HDD Problem? Can not boot...

M

masshole

[H]ard|Gawd
2FA
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
1,513
Trying to work on a buddys pc and Im stumped.... He has an HP, not sure what OS. He advised its XP....

Anyway, the HP screen comes on at boot, then this message:

"Disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter"

Can not get past there. Ive swapped out cables, made sure the HDD was on Master. I also replaced it into this computer (my main one) and attempted to access the HDD by simpily swapping it out with my back up (while keeping the drives, etc the same), and nothing. I placed my HDD in the HP and was still getting the same message...hmm

What else can I do? Any thoughts? Thanks-
 
masshole said:
Trying to work on a buddys pc and Im stumped.... He has an HP, not sure what OS. He advised its XP....

Anyway, the HP screen comes on at boot, then this message:

"Disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter"

Can not get past there. Ive swapped out cables, made sure the HDD was on Master. I also replaced it into this computer (my main one) and attempted to access the HDD by simpily swapping it out with my back up (while keeping the drives, etc the same), and nothing. I placed my HDD in the HP and was still getting the same message...hmm

What else can I do? Any thoughts? Thanks-
Click to expand...

have you tried reformatting the hdd (his not yours)? it sounds like the boot files or the partition is corrupted.
 
Yes, thats what my last option is going to be. However there are pictures on the drive he wants saved, and other then that he doesnt care about the drive.

If the partition is corrupt, theres no way of accessing it, is there? (other then sending it off to a data recovery service, and Im not spending $1,000 to get that done)

Thanks-
 
Also, another thing is when I put his HDD in my pc, it didnt even recognize it as a drive...
 
get into the BIOS and make sure the boot order is correct, secondly make sure the HD is connected right and powering up (do u hear it spinning). If all that fails you might just have to format.
 
Does your BIOS see the drive when you swop it for a known working one ?

If not then can you feel/hear the drive spin up on power on ?
Are there any bent pins in the IDE socket ?
Any sign of damage to the drives circuit board ?

Luck......... :D
 
masshole said:
Also, another thing is when I put his HDD in my pc, it didnt even recognize it as a drive...
Click to expand...

when you put the HDD in your pc it doesnt detect it as a drive in the bios or in windows? if it doesnt detect it in the bios that means either you set the jumpers wrong or the hard drive has failed (circuit board failure, etc) if the hard drive is detected in the bios but not in windows then you simply need to "mount" the hard drive.
 
Thanks guys...

Yea, the BIOS in his PC isnt even recognizing it. I've attempted all of your suggestions and nothing. I talked to my buddy today and asked him if he wanted me to reformat it, and he said, "Nah, I think this is a good excuse to get a new computer." Maybe I can con him into keeping it. Its not bad, its a 1.4ghz with 256, running on XP. We'll see.


Thanks for all the suggestions and effort.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top