- A failing drive may give blue screen errors or intermittent boot problems. Test the drive with a Windows installation CD by booting from the CD and running the Check Disk utility. Access the utility by selecting the Recovery Console from the boot options list, then type "chkdsk /r" at the command prompt and hit "Enter." Look for errors or read failures which will indicate a failing drive. You can also test the drive using a free bootable tool, such as the Ultimate Boot CD (see Resources).
- Install the drive in an external adapter, or install the drive as a slave in a working computer. Use the computer to scan the drive with the Check Disk utility or a free tool from the hard drive manufacturer's site. You can also use a software utility, such as HDDScan from HDDGuru.com. Read the instructions carefully for each tool, and know what signs to look for in the output file or report from the scan.
- Drives formatted with the Apple file systems can be checked externally with the same tools run from a working Windows installation. Check Mac drives still installed by holding down the "C" key to boot from the Apple CD, then selecting "Installer" at the top of the screen. Choose "Disk Utility" from the Installer menu and then select the "First Aid" tab to access the Disk Utility.
- Drive problems will usually become evident during a Format. Formatting a disk erases all data from the drive, so be sure to back up all valuable data first. Boot from a Windows installation CD and choose "Set up Windows" from the options list. On the following screen use the arrow keys to select the drive's partition or partitions, then delete each. Choose" Install Windows in the Unpartitioned Space" to allow Windows to format the hard drive. If Windows fails to install, the drive has problems and should be discarded.
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