OS partition dead after "tuning" for FS X

[sbq]

I ran the multiple instructions for getting a clean install of FS X + Acceleration and the OS cleanup/tuning found in multiple posts around here.  I downloaded the 8.5 version of O&O Defrag that I found a link to here and used that as instructed.  Everything seemed fine after I was done and FS X ran nicely, but I noticed when I went to download an AVI file demoing TrackIR Pro I couldnt save it (got a file name error).  I didn't think anything of it and went to bed.

Today after I get home from work I found several pop-up error messages about C:\$Secure being corrupt.  I did some Googling and found some people who had this after installing IE 7 and their system was stuck in a chckdsk loop, but I've never installed IE 7.  I also tried to download some more things in preparation for a possible rebuild but again noticed I couldn't save any files, I'd just get an error saying the filename wasn't valid.  I tried to reboot but found I was also suck in some sort of loop (looks like chkdsk tries to run but it goes by very fast before rebooting again), so I tried to go into safe mode, but that doesn't work either.  I suspect that the O&O offline defrags somehow messed up my MFT ($Secure lives in the MFT).  Maybe the version I got from www.b3ta.cr3ation.co.uk isn't what it seems.

I can't think of anyway to fix this without a complete wipe and rebuild, which is not going to be fun at all.  Though I will be getting a new hard drive and use this one as an FS X only drive.

[NickN]

O&O did not destroy your hard drive and the version on that server is a legal trial and I have been using it since it came out for well over 2 years.

You either have a defective hard drive or your version of Windows is from a very old install disk. Some OEMs such as Dell can also use a manipulated Windows install disk which may not have correct LBA support for SP2 on it which can also cause issues.

If you formatted your hard drive and the partition you installed windows on was greater than 128GB, and, you have WindowsXp SP1 , or, an older Windows install disk which does not have the proper LBA support, that can happen.

That can happen with any defrag program or partition software program such as partition magic.

If its stuck in a chkdsk mode that

[sbq]

[quote]O&O did not destroy your hard drive and the version on that server is a legal trial and I have been using it since it came out for well over 2 years.

You either have a defective hard drive or your version of Windows is from a very old install disk. Some OEMs such as Dell can also use a manipulated Windows install disk which may not have correct LBA support for SP2 on it which can also cause issues.

If you formatted your hard drive and the partition you installed windows on was greater than 128GB, and, you have WindowsXp SP1 , or, an older Windows install disk which does not have the proper LBA support, that can happen.

That can happen with any defrag program or partition software program such as partition magic.

If its stuck in a chkdsk mode that

[NickN]

Occam's Razor would have us look at what was the most likely simplest/direct cause.

I''ll try this again.. I said O&O defrag did in fact force the issue to the surface, however it was not the cause

the problem with Occam's Razor is that it only points you in the right direction but it does not tell you what happened and why.

In this case O&O may have been Perfect Disk, Diskkeeper, Partition Magic, etc

Being LBA is not the issue, there is something in the system that either locked the MFT during the defrag (AV, security, some type of write taking place when it should not have) and caused the corruption, or, there was a physcial glitch in the electronics.

Or The version of Windows you have from Alienware does not have SP2 incorporated into it. if that is the case and you must update to SP2 manually, after a Windows install there may be missing files that can cause this as well.

if not, then it goes back to the first set of possibilities I listed.

If you dont believe me, dont use O&O and try to find something else that does the same job. In my expereience there is only one other defragger that comes close and that one is over the top with all the moving it performs. its called ultimate defrag.


O&O Defrag is a MS Gold Certified Partner and has been in professional use for many years.

[NickN]

and one other thing... O&O Defrag uses the TCPIP stack to communicate with the hard drive. If your tower has any type of sleep or power down after timeout set with a screensaver it will in fact force the network card to shut down and any data in transit through the defrag will in fact corrupt what was being moved


Now, your issue does not fall under the typical O&O defrag symptoms for damage in the different areas I point out above. usually when something goes wrong as I laid out the system is corrupt and wont even boot into Windows. The problems you are describing are not in line with any reported problems after using O&O or other software that may damage the MFT or other files, but, many things are possible when critical system files are being moved around so its not outside of the realm of possibility.

Occam's Razor only take into account the laws of probability, but thats as far as it goes for being accurate