Hard disk problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter ChrisKim
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ChrisKim

Hello,

I am repairing a pc and have come across some strange behavior. The pc is a
Dell Dimension 4600 and was dead when the guy brought it to me. I replaced
the PSU and now it appears to be working, however it will not post with the
HDD in either channel. CD Drives work in both channels and I can load a
linux livecd with no problems. I tested the HDD in another PC and it works
fine. All of the other hardware seems fine. Any Ideas?

Oh, I also noticed that this PC has NO fans except for the PSU fan. Is this
normal?

Thanks in advance,
ChrisKim
 
ChrisKim said:
Hello,

I am repairing a pc and have come across some strange behavior. The pc is
a Dell Dimension 4600 and was dead when the guy brought it to me. I
replaced the PSU and now it appears to be working, however it will not
post with the HDD in either channel. CD Drives work in both channels and I
can load a linux livecd with no problems. I tested the HDD in another PC
and it works fine. All of the other hardware seems fine. Any Ideas?
Click to expand...

Did you check the boot order in the BIOS (The first thing you should check)?
Did you use the same data cable in the other PC? Have you tried a new data
cable in the Dell 4600? Have you verified that the jumper on the HD is
correct for the Dell 4600 config (IDE only)? Since you are able to boot with
a live CD, I suggest you try switching the cable on the CD drive to the
problem HD to see if that works.

Since you say that the drive works in other PCs and that the CD drives work
on the controller, my first stop would be the BIOS boot order, then the data
cable. If the cable checks out OK, (Since you don't mention whether the
drive is SATA or IDE, I'm assuming that the drive is IDE) I would then
verify the jumper positioning. Some IDE drives require different posititions
for the jumper as master depending on whether there is a slave drive present
or not.



Oh, I also noticed that this PC has NO fans except for the PSU fan. Is
this normal?
Click to expand...

I've seen systems like that. Not the greatest cooling plan (pulls air from
the bottom front, through the case and out through the PS).

Hark
 
Thanks for your reply,

The drive is indeed an IDE and is currently set to Cable Select (CS) which
is how it was set when I received the PC. I have tried the cable from my own
PC (which is known to work) in the pc I am working on. I have tried multiple
boot orders, but if the HDD is plugged into either channel, the post will
stop once the memory check progress bar gets to the end. With the HDD
plugged in, I cannot access bios settings or boot menu, the keyboard just
beeps at me. There is no slave to the drive.
 
ChrisKim said:
Hello,

I am repairing a pc and have come across some strange behavior. The pc is
a Dell Dimension 4600 and was dead when the guy brought it to me. I
replaced the PSU and now it appears to be working, however it will not
post with the HDD in either channel. CD Drives work in both channels and I
can load a linux livecd with no problems. I tested the HDD in another PC
and it works fine. All of the other hardware seems fine. Any Ideas?

Oh, I also noticed that this PC has NO fans except for the PSU fan. Is
this normal?

Thanks in advance,
ChrisKim
Click to expand...
No that is NOT normal. There should be a fan on the back panel of the
machine under the shroud over the cpu's heatsink.
 
Hello,

I am repairing a pc and have come across some strange behavior. The pc is a
Dell Dimension 4600 and was dead when the guy brought it to me. I replaced
the PSU and now it appears to be working, however it will not post with the
HDD in either channel. CD Drives work in both channels and I can load a
linux livecd with no problems. I tested the HDD in another PC and it works
fine. All of the other hardware seems fine. Any Ideas?
Click to expand...

If you have a spare drive, try connecting it, and see if it allows
POST.
 
I am repairing a pc and have come across some strange behavior. The pc is
IDE cable in upside-down will do this.

On a Dell or Compaq, yes.
 
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