Disk read error

  • Thread starter Thread starter Staci
  • Start date Start date
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Staci

I can't boot up my computer which uses Win2K as its OS.
Every time I try, I get the following message: "A disk
read error occurred. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to start." I have
restarted my computer according to the directions but to
no avail.

Can anyone help me solve this problem?

Thanks!
 
Staci said:
I can't boot up my computer which uses Win2K as its OS.
Every time I try, I get the following message: "A disk
read error occurred. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to start." I have
restarted my computer according to the directions but to
no avail.

Can anyone help me solve this problem?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Further to what Paul said: Get onto the website for the
manufacturer of your hard disk and download his disk
diagnostic tool. It's free. Use it to check your disk, but
do not allow any changes to be made until you have
followed Paul's advice about backing up your files.
 
Staci said:
I can't boot up my computer which uses Win2K as its OS.
Every time I try, I get the following message: "A disk
read error occurred. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to start." I have
restarted my computer according to the directions but to
no avail.

Can anyone help me solve this problem?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

It's worth checking that no one has fiddled with the BIOS settings for the
drive type. If this doesn't match the actual hardware then it wont be able
to read it. Sometimes it can read most of it but can't access all of it
(sector mappings and all that, presumably).

Normally the BIOS has an auto detect feature for IDE drives, which works for
most drives. If you have SCSI then maybe the SCSI card failed. We had a
machine that killed two of these in as many years.

Also, check in the BIOS that the boot device is actually the drive with the
OS on it - might have been changed to boot from a floppy or CD and there's
nothing in there with an OS.

Regards,
Ed.
 
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