Dell: Hard Drive Funnel Seek Test
Hard Drive Funnel Seek Test
by degowan - 3/25/09 7:57 AMI have a Dell Dimension 8400. Recently I have had a number of instances of BSOD. So, I ran the Dell PC Checkup and have these messages for the Funnel Seek Test and Random Seek Test: "UNABLE_TO_GET_DRIVE_GEOMETRY" However, the SMART test passed. Do I need a new HD?
Thanks
Re: Hard Drive Funnel Seek Test
by williamkidd - 3/26/09 12:48 AM In reply to: Hard Drive Funnel Seek Test by degowandegowan,
It doesn't sound promising for that hard drive. Try running chkdsk to see if it shows errors on the drive.
To run chkdsk:
1) Click Start > Run.
2) Type cmd in the Run box and press Enter (this will open a DOS window).
3) Type chkdsk at the prompt and press Enter.
Chkdsk will scan your hard drive and report back any errors that it finds. In this case, it won't repair those errors yet. To do that we would use what is called a switch with the chkdsk command, such as chkdsk /f or chkdsk /r. I like to run it through once first to see what it comes up with before letting it change things.
If chkdsk is able to complete (all 3 stages) then it should give you a summary that you can post here.
To post the chkdsk information:
1) Right-click the DOS window and choose Select All (the window should turn white).
2) Press Ctrl-C on the keyboard to copy the window information to the clipboard.
3) Now you can create a reply here and post the chkdsk information by pasting it (either by Ctrl-V or right-click/Paste).
You can edit the information in your post, such as your name if it appears in the chkdsk info, after you have pasted it into your reply. If you have any questions, let us know. Hopefully the computer will allow you to do this w/o blue screening. 
Almost forgot
by williamkidd - 3/26/09 1:10 AM In reply to: Re: Hard Drive Funnel Seek Test by williamkiddAlmost forgot...once you are finished with the DOS window, type exit and press enter.
Hard Drive Funnel Seek Test
by degowan - 3/26/09 7:22 AM In reply to: Almost forgot by williamkiddThanks for your help. Here is the result of chkdsk:
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\name>chkdsk
The type of the file system is NTFS.
WARNING! F parameter not specified.
Running CHKDSK in read-only mode.
CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
File verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
Deleting index entry filter_raw.log.1 in index $I30 of file 71593.
Deleting index entry FILTER~1.1 in index $I30 of file 71593.
Index verification completed.
Errors found. CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode.
C:\Documents and Settings\
Chkdsk results
by williamkidd - 3/26/09 8:30 AM In reply to: Hard Drive Funnel Seek Test by degowanA couple of questions for you:
1) Are you by chance using a program called Mozy remote backup?
2) Do you have a way of backing up your data to external media (e.g. external hard drive, USB flash drives, etc.)? By data I mean your documents, pictures, spreadsheets, music or anything else like that.
Chkdsk Results
by degowan - 3/26/09 11:25 AM In reply to: Chkdsk results by williamkiddYes, I use Mozy as well as USB drives to backup files in my system (do not have a mirror backup of the drive however, so I would have to reinstall all my programs, ugh).
The next step
by williamkidd - 3/26/09 1:15 PM In reply to: Chkdsk Results by degowanYou may be wondering why I asked about Mozy. The reason is that I did a search for filter_raw.log.1 and every result was from a Mozy user. When you get a chance you may want to Google Mozy and hard drive corruption.
The next step is to rerun chkdsk but this time you will have it repair any errors that are found on the drive. Do this only if you are confident that you have everything backed up because some things might not survive the repairs. Be sure to close all open applications before you proceed. What you want to do is follow the steps in my previous post but this time add the /r switch to the chkdsk command, so it will be chkdsk /r (with a space before the /r). Everything else remains the same but this time chkdsk should make 4 passes if all goes well. Once it's done post the results as before. If you're interested in some light reading, the information on chkdsk can be found here (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314835/EN-US/).
