I have an Inspiron 8500. What do you mean use the cd. Do you mean reload Windows XP. If so, How do I do that. Will I lose anything that is on my computer?
Unknown until you test. It could be anything from a drive failure to software corruption.
Power on, press F2. Check to make sure there's a hard drive detected. If there isn't, remove and reseat it (it's on the left front of the system - remove the screw, slide out the drawer and replace.
If it's still not detected, it's probably toast - replace it with any standard EIDE 9.5 mm, 2.5" hard drive.
If it is detected, boot again, press F12, and load and run the Dell diagnostics, including the extended drive test.
Given the age of the system and the symptoms, I'll bet you'll find a dead hard drive.
ritadig
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March 18th, 2006 21:00
ejn63
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March 18th, 2006 21:00
ejn63
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March 18th, 2006 22:00
Power on, press F2. Check to make sure there's a hard drive detected. If there isn't, remove and reseat it (it's on the left front of the system - remove the screw, slide out the drawer and replace.
If it's still not detected, it's probably toast - replace it with any standard EIDE 9.5 mm, 2.5" hard drive.
If it is detected, boot again, press F12, and load and run the Dell diagnostics, including the extended drive test.
Given the age of the system and the symptoms, I'll bet you'll find a dead hard drive.