hard drive failure

overhaul · 07-07-2008, 08:02 AM

i have a dell 8200 with 128*2 rambus ram and a 30gig hard drive. not sure the processor(non celeron) but the pc is about 7 years old. Computer is running windows xp but freezes when service pack 2 is installed. I was going to re-install windows because barely anything will run without service pack 2(to clean malware and potential virus) but 50% of the time i get a "abort and retry" error message at boot up. When I check the bios is shows no IDE drives installed, no hard drive or cd rom drive. I receeded all ide drives but this does not fix the problem. If i unplug the power directly from the power supply this sometimes help getting back into windows. Could it be that im having a hardware failure.

**Deleted090308** · 07-07-2008, 08:53 AM

Hi

Try clearing CMOS and replacing the HDD's data cable.

overhaul · 07-07-2008, 12:06 PM

i cleared the cmos, and still the same problem. the drives are only recognized half of the time. for the hdd's data cable i dont believe it will work because both the cable for the cd rom drive and the cable for the hard drive are not recognized

**Deleted090308** · 07-07-2008, 09:55 PM

Could be a bad power supply - try another.
If you don't have an extra PSU, try starting the PC with a minimum of components - 1 Ram stick, no CD drive etc.

overhaul · 07-08-2008, 09:31 PM

I got the notorious blue screen of death, and the error code ended up being the hard drive. thank you for all your support eneles

**Deleted090308** · 07-08-2008, 09:58 PM

What was the exact error message?
Connect the HDD to another computer and run diagnostic tools from the drive manufacturer.

~~wiseleo~~ · 07-08-2008, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overhaul

i have a dell 8200 with 128*2 rambus ram and a 30gig hard drive. not sure the processor(non celeron) but the pc is about 7 years old. Computer is running windows xp but freezes when service pack 2 is installed. I was going to re-install windows because barely anything will run without service pack 2(to clean malware and potential virus) but 50% of the time i get a "abort and retry" error message at boot up. When I check the bios is shows no IDE drives installed, no hard drive or cd rom drive. I receeded all ide drives but this does not fix the problem. If i unplug the power directly from the power supply this sometimes help getting back into windows. Could it be that im having a hardware failure.

Dead hard drive. Not entirely dead yet, but once it dies you'll have a pretty expensive problem. Cheapest way to fix - get a new Seagate internal hard drive. It will come with some software on the CD. Ignore that software. You will use something a lot better :)

160GB units should be extremely cheap now.

Now, download Seagate Disk Wizard (this is a FREE limited edition Acronis TrueImage that works whenever a Seagate or a Maxtor device is detected in the system) http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/drivers/discwiz.html

Follow Seagate's instructions on how to clone the hard disk.

ATA technology uses the controller of the Master drive to run the Slave drive. Therefore, I recommend connecting the dying drive as a slave to the new Master.

You will probably enjoy much faster performance as a side effect of this procedure.

overhaul · 07-10-2008, 07:20 AM

thanks for all great support

**Deleted090308** · 07-10-2008, 08:08 AM

Is it working now?

overhaul · 07-11-2008, 09:45 PM

no it was dead. couldn't even format. in the middle of formating i would get the blue screen of death

07-07-2008, 08:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
overhaul Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp	hard drive failure i have a dell 8200 with 128*2 rambus ram and a 30gig hard drive. not sure the processor(non celeron) but the pc is about 7 years old. Computer is running windows xp but freezes when service pack 2 is installed. I was going to re-install windows because barely anything will run without service pack 2(to clean malware and potential virus) but 50% of the time i get a "abort and retry" error message at boot up. When I check the bios is shows no IDE drives installed, no hard drive or cd rom drive. I receeded all ide drives but this does not fix the problem. If i unplug the power directly from the power supply this sometimes help getting back into windows. Could it be that im having a hardware failure.

07-07-2008, 08:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: hard drive failure Hi Try clearing CMOS and replacing the HDD's data cable.

07-07-2008, 12:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
overhaul Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp	Re: hard drive failure i cleared the cmos, and still the same problem. the drives are only recognized half of the time. for the hdd's data cable i dont believe it will work because both the cable for the cd rom drive and the cable for the hard drive are not recognized

07-07-2008, 09:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: hard drive failure Could be a bad power supply - try another. If you don't have an extra PSU, try starting the PC with a minimum of components - 1 Ram stick, no CD drive etc.

07-08-2008, 09:31 PM	#5 (permalink)
overhaul Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp	Re: hard drive failure I got the notorious blue screen of death, and the error code ended up being the hard drive. thank you for all your support eneles

07-08-2008, 09:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: hard drive failure What was the exact error message? Connect the HDD to another computer and run diagnostic tools from the drive manufacturer.

07-10-2008, 07:20 AM	#8 (permalink)
overhaul Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp	Re: hard drive failure thanks for all great support

07-10-2008, 08:08 AM	#9 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: hard drive failure Is it working now?

07-11-2008, 09:45 PM	#10 (permalink)
overhaul Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 8 OS: xp	Re: hard drive failure no it was dead. couldn't even format. in the middle of formating i would get the blue screen of death