FAQ and Technical Articles

Error Message on Hard Drive Failure

When your hard drive is beginning to fail, it might start popping up with the error messages on the screen of your computer's monitor. Most likely, your computer gives you the information that a serious disk error occurred in attempt to read/write drive.

If you are not able to identify the issue, you need to consider any of those error messages as a cause of the damaged hard drive.

Keep powering on the damaged disk is a potential threat to data on it. Try avoiding any, or at least minimizing all unnecessary manipulations with the damaged hard drive, the sooner you disconnect the failed disk from power cable, the better chance is to salvage all your files or even the whole operating system from it.

Errors messages In MS Windows, related to Hard Drive Problems

If the operating system cannot get the access to the booting code, system files, or user's data on the hard drive - then, the disk is either: damaged, or not properly connected, or has a corrupted boot code. Typically, as a result - system is halted with the black or blue screen. The hard drive with the missing system files or getting bad sectors, clusters, or missing allocations can provide the same behavior.

Data Error Reading Drive [C]
Drive Not Ready-System Halted
Error Reading Drive [C]
Hard Disk Drive Failure
I/O Error
Missing operating system
Primary Hard Disk Failure
Seek Error - Sector not found
Serious Disk Error Writing Drive
A serious disk error occurred trying to read/write drive

HDD-related error messages generated by MAC OS

Bad file name
Bad master directory block
Cannot access (drive's letter) because a disk error occurred
Directory not found
Drive not installed
Internal file system error
No such volume
Not a Macintosh disk
Not an HFS volume
Read/Write requested for an off-line drive
Segment Loader Error
The disk (drive's letter) cannot be accessed because a disk error occurred
This disk is unreadable by this computer. Do you want to initialize the disk?

Error messages on boot up for PC computers and console Run-time applications

These hard disk's errors happen at the boot or in the attempt to run DOS, Novell, or some console command or utility, or when your computer cannot find or initialize the drive controller or the drive diagnosis failed. Usually indicates damaged or unbootable drive. Check, if your computer BIOS/CMOS is able to identify the model number.

Hard Disk Fail (10), (20), (80)
Primary master hard disk fail or Secondary master hard disk fail
Primary slave hard disk fail or Secondary slave hard disk fail
Drive Not Ready
Disk is not formatted
Drive is not formatted
Disk boot failure, insert system Disk and Press Enter
Invalid media, track 0 bad or unusable
Invalid media type reading drive C:
Invalid / Non System Disk
Hard Drive Parameter Table or BIOS Error
Hard Disk Install Failure
Computer stops at verifying DMI pool data
Non-System disk or disk error; Replace and strike any key when ready
Format command cannot format the specified disk
The disk capacity is invalid
Hard disk controller failure

For servers: POST Error Messages on boot up, and test's messages

These messages indicate one or more of the following: Hard drive is not properly setup in CMOS, or hard disk drive is not detectable because it is damaged or failed.

Fixed disk 0 failure / Failure Fixed Disk 0
Fixed disk 1 failure / Failure Fixed Disk 1
Fixed disk C failure / Failure Fixed Disk C
Fixed disk D failure / Failure Fixed Disk D
Failure Fixed Disk
Disk Controller Failure
Intellisafe Hard Disk Detects Imminent Failure
Primary Disk Port Address Resource Conflict
Primary Disk Port Address Resource Conflict
Disk-media error: Hard Drive

HDD Error messages on boot up for Unix/Linux computers:

hdc: drive not ready for command
Kernel Error Messages on failed HDD:
kernel: hda: drive_cmd: status=0x51 DriveReady SeekComplete Error
kernel: hda: drive_cmd: error=0x04 DriveStatusError
kernel: hdb: dma_intr: error=0x40 UncorrectableError

Error messages when you connect an external USB/FireWire drive

Drive is not ready
I/O device error
Delayed Write Failed
Failed to write to mft bitmap

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