"Operating system cannot be found"

[KernalPanic]

Don't forget that at 6 months old its probably still under warranty.

Sony I think has a diagnostic program they run and want a code result from in order to claim a failing hard disk. They may simply send you another under warranty.

I have a 2TB USB3 drive I use at home which holds backups of both my laptop and home PCs in *.vhd format. Even if the main drive fails, I can boot from *.vhd using that drive. (booting from *.vhd requires Win7 Ultimate or Enterprise)

I recommend a similar setup for anyone using any type of computer. The best part? Its relatively cheap, very easy, and painless.

[Mitlov]

Don't forget that at 6 months old its probably still under warranty.

Sony I think has a diagnostic program they run and want a code result from in order to claim a failing hard disk. They may simply send you another under warranty.

I've recently been in another warranty battle (over a car) and have no interest in getting involved in that again so long as I can afford to replace the part myself...it left a very sour taste in my mouth about warranty claims as anything other than a last resort. Particularly because my warranty involves shipping the machine back to the manufacturer, not having a tech come to me.

So long as we're talking about a $100 hard drive and not a $1200 total failure of the system, I'd rather pay out of pocket and work with someone I trust locally, instead of shipping my machine off to the manufacturer for two weeks to get it back unchanged with a letter saying "user complaint could not be reproduced." Time is money, and spending six hours arguing with Sony (time I could have worked and billed) instead of paying $150 to a local IT guy I trust just doesn't make sense for me.

[KernalPanic]

It's your call of course, but most laptop warranties are not that bad.
(I work in a larger IT department and we fix/return/warranty lots of laptops)

When its a failed hard disk, it is usually as simple as running an diagnostic program, getting a code and giving it to the tech on the phone who will then likely find a manager to authorize concurrent shipping. Then they arrange giving the manufacturer a credit card number to secure the exchange. (If this works right you are only charged if you do not return the hard disk in the package being sent to you.)

It has been some time since I have worked with Sony, however.

Hard disks are usually user-replaceable, so your way works just fine.
You should be able to save some money if Sony has their stuff together.

[Mitlov]

As another angle, the tech guy our company works with has raised the possibility of a rootkit. He's checking the machine for that right now and also doing some detailed testing of the HDD. Anyone had any experiences dealing with rootkits? Does that sound like a likely possibility to folks here?

[KernalPanic]

It would be a very poorly written one if it is.

The point of a rootkit is to remain hidden and run the programmer's code indefinitely. A rootkit that causes the OS to not load has failed in its job and alerted everyone that something is wrong and probably cannot run its own code either.

I wouldnt say anything is impossible, but as rare as hard disk hardware issues are, I'd say a rootkit of that nature would be even more rare.

Furthurmore, the rootkit would have to have a method of surviving a full re-partition, format, and OS reinstallation which is usually done by most default recovery kits.

Certainly checking for malware is wise, but I wouldn't say that's the most likely result.

[Mitlov]

Well, the BIOS is clean. If there was any malware of any type, it hadn't affected the BIOS, and whatever was on the HDD was wiped out when I reformatted the hard drive. DSKCHK is still running (shockingly slow...it's been going for roughly three hours so far).

If DSKCHK says there's no problems with the disk, should I trust it? Or replace the HDD as a precautionary measure? How common are false negatives with DSKCHK (i.e., it says there's no HDD problem when there is)?

Thanks everyone for the input...it's been very helpful.

[Mitlov]

chkdsk has completed and says my HDD is just fine...what now? Just reinstall everything and cross my fingers? Replace the HDD anyway?

[JOSEA]

Mitlov I have always found windows chkdsk reliable as far as reported results, the fact that is takes so long could indicat bad sectors. I recently did an older 7200 80 GIG chkdsk took about 1 hour (no bad sectors) If you are looking primarly for a reliable replacement do you plan to get an SSD?

chkdsk has completed and says my HDD is just fine...what now? Just reinstall everything and cross my fingers? Replace the HDD anyway?

See the 3rd post here by HopelesslyFaithful I think my hard drive is dying

[Mitlov]

Mitlov I have always found windows chkdsk reliable as far as reported results, the fact that is takes so long could indicat bad sectors. I recently did an older 7200 80 GIG chkdsk took about 1 hour (no bad sectors) If you are looking primarly for a reliable replacement do you plan to get an SSD?

In that case it might not be functioning improperly, just had a lot to scan. I've got a 750 GB HDD that's about a third full. Took just over three hours.

Good to know chkdsk isn't liable to have false negatives.

As for SpeedFan, I know for sure it wasn't overheating...I hadn't done anything but word process on it in the hour before the "operating system cannot be found" warning. And I generally don't do anything intense on it besides ME3 for an our or so.

[JOSEA]

I understand your temps are good, but Speedfan has some versatilty built in. SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer
Speed fan can also access SMART data Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology. This is another way to check the 'health' of the hard drive, SpeedFan article: What is S.M.A.R.T. and how can we use it to avoid data disaster?