computer making loud clicking noise when booting up! what does it mean

[tomcruise3230]

my computer keep showing the black screen when it boots up:

PXE-E61: media test failure, check cable (i think i got this because i acidently made an external hard drive one volume as active(from storage: disk management snap-in) however it never gave me this screen when i first did that and that was a month ago and i turn it off when i back up my files).

And, it makes noticable loud click noises when it boots up! do you know what this all means please (the black screen and the clicking noise). if my computer is dying/failing do u know how i can back up my data asap even if it doens't boot beyond the black screen even in safe mode? if it does do that,should i back up my data in the external hd (which has one volume corrupted and unreadable) with other volume that work fine? also one last thing, how can i get data from the external hd corrupted volume (is their a way if so what tools i need) please let me know as soon as u can! thank you very much

[DMR]

" PXE-E61: media test failure..."

That indicates that your system is trying to do a network boot, and it's doing that because it doesn't see valid local boot drive. Given the clicking noises you're hearing, combined with the network boot attempts, there's a good chance that your drive is going South. The loud clicking sounds are usually caused by the head actuator mechanism as it repeatedly tries to engage, but keeps failing to do so.

Try booting from the Windows installation CD. If it does boot from the CD, run the repair utility from the CD and see if it at least recognizes the internal hard drive.

I would not suggest backing up your data onto the external drive if you already know that the external drive has problems too, that's not a reliable backup strategy. If possible, install the drive as a slave drive in another computer and back up your data to that computer.

[tomcruise3230]

ur right (i confirmed with toshiba they said its failing/dying) therefore can you tell me how "install the drive as a slave drive in another computer and back up your data to that computer" and i will be backing up my data on a laptop so is that possible to do that?

also in detail, this is what the error message for the external hd corrupted volume says:
this disk (or volume) is unaccessible
the disk STRUCTURE is corrupted or unreadable.

can youtell me what this means please

[DMR]

can you tell me how "install the drive as a slave drive in another computer and back up your data to that computer" and i will be backing up my data on a laptop so is that possible to do that?

Do you mean that the problematic computer is a laptop, or that the computer that you want to back up to is a laptop?

Connecting a problematic desktop (3.5") drive to a laptop can be done, but it would involve extra hardware (like an external USB or Firewire drive enclosure), and it could give you a fight. However, if the problematic drive is the laptop drive, and you have a desktop machine to put it in, all you need is a 2.5"->3.5" IDE adapter, which only costs about $10 USD.

this is what the error message for the external hd corrupted volume says:
this disk (or volume) is unaccessible
the disk STRUCTURE is corrupted or unreadable.

can youtell me what this means please

*Groan* Unfortunately, yes- it indicates Boot Record/Partition Table/File Table corruption. :(

Fixing the corruption could be difficult, and there's no guarantee whatsoever that rescue attempts will not render the entire drive unreadable.

- If you can still access one of the partitions, get the data off of it before attempting anything. Also prepare yourself for the fact that whatever lives on the corrupted partition may not be recoverable at all.

- There are numerous things you can try in terms of recovery, but some of them are quite dangerous if you don't know exactly what you're doing. Here's a link to a thead which discusses some of the recovery methods:

http://help.lockergnome.com/index.php?showtopic=31395

I have used many of the utilities mentioned in the thread above, and have found the DFSee program to be the most powerful (there is a free trial download version). However, as the poster who mentioned DFSee said, it is definitely not for the "faint-of-heart".

[tomcruise3230]

actually i transfering from a laptop to a laptop :( (sorr don't have desktoppc) both toshiba ( different models) and i am doing it via external hd case .therefore,can u tell me please what do i need to do that (what cables i need etc).
about the external hd one volume corrupted, that is what i am exactly doing by transfering other data from the good volumes to another external hd? also, can you tell me can i simitaniously transfer files from one external hd to another hd (both plugged in 2 usb 1.1) or i just have to transfer the files from one external hd to a laptop and from their send the same files to the other external hd?
and about the recovery tools i should use, seagate told me (that the internal hd ide i havein the external case) to use EZ recovery because thats what they do. therefore, in your opion should i try that or use the one u told me or use every (or 6 th emost if they have 6 free available) free ones until i get all the data (if i use every free ones it won't mess up my computer up right cuz i will be dowloading and installing the programs)

[DMR]

I can't tell you what cables, etc. you need to put a drive in the external case, because I have no idea what kind of case you have. Is it firewire or USB? Is the internal drive connector meant for a laptop (2.5") drive or a standard 3.5" drive? Does the case have any cables with it at all?

You obviously can't directly connect the two drives together without a computer, but you can certainly connect them both to USB connectors on the same laptop and drag files from one to the other in Explorer (without copying them to the laptop's internal drive first).

The choice of which utility to use is really your decision; it depends on how familiar and/or comfortable you are with these types of proceedures. If you're new to this stuff and your drive maufacturer has recommended a certian utility, you might want to take their advice. Quite honestly though, I am not going to tell you which utility you should use, because there's a chance that any of the utilities could do something that makes matters worse, and I don't want to ge blamed if something goes wrong. :cheesy:

I will tell you this though: if your data is at all valuable, it would probably be a good idea to pay a local service technician to perform the recovery. Data recovery involving partition manipulation and filetable repairs can be dangerous and complicated; it is not something that you should attempt yourself if you've no experience with it.