day. Stay warm Tony!


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do again! Hope all still well? 

Not tried anything, "new", today, but, wanted to reply to your last post. 

As far as the warranty is concerned, it's over a year old, so, not sure it would still be valid, also, i tried checking via the warranty-checker-type-thing, &, it didn't seem to recognise the codes. I'm not too bothered about the actual drive itself, more the files that are on there, mainly the music, (i have about 320gb of tunes on there, mostly cd's i've copied to itunes, then, sold on ebay, over the years), but, coming round to the idea, they're most likely gone forever!

I will try these last few things, though, &, keep mithering you with the outcome(s)!

As always, thanks for all your help, to press, &, also, your patience with me.

Until the next instalment of, "aarrgghhness", take care!

Cheers!

Tony


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

There is a slight chance and it is ONLY slight - but definitely worth a try that you may get your data using PUPPY
Run it on the windows 7 not the 8.1 - as you will likely NOT get a boot from Puppy on 8.1
Here is how to use Puppy
Make yourself the CD
DO not install it simply boot from it and it runs in ram

If it works access the external and copy to a flash pen
Take the flash out and download the flash to your 8.1, then go back and recover that way again from the 7 - Puppy boot

The reason IT MAY work is that Puppy does not require the same degree of file correctness for want of a better word, as Windows - the reason it is not certain is the vast number of errors shown on the Seagate check

However as I said still worth a try

Here is Puppy for you and how to use
http://forums.techguy.org/8478763-post6.html


----------



## xunman (Aug 13, 2006)

Using puppy looks like a good idea. I suggest you try puppy first before doing the chkdsk. The chkdsk command will make changes to the drive as it corrects the bad sectors. This may affect your chance of recovering the files. Chkdsk also have the ability to recover files from bad sectors but its a 50/50 chance. Some files will probably end up as junk. 

keep us updated


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do people! 

Welcome to the thread Macboatmaster, &, thanks for the additional advice. Also appreciated!

I've tried the Puppy route now, &, it didn't recognise the Samsung at all, yet, in, "normal mode", the 7 did, (just wouldn't let me access the drive), very strange! 

I'm guessing it's the chkdsk mode now, with a little bit of, "fix", thrown in, oh hum!

I'll keep posting the decline of my Samsung, but, in the meantime, keep an eye of your window(s), as it may just come flying passed!

Cheers fellas! 

You are both diamond geezers/salt of the earth types, &, i salute you!

Cheers!

Tony.

P.s. It's a tad cold out there, today, in West Yorkshire, (or, at least the part i live in!)

;-)


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Only me!

Quick update : Managed to get to the properties of the Samsung, in 8.1, &, it tells me, no space used & no free space! Also, when running chkdsk, still in 8.1, it tells me it was unable to determine volume version & state, &, chkdsk aborted! Not sounding good, as far as i know!

Has it gone to the missing data in the ether/sky?!? RIP if so ...

Yours,

Tony.


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

and you have tried in Puppy
USB Flash Drives usually automatically mount upon boot, but click the "usbdrv" tab and make sure it is mounted.
If using an external hard drive for the data recovery, do this under the "drive" tab. Mount it now.

albeit of course you are NOT using it for data recovery

and have you checked - all drives shown
At the bottom left of your desktop a list of all hard drives/partitions, USB Drives, and Optical Drives are listed with a familiar looking hard drive icon.
Open your old hard drive i.e. _*sda1*_
*Next, open your USB Flash Drive or External Drive. i.e. sdc or sdb1*

*does it NOT even see the drive?*


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

If it is a definite NO go in Puppy I suggest you try Test Disk
Do this on the 7 computer with the external co0nnected not on the 8.
Start by installing Test Disk
FREE and the download is here
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download

If you wish to try yourself the guide is there
and you after searching the listed drive and the check for the partitions are concerned of course with
*list files*

ENSURE you do not click or type the wrong letter it is not that difficult to DELETE and then it will be gone

Another guide is here if you find it easier
http://www.sevenforums.com/software/190430-regain-lost-drive-using-test-disk-illustrated-guide.html

ON that one follow to item 10 - seventh image and then P for list files

Each can then be selected and copied to your internal

Here is another guide and although this was an internal the principle is the same - This was one of my topics - I was helping on 
http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/1110686-external-hard-drive-enclosure-problem.html

Most of the instructions are at the start of that very LONG topic and post 19 deals with the actual copy procedure - when you have the files listed, if you get that far - type (press) C for copy as you can see from the post


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do!


Nope, it doesn`t recognise the Samsung at all. I`ve tried again today, &, same again, which is suggesting to me all data`s been wiped. 


Unless there`s another way of recovering data from it, i`m guessing it`s died a death on me ?!?


If you can suggest another way, i`ll try it, but, if not, thanks for the suggestions/information, thus far, &, take good care!


Cheers!


Tony


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Just seen your other reply after posting mine! 


I`ll try that, also!


Cheers!


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do! 

Just tried the above, &, getting the message, "Can't open filesystem. Filesystem seems damaged".

It got as far as the green bar pic/instruction, in the link, then when i pressed, "P", i got the message above.

Any more suggestions, (he typed, clutching at straws!), ???