An alternative to Mozy Backup
by FrankQC - 3/31/09 7:42 PM In reply to: Chkdsk Results by degowanTry using xcopy. Program a small script and it will do it for you. According to the Mozy website you have to pay $5?
Cont'd on Hard Drive Test
by snowman00767 - 4/8/09 6:24 PM In reply to: An alternative to Mozy Backup by FrankQCHey guys, I too suspect I have hard drive issues. I have a Dell Inspiron 700m. It periodically makes a ticking noise when loading (not always).
Williamkid- I followed your instructions; it did pick up some errors. Could you tell me what they mean (and whether or not they are serious) and if I need to backup everything and repair these errors?
Thanks a lot for your assistance.
Forgot to add my chkdsk report
by snowman00767 - 4/8/09 6:26 PM In reply to: Cont'd on Hard Drive Test by snowman00767Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\Snowman>chkdsk
The type of the file system is NTFS.
WARNING! F parameter not specified.
Running CHKDSK in read-only mode.
CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
File verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
Deleting index entry courseFS[1].htm in index $I30 of file 90863.
Deleting index entry COURSE~1.HTM in index $I30 of file 90863.
Deleting index entry PopItLibrary2[1].js in index $I30 of file 90863.
Deleting index entry POPITL~1.JS in index $I30 of file 90863.
Deleting index entry blank[1].htm in index $I30 of file 90954.
Deleting index entry BLANK_~1.HTM in index $I30 of file 90954.
Deleting index entry blank[1].htm in index $I30 of file 91016.
Deleting index entry BLANK_~1.HTM in index $I30 of file 91016.
Deleting index entry detectJava[1].htm in index $I30 of file 91016.
Deleting index entry DETECT~1.HTM in index $I30 of file 91016.
Deleting index entry om_menu_tee[1].gif in index $I30 of file 91016.
Deleting index entry OM_MEN~1.GIF in index $I30 of file 91016.
Index verification completed.
Errors found. CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode.
Re: Chkdsk Report
by williamkidd - 4/10/09 12:05 AM In reply to: Forgot to add my chkdsk report by snowman00767Snowman,
The ticking noise is not a good sign if it is in fact the hard drive. When hard drives start clicking it usually means that they are failing. This page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive) talks about hard drive failures, in the Integrity section.
It's always a good idea to keep a backup of your data but before you do that I think it would be a good idea to run an online anti-virus scan as well as an anti-malware scan. Some of those files listed in your chkdsk report are a little worrisome but may turn out to be nothing. However it doesn't hurt to make sure that there aren't any possible issues on your system before you back up.
Try running the Panda ActiveScan by clicking the Scan your PC now button on http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/activescan/. I think that it only works with Internet Explorer and you will have to allow it to install an ActiveX control when you try to run it. ActiveScan does seem to pick up things that some of the others miss or at least that has been my observation so far. After you have run the scan, post the ActiveScan report in your next reply.
"It periodically makes a ticking noise when loading (not always)."
Do you mean that it happens when the computer is booting up? Does it happen at any other time? Usually with a failing drive it will progressively get worse before it dies but not always.
ActiveScan Report
by snowman00767 - 4/10/09 7:50 PM In reply to: Re: Chkdsk Report by williamkiddHi Williamkidd-
I appreciate your prompt reply and assistance. I backed up my data and I re-ran 'chkdsk' but this time repaired any errors found on the drive. It successfully completed all phases (5 in total) and said in the end it said that disk check was "complete;" I didn't receive any messages about errors or if anything was repaired...
Also, I have McAfee SecurityCenter (it's an internet suite) and I also frequently scan my computer with Spyware Doctor, Spyware Terminator and Registry Mechanic.
