CMOS & no bootable drive error

adocholiday

Hi all,

Ok this is the situation: Dell Vostro computer was completely shut down and disconnected before being moved to another office. Was working perfectly at this point. Set up in new office and try to boot... gets stuck at the very first loading screen (Dell logo in the centre with prompts to press F2 for setup or F12 for boot menu).

New screen appears with a list of items saying that it detects the CD drive and the USB keyboard/mouse but no hard drive. Says under that CMOS Checksum error - press F1 to continue, F2 for setup or F12 for boot menu. Press F1 and I get the error "No bootable media detected, press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart". I went into the setup menu and the CD drive is definitely detected but the hard drive is not.

I disconnected the CD drive and I instead of the 2nd screen appearing (and therefore, no CMOS error) I just get the "No bootable media" error.

I checked the cabling and connections and swapped some out and still getting the same error. I'm assuming at this point that the HDD has failed and there is no signal between it and the motherboard but can't be sure. I'm trying to get my hands on a HDD with the same connections to test it but is there anythig else I should check in the meantime? Also, if it is the case that the hard drive has failed, does anyone think that it would be possible to mount the drive via USB dock to get the data? All the important stuff is backed up but would like to salvage if possible.

Thanks.

riclad

GO to bios, set mode AUTODETECT all drives, .
You may need a new cmos battery.Set bios mode, FASTBOOT off.
reboot, you can buy a caddy 3.5inch ide or sata ,to acess the data,or boot from a livecd, eg mint linux.
set boot mode, boot drive 0=1, first drive, hd 0=1st boot device.
maybe leave cd disconnect for the moment.
is drive ide or sata.?
see here,acess bios,setup
Press F2 when the Dell logo appears. Press every few seconds until the message Entering Setup appears.
MAKE SURE HARDRIVE is set to master mode, or cs,cable select,with jumper,
plastic bit in place.
reseat drive cable, usually 2 ide sockets,maybe try socket 2 in motherboard.
Older Dell desktops and laptops may instead use Ctrl+Alt+Enter or Del to enter BIOS.
save new bios settings, then exit bios,
save and exit.reboot pc,
is the drive acess light led flashing ,after reboot.

see http://www.ehow.com/how_6031_change-master-slave-designation.html
jumper is a small piece of plastic ,connects 2sets of pins,
to set mode, if jumper is not on,drive will not load ,or be detected
properly.
try press f12,
drive 0, =hd0= first boot drive. drive
jumper should be set to master , to acess in a usb enclosure

adocholiday

That's great thank you. I know where the jumper goes I've seen them before. Should there always be one? I know for definite that there was none on the hard drive I was using today.

It's a SATA drive, as is the CD drive. The HDD was connected to the SATA port 0 on the motherboard and the CD drive was connected to SATA port 2. Both were colour coded with corresponding coloured cables. Ports 1 and 3 were not connected to anything.

I was thinking about getting one of those caddy's alright but don't want to bother if the drive is ok and it's just a matter of getting the motherboard to pick it up again.

riclad

Sorry,sata drives dont need jumpers, just plug drive with windows on it ,into sata port 1.
set bios .slow boot,
fastboot OFF.
try disconnect cd drive, try hd on port ,0, then port ,1.
set bios Autodetect All drives. A sata caddy is 15- 20euros.

IF that doesnt work, go to bios, set bios to factory settings,or default values.

what model is it,eg 1200 ,vostro 1400, look at pc label.
ONLY ide drives use jumpers.

Have you got a windows install cd?
after reboot ,you should see ,
Drive detected= eg seagate 250gb model xxxxx on the bootup screen,
even if it says no boot media .
I think all sata cables are identical, maybe try cd cable in hardrive.
Make sure sata cable seated, pushed in all the way.Both ends,
mobo,and drive interface.
Check both cables tight, data ,power, both ends.
drive acess led should flash for a few seconds,after reboot.

yoyo

Did the machine get a knock/fall when being moved? It does sound like a hard disk issue, as you have already checked the connections I'd be pointing the finger at the hard disk, does the drive show up in the bios at all or in the boot menu (Hit F12 at the dell logo)?

