Member Avatar for itsmeyourenemy

Well, I have a Samsung 40 GB PATA HDD( I know its long time I upgraded . but i terribly need to recover this HDD). I think i disconnected this HDD before I turned off the power supply. Ever since I get an error during post :

Detecting Primary master ...SP0411N
Detecting primary slave...

etc etc..
and then :
Primary Master Disk failed.

I think it should be a ESD problem since i had not disconnected the power supply before removing this drive. But then, when I boot using a Ubuntu live CD, I can see that all files are intact. I tried this drive on another comp and the result was same. I ran Sea Tools for dos on this drive and the drive passed both the short test and the long test.

What do you suggest I do ?

In case I manage to create a image of this disk and load the image on to another HDD, do you think i will be able to boot into it ?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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Priority: make a safe image before you write to the disk. Even though a Linux live CD can list files (good), do not run chkdsk/fixmbr/fixboot on the original until you have an image or a file-level backup. Imaging lets you experiment on a copy and keeps the original for professional recovery if needed.

A practical workflow you can follow from an Ubuntu live session:

  • Attach a large external USB disk with enough free space.
  • Identify the device (adjust names: /dev/hdX or /dev/sdX).
  • Check SMART and kernel messages to see signs of intermittent failure.
  • Make a sector-level image with GNU ddrescue (it retries and logs bad areas).
  • If you only need files, copy important folders off first.

Example commands (adjust device paths):

sudo fdisk -l
sudo dmesg | tail -n 50
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install gddrescue smartmontools testdisk
sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdX
sudo ddrescue -f -n /dev/sdX /media/usb/disk-image.img /media/usb/disk-image.log

After you have a good image or file backup, use tools like TestDisk to inspect/repair the partition table or NTFS boot sector on the clone/image rather than the original. For Windows XP systems, the Recovery Console commands fixmbr and fixboot (run from the XP CD) can repair the boot record — run them against a cloned drive first.

Hardware checks and cautions: try a known-good IDE cable/power connector and verify jumper settings; connect the drive alone to the cable so POST timing isn’t affected. If POST refuses to recognize the disk but Linux can mount it intermittently, the drive electronics or delayed spin-up are possible causes — imaging first remains the priority. As and suggested, software repair can work, but perform it on a cloned drive so the original stays untouched for recovery.

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Member Avatar for hughv

What OS?
If XP, try recovery console. Fixboot may solve your problem.
In any case, I'd copy those files before doing anything else.
I don't think this is a hardware problem, as you can see the files and it passes the Seatoools test.
I don't think an image would help.

commented: Definitely agree to the backup first +24
Member Avatar for itsmeyourenemy

Win XP.
I am able to access the drive using ERD commander 2007.
But since the error is occurring during POST, i was wondering if it could possibly be a hardware problem...

Member Avatar for caperjack

try booting into the bios and see if it detects the hard drive ,or if you can auto detect it [depends on age of bios ] chances of booting into it on another computer are slim unless you do a repair install after you install it in the other computer

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