Cannot boot Inspiron Notebook Msg "Operating System Not Found"

Julieanne,

You should try to see if you can do a Factory Restore. Ctrl+F11 keys at boot-up. This will put your computer back to the condition it was when you received it from Dell. This will mean all your files will be gone.

You cannot install XP from a USB stick. You will need to find a USB CD drive, if the Factory Restore option does not work for you.

It sounds like the solid state drive has failed.  Does the BIOS see it?

If not,

http://www.memorysuppliers.com/supertalent-ssd-fem16gfdl.html

Thanks for your response.  I can't get it to do a factory restore, so I'll look for a USB CD drive

I just tried again -  the mini 910 doesn't have a  F11 key, so I've been trying all different combinations.

I tried pressing down  Shift Ctrl + and the Windows key.  This is what's displayed on the screen:

For Realtek  RTL8101E/8102E  PCI-E  Ethernet Controller v1.08 (080408)

PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable

PXE-M0F: Exiting PXE ROM.

Operating system not found.

Does that give you any more clues about what could be wrong, or what I can do?   

Also, when I  press  0  then 2  at boot up,  and select  "Diagnostics",  nothing happens.   Are there any diagnostic utilities on the MIni 910?

Thanks again, Julieanne

When you refer to Solid State drive, do you mean the Hard Drive?

The Main tab on the setup utility  displays:    

Fixed HDD:    STEC PATA 16GB-(PM)

Does that mean  the BIOS sees the  Solid State Drive (Hard Drive Disk), if it's displayed?  

Thanks again!  Julieanne

My just did the exact same thing today. How did you fix your problem? Thanks

Hello, I haven't fixed it yet.  I purchased a USB CD player, and tried to boot up using the operating system on the CDs that came with the mini computer.

It looks like I'll have to buy a new  Hard Disk because the computer still won't boot. 

Hello, I haven't fixed it yet.  I purchased a USB CD player, and tried to boot up using the operating system on the CDs that came with the mini computer. It looks like I'll have to buy a new  Hard Disk because the computer still won't boot.

Buying a new Hard Disk is going to be useless unless you can boot the Windows install CD from that USB CD drive to install Windows on the new hard drive.

Update, I made some changes in the BIOS, and  the Set up process started from  the USB CD drive.

However, the process stopped, and the screen now displays the following:

Set up did not find any hard disk drives installed on your computer. 

Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer........

Set up cannot continue...

---------------------------

Does that mean I need a New Hard Disk Drive?

Buying a new Hard Disk is going to be useless unless you can boot the Windows install CD from that USB CD drive to install Windows on the new hard drive.

Hello, so please tell me how I will know if I can boot the Windows install CD from the USB CD drive, BEFORE I get a new Hard Disk?

I'm being sincere, I would really like to know.

Is there something else I can do apart from buying a new hard disk for the mini laptop?

Can you recommend what I can do please? This is what I've done so far:

1) I set the boot sequence to look at USB storage first.

2) I have the Reinstallation CD of the Operating System in the USB CD drive.

3) When I turn the mini laptop on (with the USB CD drive attached), this is what's displayed on the screen:

Intel UNDI, PXE-2.1 (build 082)

Copyright (C) 1997-2000 Intel Corporation

For Realtex RTL8101E/8102E PCI-E Ethernet Controller v1.08 (080408)

PXE-E61: Media Test failure, check cable

PXE-M0F: Exiting PXE ROM.

Operating system not found. I would really appreciate any advise you can give me.

What do you think is wrong with the Laptop? Thanks (in advance) Julieanne

PS  After typing all that in, I just realised that's the same as what was displayed BEFORE I purchased the USB CD drive.  

I'm only just out of warranty, so not sure what to do, to get this fixed.

I had a similar sudden and total failure to my STEC 16GB solid state hard drive (SSD) after 2.5 years of normal operation.

In going with a SSD I had hoped for a much more robust drive but now I am doubting the technology.

So first verify your drive has failed. Note you will probably need to buy an external USB CD drive to do this, then you can run the disc that came with it that says Diagnostic on it. It can verify a hardware failure or whether you had a virus wipe you out.

If you dropped it, you might reseat the card, remove bottom cover, it's the module marked STEC. If that were the case though, your BIOS probably wouldn't see the STEC at all. In my case, it just failed while I was off in the shower, only thing running was antivirus software. After a day of banging around with diagnostics I finally got a new boot message saying "SMART Failure Predicted on Hard Disk. WARNING: Immediately back-up your data and replace your hard disk drive. A failure May Be Imminent" Thanks 'Smart' failure, you are a day too late.

Someone gave a link above to Super Talent replacement. That might work even better than the STEC and cheaper. You won't find these mini PCIe drives at your local store. My local guys couldn't even spot the drive, I had to point it out to them, its an odd little beast.

So now decide if you want to buy a $20-$80 external drive and a $80-$100 replacement SSD for your aging mini 9 (and invest the time to reload) or get a new netbook for around $280 with a 10X bigger drive that doesnt use SSD technology and mothball your mini. So thats where I am at as well....

P.S. If you order the replacement drive from dell, make sure you get the right one X422G I think.

P.P.S. If all you do is browse the web with it, you can find a version of linux that boots from a thumb drive and run without the SSD. Windows is too disk chatty to run from a thumbdrive even if possible as they have a limited number of write cycles.

Update, I made some changes in the BIOS, and  the Set up process started from  the USB CD drive. However, the process stopped, and the screen now displays the following:   Set up did not find any hard disk drives installed on your computer.    Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer........   Set up cannot continue...   ---------------------------   Does that mean I need a New Hard Disk Drive?

Sorry, I didn't realize I hadn't responded.

If you don't see the hard drive listed in the BIOS, then the hard drive is toast.

Asuume your hard drive appearded under bios setup, if not then the drive is toast. On the assumption that it did appear did the XP install actually start from your CD and then fail later on? Might be that XP needs an additional driver for that hard drive to install.

Thanks for your replies.    I  have installed  a New Solid State drive.  

 I am attempting to install the operating system from my portable CD drive.  

I set up the boot sequence to read from CD drive.  

There is a  Message displayed:   

NTLDR is missing  Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart.  

same thing happens when I press   Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

Is there somewhere on the Dell site, that I can download the NTLDR?