Nick

adocholiday

I thought myself it must have got a knock but the owner of the computer is denying that . I did try the SATA cable from the CD drive on the hard drive and it didn't work. I also tried connecting it to the other SATA ports on the motherboard with both the CD cable and the original cable. No joy either way. The hard drive is also not being detected in the BIOS or the boot menu. It is set to autodetect all drives and I reset the BIOS to factory defaults, still no joy.

The computer is a Dell Vostro 220 series. Don't know the exact model as the computer is in work. Will try the slow boot method tomorrow but at this point I'm going to assume that it is a damaged hard disk and that the only solution is a new one. Will know for definite when I try a different SATA drive anyway.

bonzodog2

Is there another PC you can try the disk in ?

riclad

IF its not detected ,in bios, either something wrong with
motherboard, or hardrive is faulty.
ENABLE slowboot,
disable fastboot,
enable diagnostic boot mode if there is one in bios options,advanced.You could try drive in another pc, or buy a usb caddy ,theres 2.5inch,
and 3.5inch caddys, drives in laptops are 2.5.,
pcs USUALLY 3.5.inch
see here manual,http://www.retrevo.com/support/Dell-220-Desktops-manual/id/23108dj496/t/2/

adocholiday

Update: Put different SATA drive in (from a Dell Dimension E520) and got past the CMOS/BIOS but before the Windows XP loading screen came up got BSOD. Tried booting in safe mode and last known good config same BSOD. Message says that may be a virus/malware or a bad hardware config. There was no slow boot option in the BIOS menu.

I put the new HDD back into it's original PC and it boots fine so I'm assuming that the original computer is very much a lost cause? The HDD is definitely dead but there may be other issues that aren't apparent. Can't think of what else to try. I tried booting with Diagnostic but it didn't detect any errors.

What should be the next step? Thanks for your help so far guys

riclad

You took drive from pc a,and put it in pc b ,you got blue screen,of course different pcs have different,cpu,mobo,grahics card,drivers enabled.get new sata drive ,use windows cd to install windows on pc.
BUY a sata caddy 15 , 20,euro 3.5 or 2.5inch,depends on drive
size,plug it to pc,if theres any files ,docs on old drive,
or important info,
plug into 2 pcs,using usb caddy, if drive not detected,likely drive is
faulty/ dead.

SOUNDS like pc is ok, just needs a new drive.
use the dell service tag for a more precise search of your model pc,
service tag, on label pc case.
5 to 7 letter,no code on label, pc case.

YOU can download any drivers you need from
dell support .
use license key to install windows,
its likely to be on label, at side,rear of pc case.
see

http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cat=sup&cs=19&k=vostro+220&rpp=12&p=2&subcat=dyd&rf=all&nk=f&sort=K&ira=False&~srd=False&ip

after you install windows ,if theres drivers needed,eg,network,sound,
see above link.
missing drivers =yellow tag,in control panel,system hardware,device manager

adocholiday

Ah I thought that once both were Dell PC's it would be fine. That's great will organise getting a new SATA drive thanks very much

riclad

You need COMPLETE new install, windows ,os, Download , install,microsoft security essentials or avast antivirus. you,ll probably be missing some drivers,2 or 3 use link in the last post.IF installing xp,you,ll need to set updates download automatically all updates,
including service pack3, etc
you can download net ,graphics driver to another pc,copy em to a cd or usb drive.
use safe mode, vga mode, if the graphics driver is not installed from windows cd.
Buy at least 200 0r 500gig drive.
drivers, pc manual,tech info all are avaiable from dell support website.

Nothingbetter2d

if your hd is dead i recommend getting an ssd drive to replace it... your laptop will be awesomely quick and have better battery life

riclad

SSDS much more expensive,limited in size, buy a 500gig or 1000gig drive.For a business i dont recommend ssds for pcs,in the long run they may have a limit on read/write cycles.SATA drives are designed to last 4 years approx.
ssds 300gig ok for laptop,fast if you have loads of money to spend .
HE has a dell pc not laptop.
if there,s important data on old hd, its possible to replace hd pcb,revive it,
temporary fix, put in sealed plastic bag, in freezer,
after 40 mins, take out ,put in a caddy,copy data,as much as you can.
google harddrive freeze trick.
IE drive may temporarily work,pcb ,mechanism comes back to life at lower temperature.