Regards,

Tony


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Does it find the disk
if so select it and click proceed - press enter
All hard drives should be detected and listed with the correct size by TestDisk: 
 

 Use up/down arrow keys to select your hard drive with the lost partition/s.
 Press Enter to Proceed.

Then 
TestDisk displays the partition table types. 
 

 Select the partition table type - usually the default value is the correct one as TestDisk auto-detects the partition table type.
 Press Enter to Proceed.
Then analyse
TestDisk displays the menus (also see TestDisk Menu Items). 
 

 Use the default menu "Analyse" to check your current partition structure and search for lost partitions.
 Confirm at Analyse with Enter to proceed.
Then
Quick Search#
Now, your current partition structure is listed. Examine your current partition structure for missing partitions and errors. 


AND what is the displayed = please send screenshot






OR work from this
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step


it is all on there NOTE carefully please the small thumbnail which is clickable to show you the appropriate screen
eg
(click on thumb to display the image).


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do!

Sorry no reply for a few days, been a busy weekend. I'll get on with it this week, &, report back with my findings.

Ta!

Tony


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Will wait to hear from you


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do!

If i've dine this right, there should be a pic attached!

Here's hoping!

Tony


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

*done, rather!


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

I cannot read all of the image
Do not bother too much about the report that disk size seems small

Using the link - in my post 20 -step by step
Go to this section
*Save the partition table or search for more partitions?*

*and *make deeper search

ON the NEXT image below that and on your screenshot you will see the letter or symbol identifying what test disk has decided the partition is
* bootable
P Primary
L Logical
E Extended
D Deleted

On any partition that has the P List files option you should try it

ALSO note where the start and end blocks of the partition are - on those images the start is shown as 1275 - but after deeper search you will note that it finds the missing partition.

I am not sure if your last post


> *done, rather!


just refers to the image or some OTHER - DONE


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

My last post was just correcting my spelling, from the post before that, sorry for the confusion!
I'll have another look-see, tomorrow.
Thanks for your patience/help! 
Appreciated!
Tony


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Seen it now sorry for being slow on the DONE DINE take up


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do!

Hope all well!

It goes from bad to worse here, let me tell you! I've now got manflu, yuck, but, soldiering on, nonetheless!

Attached, SHOULD be some pics, if not, i'll upload 'em one by one, (there's only two), after viewing back this reply.

I believe i'm doing this right, (at the moment, Analyse Cylinder is at 4/121599 : 00%). Hope so anyway!

Thanks, yet again, for all your advice. Appreciated!

Cheers!

Tony


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Numero Two! ;-)


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

I am sorry but it is really difficult to try and see what is shown on the attached images
When it completes the deeper search you progress to selecting a partition it has found and then see if list files is an option
You also check as I said what it is recording the partition as - 
It is not really a procedure that I can guide you through step by step as every screen shown determines the next step

If you can follow the guide
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step

and all of the sub links on that - I think that is the viable option

Of course there is no guarantee that even this will find the data


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Apologies for the quality of those pics, i'm unsure as to how you do a screenshot.

Thanks for all your replies, thus far, as i know i'm hard to work with! Ha! 

I'll keep you updated.


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

No it is not that you are hard to work with whatsoever
It is just that as I said - this is not really the sort of job that can be assisted with screen by screen
Screenshot is
Press Prt Scrn key on keyboard
Open Paint
Click Paste
the image appears
If necessary select and drag mouse around part you wish to post
click copy
click File and new then paste again
click file and save as
change file type to jpeg
on reply click go advanced on this site and then manage attachments


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Ow do!

Hope all well with you & yours! 

Sorry once again for late reply, another busy weekend just gone, (anyone would think Christmas is around the corner!)

That last check, (through the Check Disk program), was taking THAT long, i stopped it, i can't justify the laptop being on so long, &, i was fretting about the 'leccy bill! So, after conversations with our lass, &, a good friend, i've decided to take it to a local shop, &, see what they say. I've pretty much given up hope of getting my stuff back, but, i'll try the shoption, (see what i did there?!? Clever me, y'know! Ha!), &, let you know what happens with that. If all else fails, &, in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, i'll be, "Bach", (told you i was clever!)

All that leaves me to say, is ...

... THANK YOU TO 
ALL who've helped on this thread, &, HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS, &, A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR !!

Yours,

Tony

;-)


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Ok
Best of luck with it, I did not know you were running chkdsk I thought you were running deeper search on test disk


However - I think the electricity bill was a rather minor concern, it does not use more electricity by running that deeper search than it does by browsing etc


Whatever good luck with it and thanks for the seasonal wishes


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Test Disk! That's what i meant! Sorry!


----------



## iloveewe (Dec 1, 2014)

Hello again!

Hope all well. Just got off the phone to the shop i took the hard drive to, &, even with Bios testing, they couldn't retrieve the data. It sounds like the hard drive's gone faulty, itself, so they reckon, &, only option left would be to send it to a special laboratory, which would cost £££'s! So, when i pick it up on Monday, i have a new paperweight! I'd kind of resigned myself to the fact it'd died a death, so, i'm not too upset, (it's just the wind's in my eyes! Ha!)

Thanks again for ALL everybody has done, &, enjoy the holidays!

CHEERS!

Tony


----------



## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Thanks for posting the result - but not of course one you wanted to hear


----------

