Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
90 Posts
0
20931
Hard Crash is Imminent ! HELP
I have been having trouble lately with my two year old Aurora-R4 such as many screen freezes. I ran Alien Autopsy and my C drive will not pass the test I get the message Drive Crash is Imminent. It looks like I'm going to have to install a new drive and re-install Windows 7 64 bit that came with the computer. I have the Alienware Windows 7 disk and the Alienware Resource DVDs that came with the computer. I have never re-installed an OS on to a new hard drive before and was wandering if there are any tips or things I should be aware of ?
Thanks for any help
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
March 20th, 2014 12:00
This is the way I clean install Windows7-64, and Dell's ways are linked inside also:
http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19376654.aspx
You can get true HDD SMART readings with Crystal DiskInfo, or use WD or Seagate tester.
http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19530277.aspx
compnut
90 Posts
0
March 20th, 2014 15:00
Thanks for the help I think my Aurora in UEFI mode and i see i might have to install some drivers from a thumb drive during installation of windows my question is how do i tell if i am using UEFI or Legacy mode?
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
March 20th, 2014 15:00
SATA Mode = AHCI Mode (let us know if you require RAID Mode)
Boot Mode = UEFI
Win7-DVD should boot.
compnut
90 Posts
0
March 20th, 2014 17:00
checked my BIOS Boot Mode is set to " UEIF "and SATA Mode is set to " RAID " on statup the Intel Rapid Technology screen shows all drives set to "DISABLED "
I have never used a raid setup but wonder if i should leave setting as from dell,would it affect other things ?
compnut
90 Posts
0
March 20th, 2014 19:00
that is correct i have no RAIDed drives
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
March 20th, 2014 19:00
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
March 20th, 2014 19:00
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
March 20th, 2014 19:00
Good time to try a SSD.
Around 240gb would be good. I've tried Samsung and Kingston. Intel is also good.
compnut
90 Posts
0
March 23rd, 2014 12:00
I have one more question before I try to reinstall window 7. It appears I have to install a couple of drivers at the
"where do you want to install windows?" step. this dell guide
http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&docid=552481
says to " Extract and copy the contents of both files to a USB flashdrive" I have done that, it then says to " browse to the Intel Chipset files and select them"
My question is do I select all the files that were extracted, there are files such as setup.exe and readme.exe do I worry about this or just select all files and the computer will load what it wants?
Thanks again for all your help
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
March 23rd, 2014 13:00
If set to AHCI as I said above, this should not be required at all.
Also, remove the Over-Clock on that nice 6-core processor. It will last longer and machine will run more stable in general.