Member Avatar for chound

Hi,

I changed my video card day before yesterday from ATI 4650 to 6670, and then I had problems while switching on my computer for a few times, then it got sorted.

Today, windows informs me that my computer is running slow, so it wanted to switch of aero interface. I clicked no. Then when I restarted my pc, the screen got stuck on "starting windows" so I reset it. Then I got the error "0xc00000e9", So I used windows 7 dvd and it repaired itself. But still the computer speed was very slow. Then again the computer got stuck at "5a" in the bios screen. Also sometimes I got a screen saying Intel Boot Agent
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable.

So I checked in the internet and found out that it had something to do with hard disk.

So I disconnected the hard disk and ran Ubuntu Live CD, for about 30 mins and the computer worked fine. I was able to browse internet.

Now I've reconnected the HDD and am able to use windows 7. Speed has come back to normal.

So I want to know if the problem is due to the HDD and should I get it replaced?

HDD is Seagate Barracude 7200 500 GB
Mother board is DP55WB
4 GB ram
Windows 7
Asus ATI 6670 1GB DDR5

Thanks in advance

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Dani AI

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Short expert note — thread starter reports intermittent boots stuck at "5a" and occasional "PXE‑E61: Media test failure" after a GPU change; suggested a Seagate diagnostic. Those symptoms most often mean the drive or its connection is being missed intermittently (BIOS falls back to PXE), so treat the disk as suspect and secure any important data first.

Recommended quick checklist (ordered by priority):

  1. Backup or image the drive immediately (important files first).
  2. Confirm the HDD is seen in BIOS/Boot order; if not, check/replace the SATA data cable and the SATA power lead, and try a different SATA port.
  3. Run SMART and a full surface/long test. On an Ubuntu live session the common commands are:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install smartmontools
sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda
sudo smartctl -t long /dev/sda

After the long test finishes, re-run sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda to view results. In Windows, run a full CHKDSK from an elevated prompt or recovery console:

chkdsk C: /r

SeaTools (the Seagate utility that mentioned) or the vendor's bootable long test is also appropriate for a thorough check.

How to read results and next steps: any nonzero values in Reallocated_Sector_Ct, Current_Pending_Sector, or Offline_Uncorrectable, or a failed long test / unrecoverable sectors reported by CHKDSK, indicate imminent failure — replace the drive after a backup. If SMART and long tests are clean but the drive is intermittently undetected, try the drive in another PC or via a USB/SATA adapter to rule out motherboard or PSU issues; swapping the SATA cable/port often fixes flaky connections. Given the recent GPU swap (more load on the PSU), consider testing or swapping the power cable too.

Practical note: intermittent detection + boot timeouts are a red flag for data loss — back up now, run the diagnostics above, and replace the drive if any tests report errors or if behavior repeats.

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Member Avatar for Rik_

Seagate do a hdd diagnostic tool on their website called sea tools, use it to test your hdd.

Member Avatar for chound

ok, thanks

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