Disk Read Error on boot (Inspiron 6100)

Question

Hello All.

I've been getting an intermittent Disk Read Error during boot on my Inspiron 6100 laptop.

Since I was having trouble with having enough disk space I got an installed a new hard drive about a month ago, did a clean Windows install etc.

Everything was fine until yesterday, now it won't boot, the "disk read error" is back.

Any suggestions on troubleshooting this? Any chance of me being able to fix it? It almost sounds like a loose connection or something since it's intermittent, doesn't it?

Any advise?

Thanks!

marnold1974 · Answer

@ejn63 wrote:

Possibly, but even brand-new drives fail - I'd suggest getting a warranty replacement for the drive before you tackle the other likely cause - a $400-500 mainboard replacement.

Is this a 5100 (there is no 6100)?

My bad, it's an Inspiron 6000, not 6100.

And its been out of warranty for a LONG time.

marnold1974 · Answer

@ejn63 wrote:

Sounds like a failing hard drive. To confirm, power on, press F12. Boot to the Dell diagnostics and run the extended test - NOT just the quick test - on the hard drive.

Since it happened with my old hard drive as well as with the one I replaced it with a couple of weeks ago, wouldn't you think it's something other than a problem with the drive itself?

ejn63 · Answer

Sounds like a failing hard drive.  To confirm, power on, press F12.  Boot to the Dell diagnostics and run the extended test - NOT just the quick test - on the hard drive.

ejn63 · Answer

Possibly, but even brand-new drives fail - I'd suggest getting a warranty replacement for the drive before you tackle the other likely cause - a $400-500 mainboard replacement.

Is this a 5100 (there is no 6100)?

Storage, Drives & Media

Disk Read Error on boot (Inspiron 6100)

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