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August 19th, 2008 21:00
Hard disk replacement problems
A disk read error occured
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart
I've backed up all files etc and am going to replace the disk. The problem is the OS came installed without backup disks but when I try to navigate or link to the backup disk order service I get directed to the Dell USA site and cant input my UK address. I am navigating from the dell.co.uk page. One other problem I have is with the service tag. The system never recognizes the number as a valid service tag and cant automatically find it either.
I can get the disk working now and again by removing it from the housing and replacing it. Is there any way I can put a new hard disk in the spare bay and somehow copy the OS over, then remove the faulty disk and boot from the new one ?
mombodog
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12.7K Posts
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August 21st, 2008 00:00
"Is there any way I can put a new hard disk in the spare bay and somehow copy the OS over, then remove the faulty disk and boot from the new one ?"
Not exactly, you could attempt to "clone" the drive using special software, but since you get the disk read error it will probably fail. Dell hard drives come with several partitions, one for the OS, one for diagnostics, and one for recovery image for a factory reinstall of the OS. PBR stands for Partition Boot record, so it is failing on the 3rd partition boot record which should be your C partition which holds the OS.
You cannot repair the partition boot record using conventional methods on a Dell because of its proprietary Master Boot Record, attempting to do so will cause other issues.
There is one piece of software available than can sometimes repair unreadable area's of a hard drive, and it is not free, but I have saved many systems with it. Just because some sectors of a hard drive become unreadable does not mean the drive is failing or needs replaced, just use this software. I am willing to bet it can repair the drive.
http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm
In the end you may have to replace the hard drive and manually re-install the OS from the Dell reinstallation CD, not an easy task to do from scratch.
Not sure how to request a set of backup disks in the UK, you may have to call Dell on the phone to get answers on that. You can legally borrow a Dell reinstallation CD from a friend or co worker to do the job, as long as it is the same version of the OS, Home, Pro, ect. Be sure it is a SP2 level reinstallation CD.
If you decide to replace the drive here is a good guide to a clean install of XP, remove the old drive while you do this, install the new one in its place.
http://www.theeldergeek.com/xp_pro_install_-_graphic.htm
Then install your drivers
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?c=us&docid=1A0C0937D62A8739E0401E0A55174744&journalid=%204F1F82483DC811DBAE564F9328EE04A4&l=en&s=gen
Then do windows updates repeatedly, rebooting when necessary, until there are no more updates available.
Then connect the old drive back as a secondary drive to copy off any data you need.
mmmark
4 Posts
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August 22nd, 2008 18:00
Thanks for the reply although I didn't realise the drive was still under warranty. Just replaced it and installed new OS, just a couple of issues to take care of.