Inspiron 8200 HDD problem

I have an Inspiron 8200 with a 40GB HDD.
The problem is that sometimes I cannot boot.
I get a disk read message error that prompt me to press ctrl+alt+del.
The strange thing is that rebooting and rebooting again, finnaly it starts. But sometimes takes me hours to turn it on.
It looks like it depends on the temperature of the system (or maybe only of the HDD) and the outside temperature.
After I managed to start it I can reboot it without any problem. The 1st time is the hardest ..

 

That's not good, sounds like bad sectors or a corrupt version of windows. To test for the former, download HD Tune, it's free, and run a full HDD scan. If you have bad sectors, it's time to think about a replacement. If not, then you should look at re-installing windows.

 

I have already reinstalled Windows.
The strange thing is that I have no bad sectors. After I can start the system everything is fine and normal. I have run the diagnostics from Dell CD and it reported no bad and no problem.

 

Bro, if I'm not mistaken, then it is the same problem that I have from time to time.

I turn the computer on, and it makes this beep beep noise and mentions that no disk is present and or ctrl+alt+del.

If this is what you are experiencing, then I believe it is more to do with a hardware problem. Being that the disk is not connected to the cable properly inside the housing. Basically, when this happens to me, I just turn it off and hit the computer a bit on the hdd side (right) or even slighly bounce the computer on the table from a small hight to creat some movement inside. Most of the time it works after a bounce/slap or two.

Alternatively, disassemble the hdd and re-connect the cable carefully.

 

I had to do a repair last year on an Insprion notebook, was approx. 13 mo. old. Unsure of the model. Dell kept sending this guy hard drives and I kept putting them in. After the 3rd one, I used one of my own (pull from another dead laptop) and it didn't work either. I then determined that the IDE controller was faulty. I suggested to the guy that he let Dell know about that. He did so and they (even tho he was past his 12 mo. warranty... altho this process began before it was out of warranty) had him send in the unit. Their findings? Faulty IDE controller. They replaced the motherboard and sent it back. I talked to him last week, said it's still running nicely.

Not saying this is your same problem, but it's something for anyone with hard drive issues to take into consideration.