Splintered Thread from___Drive Failure Imminent_"Last Option"

atanere said:
I haven't used Sea Tools for a long time, but it may help you to get that drive back. The one @Condobloke suggested may give you some options too.

I know a command line trick or two that might also knock the drive into behaving correctly.... or they could end up putting the final nail in the coffin. Let me know if you want to try anything like that.... but the other tools would be good to try first, as well as Gparted.
Click to expand...

It shouldn't be long before I can get my ASUS up and running again. I can get into Legacy BIOS, UEFI, I have a second hard drive. I'm going to wipe it again to make sure the Giant didn't leave anything behind. I'm fairly certain I can format it using (that other format option). I take care of my stuff. The last time I check the status of hardware (just about everyday) everything looked good.

Or, I'll get a (caddy?) for another drive I have and put Linux on that instead.

About the ASUS, I still can't help but wonder if the Giant did something. It's possible that something failed, but it fits a pattern. The regularity of malfunctions was steadily increasing and harder to find. My monitor was acting all kinds of crazy the day I finally had enough.

Other than problems the other than using the laptop with the failing hard drive, I haven't had a single issue when I was running Linux or in UEFI settings. It looks suspicious to me.
 


Morning, regarding #219

 
I have to go out for an hour soon, but before I do, I have some stuff to provide that you might care to try out.

I'll provide it soon, as I sip my 3rd coffee.
 
This, for maybe before or after you get your CMOS battery reset (if that is possible), your choice when you conduct the following.

There is a command

parted

that may prove useful to you.

First, you could type and enter

Code: 
sudo parted --list

That's a double dash before list.

It should display output, but it may include something like the following

Warning: Error fsyncing/closing /dev/sdb: Input/output error
Click to expand...

... which is the same as you had with Gparted before you closed it down.

Doesn't necessarily stop us, it's a Warning, even though it includes "Error".

With the following, it will require user input, and whenever you see a need to quit, and this appears, you can type in quit and get back to the prompt

Code: 
(parted) quit

I am working on a 64 GB USB flash drive, with you, you would substitute with

/dev/sdb

Code: 
chris@VirginiaCinn-WD:~$ sudo parted /dev/sdd
GNU Parted 3.4
Using /dev/sdd
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) mklabel                                                        
New disk label type? gpt                                                
Warning: The existing disk label on /dev/sdd will be destroyed and all data on
this disk will be lost. Do you want to continue?
Yes/No? Y                                                                
(parted) print free                                                      
Model: SanDisk Cruzer Glide (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdd: 64.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name  Flags
        17.4kB  64.0GB  64.0GB  Free Space

(parted) quit

Where mine has

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
17.4kB 64.0GB 64.0GB Free Space

You show me yours.

If the output is favourable, we can go on to make partitions.

Off now, back when I can.

Wiz
 
Last option just froze again. I'm going to sign into Google again to get some pictures of what I saw on the screen.

I pressed Ctrl+Alt+F3 and got a black screen with a flashing line
Then I pressed Ctrl+Alt+F8
I'll be back to show a picture of the screen...
 
Can someone tell me the hot keys to use when Linux freezes. They would be especially helpful. One time I the message that the desktop stopped responding after waiting a while. Every other time, after an eternity nothing happens. I don't know how to stop process in Linux
 
@wizardfromoz

I don't think I have any more energy to work on this tonight. I might get home late tomorrow. It might not be until Tuesday night for me before I can get back to work on this.

But then....

If I am nothing else, I am determined.

Some might say stubborn. What ever!
I'm going to get everything ready for tomorrow. Then I'll be back.
 
Sherri is a Cat said:
hot keys to use when Linux freezes
Click to expand...
REISUB + SysRq

That will reboot the pc

or

ctrl+alt+delete...or ctrl+alt+backspace

To stop process: type in system monitor in menu
 
Sherri is a Cat said:
I had trouble getting into the boot menu to load live LM.
Click to expand...
I have two Lenovo laptops... and both have a special "Novo" button (from LeNOVO). Search for your user manual online for each model to find where yours are located, if you have them too. My oldest laptop is from 2013, so Lenovo has used this button for a long time.

