Disk Erase Failed

Question

Disk Erase Failed

Did a search on the topic here and most of them didn't really offer a workable solution for me.

My hard disk suddenly disappeared from desktop after nine to ten months of usage. Managed to mount it eventually but Finder said that I have limited access to it and asked me to backup whatever I can. I didn't have any data loss because I backup regular to other hard disks.

Tried DiskWarrior 4.1 to see if it helps and DW reported some errors and stopped operation. Anyhow, I tried to repair, erase or partition the hard disk in question but Disk Utility said either resource busy in Leopard or input/output error in Tiger when I used separate startup disks.

Finally, I ran TechTool Pro 4.5.6 and did some scans. Read/Write scan passed but when it came to Surface Scan, it spilt out lots and lots and lots of bad blocks.

So, can I assume that the hard disk is a goner or is there any chance to erase the hard disk and use it as a temp storage? I have two more hard disks suffered the same exact faith. All three hard disks are of the same batch. Wonder why this happen?

Posted on Apr 29, 2008 5:49 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 29, 2008 6:09 AM in response to Community User

Try using Disk Utility to Erase the drive using the Security Option to Zero Out Data. This procedure will write zeros to all sectors. The drive will attempt to map out any bad sectors. If there are too many, the procedure will fail with an error message, or it will stall and never complete. But if it does complete successfully, you may be able to use the drive, at least temporarily.

I have two more hard disks suffered the same exact faith. All three hard disks are of the same batch.

How were they used? Internally? In an external drive case? If it was in a specific external drive case, the case could have been faulty.

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Answer 2

Apr 29, 2008 7:31 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Done the zero data thingy and same error. I have tried all the stuff mentioned in this forum.

I can also rule out faulty external enclosure because I tried two other enclosures and getting the same error results. Unless all my three enclosures are faulty.

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Answer 3

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Apr 29, 2008 8:13 AM in response to Community User

][ wrote:
Did a search on the topic here and most of them didn't really offer a workable solution for me.

My hard disk suddenly disappeared from desktop after nine to ten months of usage. Managed to mount it eventually but Finder said that I have limited access to it and asked me to backup whatever I can. I didn't have any data loss because I backup regular to other hard disks.

Tried DiskWarrior 4.1 to see if it helps and DW reported some errors and stopped operation. Anyhow, I tried to repair, erase or partition the hard disk in question but Disk Utility said either resource busy in Leopard or input/output error in Tiger when I used separate startup disks.

Finally, I ran TechTool Pro 4.5.6 and did some scans. Read/Write scan passed but when it came to Surface Scan, it spilt out lots and lots and lots of bad blocks.

So, can I assume that the hard disk is a goner or is there any chance to erase the hard disk and use it as a temp storage?
No unless you don't care about the data. Once a HD starts having errors, it's over. Erase it securely and throw it out. If you want, soak it in hot salty water for a day or two before tossing it.

I have two more hard disks suffered the same exact faith. All three hard disks are of the same batch. Wonder why this happen?
Manufactures often create bad lots of products, which is why most products have lot numbers. Plant contamination on a particular day, things like that. Even a worker who is not quite up to the task on a certain day can cause problems in mass manufacturing. Consider the laptop batteries that were recalled a few years ago. This kind of stuff happens.
You might be able to get HD replacements from the manufacturer if you point out that you have several of his bad disks.

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Answer 4

Joe Gordon

Level 4

1,985 points

Apr 29, 2008 8:54 AM in response to Community User

I just had a very similar experience with two USB external enclosures. I was about to return them both for a refund but as a last results I removed the HD's from the enclosures and installed them in the computer. I was then able to Erase, Repair, Reformat and then move them back to the externals. Go figure.

This was my first experience with USB (only) enclosures. Besides being noticeably slower than my firewire ones they seem to working just fine now. But what a pain.

JG

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Answer 5

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Apr 29, 2008 10:00 AM in response to Joe Gordon

Joe Gordon wrote:
I just had a very similar experience with two USB external enclosures. I was about to return them both for a refund but as a last results I removed the HD's from the enclosures and installed them in the computer. I was then able to Erase, Repair, Reformat and then move them back to the externals. Go figure.

This was my first experience with USB (only) enclosures. Besides being noticeably slower than my firewire ones they seem to working just fine now. But what a pain.

JG

Not all disk enclosures are the same, nor are all external drives the same.
The firmware that "connects" the drive firmware to the USB chip is usually the culprit. By the same token, even some external drives have this kind of problem. Some of my old Maxtor external drives are fussy and also not bootable. They cannot be partitioned easily with the Leopard DU, but there are workarounds. I use an old Maxtor for TM on my G5, but it cannot be partitioned as GUID, only APS.
Firmware -

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