Did My Computer Crash?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Islander
  • Start date Start date
I

Islander

I own a Dell Inspiron 8600. 2 weeks ago my wife was using it and she says in
froze and then turned off. Now when I turn it on It starts booting and then
it beeps and gives me this message;

"Primary hard disk drive 0 not found

No bootable devices -- strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility"

Any ideas of what happened or what I should do guys or gals?
 
Islander said:
I own a Dell Inspiron 8600. 2 weeks ago my wife was using it and
she says in froze and then turned off. Now when I turn it on It
starts booting and then it beeps and gives me this message;

"Primary hard disk drive 0 not found

No bootable devices -- strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup
utility"

Any ideas of what happened or what I should do guys or gals?
Click to expand...

If your computer hardware is telling you:
"Primary hard disk drive 0 not found"

The first thing to do is check the BIOS - see if it just lost its settings
and perhaps you don't have a hard disk crash.

Next thing is to open the computer case (unplugged from all power and such)
and with canned air - dust it out and then check all cable/etc connections -
make sure they are connected solidly.

Then check the BIOS again - if you still cannot find a hard disk drive - it
is entirely possibly this computers hard disk drive has crashed and died on
you.

If that is so - hook your backup medium (external hard disk drive, CD, DVD,
thumb drive, tape drive, etc.) to another machine and see how much you might
need to recover (should just be stuff created/changed since your last good
backup) so you know what to look for if you put this hard disk drive into an
external case or try some other method to get data off it.

Expect to replace the hard disk drive if it cannot befound by the computer
after doing the cleanup/cable check and looking in the BIOS. Even if it
does come back - consider it toast and backup everything immediately -
download the hard disk drive manufacturer's disk diagnostics utility and run
a full scan on the drive...
 
Shenan Stanley said:
If your computer hardware is telling you:
"Primary hard disk drive 0 not found"

The first thing to do is check the BIOS - see if it just lost its settings
and perhaps you don't have a hard disk crash.

Next thing is to open the computer case (unplugged from all power and such)
and with canned air - dust it out and then check all cable/etc connections -
make sure they are connected solidly.

Then check the BIOS again - if you still cannot find a hard disk drive - it
is entirely possibly this computers hard disk drive has crashed and died on
you.

If that is so - hook your backup medium (external hard disk drive, CD, DVD,
thumb drive, tape drive, etc.) to another machine and see how much you might
need to recover (should just be stuff created/changed since your last good
backup) so you know what to look for if you put this hard disk drive into an
external case or try some other method to get data off it.

Expect to replace the hard disk drive if it cannot befound by the computer
after doing the cleanup/cable check and looking in the BIOS. Even if it
does come back - consider it toast and backup everything immediately -
download the hard disk drive manufacturer's disk diagnostics utility and run
a full scan on the drive...

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way



Excuse my ignorance but what is BIOS and how do I check it?
Click to expand...
 
|I own a Dell Inspiron 8600. 2 weeks ago my wife was using it and she says in
| froze and then turned off. Now when I turn it on It starts booting and then
| it beeps and gives me this message;
|
| "Primary hard disk drive 0 not found
|
| No bootable devices -- strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility"
|
| Any ideas of what happened or what I should do guys or gals?

First select the F2 key to go into the System Setup (BIOS) and see if the hard drive is recognized.
If not, you either have 1. a loose cable (power or signal) or 2 a dead hard drive.

If the hard drive is recognized, then you have a major system problem.
Post back, with details and a little bit about your ability to work out system repairs.
If your uncomfortable with this, find a reputable repair shop (not the big box stores like Best
Buy).
 
Islander said:
Excuse my ignorance but what is BIOS and how do I check it?
Click to expand...

See Richard's response.

You have a Dell - so turning off the computer, turn ing it on and starting
to tap the F2 key slowly (once per second) right after you turn on the power
should get you into the "System Setup" or "BIOS" - but if you don't know
what you are looking for - you may already be better off taking it to some
small computer shop (key: SMALL) and letting them look at it. Otherwise
you'll walk out of a big store with a brand new computer and nothing else.
heh
 
Richard
I pressed the F2 key and it gives me a black and blue screen with what seems
to be all computer info such as speed memory etc... One of those says Primary
Hard Drive: None

Islander
 
Thank you Shenan,

I pressed the F2 key and it gives me a black and blue screen with what seems
to be all computer info such as speed memory etc... One of those says Primary
Hard Drive: None

Islander
 
I forgat to mention It's a laptop, does this matter? Or is the procedure the
same?
Thanks
 
Islander said:
I own a Dell Inspiron 8600. 2 weeks ago my wife was using it and
she says in froze and then turned off. Now when I turn it on It
starts booting and then it beeps and gives me this message;

"Primary hard disk drive 0 not found

No bootable devices -- strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup
utility"

Any ideas of what happened or what I should do guys or gals?
Click to expand...

