Primary drive 1

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moneykidz1

Hello,today my dads computer would not start up.The first time it took
us to a black page with a blinking white cursor/dash line?Is there a
way to fix this?Next we went into the bios and it said primary disk
(hard drive)not installed?What do they mean by this?Please help.Email
(e-mail address removed)
 
Hello,today my dads computer would not start up.The first time it took
us to a black page with a blinking white cursor/dash line?Is there a
way to fix this?Next we went into the bios and it said primary disk
(hard drive)not installed?What do they mean by this?Please help.Email
(e-mail address removed)
Click to expand...

the HDD is buggered.
 
Hello,today my dads computer would not start up.The first time it took
us to a black page with a blinking white cursor/dash line?Is there a
way to fix this?Next we went into the bios and it said primary disk
(hard drive)not installed?What do they mean by this?Please help.Email
(e-mail address removed)
Click to expand...

It's probably not your printer.
 
Hello,today my dads computer would not start up.The first time it took
us to a black page with a blinking white cursor/dash line?Is there a
way to fix this?Next we went into the bios and it said primary disk
(hard drive)not installed?What do they mean by this?Please help.Email
(e-mail address removed)
Click to expand...

First this means what it says, viz. that the hard drive is
not working or at least not configured to work.

If this may have been caused by some user error, it is
sometimes possible to turn back the clock (to yesterday's
configuration) via System Restore, a feature of Windows XP
and similar operating systems: or you can boot from the
OS CD and undertake repairs -- which would be a waste
of time if the HD has simply died. (Hint: buy a new HDD
and instal on it the OS, then connect the old HDD as #2 and
see if you can read it to copy over the data.)
 
It means the drive has probably failed, a not unknown
problem. If the BIOS had given you the size, make,
model of the drive there would have been some hope
of recovery.
One possibility is that a drive connector has become
loose/dislodged, often cables are pulled tight in a
confined space during manufacture, and can
work loose. You could look inside for loose
connectors.
Click to expand...

Before taking it to a repairer, if you are capable of doing it, I
agree that a drive connector may have become loosened and it's worth
taking the cover off to check it/them. Sometimes just pushing the
ribbon cable tighter onto the drive will take care of the problem. I
just recently had to fix a similar problem on one of my computers and
that was all it took.

Or find a good repairer, be prepared to buy a
new hard drive, and if you haven't got a recovery,
or install disk, an operating system as well.
If it is an old machine consider replacing it.
Click to expand...

To reply by email, please remove "abcd" from Return address
 
Your primary (or possibly only) hard drive has failed. I hope you backed up
everything because it's probably lost forever.

You need to go to your local store and get a new hard drive. Once the new
hard drive is physically installed, you will need to reinstall Windows and
all your programs that you had installed before, so get those DVDs and CDs
ready for what's probably a long couple of days.
 
Hello,today my dads computer would not start up.The first time it took
us to a black page with a blinking white cursor/dash line?Is there a
way to fix this?Next we went into the bios and it said primary disk
(hard drive)not installed?What do they mean by this?Please help.Email
(e-mail address removed)
Click to expand...

This is an indication the system cannot find a viable boot media,
including the present hard drive.
If there is a chance anyone had been messing around in the bios, check
it to confirm the HDD is set as the first boot device, and if there
are multiple HDDs installed, that the correct one is selected.

If that does not resolve the problem, odds are good your drive has
failed. Check the cables as others have suggested, but if nobody has
been messing around inside the PC since the last time it worked, the
cables are unlikely to have spontaneously failed. It happens, but not
as frequently as the drive itself failing.

Next boot to a floppy or CD made from the hard drive manufacturer's
diagnostic utility, available via their webste, and have it check the
drive for errors. Do not do a write test at this time, it is
important not to write to the drive if there is any data on it that
*might* be salvageable if the drive has not completely failed yet. If
you have a spare computer it could be handy to hook the drive up to it
as a secondary (non-boot) drive and see if any data can be read,
whether it be hooked up as an internal or as a removable drive in an
external enclosure.

In rare cases a virus might try to wipe out the MBR, if the hard drive
diagnostics finds no problems you could try data recovery software if
anything valuable is on the drive, or restore a backup of the OS
partition (because we all make backups, right?), or try reinstalling
windows to it after partitioning and formatting if it will get that
far AND you're certain any data you might want to try salvaging has
been read off or considered lost and given up on recovering.

If your time is worth more than the money, go ahead and order a
replacement drive so if complete failure is the problem you'll have
the spare there when it comes time to try and revive the system.
 
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