Post Beeps and Error Message

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Guest

Upon booting I get the "welcome" screen which stays there for approx 30
seconds, disappears then goes to a black screen. I immediately get two short
beeps, (I checked post beeps on Phoenixs' web site - no 2 short beeps listed)
with a message stating "can not find fixed drive or primary drive. F1 for
setup F2 to reboot". This will occur once or twice or three times until
finally I get a full boot into Windows xp Home. My hard drive crashed a few
months ago. This was happening both before and again after I installed the
new HDD at which time I "Ghosted" my OS from my external hard drive to the
newly formatted HDD. I 've checked my setup program and see nothing strange.
I switched the order or loading drives and it still occurred. The most
recent Phoenix BIOS update was done last year. I also switched RAM modules
to new ones to no avail. I have a feeling the problem has something to do
with the BIOS. Is there a way to re-update the BIOS with the same update
through DOS with a /switch? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
 
Hi,

I don't think it's your BIOS, I think your hard drive is having a mechanical
problem. I would download and run a diagnostic utility from the makers of
the drive. It should tell you what's going on with it.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Lee said:
Upon booting I get the "welcome" screen which stays there for approx 30
seconds, disappears then goes to a black screen. I immediately get two short
beeps, (I checked post beeps on Phoenixs' web site - no 2 short beeps listed)
with a message stating "can not find fixed drive or primary drive. F1 for
setup F2 to reboot". This will occur once or twice or three times until
finally I get a full boot into Windows xp Home. My hard drive crashed a few
months ago. This was happening both before and again after I installed the
new HDD at which time I "Ghosted" my OS from my external hard drive to the
newly formatted HDD. I 've checked my setup program and see nothing strange.
I switched the order or loading drives and it still occurred. The most
recent Phoenix BIOS update was done last year. I also switched RAM modules
to new ones to no avail. I have a feeling the problem has something to do
with the BIOS. Is there a way to re-update the BIOS with the same update
through DOS with a /switch? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Click to expand...

Did you remove the old hard drive or just demote it slave status and
start booting from the new drive?

If you are still using the old drive are you using the master/slave
jumper settings or the cable select setting?

Have you reseated all the electrical connectors for drives and
peripheral cards? Cleaned the electrical contacts on the cards?

Have you checked the new drive manufacturer's site for drive diagnostic
software?

Are you equiped to measure your AC and system voltages? Have you totaled
you current loads and compared them to your power supply's rated wattage?
 
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Thanks for the response. Actually I replaced my hard drive cause it failed.
But prior to that I had the same problem. Otherwords the old HDD and the
New HDD had the same problem. As I said I had my OS "Ghosted" on an external
drive so I just copied that Ghost Image back to my new formatted HDD. Could
it be something in the OS? Just a thought.
 
Thanks for the information. I removed the HDD and replaced it with a new one
from Dell and sent the old one back. I have a laptop computer by the way.
Yes I've done the diagnostics and it tells me nothing. I'm still having the
problem. Not every time I boot up but frequently. It gets to the DELL
screen for about 30 seconds then I get tht message in a DOS window that it
can't find my optical drive or my primary drive along with two beeps.
 
Lee said:
Thanks for the information. I removed the HDD and replaced it with a
new one
from Dell and sent the old one back. I have a laptop computer by the
way.
Yes I've done the diagnostics and it tells me nothing. I'm still
having the
problem. Not every time I boot up but frequently. It gets to the
DELL screen for about 30 seconds then I get tht message in a DOS
window that it can't find my optical drive or my primary drive along
with two beeps.
Click to expand...

Then it is probably your motherboard. Call Dell and have them replace
it.

Malke
 
Hi Lee,

No, it's not the OS, it's almost definitely a hardware problem. You may have
a faulty drive controller cable or a problem with the motherboard. Have you
tried switching the cable or using the secondary channel?

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Thank you... I have a laptop so I don't believe the cable can be switched.
Motherboard is a thought as someone else had mentioned. How would I switch
to the secondary channel? I know what you're talking about but have never
done it. Thanks again Rick.
 
Hi Lee,

It would depend on the type of laptop. Most are best left to a technician,
as they are not always simple like a desktop.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
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