Sorry for the off topic question, but realizing there are some terrific PC experts among us:

I began experiencing erratic PC computer 'startup' problems about a week ago. I think my secondary 40 GB Maxtor hard drive (partitioned into two 20 GB sectors : 'F' & 'G' respectively, may be the cause of the problem. Occasionally (and happening more and more now) upon inital startup (or reboot), I get a message that says a disk check (chkdsk) is being performed on either (or both) the 'F' or 'G' secondary drive . It proceeds to check the HD and often replaces files to supposedly correct problems. Other times, it says it can't fix it, and other times, the computer boots up, but then not allow access to the secondary 'F' or 'G' HD.

In attempt to solve the problem, after backing the data, I completely re-formatted both sectors (F & G) of the secondary hard drive. I then ran Norton Disk Doctor & Speed Disk and the drive checked out fine. The computer may boot up fine the next time, but subsequently, on a further reboot or startup, the initial problem occurs again. I also ran Norton WinDoctor on my primary drive and everything checks out fine there as well.

I'm pretty convinced now it must be this secondary HD that's the source of all my recent Windows startup problems, but wanted to get feedback from PC gurus here first before having to lay down cash on a new hard drive. Is it possible to disable my PC from looking at (seeing) this HD in an attempt to isolate the problem specifically to this drive?

If I do need to purchase a new HD, which brand(s) and model(s) & size is recommended? How large should the partitions be? Btw, my computer is a 1.8 gigahertz Dell Dimension 8200 running Windows XP.

Thanks in advance for all help.

Scott

Scott,

Before replacing the hard drive, I would first run Win-Cleaner, which is a great program to get rid of junk files and registries that you cannot see. Then, if the problem persists, I suggest reinstalling Windows XP and the hardware drivers. If this still does not solve the problem, I suspect the secondary drive may be the culprit, but from the way you described the activities, it almost sounds like a hic-cup in the windows shutdown procedure. I'm not an expert, but in my experience, when a hard drive experiences problems, it just plain crashes and your computer's software usually provides ample warning of the impending crash. Most hard drive crases are nothing more than the result of the drive's bearings wearing out, thereby causing the disk to be misaligned.

As for brand names, Maxtor has always produced great hard drives that seem to last forever. The only other brand that comes to mind is Western Digital, which also had a good reputation a few years ago, and I assume they're still around.

Good Luck,

Gary

Hi Gary. Does 'Win-Cleaner' do something different or include features not already included in Norton WinDoctor or Norton Utilities? I ran Norton Windoctor & Diskdoctor and the registries appeared to check out fine. How much does 'Win-Cleaner' cost, and can it be downloaded? Weblink?



Gary, I think you may be on to something here, as frequently when I shutdown, I get a display window that pops up saying certain programs running in the background are no longer responding, and must be terminated by pressing the 'end program' button in that associated pop up window, before the computer completely shuts down. These programs have included:

1) CiceroUIWndframe
2) Sys Fader
3) IMApp.exe
4) taskmgr.exe
5) Norton AntiVirus

Other than Norton AntiVirus, I have no idea what the other ones are for. Anyone know?

Thanks in advance for additional help and advice from all.

Scott

Hi Scott,

It sounds to me like you have a corrupted registry. A full reinstall might be necessary. As to purchasing a new HD, I like Western Digital Caviar Series, 7200 rpm, 8Mb Cache, 250Gb.

to see all the programs you have loaded in memory during startup, you can also go to Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information.

Select Startup Programs. It'll show you all the programs that get started during bootup.
You can remove them by going to regedit and look at their registry location.

Hope that helps.

Claude

Scott,
it is indeed possibile to disable your PC from looking at the secondary hard disk during the boot up phase and later, but you should open your computer case and then disconnect the IDE clable (usually is flat, grey and with a red stripe on one side) that connects your motherboard to your hard disk. You should be careful because cables of the same kind connect also the primary hard disk and the CD-ROM reader. However, if you can read the label on the back of the hard disk, it should be easy to identify the cable that you should disconnect.
Email me if you have more doubts or questions.

Hey Scott,

I want to hear more about your hardware setup. Tell us about your primary drive (the C: drive)...Model, size, etc. Do you know if it is a UDMA drive (Ultra DMA)? If so, are you using an 80-pin IDE cable? Are your BIOS settings correct for UDMA? Is the second drive in question a UDMA drive? What cable or IDE channel is it on? Why "F" and "G"? Tell us about "D" and "E" (other partitions on the primary or CD-ROM drives).

Like Dreamer says, remove the IDE cable from the secondary drive and report back your findings.

mike

Scott,

Win-Cleaner finds lots of things that Norten does not address, it's quick, easy and effecient. It's an inexpansive program that I purchased at Best Buy last year and it has been a lifesaver.

Gary

Originally posted by Scottyee.
"Is it possible to disable my PC from looking at (seeing) this HD in an attempt to isolate the problem specifically to this drive?"
----------------------------------------------
Yes. You can go to the registry and disable autocheck. There are some good informations from this site. You can check them out.
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/r1038353605

Hey Scott. I have been having problems w/ a spare Western Digital 40GB HD I installed a couple weeks ago. I had installed a CMD0649 IDE board in a PCI slot to run it off, as all my other IDE slots are filled. After I got it up and running I started having problems w/ the standby and shut down of the computer, so I disabled the WD HD for the time being and every thing seems fine. I was going to try and reinstall XP, but it said it couldn't uninstall due to the spare HD. My next move is to reinstall the spare HD to one of the IDE cables off the main board and move the 100mb zip to the CMD board. You can just disable the HD from the control board device manager and see if your problems stop.

Scott, here is a list of the programs you had running and what they pertain to.

IMApp.exe=Incredimail. Try reinstalling Incredimail if the below answers don't resolve the problem. Uninstall Incredimail 'first' then reinstall it is my recommendation.

CiceroUIWndFrame=This seems to be related to Office XP speech/handwriting recognition. This might be the cause of your problems Scott. To resolve this issue: They can be disabled by going to Add/Remove Progams in the Control Panel, Add/Remove Features-Office Shared Features->Alternative User Input and Make "unavailable" Speech and Handwriting.

SysFader= Sysfader is incorporated in Internet Explorer. It is so the menu bar can "fade in" and out. This could be the problem because without killing off the program sometimes Windows will not shutdown at all. To resolve this issue you may have to reinstall Internet Explorer or update to the latest version. My first suggestion though is to try and 'repair' Internet Explorer. If repairing it doesn't solve the problem then do the additional steps if need be.

taskmgr.exe= This is your Windows Task Manager. This should not be causing the problem.

Best regards,
Mike