Ok, just delete both floppy drives from Device Manager. That will fix that problem.
No, you should not run the system without a fan, but open the side to see if it's actually broken or just giving you that message. However, at this point, I think you need to run a full diagnostic, motherboard, controllers, drives, etc. Boot to your resource disc to run the diagnostics.
The Samsung may be trashed, but for now, just disconnect it and make sure the other drive is on the end connector. Boot to system setup, turn off the second IDE drive, boot to Windows and see what you see.
If the Samsung flash has gone pear shaped, there may be a way to save it.
Edit: oops sorry John, slow typing and should have refreshed first before posting as not to cut the thread, my bad...
Hi Sand Devil,
John is currently off line, he and I are looking at your post. Your last information about the "bad" flash may indeed be very relevant. I would suggest you go to Device Manager, select each optical drive and click Uninstall, then shutdown. Open the case and disconnect the IDE cable and the power cable from both of the optical drives. Now re-boot your system and see if Windows will boot normally. I personally like Clearing the NVRAM as well but that is my dime. At this point I will slide back into Stealth mode and see if you are able to complete the tasks John mentioned in his last post.
Merry Christmas !!
God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the difference. CD/RW Link
Ok, when you get back into the BIOS, you'll probably find the on-board floppy controller has been turned on. Just turn it off and you won't have multiple floppy drives.
Thanks to both of you. While I was home at lunch I began running a full diagnostic, which I had to cut short to get back to work on time. It did get far enough to give me a CPU fan error, but with the case open, both fans were running, so I'm not sure if the fan is about to go out completely or not.
Deleted the floppy drive from device manager. Our floppy is actually a USB device (we forgot to order one with the computer - oops), so it was easy to see which to delete.
When I get home from work today, I will try your suggestion to skip the CD R/W and see if that helps. I agree with you about the drive and/or cable. It makes sense.
{OT, but you can never tell what will make your computer go loopy like that. Ours refused to boot up during the summer (it would flash the Dell logo and just stay there frozen); we called Dell and they couldn't figure it out - we tried everything. Then they told us the hard drive must have been destroyed and we'd have to get a new one. I finally figured out after a lot of trial and error that our cat had chewed into the keyboard cable just enough to cause it to short. Replaced the keyboard and problem solved.}
I should add that I am in Texas - Central Standard Time. It is 1:36 right now. I'll post this evening and let you know what I find.
Message Edited by sanddevil on 12-21-2005 01:37 PM
First turned system off and disconnected the Samsung drive. Booted to setup, turned off the second (unknown) drive and the floppy drive, system booted normally with no drive 0 seek error, but the cpu fan alert still exists. DVDROM drive appeared in device manager with no error codes; however, it still won't read cds or dvds.
Next, powered system down, disconnected both drives, booted to setup and turned off the DVDROM. System booted normally but still have the cpu fan alert (it surges loudly on bootup).
Error code on cpu fan on earlier diagnostic: 3700:011B
Would this be the fan in the green plastic shroud? Or is there yet another one that I cannot see?
So, is it the cable or both drives? How likely is it that both drives would tank at almost the same time?
sand devil
Message Edited by sanddevil on 12-21-2005 05:56 PM
I thought you might like to know: I just spent several hours in chat with various techs; the last one, however was MOST helpful. His name was Iqbal. He offered to call me at home in the middle of the night so I wouldn't have to talk to yet another tech after running yet another test and logging back in to yet another chat, helped me test each drive (something I am very familiar with at this point, thanks to you two), was very patient, and after about an hour on the phone, said he was very sorry, but it looked like both of the drives had gone bad. He also said he appreciated the steps WE had taken before I logged in to chat. These forums rock! Now Dell will be replacing the dvd rom, the cd r/w AND the IDE cable, just to cover all the bases.
Will do. I already received an email from him this morning with shipping details, dispatch #s and such. Unfortunately the dvd drives are temporarily out of stock, so there'll be a delay.
Forgot to tell you that he also helped me resolve the CPU fan error; so there was nothing wrong with it after all.
really sleepy sand devil (but I have to work anyway...)
Ditto with all of what John said but I am a curious Pred type, what was the fix for the fan error?
Merry Christmas !!