The Novo button is very hard to press to prevent accidental use. On one of my laptops, a fingernail can reach the button. On the other laptop, a small tool is needed to poke inside a tiny hole... a cellphone SIM card tool is perfect for this.

Sometimes my Lenovo laptops don't want to boot on a Linux USB too, and this is when you want the Novo button. With the laptop powered completely off... you press the Novo button, and it boots up to a menu where you can access the BIOS settings and the Boot Menu. The Novo button has always worked for me to reach this screen.

If the Boot Menu does not show your USB... press the power button (hold down if needed) until it powers off completely. Remove the flash drive and then plug it back in again. Then use the Novo button again and start over. You don't usually need to do this, but you should give it another chance if it fails at first.
 
atanere said:
I have two Lenovo laptops... and both have a special "Novo" button (from LeNOVO).
Click to expand...

I had to find those to change the boot order on start up and boot from the USB drive

Any ideas about the bad sector?

The other one, "failure is likely imminent ".
 
atanere said:
I have two Lenovo laptops... and both have a special "Novo" button (from LeNOVO). Search for your user manual online for each model to find where yours are located, if you have them too. My oldest laptop is from 2013, so Lenovo has used this button for a long time.

The Novo button is very hard to press to prevent accidental use. On one of my laptops, a fingernail can reach the button. On the other laptop, a small tool is needed to poke inside a tiny hole... a cellphone SIM card tool is perfect for this.

Sometimes my Lenovo laptops don't want to boot on a Linux USB too, and this is when you want the Novo button. With the laptop powered completely off... you press the Novo button, and it boots up to a menu where you can access the BIOS settings and the Boot Menu. The Novo button has always worked for me to reach this screen.

If the Boot Menu does not show your USB... press the power button (hold down if needed) until it powers off completely. Remove the flash drive and then plug it back in again. Then use the Novo button again and start over. You don't usually need to do this, but you should give it another chance if it fails at first.
Click to expand...
I think as of right now I need to get the that CMOS battery. Wizardfromoz sent a video to get at it. On of the Lenovos, the one with a bad sector it's a total mystery as to how to open it to get to it! Lenovo REALLY wants to keep people from doing anything beyond everyday use.

What are they hiding?

One of them has a magic button that's hard to but relatively easy to push. Last Option's is nearly microscopic. I had to use one of those pins to get to the SIM card on a phone, one with a longer than usual pen. Thankfully I have a bunch laying around.
 
atanere said:
With the laptop powered completely off... you press the Novo button, and it boots up to a menu where you can access the BIOS settings
Click to expand...
Pay some attention to @atanere's advice there. When you actually access the bios settings in this way....then to set them to defaults, and then turn off secure boot (and fast boot if it is present) would be the way to go.
By doing that there will be no need to take the case apart.

If that does not do it......then get the case apart, find the battery

That would solve a massive headache
 
Last edited:
It would be interesting to know what distro's support secure boot, and which one's don't.
I leave secure/fast turned on most of the time for the distro's I use.
 
Last edited:
Sherri is a Cat said:
Any ideas about the bad sector?
Click to expand...
Just that you still need not worry about that. If you ever get the drive formatted, that process should "mark" the bad sector so it is never used. Drives can have a number of bad sectors and still be usable for a long time.

I haven't read this whole thread... I can't stay focused well enough, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel for all the work Chris and Brian have been doing. But the bad sector has nothing to do with your troubles (in my opinion). The Seagate drive is grossly misreporting its capacity, and I don't think you'll get anywhere until you fix that.
 
Condobloke said:
When you actually access the bios settings in this way....then to set them to defaults, and then turn off secure boot (and fast boot if it is present) would be the way to go.
Click to expand...
Well, unfortunately the Novo button will not bypass the BIOS password. Still need to access the battery to clear the settings.

Honestly, after taking the trouble to open the case... I'd REPLACE that battery. Especially if it's the standard CR2032 coin type (cheap and available in drugstores). Even if its a custom battery, I'd probably replace it on an old computer if I wanted to keep it in service for awhile yet.
 
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