Somehow I have managed to become the person my friends call when they are having "computer problems". This is most likely due to them hearing I have helped someone else and the fact that my personality doesn't let me say no when people ask for help. I think it is fair to say that I have been able to come up with good solutions for most of their problems. The majority of the issues have been hardware related, (I try to avoid "fixing" windows as much as I can) and most of those specifically hard drive related. There are a couple of tools that have really aided in the problem solving process.
The first tool is a piece of hardware -- a USB to IDE and SATA adapter. You connect an IDE or SATA 3.5 or 2.5 inch drive to one side and plug the other side into a USB port. I use it all the time when trying to trouble shoot a bad system. I am much more comfortable using Linux, so being able to take a hard drive out of a troubled system and quickly connect it to my Linux desktop system comes in very handy. It has been very useful for doing quick checks, but does not allow you to do things like check the SMART status of a disk.
The other tool is a collection of software distributed as a single bootable CD -- the Parted Magic Live CD. I have found myself using (and appreciating) the Parted Magic Live CD (http://partedmagic.com/) more and more. Here is the description from the Parted Magic web page (as of Aug 2009):
The Parted Magic OS employs core programs of GParted and Parted to handle partitioning tasks with ease, while featuring other useful programs (e.g. Partition Image, TestDisk, fdisk, sfdisk, dd, and ddrescue) and an excellent set of documentation to benefit the user. An extensive collection of file system tools are also included, as Parted Magic supports the following: ext2, ext3, ext4, fat16, fat32, hfs, hfs+, jfs, linux-swap, ntfs, reiserfs, reiser4, and xfs.
In addition to the programs listed, it also contains the SMART tools as well as many, many others. To see the complete list visit the Parted Magic web site. If you are a Linux user, I definitely recommend adding the Parted Magic Live CD to your list of diagnostic tools. If you are not a Linux user, I would still recommend checking it out, in addition to all the command line tools, many also have GUI interfaces that make them very easy for anyone to use.
