Drive Failure Imminent - Looking at Alternatives & Welcome Suggestions

[Sherri is a Cat]

Wow!

There is no other word, just wow. I can't believe I'm meeting another obstacle, no two obstacles. If I EVER get Linux installed on a PC that does not have some kind of hardware issue, it will be a miracle. It really will. I'm oscillating between total numbness and hysterical laughter, coupled a nagging fear that I have somehow been cursed.

This thread is NOT meant to be one asking for help. I'm just too damn worn out to think about what my latest problem might be. I don't have the energy to look things up, read, reread, spend time looking up information so I can understand what I just read. I put my best effort into figuring things out myself.

I'm like the pit bull I had a long time ago. When he was a puppy, we played tug-of-war with one of those super thick ropes made for dogs to chew on. He locked his jaws on one end, I held the other. When started moving in circles and eventually he become airborne. He refused to let go of that rope. He was stubborn. He enjoyed being stubborn. He loved the challenge. Eventually he got to heavy for me to swing him around. We were both sad. We were both stubborn. Today I'm just too worn out to be stubborn.

Soon the Lenovo 'I've been using' will be the Lenovo the 'I was using'. That Lenovo was backup in case of problems with the ASUS. The ASUS is in the hospital. She needs surgery. I was really glad to have that Lenovo.

Last night I was looking around to find information about about my USB drives, to confirm how much memory that have. When I found them I saw a message in bright red letters next to the 1 TB HDD. This disk will likely fail soon.

I've never had a disk fail. The temperature was 88 degrees Fahrenheit. I wouldn't have thought that was hot enough to cause a disk to fail. I hopefully assumed it would be okay if it cooled down. A couple of hours later I turned it back on. 66 degrees Fahrenheit, The message didn't go away. I starting searching the internet. I know now it's just a matter of time before the disk fails. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do to keep that from happening.


When I got home from work, I pulled out this 2nd Lenovo. It was #4's laptop. He left it here. I still have the USB boot for Linux Mint 21.2. I was going to install it the same way I did on Lenovo 1.

Linux doesn't recognize the HDD, only the USB drive. I can think of two reasons for this. I'm just too tired now to research those ideas. I'll only said it has to do with the password #4 used. I don't have it. I should though. He used the same easy to guess password for every single account he had. I always told him should change the simple password he used for 10 years. He probably finally changed it after we split.

He wrote it down for me on a lot of pieces of paper. I threw all that out. I meant to throw out this laptop too. I don't want anything to remind me of him. I can't get into UEFI settings. It's password protected. At least he took my advice on that...
I have a disk with DBAN on it. This laptop doesn't have a CD/DVD drive.

So for now, until I found the HP laptop I'm reduced to running a live version of Linux. I don't have a USB stick big enough for an OS. (I thought I found one the 2 USB drives with 500 GB and 1 TB. I'll get one in a few weeks, when I have enough energy...

 

[KGIII]

When I found them I saw a message in bright red letters next to the 1 TB HDD. This disk will likely fail soon.

That was what I wanted to comment on in another thread, but it would have been off topic.

That message is usually serious and is correct. If you see that message, it means backup everything and don't bother with that storage device again.

The good news is that you're probably using SATA. If so, you can get an SSD for very little money. It won't be nearly as large, but Linux can comfortably run on a 256 GB drive and a 500 GB drive will give you loads of space to grow into.

See NewEgg and TeamGroup SSDs if you want a recommendation for replacement hardware.

If you want a second opinion, see this:

How To: Use S.M.A.R.T. To Check Disk Health • Linux Tips

Disk health is an important matter. Your storage media has a useful lifetime and the clock is ticking from day one. Be it hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SDD), your storage media has a limited lifespan.

linux-tips.us

However, that error message is 99% likely to be true. It means your drive will fail. When? Nobody can say. Sometimes, it can take months or maybe even years for a complete failure. Sometimes, it's the next time you turn it on. It's usually closer to the latter than it is to the former.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

That was what I wanted to comment on in another thread, but it would have been off topic.

That message is usually serious and is correct. If you see that message, it means backup everything and don't bother with that storage device again.

The good news is that you're probably using SATA. If so, you can get an SSD for very little money. It won't be nearly as large, but Linux can comfortably run on a 256 GB drive and a 500 GB drive will give you loads of space to grow into.

See NewEgg and TeamGroup SSDs if you want a recommendation for replacement hardware.

If you want a second opinion, see this:

How To: Use S.M.A.R.T. To Check Disk Health • Linux Tips

Disk health is an important matter. Your storage media has a useful lifetime and the clock is ticking from day one. Be it hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SDD), your storage media has a limited lifespan.

linux-tips.us

However, that error message is 99% likely to be true. It means your drive will fail. When? Nobody can say. Sometimes, it can take months or maybe even years for a complete failure. Sometimes, it's the next time you turn it on. It's usually closer to the latter than it is to the former.

I wasn't sure if should tell wizard from oz in a pm or in his thread. I knew last night there was no point in the Snapshots and the things he was looking. I thought it would be rude to not say anything at al!

