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    hard drive dead?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by jordansport, Nov 5, 2006.

  1. jordansport

    jordansport Notebook Consultant

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    Last night my computer just randomly shut off while surfing the net.

    I turned it back on and get this error after the Dell screen:

    'No boot sector on internal hard drive

    No bootable devices--strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility'

    F1 gives the same message and beeps twice and F2 goes to the bios where nothing has been changed ever. The boot priority is on the hard drive first just to let you know.

    Sound like a dead hard drive?
     
  2. jabbok

    jabbok Notebook Deity

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    yes it does sound like a harddrive, can you hear it spinning up?
     
  3. zealot

    zealot Notebook Enthusiast

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    if the hard drive sectors are corrupted I think it should make clicking noises, is there any unfamiliar sounds?
     
  4. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    does the BIOS recognize a HD?

    have you tried reseating it?
     
  5. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Without re-installing, go through the Window's setup until it asks you which drive to install on. If it sees your hard drive, you know it's working. Exit out, use the Window's Repair utility and run "fixmbr." That may restore the boot record to what you need.
     
  6. gridtalker

    gridtalker Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yep the hard drive is dying