Help with WB plz

Sly294 · 15 June 2006, 20:45

Hi all.
My Problem is with my HDD in an A1200(85meg HDD and a 4meg memory expansion which is Microbotics MBX 1200z)
Everytime i turn on A1200 it boots into WB from HDD and then about 1min later i get a error message that reads "Error validating Work Block 29569 bad header type"... i click on cancel and it appears again, which i click cancel again and it disappears. I cant deleate anything in my folder "Work" as it always says "Volume Work is not validated"
Anyone know what the prob is ?
will a format of the HDD cure this problem ?
oh and the WB is 39.29 and Kickstart version is 39.106, not sure if you'll need that info. Hope someone knows the prob and a way to fix/repair it.
TIA, Sly294

blade2565 · 15 June 2006, 20:48

mostlikely your harddisk has bad blocks and do you need to replace it and re-install everything..... bad blocks you sometimes had on older harddisk types

Sly294 · 15 June 2006, 20:54

i dont mind re-installing everything as i bought it from e-bay on a cheap(so i was going to re-install anyway, but needed to know if it will be ok)
So if it has bad blocks is it fixable or do i need a new HDD ? will the format/install repair it ?

blade2565 · 15 June 2006, 21:12

well sometimes lowlevel formating helps but my experience they come back after time... sometimes it is better to replace them.... worked in computer repair for almost 2 years and in those 2 years I tried to fix bad blockes with low level format but after awhile the customer did back, so when I noticed this I rather replace harddisks which have such problems.... better you look for a second hand notebook harddisk, they cost almost nothing.... and new onces are often to large and will only work by installing drivers, patches, etc.

Smiley · 15 June 2006, 21:20

Just get a cheap laptop HD under 4gb

blade2565 · 15 June 2006, 21:24

better said up to

4GB not larger LOL

Sly294 · 15 June 2006, 21:24

thanks guys for the super fast replies and help, tis well appreciated.. but i never knew that a laptop has a 2.5" HDD that fits Amiga also ...

Happy Days

I take it i search in ebay for "laptop HDD" ?

Thanks again all

Sly294 · 15 June 2006, 21:28

ok you said under 4GB,,, but i found one on a cheap at the moment that is 4.3GB... think i should ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBM-Hitachi-La...QQcmdZViewItem

blade2565 · 15 June 2006, 21:54

Should be no problem you might be able to use 4,1GB max of it... I installed a 4.5GB HDD in it as well but could use 4.1GB of it... but I can't guaranty it....

BippyM · 15 June 2006, 22:06

Go get Amiback, QBTools or Disksalv or some other similar repair software and let it scan the hard drive.

The repair progs SHOULD mark the bad blocks out of use (they create a dummy file which occupies the bad blocks).

The system should then be able to validate the drive and all should be ok.

Note that if you have bad blocks now the drive might or might NOT be on its way out. The error could have been caused by the drive getting banged while reading/writing or maybe the heads hit the platter or whatever. I used a 4gb hd with bad blocks marked out for a couple of years in the late 90's!

Don't assume the drive is knackered see what a repair prog says first!

blade2565 · 16 June 2006, 07:28

Eh but bippym my experience is that if you have a few now tommorow you can have a few extra..... I have seen it before it start with 1 or 2 and than suddenly you have 5 bad blocks, and qauntity stays growing..... have seen it happen....

BippyM · 16 June 2006, 09:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by blade2565

Eh but bippym my experience is that if you have a few now tommorow you can have a few extra..... I have seen it before it start with 1 or 2 and than suddenly you have 5 bad blocks, and qauntity stays growing..... have seen it happen....

and if you read my post.. I have seen the opposite..

I had about 65kb of bad blocks for over 2 yrs and they never grew.. it all depends on the drive and other factors (like the cause of the error in the first place)

PaulyQ · 20 June 2006, 02:42

Similar to BippyM I had bad blocks on my PC's drive for a few years, I just partitioned the drive around the bad blocks so they never got used. After 5 years of use I eventually had to get rid of the drive as it got WORSE after low level formats... there is a couple of PC progs that allegedly help tho.... but they take forever to sort out the drive(I used to use Spinrite 6) if it has quite a few bad blocks. http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm

I would go with Disksalv or QBtools first though. try it for a few weeks, see what it does and then think about a new drive.. they are always on e-bay for coppers.

sarek2k · 20 June 2006, 03:03

I've had lots of hd's pack in on me as soon as you get any errors it's just a matter of time maybe the errors won't increase but the life of your hd does i am talking mostly from pc side here, but i've seen so many hd's die in the 11 years i've had pc's

The thing about Amiga's is they use the HD less aggresively so should last longer but once you get those errors it's time to start backing up and thinking of getting a new one!

I only had a few hd's on the Amiga at the time but still got errors sooner or later!

On the pc i've had Many many hd's and seen loads die!

My Top 5 worst drives!

1. Hitachi/Ibm deckstar (or as we call them Deathstar)
2. Samsung (i have only tried older samsung drives around 1gb in size however i had 3 fail on me i have not tested the new samsung spinpoint drives but they are too big for Amiga anyway!
3. Maxtor i've had plenty of those fail too!
4. Fujitsu and a couple of those!
5. Seagate i've had loads of these and they have hardly ever failed me the BEST drives of the lot!

BTW i am considerd a fairly unlucky person with hardware and it's not down to how i use it just shit luck

i've sold on hd's etc to friends and offerd them a warranty just incase it fails tommorow

3/6 months etc had none come back yet!