I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do right now. The last time I checked the ASUS system everything looked good with the hardware, operating temps were good. The only problem I ever had was Windows messing with my system. I want my ASUS!! The problem could very well be the hardware, but my monitor seems fine. Since connecting it to this current laptop, nothing looks weird at all even during the times that seem to coincide with internet congestion. I'm pretty sure a failing disk can have varying effects on anything, drivers...

So I don't know. If I replace anything, I'd rather it be the graphics card in the ASUIS. However, I;d rather wait on that until I find the old graphics card.


But yeah, I'm totally exhausted today. Feels like a crash course in Linux. And things were finally beginning to click when I find myself without a fully functional PC.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

@KGIII

For what it's worth...

I have the impression that you work in something to with with systems, IT maybe or something like that. You probably know what is and what isn't good hardware. So just in case you don't have much knowledge concerning Lenovo's this might be interesting to you.

I remember my ex having problems booting into Windows on this Lenovo. I figured he must have done something again. I was always fixing the things he did to his PC's like deleting his recovery files, malware, spraying monitors and keyboards point blank with a water bottle to clean them. He seriously did that, more than once. No wonder we split up!

I put the laptop away and forgot about it. But given that one Lenovo has a failing disk, and Linux installation files don't even detect an HDD on another Lenovo...

I'll just say this. I don't think I will ever buy a Lenovo. In fact, I would discourage anyone from ever buying one.

But I do love the Motorola phones. I won't buy anything esle. And I especially won't buy one that isn't globally unlocked.

 

[The Duck]

Start checking in thrift stores or garage sales I recently purchased this desktop for $15.00 and installed a hard drive I had laying around.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04453446

Installed Easy OS on it and works great OOTB you don't need the newest computers to run any Linux based on my experience.

Spoiler

# inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: EASYPC19597 Kernel: 5.15.148 x86_64 (64 bit) Desktop: JWM 2.4.2 Distro: EasyOS 5.7 kirkstone64
Machine:   Device: desktop System: Hewlett-Packard product: 700-414 v: 1.00
           Mobo: Hewlett-Packard model: 2AF7 v: 1.04 UEFI: AMI v: 80.20 date: 10/31/2014
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i5-4570 (-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3) bmips: 25554
           clock speeds: max: 3201 MHz 1: 800 MHz 2: 1440 MHz 3: 1000 MHz 4: 800 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: X.org 1.21.1.8 driver: intel tty size: 124x35 Advanced Data: N/A for root
Audio:     Card Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k5.15.148
Network:   Card-1: Broadcom and subsidiaries BCM43142 802.11b/g/n bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: N/A state: N/A mac: N/A
           Card-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 port: e000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: NA (-)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: Hitachi_HDT72504 size: 400.1GB
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   None detected - is lm-sensors installed and configured?
Info:      Processes: 154 Uptime: 1 day Memory: 1353.1/11891.6MB Init: SysVinit runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: N/A
           Client: Shell (bash 5.1.161) inxi: 2.3.8
#

Just buy a Team Group SSD and install Linux and life will be good.

 

[wizardfromoz]

I am moving this to Hardware, as it has Support Posts in it.

There, I can better respond, if I have pertinent input.

Cheers

Wizard

 

[wizardfromoz]

I don't have a USB stick big enough for an OS. (I thought I found one the 2 USB drives with 500 GB and 1 TB.

Sherri, can you tell us a bit more about those.

Do they plug into the Lenovo, and if so, can you run GNOME Disks (like you did with the overheating screenshot in Timeshift thread) and see if they appear in the panes in Disks?

Wiz

 

[wizardfromoz]

BTW I renamed the Thread

 

[bob466]

You're lucky you got a warning...my HDDs just stopped working...this is where a system image comes in very handy.

Try to backup all your important stuff to an External HDD or Flash Drives as soon as possible...you might not have long.
Buy an SSD...500GB or larger should be fine...they are much faster too.

As for your password problem...you should try this...
https://www.linux.org/threads/how-t...rd-from-the-live-session-in-linux-mint.45548/
Hope this helps.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Sherri, can you tell us a bit more about those.

Do they plug into the Lenovo, and if so, can you run GNOME Disks (like you did with the overheating screenshot in Timeshift thread) and see if they appear in the panes in Disks?

Wiz

I'm really, really tired. My brain went to sleep before I did. I'm first going to see if I can into UEFI. Lenovo has tricks you have figure out if you want to do anything that requires thinking. The Giant has grown fond of his zombie. He wants to keep them that way.

Getting into UEFI on a Lenovo is the oddest thing I've ever seen. There is a little tiny button you can barely see hidden somewhere on the side. You push and hold it down. After a few moments, the laptop boots into UEFI. UEFI is password protected on this laptop. In a separate, thread I asked if the tricks to get around that password in BIOS system would work with UEFI also. If I can get I can get in, I can find out something about the HDD, primarily if it works or not.

With these Lenovos, everything seems to be purposefully hidden. Maybe I can change something so I can install Linux.

I'm going to do that first. Then I'll come back to look at your questions.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

You're lucky you got a warning...my HDDs just stopped working...this is where a system image comes in very handy.

