vista recovery problem

[pcguy17]

Ok so i have a toshiba laptoop with windows vista os on it from when i bought it. The problem came several days ago i was just using it like normal nothing special going through some files, then it came up with a blue screen of death that said something about the kernel which i know can't be good but it dissapeared and restarted to fast for me to read it all. So i used knoppix to get all the files of mine that i needed of the hard drive seeing as how i couldnt even boot windows no safe mode no restore point no anything. I figured i could reimage it using my recovery disk so i popped that in and started it. it seemed to be working until i got this error code 10-FA12-045D. and im really not sure what it could be so any help is greatly appreciated

[Paul Komski]

Toshiba recovery Error 10 (http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=35071&tstart=0) (numerous suffixes) seem likely to be due to a failing/failed HDD. I would try checking the HDD with an error checking program from floppy or CD or with the drive removed from the laptop and tried in a USB external enclosure in another PC.

If the HDD itself is made by Toshiba (which seems likely) you would need a generic testing program since AFAIK Toshiba don't provide their own HDD checking program.

HDTune (http://www.hdtune.com/)can be used from another PC.

[pcguy17]

interesting thank you for the help cleared this problem right up i suspected it to be something like this but did not know for sure. hmm i checked that link and it was a toshiba satellite with vista same as mine could be a defect

[mjc]

Hard drives die...simple.

A hard drive is one of the most stressed/used/abused items in a computer, laptops even more than desktops.

Hard drives always have a high failure rate...there is an old adage in 'geekdom'...'It's not if you'll have hard drive failure; it's when.' It isn't uncommon for hard drives to die within a few weeks/months of being installed. Although, the other end of the curve is also true, a number of hard drives will survive problem free for ten or more years...most will give up somewhere in the middle...the three to seven year range.

[pcguy17]

yeah just is no fun whatsoever when they do fail hopefully my warranty has this covered. I have only had it for about 3 months which is the sad thing

[mjc]

If the drive is coughing up those kind of errors, then yeah, it should be within the warranty. 3-6 months is pretty typical for an 'early failure' drive to 'bite it' in...those that aren't really early and 'bite it' in a week or two...

[Paul Komski]

I've had more than one drive fail straight "out-of-the-box".