[b_4363]

All right, this problem is getting a bit old and I thought I would seek some outside help. About 90% of the time I reboot my computer, it freezes on the screen with the Dell logo that gives you the option to go into the BIOS, etc. The blue bar gets about halfway through loading and just freezes. It will then quickly load, then it goes to a completely black screen that says: "Primary Hard Drive Not Found." at the very top. If I turn it off and back on, it does the same thing, many times. If I unplug it from AC power and take the battery off, wait about 10 seconds, then start it up, it finally doesn't hang. Sometimes it reboots VERY slowly after that, but most the time it will go back to normal operation.

Here are my computer specs: Dell Inspiron 700m, Windows XP Home, Service Pack 2. Anything else needed?

I would appreciate any help!

Thanks,

Eric

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Hi 4363. Welcome to G2G. Give this a try
Check for Dirty Drive
To check for a Dirty Bit, first. Click Start, then Run, type cmd, and
click "Ok". At the command prompt, type fsutil dirty query c:
then hit enter
(This queries the drive and will tell you if it is dirty).
if it say yes do this
Start, my computer, open, click on Local Disk (C:) ,
Right click, click on properties, click on tools, and pick this
Option will check the volume for errors, click check now,
Now put a check in the boxes (automatically fix file
System errors and scan for and attempt recovery of
Bad sectors, hit Start and a note will come up and saying
that it can’t do a scan because there are system files in
use but can do a check disk on next boot up, tell it ok.
This will take about an hour or so!
Make sure you let it run till it’s done!

then do a disk defragmenter
start, accessories, system tools, disk defragmenter.

[Dwight]

Hi 4363. Welcome to G2G. Give this a try
Check for Dirty Drive
To check for a Dirty Bit, first. Click Start, then Run, type cmd, and
click "Ok". At the command prompt, type fsutil dirty query c:
then hit enter
(This queries the drive and will tell you if it is dirty).
if it say yes do this
Start, my computer, open, click on Local Disk (C:) ,
Right click, click on properties, click on tools, and pick this
Option will check the volume for errors, click check now,
Now put a check in the boxes (automatically fix file
System errors and scan for and attempt recovery of
Bad sectors, hit Start and a note will come up and saying
that it can’t do a scan because there are system files in
use but can do a check disk on next boot up, tell it ok.
This will take about an hour or so!
Make sure you let it run till it’s done!

then do a disk defragmenter
start, accessories, system tools, disk defragmenter.

[cheathawk1]

Have you tried booting up with a different hard drive to see if the HDD is causing the problem? You could borrow one from a friend if you dont have another, but I would test that first top make sure the problem does not lie somwhere else in the system. If you still have the same problem after swapping drives, then the problem might be with the power supply or another componant.

--Chris