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Primary Slave Hard Disc Error

Started by sanddancer , Jan 25 2009 08:56 PM

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#1
sanddancer
Posted 25 January 2009 - 08:56 PM

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Hi,
since we moved house when starting up our desktop we now get a black screen with some details on it with a line that says " Primary Slave Hard Disc Error" & under that line " Press <DEL> to Run SETUP" . I have tp press <DEL> which takes me to a "SETUP" screen. I have several options on this screen however the only option that allows windows to start up is for me to press"Esc" which exits me from the "SETUP" menu & windows will load. Once up & running the PC's performance is poor. ( I've tried to take a picture of these screens however the file is too large to upload"

I've carried out the following but with no improvement:
removed the dust from inside the casing and made sure the wires are all pushed in securely.
disc scan & defrag
deleted temp internet files
added more RAM

I'm not computer savvy however any help & advice greatly appreciated. Thanks
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#2
ComputerSponge
Posted 26 January 2009 - 01:25 AM

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do you have a Windows CD? A reformat might fix it. But before you do anything you should be sure to backup anything on it that you don't want to lose. You could also try running an anti-virus/spyware scan with AVG Free and Spybot Search & Destroy. If malware is the problem then those two programs will fix it. Just google them to find a download link.
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#3
sanddancer
Posted 26 January 2009 - 02:50 PM

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Hi Computersponge,

Thanks for advise. Have just run Malwarebytes, Spybot Search & Destroy and also ATF Cleaner. Unfortunately didn't make any noticeable difference. Still have same problem. :) I've got the Windows CD somewhere so I'll give that a try and will let you know results. Thanks.
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#4
sanddancer
Posted 04 February 2009 - 08:24 AM

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Hi Computersponge,

sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you. unfortunately I'm unable to find the Windows CD at the moment. any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
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#5
Ferrari
Posted 04 February 2009 - 07:10 PM

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Hi,

I found a guide titled "what makes your machine slow" in the the how to guides and tutorials section of geekstogo.com. Assuming you have 2000 or xp. I believe all these things can be done. Click here for the link.

My parents computer was running very slow and unstable. I completed everything that Artellos recommends in the guide and was extremely please with the results. I too am somewhat of an average user and you should be able to perform these tasks.

As far as the primary slave drive error goes...I'm not that advanced and it could be the main cause of the problems because that is not normal. The drive could be going bad or something.
Also, any windows xp (or whatever operating system you have) cd will work...you just need to retrieve your product key

Let me know how it works out for you.
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#6
sanddancer
Posted 07 February 2009 - 12:36 PM

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Hi JAR300

many thanks for that.
I'll certainly give it all a try however have carried out most of the items already...
will let you know how things go.

thanks again
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#7
123Runner
Posted 07 February 2009 - 01:35 PM

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Welcome.

Do not reformat the computer. We do not recommend a reformat UNLESS it is the absolute last step.

How many physical drives do you have in the computer? I suspect at least 2.
Turn power off and unplug the 2nd drive. Do this to the power and to the data cable.

Do you get a good bootup?
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#8
sanddancer
Posted 07 February 2009 - 07:31 PM

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Hi 123Runner,

Thanks for advice...

I have the following drives:- 3 1/2 floppy (A:), Local Disk (C:), CD Drive (D:), CD-RW Drive (E:)

Which should I disconnect?

Re "Good Bootup"...not really sure what you mean by this? The boot up is very slow and happens as I explained at the beginning of this post. Sorry I'm a bit vague on this.
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#9
sanddancer
Posted 13 February 2009 - 07:31 PM

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Hi,
Over the last week or so the operation of my desktop has been getting slower & slower.

I disconnected the power & data cables for A:, D: & E: Drives. On bootup the same screen appeared as in my first posting " Primary Slave Hard Disc Error". System is still very slow to respond. Have now reconnected the power & data cables.

I'm going to carry out all preliminary operations & then post log in "Hijack this log" for someone to take a look at & hopefully throw some light on my problem.

Thanks all for advice so far.
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