HardDisk not detrected in Windows Repair mode on Dell Studio 1537

Hi Alex327,

You can check in system BIOS if the hard drive gets detected by following the steps below:

• Restart the computer.
• As soon as you see the Dell logo, start tapping the ‘F2’ key on top of the keyboard.
• If you wait too long and the Microsoft Windows appears, then continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop. Now shutdown your computer and try again.
• After this a new window would appear. You can only use the arrow keys of the keyboard to navigate between the options as the mouse is not functional in this mode.
• Check under 'Main' tab, if the hard drive gets detected. 

• If 'Fixed HDD' is listed as none, press F9 to load BIOS defaults and F10 to save and exit.
• If the hard drive gets detected, check 'SATA Mode Selection' under 'Advanced' tab and change it to 'AHCI' 
• Save changes and restart computer. 

Also please let me know if you are using any Dell OEM version Operating system disc to install Operating system on your computer. 

Please share the findings.

This does not help since the drive is already available in BIOS and I can also start from that drive but some essential Windows files are not readable and that is why the OS does not start. I can also access the drive from a live linux like Ubuntu. But within Windows Vista installation/repair the drive is not available because the driver is missing. I definetly need a .inf file for the used hardware (sata).

Hi Alex327,

I would suggest you to run an Onboard diagnostics on your computer following the steps below:

• Please restart the system.
• As soon as you see the blue Dell logo, start tapping the ‘F12’ key on top of the keyboard.

Note: If you wait too long and the Microsoft Windows appears, then continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop. Now shutdown your computer and try again.

• After you tap ‘F12’ key, a new window would appear in front of you. Use the 'Down' arrow key to highlight the option “Diagnostics” 
• Hit Enter to initiate diagnostics and make a note of error code if any.  

I already tried this and the test tells me that the hard disk has few errors, but these are only some broken sectors. The greatest part of the hard disk is okay and a windows repair would defenitly fix the problem. I also tried changing the SATA mode to AHCI but this was not helpful. I am still at the point where the windows repair is asking for the disk driver (.inf file)...

.

Hi Alex327,

There is a possibility that the Operating system files that are corrupted are on those bad sectors of hard drive. Please share If you got any error message while running the diagnostics. 

For more decisive results, I recommend you to run a 'Custom Test' on the laptop's 'Hard Drive'. 'Custom Test' is an advanced diagnostic test and is capable of producing more reliable results. Follow the steps listed below to launch the hard drive custom test:

• Power off the laptop (Ensure that AC Adapter cable is plugged in)
• Power on the laptop and repeatedly tap key
• Select option 'Diagnostics'

Here are some screen shots demonstrating the progress of the PSA+ Diagnostics: 

   
Tap if color bars appear (Refer to the image above)

   
If 2000:0146 error appears, please ignore the message and go ahead with the testing

   
Tap to launch 32 bit Diagnostics (Following screen appears):

   

From the factory the system's 'hard drive' will include a hidden partition with 32 bit Dell Diagnostics. After the completion of basic diagnostic process, you will be asked to continue to this Diagnostics program. If for some reason the hidden partition is not found on the hard drive, you will be presented with the option to insert the Resource DVD. Following screen appears in that case:

   

If required, use the Resource CD and follow the steps given below:

• Insert Recovery CD
• Shut down and restart the desktop
• When Dell logo appears, immediately tap repeatedly

Note: If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft Windows desktop; then shut down your computer and try again.

• When the boot device list appears, highlight the option CD/DVD/CD-RW and press
• Boot from CD-ROM from the menu that appears and press
• This message appears ‘Press any key to boot from the CD’
• Promptly hit
• Note: If you wait too long and Dell Diagnostic screen does not appear, then, shut down your computer and repeat all steps.

(Following screen appears): 

• Press  
• When the Dell Diagnostics main menu appears, select the test you want to run
• Select Custom Test (Refer to image below)

• Click <+> sign besides 'Hard Drive' (Refer to image below)
• Highlight 'SATA Disk'
• Place a tick mark in 'Non-Interactive Tests Only'
• Click 'Run Test'

• For any problem encountered during a test, a message appears with an error code and a description of the problem
• Write down the error code and problem description exactly as it appears

If the tests passes and you want to use the same hard drive, you can format the hard drive and can perform an Operating system re-installation. Before you proceed, I will advise you to take a complete backup your data (pictures, music, applications, videos, documents) if possible. As this step leads to complete data loss. Remove all the external peripherals (like printers, scanners, any USB device except keyboard and mouse) connected to your computer. For more information on this, you can refer to link: http://dell.to/Qe7jyP 

Please reply for further clarifications.  

Hi,

I did the test and here is the error message. I still think that I cannot install on this disk cause the driver is missing, where can I find it?

With other words: the error message has nothing to do with my major problem that I am not able to select this drive in my windows installation.

Hi Alex327,

Error code 0146 indicates the test has detected logs of previous errors on hard drive and this might be a possible hard drive failure. I would recommend to run a custom test suggested in previous post to check the functionality of hard drive. 

If you still want to explore the possibilities of re-installing Operating system, you can try another step. You may need to re-install Operating system on your computer and in this process, all the data from hard drive will be lost. If possible, you can back up the data.

You can download the Intel Matrix Storage Manager from link: http://dell.to/YKXCOU . Save and Extract that file on any USB storage device. While Operating system re-installation (When you get an Option to load drivers), connect that USB drive to system. Browse to the folder where the driver is extracted and follow prompts to load driver. For more information on this, you can also refer to post: http://dell.to/WATBqL 

Please share the findings.