Im really annoyed. I spent hours building this pc and then at lunchtime today it all went Pete Tong.

It crashed and then windows took 5mins to load. So I reboot a couple of times and I get nowt but blue screens. So I try a reinstall. It bsd 40mins into the install 5 times in a row.

It managed it in the end but it was still really slow, hdtach was 3mb/s! - Stuck in PIO mode.
 I did all the usual hddy stuff and reset the registry fork-up counter and forced it to udma6. That worked for 10minutes and now its back to PIO mode.

So that means the fork-up counter has gone up again and the hard drive is knackered, right?

Does it matter that Im using the SATA PC and the IDE PC? Got 4 drives in this machine.

I know its an obvious one, but have you tried the manufs drive diagnostics program?

I dont have a floppy or spare cdrws, in hdtach its really spikey rather than a smooth curve. Im gonna microwave it and send it back. Its the only way to be sure.

Quote from: sdpIm gonna microwave it and send it back. Its the only way to be sure.

haha love it

I have no idea,  it may well be a corrupt hard drive... is the hdd brand new? sounds like it is from what you said about sending it back...

god knows!

Which manufacturer?

Is it worth trying a different sata cable? bearing in mind Id hae to order one specially.

Possibly, but I would visit a local shop if you have one, by the time you pay postage it might be a bit expensive. My brother has been getting a connection problem with his, needs the plugs pushed firmly into the sockets when it happens.

Ah, one of the little chips on the bottom just burnt out. Its definitely an rma.