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    I'm getting intermittent boot problems with an old Dell 6000

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Waveblade, Mar 8, 2010.

  1. Waveblade

    Waveblade Notebook Deity

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    So my friend is getting random errors with the computer crashing and the hard drive not being detected.

    Could it be that the hard drive is failing or is it some other cable that is deteriorating. They can't replace that laptop at the moment.

    I don't want to recommend them getting a hard drive and then have it be some other component. Just wanna cover all my bases and see if there's any fixes I can find for them. I'm not sure what utilities are best when it comes to bad sectors

    Thanks!
     
    Waveblade, Mar 8, 2010
    #1
  2. Padmé

    Padmé NBR Super Pink Princess

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    What is the brand of your hard drive?
     
    Padmé, Mar 9, 2010
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  3. Waveblade

    Waveblade Notebook Deity

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    It's stock, a Fujitsu.

    Also it's IDE which jacks up the price of a hard drive :/
     
    Waveblade, Mar 9, 2010
    #3
  4. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    Tried running HDTune to either check the SMART data or run the drive scanning utility? I'd venture it's a hard drive issue as the D600 doesn't have a "cable" connecting the HDD to the mainboard. It's just a big hunk of metal and plastic, which I've never seen break.
     
    Commander Wolf, Mar 9, 2010
    #4
  5. nacholambre

    nacholambre Notebook Consultant

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    I highly suggest you update your BIOS and reformat your computer to try if this fixes the problem!
     
    nacholambre, Mar 9, 2010
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  6. naton

    naton Notebook Virtuoso

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    A bios upgrade has nothing to do with a harddrive detection failure.

    First tell your friend to back up his work. Then they can use HDtune as it was recommanded by Commander Wolf. A full formating is also an option though if I recall well the Inspiron 6000 was not sold with a Windows XP CD. The harddrive should include a hidden partition that contains an image of Windows, all the drivers, and few applications. To use the hidden partition your friend should hit ctrl + f11 just after turning their laptop on. They have to do that before windows starts uploading itself.

    If the harddrive is fine, and windows has been re-installed then your friend might have a fault IDE controller or a faulty chipset (in other words a faulty motherboard)
     
    naton, Mar 10, 2010
    #6