dead hard drive obscuring cd rom?

[tamas080]

Hi everyone, apologies if question stupid or way off-topic, but i'd
appreciate any help anyone can give.

I have what seems to be a dead hard drive on my Dell Dimension (8200,
if that's relevant). It bluescreened earlier on, and now it no longer
boots - refuses to find the HD.

I've been trying to run a live linux CD to see if I can get at the hard
drive by the back door.

I have the BIOS set to boot from the CD-ROM.

If the hard drive is connected, the BIOS doesn't see the CD-ROM - it
says both the HD and the CD-ROM are "not installed."

If I disconnect the HD, then Knoppix boots fine - tho this is of little
use, since it's the HD itself I want to get to.

Any ideas what this might mean? Does it imply:

i) a dead IDE controller;

ii) a dead HD;

iii) a dodgy data cable?

Or something else entirely? If it's a dead IDE controller, then the
motherboard is presumably scrap?

Thanks to all with ideas,
best,
Thomas

 

[Harry]

(e-mail address removed) wrote...

Hi everyone, apologies if question stupid or way off-topic, but i'd
appreciate any help anyone can give.

I have what seems to be a dead hard drive on my Dell Dimension (8200,
if that's relevant). It bluescreened earlier on, and now it no longer
boots - refuses to find the HD.

I've been trying to run a live linux CD to see if I can get at the hard
drive by the back door.

I have the BIOS set to boot from the CD-ROM.

If the hard drive is connected, the BIOS doesn't see the CD-ROM - it
says both the HD and the CD-ROM are "not installed."

If I disconnect the HD, then Knoppix boots fine - tho this is of little
use, since it's the HD itself I want to get to.

Any ideas what this might mean? Does it imply:

i) a dead IDE controller;

ii) a dead HD;

iii) a dodgy data cable?

Not sure what's wrong.

But you can create a bootable USB key with your diagnostic tools
there.

First, google "bootable USB" and you'll find some ways to create
a bootable USB, including something called FlashBoot.

Second, put in something like Power Quest Partition Magic 8 (very
old, if you have a copy) DOS utility.

Third, your Dell hopfully has an option (press F12 during boot up)
to boot to USB key.

If all goes well, you can boot up the USB key to check your HDD.

 

[Rod Speed]

(e-mail address removed) wrote

Hi everyone, apologies if question stupid or way off-topic,

No it isnt.

but i'd appreciate any help anyone can give.

I have what seems to be a dead hard drive on my Dell
Dimension (8200, if that's relevant). It bluescreened earlier
on, and now it no longer boots - refuses to find the HD.

Statistically thats most commonly a dead HD. Does it
still spin up ? You may need to feel it to see if it feels
like its spinning up, can be quite hard to do by listening
to the system, easy to confuse the fans with the HD.

I've been trying to run a live linux CD to see if
I can get at the hard drive by the back door.

I have the BIOS set to boot from the CD-ROM.

If the hard drive is connected, the BIOS doesn't see the CD-ROM
- it says both the HD and the CD-ROM are "not installed."

You can get that with a dead HD, but it isnt very common
at all. Particularly if they are on different ribbon cables.

If I disconnect the HD, then Knoppix boots fine - tho this
is of little use, since it's the HD itself I want to get to.

That does suggest that the HD itself is likely to be the problem,
particularly if they are both in the same ribbon cable.

Any ideas what this might mean? Does it imply:

i) a dead IDE controller;

Unlikely given that it can boot the knoppix CD.

Possible tho if they arent both on the same ribbon cable.

ii) a dead HD;

Most likely.

iii) a dodgy data cable?

Can be, particularly if both are on the same ribbon cable.

Or something else entirely?

Can be something as basic as the HD not getting
power anymore, tho that wont usually stop the
CD being seen. The obvious check there is to
swap the CD and HD power connectors.

If it's a dead IDE controller, then the
motherboard is presumably scrap?

Thats usually the best way to fix that. It isnt the only
way, you can add a HD controller on a PCI card.