God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the difference. CD/RW Link
Thanks for the feedback Sand Devil. I have a passion for collecting information that will help the next person down the road. The CD/RW link itself is a collection of articles from our Members and the Regulars that frequent this conference.
Again I wish you well and a very Merry Christmas !!
God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the difference. CD/RW Link
You too, Osprey; it's not likely for me as I work full time, and have a teenage son and a preteen. Oh yeah, and a husband-type kid, too. When will I have time to sleep? :smileytongue:
Pred, I am happy to tell you. In fact, in light of all the other stuff we did, I feel foolish for not thinking to do this to begin with, especially as the fan was actually still working. I am entitled to a D'OH! moment every now and then, I guess.
Powered down, disconnected power supply to computer. Found connection from fan to motherboard; disconnected clip and reconnected it, making sure it was securely seated. Reconnected power supply, booted normally to look for error. Error: Previous CPU fan alert. Booted to Windows, restarted computer. F2 to BIOS, selected Maintenance, selected Event Log, pressed enter, selected Clear Log. Escaped. Booted to Windows, then restarted computer. No error message except for the "missing drives". According to the tech, the log would have kept throwing up that "previous error" message until it was cleared. Made a note of that for future reference. Heck, I have a whole steno pad full of notes!
Dang. If I'd known it was that simple, I would have fixed it in the first place and never mentioned it. Live and learn. I'm going to hang out in these forums more often!
My warranty is set to expire on January 1, 2006. If those drives had waited another week, I would have been... well, you know. So, no charge for anything, including shipping. Whoohoo!
I'm going to price extending the warranty period; might be worth it to go another year or two.
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
December 21st, 2005 13:00
Ok, just delete both floppy drives from Device Manager. That will fix that problem.
No, you should not run the system without a fan, but open the side to see if it's actually broken or just giving you that message. However, at this point, I think you need to run a full diagnostic, motherboard, controllers, drives, etc. Boot to your resource disc to run the diagnostics.
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
December 21st, 2005 16:00
The Samsung may be trashed, but for now, just disconnect it and make sure the other drive is on the end connector. Boot to system setup, turn off the second IDE drive, boot to Windows and see what you see.
If the Samsung flash has gone pear shaped, there may be a way to save it.
Predator
2 Intern
•
15.3K Posts
0
December 21st, 2005 16:00
Hi Sand Devil,
John is currently off line, he and I are looking at your post. Your last information about the "bad" flash may indeed be very relevant. I would suggest you go to Device Manager, select each optical drive and click Uninstall, then shutdown. Open the case and disconnect the IDE cable and the power cable from both of the optical drives.
Now re-boot your system and see if Windows will boot normally. I personally like Clearing the NVRAM as well but that is my dime. At this point I will slide back into Stealth mode and see if you are able to complete the tasks John mentioned in his last post.
Merry Christmas !!
God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.
CD/RW Link
Message Edited by Predator on 12-21-2005 01:09 PM
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
December 21st, 2005 17:00
sanddevil
23 Posts
0
December 21st, 2005 17:00
Thanks to both of you. While I was home at lunch I began running a full diagnostic, which I had to cut short to get back to work on time. It did get far enough to give me a CPU fan error, but with the case open, both fans were running, so I'm not sure if the fan is about to go out completely or not.
Deleted the floppy drive from device manager. Our floppy is actually a USB device (we forgot to order one with the computer - oops), so it was easy to see which to delete.
When I get home from work today, I will try your suggestion to skip the CD R/W and see if that helps. I agree with you about the drive and/or cable. It makes sense.
{OT, but you can never tell what will make your computer go loopy like that. Ours refused to boot up during the summer (it would flash the Dell logo and just stay there frozen); we called Dell and they couldn't figure it out - we tried everything. Then they told us the hard drive must have been destroyed and we'd have to get a new one. I finally figured out after a lot of trial and error that our cat had chewed into the keyboard cable just enough to cause it to short. Replaced the keyboard and problem solved.}
I should add that I am in Texas - Central Standard Time. It is 1:36 right now. I'll post this evening and let you know what I find.
Message Edited by sanddevil on 12-21-2005 01:37 PM
sanddevil
23 Posts
0
December 21st, 2005 21:00
Okay, I'm baaaaack.