I have run the ActiveScan 2 you mentioned. These were my results:
;***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ANALYSIS: 2009-04-10 22:03:36
PROTECTIONS: 2
MALWARE: 12
SUSPECTS: 1
;***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
PROTECTIONS
Description Version Active Updated
;===================================================================================================================================================================================
McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007 9.3 No Yes
McAfee VirusScan Plus 13.3 No No
;===================================================================================================================================================================================
MALWARE
Id Description Type Active Severity Disinfectable Disinfected Location
;===================================================================================================================================================================================
00139059 Cookie/Traffic Marketplace TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@trafficmp[2].txt
00139061 Cookie/Doubleclick TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@doubleclick[1].txt
00139064 Cookie/Atlas DMT TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@atdmt[2].txt
00145457 Cookie/FastClick TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@fastclick[1].txt
00145731 Cookie/Tribalfusion TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@tribalfusion[1].txt
00167642 Cookie/Com.com TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@com[2].txt
00168056 Cookie/YieldManager TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@ad.yieldmanager[2].txt
00169190 Cookie/Advertising TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@advertising[1].txt
00184846 Cookie/Adrevolver TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@adrevolver[2].txt
00262020 Cookie/Atwola TrackingCookie No 0 Yes No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Cookies\homan@atwola[2].txt
00502546 Application/MyWay HackTools No 0 Yes No C:\Program Files\True Sword 4\backuped\0\deSrcAs.dll
00551707 Application/ViewPoint HackTools No 0 Yes No C:\Program Files\Common Files\Viewpoint\Toolbar Runtime\3.8.0\ViewBar.dll
;===================================================================================================================================================================================
SUSPECTS
Sent Location
;===================================================================================================================================================================================
No C:\Documents and Settings\Homan\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\GIWFLBRB\style[2].css
;===================================================================================================================================================================================
VULNERABILITIES
Id Severity Description
;===================================================================================================================================================================================
;===================================================================================================================================================================================
Re: ActiveScan Report
by williamkidd - 4/16/09 10:28 PM In reply to: ActiveScan Report by snowman00767Snowman,
Sorry about the delay. I had to troubleshoot a couple of issues on my system, including the strange case of a memory stick falling apart, that were causing frequent crashes.
Your ActiveScan log looks pretty good but there are a few items that probably should be addressed. You'll notice that most of the items listed under Malware are tracking cookies which are relatively harmless and often used by shopping sites among others. A program that does a good job of removing those is SuperAntiSpyware (SAS) Free Edition (http://www.superantispyware.com/). SAS also has a paid version that has real-time blocking and scheduled scanning but I've found the free version to be sufficient. I took a look at the CNET reviews for the programs that you mentioned that you are using and I think SAS might be a better alternative to a couple of them. I don't use or recommend registry editing programs, like Registry Mechanic, because of some of the strange things that can happen.
Also under the Malware section in your log, you will notice Application/MyWay and Application/ViewPoint. The MyWay application is apparently a Search Assistant that comes installed on many Dells but is not a required program. The ViewPoint program is most likely related to the ViewPoint Toolbar and is not required. The file listed under the Suspects section could be malware or it might be just a harmless Cascading Style Sheet. I have quite a few CSS type files on my system and ActiveScan did not report any of them as Suspects so it would be a good idea to have that one looked at closer and probably removed.
My suggestion for you would be to post a HijackThis log in the Dell Malware Removal forum (http://en.community.dell.com/forums/3521.aspx?tid=4a0d012d-f4a3-41a5-a409-ce012fa092f5) after reading the post Please Read This Before Posting For Malware Removal Help listed at the top of that forum. DO NOT post your ActiveScan log when you post your HijackThis log but do mention in your post that you have run ActiveScan and that it found those three programs/files that I mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Back to your original issue, are you still hearing the noise since running the fix version of chkdsk? If running chkdsk again finds no errors then it may be something else making the noise.
If you have any questions, let me know.
700m ticking
by Dell-Bill_B
- 4/10/09 2:46 PM
In reply to: Cont'd on Hard Drive Test by snowman00767
If you are sure the ticking is coming from the HDD, it's likely failing and needs to be replaced. Try removing the HDD and power on. If the ticking is gone, you know where it was coming from, if you don't already. You might also try running Dell HDD diags. You can get there by hitting F12 a few times at power up, then choosing Dell Diagnostics from the boot menu.
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