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October 9th, 2015 10:00
Won't boot to Windows - 2000-0142 Error Msg - Help Please!
My daughter's laptop stopped booting up. On start up...the dell logo appears, it begins to boot up - full bar at bottom of screen, and then a small system repair message "preparing automatic repair" appears and starts to load - then a blue screen.
(New message - A few minutes ago....the laptop was sitting with a blue screen for a long time and then a new repair message popped up at the top of the screen - I haven't seen this before - it asked if I wanted to restore {I should have made a note of the actual message, but I got excited that it might be on the brink of repairing itself}, I clicked restore and then - blue screen. Sat for a long time before the original "preparing automatic repair" msg popped up again - then back to blue screen.)
When I ran the ePSA System assessment I got a 2000-0142 error code and the following message : Hard drive 0-S/N Wx41aa2j2944 short self test unsuccessful. The beep code was 1-4-2. I googled the issue but am unable to get the system to respond. Can't get it to go into safe mode with F8 (tried numerous times), no recovery option in boot menu F12. Don't have a system recovery disc. Was hoping to download one from Dell but it says I'm no longer under warranty. It appears that others have been told they need to replace HD by Dell support, only to find that they are able to recover their systems themselves. Hoping that's the case here.
I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I am currently creating a Windows 8.1 disc to see if I can get it to boot up using that...BUT I don't know if this is a good idea, or if I should try something else. I am not experienced with laptop troubleshooting, so I want to avoid making the situation worse.
Any recommendations on things I can try? Should I see if I can purchase a System Recovery Disc?
This is an Inspiron 15 with Windows 8 - 64 bit.
The system is no longer under Dell warranty. I do have an outside warranty but I would like to make sure this isn't an easy problem to repair...before I start messing with the hard drive or request a service call.
Thank you for any help you can offer!
Cathy
ejn63
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October 9th, 2015 14:00
Your hard drive has failed -- you need two things:
The recovery media (if you did not prepare that ahead of time, you will need to contact Dell to purchase it now), and
A new hard drive.
If you need a recommendation for a new drive, we need to know the system model number (i.e, Inspiron 5521, N5110, etc -- not just the generic 15R).
11Cathy
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October 10th, 2015 05:00
Thank you for replying EJN63.
I've got an update. Eventually it went back into the automatic system repair. I don't think it completed.
Back to the Trouble Shoot screen. Tried the refresh option again. Eventual blue screen, back to main Trouble Shoot screen. Tried advanced options. Selected System Image Recovery. Two date options. Selected the most recent. Looked good, but then received an error message that it could not be restored to that image. Back to main screen. I thought I would try the earlier date image. Selected advanced options again. But my mouse auto selected Dell Backup and Recovery when I scrolled over it. Backup and Recovery loaded. Prompted me to input a backup mode (used a thumb drive as there is very little saved on the laptop), and to select which files to back up...when I tried to see what additional files were available, the screen eventually turned blue and went back to the main screen. Tried again. This time when the list of files to back up showed I just hit 'next'. Everything seemed to be going well. It initialized and started backing up data to the thumb drive. Eventually the thumb drive stopped flashing, but the program continued to stay in the back up data mode (progress bar shows 100% complete but 'back up data' is still spinning). After an hour, program was still backing up data. I assumed it was hung up as there is not much data saved on this laptop, but I had been advised in the instructions before the recovery started, and with a continuous message on the screen, that the recovery should not be cancelled or the integrity of the system could be threatened. Left it and went to bed. On checking it this morning, it is still backing up data. What to do?
So, I guess at this point there's no chance that the hard drive is not damaged?
The laptop is a Inspiron 15 3521.
Thank you again for your help!
Cathy
ejn63
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October 10th, 2015 06:00
The diagnostic that produced the 2000-0142 error is definitive for a faulty drive.