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3.509 bytes |
Service Hints & Tips |
Document ID: DETR-3SEU27 |
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Aptiva - PC Doctor fails on unpartitioned hard drives
Applicable to: World-Wide
Symptom:
If PC-Doctor is used to check an unpartitioned hard drive, the following error may occur:
"Disk 0 Controller ............
Controller data loopback failed. Wrote FFFFH, Read 00H
Disk 0 Controller...............FAILED "
Explanation:
One of PC Doctor HD Controller tests reads the first sector on the drive (boot sector) and analyzes its contents. Basically, it uses the sector contents to make sure that there are no stuck-high or stuck-low data lines.
On a hard drive that has been at any point partitioned, the first sector will contain boot-data and partition table entries, which are enough for the program to be sure that the data lines are at least not stuck. (There is another test for floating lines.)
The problem with the unpartitioned drive is that the data on the drive appears to be set to all 00. That's why the test fails.
Please note that not all hard drives are provided by drive manufacturers completely blank. Many manufacturers place some boot-sector information on the drive (possibly as a part of their internal QA test), and as a result PC-Doctor has the data it needs to verify that the drive is in working order.
Resolution:
Ignore this specific issue. Since the hard drives that are pre-installed in the systems are partitioned and formatted, the error shouldn't appear on the original drive in the system. If the customer is getting the error when checking a hard drive he or she is installing, have him or her partition the drive before running PC Doctor.
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Document Category |
Diagnostics, Hard Drives, Error Messages | |
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Date Created |
09-03-98 | |
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Last Updated |
04-12-98 | |
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Revision Date |
28-05-99 | |
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Brand |
IBM Aptiva | |
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Product Family |
Aptiva | |
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Machine Type |
2136, 2137, 2138 | |
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Model |
All | |
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TypeModel |
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