First turned system off and disconnected the Samsung drive. Booted to setup, turned off the second (unknown) drive and the floppy drive, system booted normally with no drive 0 seek error, but the cpu fan alert still exists. DVDROM drive appeared in device manager with no error codes; however, it still won't read cds or dvds.
Next, powered system down, disconnected both drives, booted to setup and turned off the DVDROM. System booted normally but still have the cpu fan alert (it surges loudly on bootup).
Error code on cpu fan on earlier diagnostic: 3700:011B
Would this be the fan in the green plastic shroud? Or is there yet another one that I cannot see?
So, is it the cable or both drives? How likely is it that both drives would tank at almost the same time?
sand devil
Message Edited by sanddevil on 12-21-2005 05:56 PM
sanddevil
23 Posts
0
December 21st, 2005 23:00
sanddevil
23 Posts
0
December 22nd, 2005 05:00
I thought you might like to know: I just spent several hours in chat with various techs; the last one, however was MOST helpful. His name was Iqbal. He offered to call me at home in the middle of the night so I wouldn't have to talk to yet another tech after running yet another test and logging back in to yet another chat, helped me test each drive (something I am very familiar with at this point, thanks to you two), was very patient, and after about an hour on the phone, said he was very sorry, but it looked like both of the drives had gone bad. He also said he appreciated the steps WE had taken before I logged in to chat. These forums rock! Now Dell will be replacing the dvd rom, the cd r/w AND the IDE cable, just to cover all the bases.
I think the lost sleep might well be worth it.
Thanks for all your help, guys; you RULE.
tired but happy sand devil
Oh yeah, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
sanddevil
23 Posts
0
December 22nd, 2005 13:00
Will do. I already received an email from him this morning with shipping details, dispatch #s and such. Unfortunately the dvd drives are temporarily out of stock, so there'll be a delay.
Forgot to tell you that he also helped me resolve the CPU fan error; so there was nothing wrong with it after all.
really sleepy sand devil (but I have to work anyway...)
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
December 22nd, 2005 13:00
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
December 22nd, 2005 13:00
Ok, that's good to hear. Please post back and let me know if the replacement parts solve everything.
Merry Christmas!
Predator
2 Intern
•
15.3K Posts
0
December 22nd, 2005 14:00
Sand Devil,
Ditto with all of what John said but I am a curious Pred type, what was the fix for the fan error?
Merry Christmas !!
God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.
CD/RW Link
Predator
2 Intern
•
15.3K Posts
0
December 22nd, 2005 15:00
Thanks for the feedback Sand Devil. I have a passion for collecting information that will help the next person down the road. The CD/RW link itself is a collection of articles from our Members and the Regulars that frequent this conference.
Again I wish you well and a very Merry Christmas !!
God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.
CD/RW Link
sanddevil
23 Posts
0
December 22nd, 2005 15:00
You too, Osprey; it's not likely for me as I work full time, and have a teenage son and a preteen. Oh yeah, and a husband-type kid, too. When will I have time to sleep? :smileytongue:
Pred, I am happy to tell you. In fact, in light of all the other stuff we did, I feel foolish for not thinking to do this to begin with, especially as the fan was actually still working. I am entitled to a D'OH! moment every now and then, I guess.
Powered down, disconnected power supply to computer. Found connection from fan to motherboard; disconnected clip and reconnected it, making sure it was securely seated. Reconnected power supply, booted normally to look for error. Error: Previous CPU fan alert. Booted to Windows, restarted computer. F2 to BIOS, selected Maintenance, selected Event Log, pressed enter, selected Clear Log. Escaped. Booted to Windows, then restarted computer. No error message except for the "missing drives". According to the tech, the log would have kept throwing up that "previous error" message until it was cleared. Made a note of that for future reference. Heck, I have a whole steno pad full of notes!
Dang. If I'd known it was that simple, I would have fixed it in the first place and never mentioned it. Live and learn. I'm going to hang out in these forums more often!
sand dev*snore*
sanddevil
23 Posts
0
December 22nd, 2005 15:00
Oh yeah, one more thing:
My warranty is set to expire on January 1, 2006. If those drives had waited another week, I would have been... well, you know. So, no charge for anything, including shipping. Whoohoo!
I'm going to price extending the warranty period; might be worth it to go another year or two.
sand devil