Error message on PC - "error auto-sensing primary hard disk drive0"

Thanks for the quick follow up. It is a Dimension B110.  I pressed F12, got the boot device menu.  Do not see a "dell diganostics" option of the 8 items.  These are the options - 1) Normal, 2) Primary Master Drive, 3) Diskette Drive, 4) Hard-disk drive C:, 5) EDI CD-ROM device, 6) System setup, 7) IDE drive diagnostics, and 8) Boot to utility partition.

And I am running Windows XP.

A failed hard drive does not doom a pc. You should have posted your model and operating system for more specific help. Run the Dell Diagnostics extended--not the quick--hard drive test to see if the drive needs replacing. Press F12 on most computers at the very first screen to access the boot menu. Start pressing F12 as soon as  you reboot. This assumes your computer & OS require F12 to access boot menu.

 darbyrae

You need to use the 'Boot to Utility Partition' option, for diagnostics.

"When the Boot menu appears, highlight the Boot to Utility Partition option, or the Diagnostics option and then press to start the 32-bit Dell Diagnostics" 

"Press the key to highlight Test System Press to continue to 32-bit Diagnostics"

Bev.

Tried option you noted (boot to utility program) and it would not let me go any further, it defaulted to the "strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility".  Does not look good.

dan

darbyrae

"Error auto-sensing primary hard disk drive0" is displayed when the primary hard disk cannot be read or found.

First check that the IDE data and power cables are properly connected to the hard drive and morherboard, by removing and reseating them, if this does not correct the problem, then it's likely the hard drive has failed and needs to be replaced.

Bev.

darbyrae,
Try running the IDE drive diagnostics from the boot device menu and see what the results are.

Thanks to everyone for the input and trying to help me out. So next novice question for anyone who can give me some advice. I travel a lot, and this PC is my home one my family uses.  I use a laptop for work and have an awesome IT team at my company who baby me so I have no idea what to do next.  I'm sure this model is not available any more, it is a few years old I think.  Looking at what is out there, I see a lot of Inspiron 546, 537, and Zino being pushed, and suggestions by those who know?  And I'm assuming anything I didn't already have backed up is a goner....

Checked cables and connections to all listed, guess I need a new hard drive....

Yes, that's likely the answer. It happens.

Normally a drive will give you a bit of warning that it's going to fail - random error messages during file copy operations, OS crashes, odd noises from the HDD itself, etc. Sometimes they just up and die without warning. Assuming that a cable hasn't gone bad or the drive controller on the motherboard is still good, a new drive will most likely resolve the issue.

Thanks, tried, same error message, not looking good.

darbyrae

I would go for the 546 Mini tower, [not the Slimline] for a replacement for B110.

Regards to recovering the files and folders, you could try installing the IDE hard drive in a powered, USB 2.0, IDE external enclosure and attaching it to a working computer and see if you can transfer the files and folders.

Bev.

darbyrae

You are welcome.

The Slimline models are not easy to upgrade, they require low profile cards and the power supply is limited to a 300w TFX unit, whereas the Mini Tower models, full size cards can be used and the power supplies can be upgraded, as they are standard ATX units.

Bev.

Checked cables and connections to all listed, guess I need a new hard drive....

darbyrae

Yep, you need to buy, an IDE, [not SATA] 3.5", 7200rpm, internal hard drive.

Bev.

Thanks again.  I will take a look at the cost and the options each has, sounds like you have some experience or feedback from others on the Slimline.  As for the recovery, I've got a 500 gig simpledrive from simpletech, can I use this to try and extract the data from the hard drive?  If not, I have to buy something.  If that is the case I have backed up about 90% of the data on 5 different backup devices and the other 10% may not be worth the cost.

darbyrae,
While both Bev and disord3r have provided good info I'd suggest making absolutely certain the problem is with the drive itself and not with the IDE cable or the primary controller on the motherboard before spending any money on a new hard drive or another computer. Over the years I've seen plenty of instances where either of those has caused a HDD or optical drive not to be detected. Presumably the optical drive in your B110 is still being detected properly, which means both its IDE cable and the secondary IDE controller are OK. Easiest way to test for a problem with the hard drive cable and primary IDE controller would be to switch the IDE cables on the backs of the drives themselves. If the error persists with the hard drive plugged into the secondary controller with the optical drive's IDE cable then you'll know for certain the drive is at fault.