My main Laptop Hard drive crashed, and my external - coincidence??

1. 74

   LeanManposted 13 years ago

   Have had a bad few days - the hard drive on my laptop crashed and I could not boot up - took out the hard drive and "read" it on another laptop; the main partition with the system and most of my files is corrupted and unreadable! Maybe old age, as laptop now 4-5 years old and very well used. The second partition on the disc with my "archive" files is fine.
   Spent a few days sorting out my spare laptop, went to my external drive and that has "crashed" also, windows cannot read it's contents, same symptoms!
   
   Thankfully I still have another backup (but a few weeks older without the videos that I had just spent last two weeks perfecting!!! aaggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!)
   
   Are there viruses that can do this? or have I just been unlucky? I don't download rubbish or go to "dodgy" sites and use AVG antivirus - I had no other symptoms prior to this.
   
   Any suggestions welcome as I don't want to lose anymore data!!

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      Jennifer Stoneposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know, but recently had very similar problems! My hard drive crashed on my laptop, data became corrupted and unreadable, and then windows became corrupted and the computer started to resemble a door stop or something equally as useless! I also use AVG and am careful about downloading and the sites I visit, but have been wondering about a virus causing it. If it was then it is a new and very clever virus that stays very well hidden! Maybe if other people have also had this problem we can get to the bottom of it.... I must say it's very inconvenient!

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2. 90

   rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

   Sorry, I can't help, but maybe someone else can. Good luck, it sounds frustrating.

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3. 60

   Sandy Frostposted 13 years ago

   Though, it can't be assured but it can be some kind of physical crash of your hard drive or any virus generated problem, an ordinary check-up of your pc is compulsory to know exactly what caused the problem. Well, I'll like to ask you few questions before telling some possible solutions. Was your laptop making some sound or getting overheated before the day when problem occured? Was your laptop working slow from some time? Are you using free version or a licensed copy of AVG antivirus?

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4. 67

   Anti-Valentineposted 13 years ago

   Well if it is a virus, and it could be, AVG would hardly be the anti-virus solution to have. Several out there say it's way past its best and not recommended. I don't know - two HDDS crashing one after other like the OP describes. It's like they say - there are no coincidences. You should go to a forum like techguy and ask for help there.

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5. 60

   Singaporeanposted 13 years ago

   You could check your power source. I'm not sure how do you do it with consumer test equipment, but sometimes, if electrical items fail one after another, it could be due to the power surges or other power related issue.
   
   The other thing is, IF you believe that "Machines have Life", then maybe THEY are jealous of something. Did you buy a new gadget recently? a phone or even a thumbdrive (!!), but .. that is, if you believe in it..
   
   But a more scientific and realistic answer could be "age".
   
   Backup everything that can still be salvaged.
   
   Good Luck!

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