Help 'Operating System not found' on Inspiron 2500

Question

When I turn my Inspiron 2500 on, I get the message 'Operating System not found' . I assumed I had a bad hard drive, installed a new one and I get the same message. I have removed the optical drive, get the same message. I have checked the setup, all seems in order, even choose to set setup to factory defaults. Same error comes up when I turn it on. What's the problem?

bobyjo · Answer

We have an Inspiron 2650 and the same thing was happening with it. I worked on the hard drive, removed it examined the adapter between the drive and the mobo socket.          I replaced the hard drive cage, the adapter and hard drive before the error went away. I think the problem lies in the adapter not making 100% contact to the motherboard and hard drive allowing the hard drive to go bad. Since replacing all these components, there has been no problem. I might suggest replacing the 4200rpm drive with a 7200rpm one, or at least a 5400rpm drive. The new drives do not take any more power than the old ones, does not generate more heat either.

GreyMack · Answer

Testing the HD with Dell Diagnostics may help isolate the problem.   Dell Diagnostics may be on you original HD and launched by selecting it from the boot options presented after tapping the F10? or F12? key during bootup. If you cannot launch Dell Diagnostics from the HD, make a note of the symptoms, download the utility package from Dell Support, and create a set of floppy disks from which to run the utility.   A number of things have to work correctly for the BIOS to pass control to an operating system, and this error message basically indicates that the BIOS looked for but did not find an operating system that was awaiting the opportunity to take over. I presume the BIOS setup screens indicate the HD is recognized, activated as a boot device, and is listed along with other devices in the sequence used by the BIOS to search for a bootable operating system.   P.S. - Did your new drive get loaded with software?   GM Message Edited by GreyMack on 02-01-2006 05:16 AM

Ron39390 · Answer

The new HD does have the operating system on it. I have went into setup and it appears that the bios settings are ok.

Ron39390 · Answer

I downloaded the Dell diagnostics and made a set of floppies. When I put the first floppy in the 'A' drive, and start the compter, it starts reading the 'A' drive for 30-45 seconds, then stops. Nothing comes up on the screen except for a blinking cursor. Could there be a problem with the mother board? Any suggestions?

mcmaneb · Answer

i just hung up with dell and basically the system is fried, and since my warranty expired 2 months ago, i can go out and get a new hard drive. Thanks, i won't be getting another dell unless i want to purchase new components every 14 months.

bobyjo · Answer

You may purchase a new laptop hard drive from a good vender, these have a 3yr warranty from the mfg. Believe me these new drives are extremely good.

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Help "Operating System not found" on Inspiron 2500

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