Shenan said:
If your computer hardware is telling you:
"Primary hard disk drive 0 not found"

The first thing to do is check the BIOS - see if it just lost its settings
and perhaps you don't have a hard disk crash.

Next thing is to open the computer case (unplugged from all power and
such)
and with canned air - dust it out and then check all cable/etc
connections -
make sure they are connected solidly.

Then check the BIOS again - if you still cannot find a hard disk drive -
it
is entirely possibly this computers hard disk drive has crashed and died
on
you.

If that is so - hook your backup medium (external hard disk drive, CD,
DVD,
thumb drive, tape drive, etc.) to another machine and see how much you
might
need to recover (should just be stuff created/changed since your last good
backup) so you know what to look for if you put this hard disk drive into
an
external case or try some other method to get data off it.

Expect to replace the hard disk drive if it cannot befound by the computer
after doing the cleanup/cable check and looking in the BIOS. Even if it
does come back - consider it toast and backup everything immediately -
download the hard disk drive manufacturer's disk diagnostics utility and
run
a full scan on the drive...
Click to expand...
Excuse my ignorance but what is BIOS and how do I check it?
Click to expand...

Shenan said:
See Richard's response.

You have a Dell - so turning off the computer, turn ing it on and
starting to tap the F2 key slowly (once per second) right after you
turn on the power should get you into the "System Setup" or "BIOS"
- but if you don't know what you are looking for - you may already
be better off taking it to some small computer shop (key: SMALL)
and letting them look at it. Otherwise you'll walk out of a big
store with a brand new computer and nothing else. heh
Click to expand...
Thank you Shenan,

I pressed the F2 key and it gives me a black and blue screen with
what seems to be all computer info such as speed memory etc... One
of those says Primary Hard Drive: None
Click to expand...
Next open the computer up and check for good connections mainly between
the
hard drive and motherboard.
Click to expand...
I forgat to mention It's a laptop, does this matter? Or is the
procedure the same?
Click to expand...

With it being a laptop (sorry - somehow I missed seeing it in the first
place - Inspiron 8600) - I believe you have already gone beyond your comfort
level.

Opening the case is not something I would take lightly on a laptop -
although the removal of the hard disk drive should not be difficult (likely
one or two screws and a removal of the proper compartment/compartment door
followed by the possible removal of one or two more screws) - being a
laptop, the probability that it is a loose connection vs. a dead hard disk
drive/controller is slim - in other words - the hardware has likely failed -
as that laptop is no 'spring chicken'.

My suggestion is to take it to someone you trust and see if they can connect
the drive to some external device and get anything off it. Otherwise - you
will either have to replace the hard disk drive and/or the whole laptop.
(Some might tell you that you could replace the mainboard if that turns out
to be the trouble - but I say, knowing that laptop and having seen at least
three dead in the past 6 months of the same model - it's not worth the
cost/time/trouble.)

Hopefully - at this point - you can rely on backups for the data that was on
the laptop.
 
Islander said:
Thank you Shenan,

I pressed the F2 key and it gives me a black and blue screen with
what seems to be all computer info such as speed memory etc... One of
those says Primary Hard Drive: None

Islander
Click to expand...

Next open the computer up and check for good connections mainly between the
hard drive and motherboard.
 
Thank you so much for your help and advice Shenan. I will try to find someone
and get it checked.

Again, thank you.
 
Take Shean's advice and take it to a repair shop for an estimate.
Then look at the ads for a new computer, it may be a better deal to buy new.
Unless you need the portability of a laptop (travel, etc.) you will get more computer for your money
with a desktop unit.

| Richard
| I pressed the F2 key and it gives me a black and blue screen with what seems
| to be all computer info such as speed memory etc... One of those says Primary
| Hard Drive: None
|
| Islander
|
| "Richard in AZ" wrote:
|
| >
| > | > |I own a Dell Inspiron 8600. 2 weeks ago my wife was using it and she says in
| > | froze and then turned off. Now when I turn it on It starts booting and then
| > | it beeps and gives me this message;
| > |
| > | "Primary hard disk drive 0 not found
| > |
| > | No bootable devices -- strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility"
| > |
| > | Any ideas of what happened or what I should do guys or gals?
| >
| > First select the F2 key to go into the System Setup (BIOS) and see if the hard drive is
recognized.
| > If not, you either have 1. a loose cable (power or signal) or 2 a dead hard drive.
| >
| > If the hard drive is recognized, then you have a major system problem.
| > Post back, with details and a little bit about your ability to work out system repairs.
| > If your uncomfortable with this, find a reputable repair shop (not the big box stores like Best
| > Buy).
| >
| >
| >
 
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