Tech Support Forum - View Single Post - Great......BOOT DISK FAILURE..Anything I need to try or just dead HD?

MarcoROB · 11-24-2008, 05:03 AM

Hey guys
I built a new PC around a month ago trying SATA for the first time. Last night after a long startup I get the error:

"BOOT DISK FAILURE, PLEASE INSERT A SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

The hard drive is a Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II.

First I checked that the hard drive was properly plugged in. I had a similar issue on an older machine where it was dust in the connectors.
That did not work so I checked the BIOS. Nothing unusual. raid disabled, bootlist seem fine. The machine did work earlier in the day fine so I changed the settings to 'last working'.

When that did not work I decided to change the setting that doesnt just show a logo on startup but get to see the workings.
The slow startup is when the machine is trying to detect SATA ports and takes ages when trying to load the hard drive port. I know its this as I moved the hard drive from port 0 to port 5. Loaded 1-4 fine then hung on 4 before going though 5/6. It does however detect there are two devices before this starts. Says something like 'ports 6, 2 devices detected' but only the dvd burner is loaded.

I took out the hard drive and held it loosly and I did feel the disk spinning on startup. Nothing really noticeably abnormal. No smell, no massive excess heat.

I tried installing windows vista and when it came to choosing what HD to put it on, there were none. Was expecting that really.

I tried xpress recovery to see if I can set the MOBO to factory settings. I noticed that my MOBO's drivers are still the same and have not been updated. I could see this from the start up details.
Xpress recovery 2 didn't load properly. I got to the screen and it says something about no IDE drivers. Makes sense.

I was going to see how the hard drive is in another computer but my older machine doesn't have SATA.

I have got my hands on an old ATA hard drive which was a backup on my work machine. I will see if the new computer reconises that. I am also ordering a new HD and will send this one off as its under garantee. Hopefully it will just be a dead HD and hopefully not the MOBO :S

Please let me know if there is anything that I have missed. I am sure there is not much else to try. I cant run any HD diagnostic software as I cant get into windows. Unless I can boot into the software.

Finally here is my PC stats.

Windows Vista
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz 12M Cache S775 1333MHZ
Gigabyte S775 Intel X48 DDR2 ATX Audio Lan 1600FSB 6xSATAII
Corsair Memory 4GBKIT (2X2GB) 800MHZ NON ECC CL5 Corsair Memory 4GBKIT (2X2GB) 800MHZ NON ECC CL5
Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II
Force3D HD 4870X2 2GB graphics
OCZ 900W ModXstream Modular Power Supply

You input is greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.

Regards

Marco Roberts

11-24-2008, 05:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
MarcoROB Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Vista	Great......BOOT DISK FAILURE..Anything I need to try or just dead HD? Hey guys I built a new PC around a month ago trying SATA for the first time. Last night after a long startup I get the error: "BOOT DISK FAILURE, PLEASE INSERT A SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER" The hard drive is a Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II. First I checked that the hard drive was properly plugged in. I had a similar issue on an older machine where it was dust in the connectors. That did not work so I checked the BIOS. Nothing unusual. raid disabled, bootlist seem fine. The machine did work earlier in the day fine so I changed the settings to 'last working'. When that did not work I decided to change the setting that doesnt just show a logo on startup but get to see the workings. The slow startup is when the machine is trying to detect SATA ports and takes ages when trying to load the hard drive port. I know its this as I moved the hard drive from port 0 to port 5. Loaded 1-4 fine then hung on 4 before going though 5/6. It does however detect there are two devices before this starts. Says something like 'ports 6, 2 devices detected' but only the dvd burner is loaded. I took out the hard drive and held it loosly and I did feel the disk spinning on startup. Nothing really noticeably abnormal. No smell, no massive excess heat. I tried installing windows vista and when it came to choosing what HD to put it on, there were none. Was expecting that really. I tried xpress recovery to see if I can set the MOBO to factory settings. I noticed that my MOBO's drivers are still the same and have not been updated. I could see this from the start up details. Xpress recovery 2 didn't load properly. I got to the screen and it says something about no IDE drivers. Makes sense. I was going to see how the hard drive is in another computer but my older machine doesn't have SATA. I have got my hands on an old ATA hard drive which was a backup on my work machine. I will see if the new computer reconises that. I am also ordering a new HD and will send this one off as its under garantee. Hopefully it will just be a dead HD and hopefully not the MOBO :S Please let me know if there is anything that I have missed. I am sure there is not much else to try. I cant run any HD diagnostic software as I cant get into windows. Unless I can boot into the software. Finally here is my PC stats. Windows Vista Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz 12M Cache S775 1333MHZ Gigabyte S775 Intel X48 DDR2 ATX Audio Lan 1600FSB 6xSATAII Corsair Memory 4GBKIT (2X2GB) 800MHZ NON ECC CL5 Corsair Memory 4GBKIT (2X2GB) 800MHZ NON ECC CL5 Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II Force3D HD 4870X2 2GB graphics OCZ 900W ModXstream Modular Power Supply You input is greatly appreciated and thanks in advance. Regards Marco Roberts