[muffingee]

The Problem: Dell GX260 (slim) boots to a blinking cursor.

If I take the hard drive out and put it into a similar computer (GX260 (Tower)) it boots 'normally'. It does give some sort of 'configuration' message but for all intents and purposes, does what it needs to do to show the hard drive is not hooped.

This leads me to believe it's hardware related. I am able to enter the BIOS and it sees the Hard drive and size. I ran a 2 Dell ResourceCDs (neither CD mentioned the GX260 but rather GX270 and GX280 but I figured...close enough) and all seemed to check out fine.

I swapped IDE Cables, rebooted several times, and powered the HDrive using a different plug from the original power supply (I don't have another power supply to test with). On the Dell Resource disk is a 'Cannot boot to OS' test. I ran that and it came up as ok but then again this disk did not have GX260 listed as the computers it supported.

Any other suggestions?

thanks

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Here at Geeks to go we have answered this question before here.

http://www.geekstogo...en-t159277.html

So here goes again.

Manual steps to run Chkdsk at the command prompt
1. Click Start, and then Run.
2. In Open, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
3. Use one of the following procedures:
• To run Chkdsk in read-only mode, at the command prompt, type chkdsk, and then press ENTER.
• To repair errors without scanning the volume for bad sectors, at the command prompt, type chkdsk volume:/f, and then press ENTER.

Note If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
Type Y, and then press ENTER to schedule the disk check, and then restart your computer to start the disk check.
• To repair errors, locate bad sectors, and recover readable information, at the command prompt, type chkdsk volume:/r, and then press ENTER.

Note If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
Type Y, and then press ENTER to schedule the disk check, and then restart your computer to start the disk check.

If Windows XP (or 2000) refuses to start, press F8 right after you turn on your PC but before the Windows log-on appears (it may take a few attempts to get the timing right). At the resulting menu, select Last Known Good Configuration to restore your Registry to an earlier date.

If this doesn't get your PC working, reboot and press F8 again, but this time select Safe Mode, and then choose Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Follow the wizard's instructions and pick an appropriate backup.

Next thing to try is the Recovery Console, a Windows utility that provides a DOS-like command line from which you can run some repair programs. It's tricky to use if you're not accustomed to command lines, and you can damage your data, so be careful.

If you have a Microsoft Windows CD-ROM, you can get to the Recovery Console by booting from that CD and pressing any key when you're told to 'Press any key to boot from CD'. At the 'Welcome to Setup' screen, press r for Repair.

If Windows XP or 2000 came with your computer and you don't have a Microsoft Windows CD-ROM, the Recovery Console might be on one of the CDs the vendor bundled with your PC. But it might not. Fortunately, the Recovery Console is hidden in a free, downloadable Microsoft program called Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install. Visit Microsoft's site to download the setup-disk file that works with XP Professional; available too is the XP Home version, which will also work for Windows 2000, Me, and 98.

When you run the download, it puts the XP installation program, including the Recovery Console, onto a set of six floppy disks. To get to the Recovery Console, boot from the first floppy, and then swap disks as prompted until you reach the 'Welcome to Setup' screen. Press r to open the Recovery Console.

Figure 1 below shows a list of the Recovery Console's most useful commands. For detailed information on a particular command, type the command followed by a space and /?, as in chkdsk /?. (Not all the commands will be available if you don't have a Windows CD-ROM.)
Figure 1: Recovery Console Commands
Command Function
Chkdsk1 Checks disks for errors.
Diskpart Creates and deletes partitions.
Extract2 Extracts files from compressed.cab archives.
Fixboot Writes a new boot sector.
Fixmbr Writes a new master boot record.
Help Lists the Recovery Console commands.

SRX660

[SRX660]

Here at Geeks to go we have answered this question before here.

http://www.geekstogo...en-t159277.html

So here goes again.

Manual steps to run Chkdsk at the command prompt
1. Click Start, and then Run.
2. In Open, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
3. Use one of the following procedures:
• To run Chkdsk in read-only mode, at the command prompt, type chkdsk, and then press ENTER.
• To repair errors without scanning the volume for bad sectors, at the command prompt, type chkdsk volume:/f, and then press ENTER.

Note If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
Type Y, and then press ENTER to schedule the disk check, and then restart your computer to start the disk check.
• To repair errors, locate bad sectors, and recover readable information, at the command prompt, type chkdsk volume:/r, and then press ENTER.

Note If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
Type Y, and then press ENTER to schedule the disk check, and then restart your computer to start the disk check.

If Windows XP (or 2000) refuses to start, press F8 right after you turn on your PC but before the Windows log-on appears (it may take a few attempts to get the timing right). At the resulting menu, select Last Known Good Configuration to restore your Registry to an earlier date.

If this doesn't get your PC working, reboot and press F8 again, but this time select Safe Mode, and then choose Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Follow the wizard's instructions and pick an appropriate backup.

Next thing to try is the Recovery Console, a Windows utility that provides a DOS-like command line from which you can run some repair programs. It's tricky to use if you're not accustomed to command lines, and you can damage your data, so be careful.

If you have a Microsoft Windows CD-ROM, you can get to the Recovery Console by booting from that CD and pressing any key when you're told to 'Press any key to boot from CD'. At the 'Welcome to Setup' screen, press r for Repair.

If Windows XP or 2000 came with your computer and you don't have a Microsoft Windows CD-ROM, the Recovery Console might be on one of the CDs the vendor bundled with your PC. But it might not. Fortunately, the Recovery Console is hidden in a free, downloadable Microsoft program called Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install. Visit Microsoft's site to download the setup-disk file that works with XP Professional; available too is the XP Home version, which will also work for Windows 2000, Me, and 98.

When you run the download, it puts the XP installation program, including the Recovery Console, onto a set of six floppy disks. To get to the Recovery Console, boot from the first floppy, and then swap disks as prompted until you reach the 'Welcome to Setup' screen. Press r to open the Recovery Console.

Figure 1 below shows a list of the Recovery Console's most useful commands. For detailed information on a particular command, type the command followed by a space and /?, as in chkdsk /?. (Not all the commands will be available if you don't have a Windows CD-ROM.)
Figure 1: Recovery Console Commands
Command Function
Chkdsk1 Checks disks for errors.
Diskpart Creates and deletes partitions.
Extract2 Extracts files from compressed.cab archives.
Fixboot Writes a new boot sector.
Fixmbr Writes a new master boot record.
Help Lists the Recovery Console commands.

SRX660

[ZenoS2]

If you haven't already figured out this issue, I had an identical issue on the same model Dell.
Since you can boot the drive from another PC that is not the issue, don't waste time with check disks etc, anyone that had any idea on troubleshooting would have read that the disk boots on another machine and skipped any of that. The problem lies somewhere in the POST , BIOS etc on boot.

On my machine, this issue was traced back to a faulty stick of ram, which showed the exact same issues and symptoms. Try swapping out the RAM from the box you mentioned that does boot, and see if that will correct your issue. If that doesn't help, try resetting the BIOS following the MFG instructions or pull the BIOS battery, use the CMOS clear jumper etc. This information can be found in the GX260 manual.

If the ram isn't the issue, a dead CPU can also cause this symptom on any number of PC's, verify that the CPU is seated correctly, re-seat if necessary, and possibly try the CPU from the other box if it is compatible (I believe you mentioned that box were of the same model).

If neither of the above helps on this issue (resetting the BIOS, swapping RAM,CPU) you could have a dead PSU or one that has failed to the point to lower the voltages to various parts of the board to cause failure on boot. Since it sounds like you have an identical machine that does boot, you could try swapping components out between the machines to find the faulty part, however this would be hardware related.