My Dell won't find any of my Primary or Secondary Drives

call_me_sir · 09-05-2008, 05:47 AM

Every time I turn on my Dell it gives me this error.. "Primary drive 0 not found, Primary drive 1 not found, Secondary drive 0 not found, Secondary drive 1 not found.. I took out my Power supply to see if it would fit in my friends computer, and when I put my power supply back in my computer it gave me that error.. If anyone could help that would be great.

To be more specific about what type of computer I have its a Dell Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUSH Version 1.10 A07 ( what ever that means ).. Or its a Dell System OptiPlex GX270 Series Bios version A07. I got that right off the screen.. And again thanks

Tumbleweed36 · 09-05-2008, 05:52 AM

Clear the CMOS and see if the default bios setting get you to going. You can do that by either moving the jumper to pins 1 & 2 to pins 2 & 3 and then after a few mintues returning them or removing the motherboard battery for a few minutes. Be sure to unplug from the wall and ground yourself before working in that case.

call_me_sir · 09-05-2008, 06:24 AM

Thank you for the help. It dose not seem to be working. As you can probably tell I'm bad with computer so I will try to get somebody I know to do what you said for me.

Imno Guru · 09-05-2008, 07:25 AM

Are you still there? The battery is inside the case. Have you ever gone inside a computer b4? YES/NO
NO. Shut down computer, turn off at the plug, remove plug from computer.
Pick the side of the case that comes off or maybe it is the entire caseing that comes off.
Screws at the rear of the case, usually 4 maybe 6 and sometimes less need to be removed with a screwdriver. Remove outer case.
DONT TOUCH ANYTHING YET.
Make sure you GROUND yourself by touching the metal case with your bare hand.
This ensures you have no static charge in you that may ARC inside. (Its a miniscule arc doesnt hurt in fact you will probably never feel it) BUT IT DESTROYS COMPUTERS.
Commonly called ESD for short. (Electro Static Discharge)
Look around inside the box on the Mother board (the big board with lots o stuff on it)
somewhere you will find a small battery, like a watch battery small shinny flat about the size of (US dime nickle) thumb nail.
To remove the battery it may have a springy tag over the top of it to hold it in, lift the springy thing with your other hand lift out the battery (you may need a small instrument to do this) Reground yourself each and every time you come back to your computer.
Remove the battery for 10 minutes and reinstall the battery.

Put you computer together again. ( you dont need to replace the case cover yet, you might need to get back inside for something else.) it is reasonably safe.
However REPLACEING the cover is ultimately the SAFEST WAY.

This method resets your BIOS. You will need to reset the date and time in the bios.When you start up the computer again you have to enter the bios. This is done by hitting the F2 button on your keypad.

The next screen that comes up is the BIOS Settings and is where you find the configuration of your computer.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
Arrow keys up down move the cursor to where you want to look.
Press Enter to go into the section.
Page up/down keys are sometimes used to change the settings.
This is where you tell the computer to "find" your SATA drive.
Set it as you need it and esc to exit save settings.
Save your new settings and reboot.
Hopefully you will now have a new drive found and your computer will run.
I know this is indepth but I dont know your experience with computers.
Good Luck.
Any further questions feel free to call again.

09-05-2008, 05:47 AM	#1 (permalink)
call_me_sir Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP	My Dell won't find any of my Primary or Secondary Drives Every time I turn on my Dell it gives me this error.. "Primary drive 0 not found, Primary drive 1 not found, Secondary drive 0 not found, Secondary drive 1 not found.. I took out my Power supply to see if it would fit in my friends computer, and when I put my power supply back in my computer it gave me that error.. If anyone could help that would be great. To be more specific about what type of computer I have its a Dell Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUSH Version 1.10 A07 ( what ever that means ).. Or its a Dell System OptiPlex GX270 Series Bios version A07. I got that right off the screen.. And again thanks

09-05-2008, 05:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,662 OS: XP Professional	Re: My Dell won't find any of my Primary or Secondary Drives Clear the CMOS and see if the default bios setting get you to going. You can do that by either moving the jumper to pins 1 & 2 to pins 2 & 3 and then after a few mintues returning them or removing the motherboard battery for a few minutes. Be sure to unplug from the wall and ground yourself before working in that case. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.

09-05-2008, 06:24 AM	#3 (permalink)
call_me_sir Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Re: My Dell won't find any of my Primary or Secondary Drives Thank you for the help. It dose not seem to be working. As you can probably tell I'm bad with computer so I will try to get somebody I know to do what you said for me.

09-05-2008, 07:25 AM	#4 (permalink)
Imno Guru Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 8 OS: none	Re: My Dell won't find any of my Primary or Secondary Drives Are you still there? The battery is inside the case. Have you ever gone inside a computer b4? YES/NO NO. Shut down computer, turn off at the plug, remove plug from computer. Pick the side of the case that comes off or maybe it is the entire caseing that comes off. Screws at the rear of the case, usually 4 maybe 6 and sometimes less need to be removed with a screwdriver. Remove outer case. DONT TOUCH ANYTHING YET. Make sure you GROUND yourself by touching the metal case with your bare hand. This ensures you have no static charge in you that may ARC inside. (Its a miniscule arc doesnt hurt in fact you will probably never feel it) BUT IT DESTROYS COMPUTERS. Commonly called ESD for short. (Electro Static Discharge) Look around inside the box on the Mother board (the big board with lots o stuff on it) somewhere you will find a small battery, like a watch battery small shinny flat about the size of (US dime nickle) thumb nail. To remove the battery it may have a springy tag over the top of it to hold it in, lift the springy thing with your other hand lift out the battery (you may need a small instrument to do this) Reground yourself each and every time you come back to your computer. Remove the battery for 10 minutes and reinstall the battery. Put you computer together again. ( you dont need to replace the case cover yet, you might need to get back inside for something else.) it is reasonably safe. However REPLACEING the cover is ultimately the SAFEST WAY. This method resets your BIOS. You will need to reset the date and time in the bios.When you start up the computer again you have to enter the bios. This is done by hitting the F2 button on your keypad. The next screen that comes up is the BIOS Settings and is where you find the configuration of your computer. Follow the instructions on the screen. Arrow keys up down move the cursor to where you want to look. Press Enter to go into the section. Page up/down keys are sometimes used to change the settings. This is where you tell the computer to "find" your SATA drive. Set it as you need it and esc to exit save settings. Save your new settings and reboot. Hopefully you will now have a new drive found and your computer will run. I know this is indepth but I dont know your experience with computers. Good Luck. Any further questions feel free to call again.