@Pauly Q i've never had a HD for 5 years lol

15 June 2006, 20:45	#1
Sly294 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Age: 46 Posts: 41	Help with WB plz Hi all. My Problem is with my HDD in an A1200(85meg HDD and a 4meg memory expansion which is Microbotics MBX 1200z) Everytime i turn on A1200 it boots into WB from HDD and then about 1min later i get a error message that reads "Error validating Work Block 29569 bad header type"... i click on cancel and it appears again, which i click cancel again and it disappears. I cant deleate anything in my folder "Work" as it always says "Volume Work is not validated" Anyone know what the prob is ? will a format of the HDD cure this problem ? oh and the WB is 39.29 and Kickstart version is 39.106, not sure if you'll need that info. Hope someone knows the prob and a way to fix/repair it. TIA, Sly294

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15 June 2006, 20:48	#2
blade2565 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Age: 51 Posts: 60	mostlikely your harddisk has bad blocks and do you need to replace it and re-install everything..... bad blocks you sometimes had on older harddisk types

15 June 2006, 20:54	#3
Sly294 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Age: 46 Posts: 41	i dont mind re-installing everything as i bought it from e-bay on a cheap(so i was going to re-install anyway, but needed to know if it will be ok) So if it has bad blocks is it fixable or do i need a new HDD ? will the format/install repair it ?

15 June 2006, 21:12	#4
blade2565 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Age: 51 Posts: 60	well sometimes lowlevel formating helps but my experience they come back after time... sometimes it is better to replace them.... worked in computer repair for almost 2 years and in those 2 years I tried to fix bad blockes with low level format but after awhile the customer did back, so when I noticed this I rather replace harddisks which have such problems.... better you look for a second hand notebook harddisk, they cost almost nothing.... and new onces are often to large and will only work by installing drivers, patches, etc.

15 June 2006, 21:20	#5
Smiley Amiga-less! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,350	Just get a cheap laptop HD under 4gb

15 June 2006, 21:24	#6
blade2565 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Age: 51 Posts: 60	better said up to 4GB not larger LOL

15 June 2006, 21:28	#8
Sly294 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Age: 46 Posts: 41	ok you said under 4GB,,, but i found one on a cheap at the moment that is 4.3GB... think i should ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBM-Hitachi-La...QQcmdZViewItem

15 June 2006, 21:54	#9
blade2565 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Age: 51 Posts: 60	Should be no problem you might be able to use 4,1GB max of it... I installed a 4.5GB HDD in it as well but could use 4.1GB of it... but I can't guaranty it....

15 June 2006, 22:06	#10
BippyM Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Derby, UK Age: 48 Posts: 9,355	Go get Amiback, QBTools or Disksalv or some other similar repair software and let it scan the hard drive. The repair progs SHOULD mark the bad blocks out of use (they create a dummy file which occupies the bad blocks). The system should then be able to validate the drive and all should be ok. Note that if you have bad blocks now the drive might or might NOT be on its way out. The error could have been caused by the drive getting banged while reading/writing or maybe the heads hit the platter or whatever. I used a 4gb hd with bad blocks marked out for a couple of years in the late 90's! Don't assume the drive is knackered see what a repair prog says first!

16 June 2006, 07:28	#11
blade2565 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere Age: 51 Posts: 60	Eh but bippym my experience is that if you have a few now tommorow you can have a few extra..... I have seen it before it start with 1 or 2 and than suddenly you have 5 bad blocks, and qauntity stays growing..... have seen it happen....

20 June 2006, 02:42	#13
PaulyQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Hartlepool, UK Age: 53 Posts: 237	Similar to BippyM I had bad blocks on my PC's drive for a few years, I just partitioned the drive around the bad blocks so they never got used. After 5 years of use I eventually had to get rid of the drive as it got WORSE after low level formats... there is a couple of PC progs that allegedly help tho.... but they take forever to sort out the drive(I used to use Spinrite 6) if it has quite a few bad blocks. http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm I would go with Disksalv or QBtools first though. try it for a few weeks, see what it does and then think about a new drive.. they are always on e-bay for coppers.

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20 June 2006, 03:03	#14
sarek2k E.A.B Addict and Proud Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: England Age: 56 Posts: 543	I've had lots of hd's pack in on me as soon as you get any errors it's just a matter of time maybe the errors won't increase but the life of your hd does i am talking mostly from pc side here, but i've seen so many hd's die in the 11 years i've had pc's The thing about Amiga's is they use the HD less aggresively so should last longer but once you get those errors it's time to start backing up and thinking of getting a new one! I only had a few hd's on the Amiga at the time but still got errors sooner or later! On the pc i've had Many many hd's and seen loads die! My Top 5 worst drives! 1. Hitachi/Ibm deckstar (or as we call them Deathstar) 2. Samsung (i have only tried older samsung drives around 1gb in size however i had 3 fail on me i have not tested the new samsung spinpoint drives but they are too big for Amiga anyway! 3. Maxtor i've had plenty of those fail too! 4. Fujitsu and a couple of those! 5. Seagate i've had loads of these and they have hardly ever failed me the BEST drives of the lot! BTW i am considerd a fairly unlucky person with hardware and it's not down to how i use it just shit luck i've sold on hd's etc to friends and offerd them a warranty just incase it fails tommorow 3/6 months etc had none come back yet! @Pauly Q i've never had a HD for 5 years lol