Try to backup all your important stuff to an External HDD or Flash Drives as soon as possible...you might not have long.
Buy an SSD...500GB or larger should be fine...they are much faster too.

As for your password problem...you should try this...
https://www.linux.org/threads/how-t...rd-from-the-live-session-in-linux-mint.45548/
Hope this helps.

I haven't put anything on that laptop , so I'm good there!


I WANT MY ASUS!!!

Out of pure curiosity I'm going to try a couple of things with it. They may or may not work, but that's how I've figured a lot of things.

I hate to beat on a dead horse, but given all the tricks I've caught the Giant trying to do, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is the real cause of the trouble with my ASUS. He changed so many other things behind my back, so why not mess with drivers too???

 

[wizardfromoz]

No hurry from our part, get your rest.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Since this about hard drives...
I've been wondering about something. I have a DVR. The satellite TV service never followed through on their end when service was canceled. I've kept it because it might useful. Like maybe a hard drive disk? I still have an old copy of DBAN that does everything the paid version does. If there is an HDD inside, I could get one of those (cases?) to put it in, wipe it and make an external drive.

I always keep stuff if I think I might be able to use it. I take magnets out of old speakers. Those things awesome!

 

[wizardfromoz]

(cases?)

A caddy - hardware is not my strong point, but others may have ideas.

 

[The Duck]

I always keep stuff if I think I might be able to use it. I take magnets out of old speakers. Those things awesome!

I pull the magnets out of hard drives and use them for different things and talk about strong they are.

I hung on to stuff I thought I may need or would use and now in my old age find myself tossing all of that stuff in the trash.

Never know what might be useful in the future.

 

[The Duck]

Since this about hard drives...
I've been wondering about something. I have a DVR. The satellite TV service never followed through on their end when service was canceled. I've kept it because it might useful. Like maybe a hard drive disk? I still have an old copy of DBAN that does everything the paid version does. If there is an HDD inside, I could get one of those (cases?) to put it in, wipe it and make an external drive.

You never know until you try and if it's a normal size hard drive it might fit the bay of the computer you need it for.

Worth a look see and a try imo.

 

[KGIII]

I have the impression that you work in something to with with systems, IT maybe or something like that.

I'm retired. I did do my own IT for quite some time but I was eventually in the position to hire others to do that for me. The short answer is that I owned and sold my own tech company.

Huh... I've now been retired for about the same length of time that I owned my company. I just realized that.

 

[KGIII]

I'll just say this. I don't think I will ever buy a Lenovo.

I've done some additional reading and if your laptop is both a Lenovo and recent enough, you can't reset the password by removing the battery and then pressing (and holding) the power button. It doesn't work as the password is written to an EEPROM.

The reading I saw is that someone with advanced equipment and knowledge can reflash the EEPROM if they have the known good image to flash it with.

Before anyone yells and hates them, that's the correct thing to do. It shouldn't be possible to remove the password. If you can remove the password someone else can remove the password.

Now, maybe there should be some sort of recovery dongle you could insert to reset the password, each specific to the device and current password - containing a salted and hashed password perhaps. But, nobody offers that to the best of my knowledge.

In this case, you'd then keep the dongle in a safe place - somewhere where the laptop isn't. It'd be pretty sweet and easy to do. The user would just flash the dongle with every setup password change they made. They'd be prompted to do so, at least.

You can have that idea for free, OEMs.

 

[The Duck]

These may be helpful.

How to Unlock a Lenovo Laptop: A Complete Guide in 2024

Lenovo laptops come with several security features that allow you to lock your device in case it gets lost or stolen. This includes setting a power-on, hard drive, or supervisor password.

www.linkedin.com

How to Reset Lenovo Laptop Password without Disk Windows 10/8/7

Reset password on Lenovo laptop without disk for Windows 10/8/7

www.cocosenor.com

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

@wizardfromoz

These may be helpful.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-unlock-lenovo-laptop-2023-update-robiul-hossain[/URL

[QUOTE="The Duck, post: 219344, me...ovo-laptop-password-without-disk.html[/QUOTE]

Reset password on Lenovo laptop without disk for Windows 10/8/7

www.cocosenor.com

I will look at those!

Some of those probably won't be obstacles for me. My ex was one of the most ignorant people I've ever known. He wouldn't know about those things, let alone possible. He wouldn't even care care because "That would never happen to me". It seems he would know it could happen. I can't tell you how many times his his bank card was (cloned?). I'm not sure what that's called. He always used debit instead of credit with his bank card. He all but advertised the pin number, too.

I'm surprised he used a password at all to protect UEFI settings. If I didn't tell him about it, it was me or Lenovo who put it there. He was a man with a masters degree, but he did so many stupid things! He actually sprayed his keyboard with water, while it was plugged in. I managed to save it! I can't even begin to tell you how many times I fixed his computers.

Come to think of it, the traditional ways to access the boot menu don't work on Lenovo laptops. You have find a microscopic button on the side. I had to use one of those pins you use on a phone to get to SIM card to push that button. I wouldn't forget something that unusual!