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10999
August 17th, 2005 18:00
unable to start system problem with HDD - Please Help
When I boot the system I get the following error "Floppy diskette seek failure", Strike F1 key to continue or F2 to run setup utility.
On hitting F1 I get the message "Error loading OS".
I have a feeling there is a problem with my HDD, please help
I was trying to reload Windows XP, the first time around the system booted through the CD, as I wanted to do a clean installation, I deleted the existing partition and tried to run a full format after creating two partitions... the system hung while formatting, after which i had to hard reset the system after waiting for almost an hour or more... the system had frozen... after which when I try to boot through the CD, after the message press any key to boot through the CD, the system just hangs.. and does nothing
If I use F2 and disable the HDD, then the CD boots ups and when trying to install windows after loading all the drivers.... of course it will not continue as there is no HDD
ejn63
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August 17th, 2005 18:00
If you don't have either, identify the make of hard drive, and download its manufacturer's test utility.
8ob
8 Posts
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August 17th, 2005 21:00
This sounds like two problems to me did you open you PC ? if so check if the wires got lose ,then check for boot virus from last in stall also check jumpers if the hard drive was changed.:smileysurprised:bthegeek
P.S.
i had to set the bios to default on some installs. :smileyhappy: retry your install with out deleting your new partions just fix or repair.Hard drives are not always bad if it worked before the change .
selvi
3 Posts
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August 18th, 2005 08:00
Thanks for the suggestions,
I did try using f12 and checked for the HDD, it came out with a PASS.
I am waiting on DELL to send me the recovery CD, which they promised to send across today/tomorrow.
I shall use this and see what happens, but my gut feeling is that the HDD is not responding and I did not order a floppy drive along with the system thinking it would not be required any more.. so I am not sure how would I be able to download the diagnostic software from the web and check it out?
If I burn the software on a CD would I be able to check it from there?
What worries me is since the Format hung and I had to reset the system, could this have caused some damage to the HDD.. if yes then how can this be rectified?
Once I get the recovery CD from Dell will see what happens.
Thanks a lot
Selvi
selvi
3 Posts
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August 22nd, 2005 09:00
Okay, Finally I did manage to install Windows XP Prof, without using a floppy drive to install the SATA drivers.
I changed the BIOS settings to the second option SATA Auto Detect/ ATA option and installed Windows XP without any problems, ofcourse the system did crash when I downloaded the 27 patches that Microsoft requestes you to download and install, then later had to uninstall/delete 4 pathces to get it working.
But now I have a question on mind, my HDD is a 160 GB SATA, but I have installed Windows XP Pro, by changing the settings to ATA, so does it mean that my HDD now functions as a ATA instead of a SATA..I am not very knowledgable on the difference between SATA/ATA but do know that SATA performs better.
I intend to use my system for some .Net development using SQL Server at home, now should this bother me at all?? or can I ingnore this and continue working as normal...
Any suggestions advice are welcome..
Cheers