[erbegu]

Hello, i can not boot my PC; when i start my pc it shows up "Primary Master HDD error"
my pc:
intel celeron 2.4ghz, 512 mb ram, 128mb graphic card, ASrock motherboard
(custom buid pc)
I tried to replace the grey ribbon cable but it did not work. i can access my bios,at "Main> Ide Devices" is listed as primary IDE Master my hdd: "Maxtor N40P". PCI IDE BusMaster is enabled(same thind if disabled) and S.M.A.R.T. for HD is Disabled.
BIOS Version P4S61 BIOS P2.40. I tried to let HDD only attached on motherboard (i removed the CD-ROM) with no results.

I tried also booting through CD (because when i press F1 i can do this)and it showed 0 Mb to format. after this i tried using a HDD Regenerator and it showed up with a message "No HDD detected"!!! which is strange because in BIOS my HDD is listed.

Please can anyone help me. I really need help!

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[Advertisements]

i can access my bios,at "Main> Ide Devices" is listed as primary IDE Master my hdd: "Maxtor N40P"

This would indicate that the bios can still read the firmware of the drive and that is why it still identifies the drive.

I tried also booting through CD (because when i press F1 i can do this)and it showed 0 Mb to format. after this i tried using a HDD Regenerator and it showed up with a message "No HDD detected"!!! which is strange because in BIOS my HDD is listed.

This would indicate the HD has failed.
Please try the steps below and let me know if it is identified and accessible.

Use Puppy Linux Live CD to Recover Your Data:

===================
***Required Hardware***
CD Burner (CDRW) Drive,
Blank CD,
Extra Storage Device (USB Flash Drive, External Hard Drive)
===================

1. Save these files to your Desktop/Burn Your Live CD:

• Download Latest Puppy Linux ISO (i.e.: lupu-520.iso)
  Download BurnCDCC ISO Burning Software
  
  
• Open BurnCDCC with Windows Explorer
• Extract All files to a location you can remember
• Double Click BurnCDCC
• Click Browse and navigate to the Puppy Linux ISO file you just downloaded
• Open/Double Click that file
  IMPORTANT: Adjust the speed bar to CD: 4x DVD: 1x
• Click Start
• Your CD Burner Tray will open automatically
• Insert a blank CD and close the tray
• Click OK

Puppy Linux Live CD will now be created
2. Set your boot priority in the BIOS to CD-ROM first, Hard Drive Second

• Start the computer/press the power button
• Immediately start tapping the appropriate key to enter the BIOS, aka "Setup"
  (Usually shown during the "Dell" screen, or "Gateway" Screen)
• Once in the BIOS, under Advanced BIOS Options change boot priority to:
  CD-ROM 1st, Hard Drive 2nd
• Open your ROM drive and insert the disk
• Press F10 to save and exit
• Agree with "Y" to continue
• Your computer will restart and boot from the Puppy Linux Live CD
  
  

3. Recover Your Data

• Once Puppy Linux has loaded, it is actually running in your computer's Memory (RAM). You will see a fully functioning Graphical User Interface similar to what you normally call "your computer". Internet access may or may not be available depending on your machine, so it is recommended you print these instructions before beginning. Also, double clicking is not needed in Puppy. To expand, or open folders/icons, just click once. Puppy is very light on resources, so you will quickly notice it is much speedier than you are used to. This is normal. Ready? Let's get started.
  
  3a. Mount Drives
• Click the Mount Icon located at the top left of your desktop.
• A Window will open. By default, the "drive" tab will be forward/highlighted. Click on Mount for your hard drive.
• Assuming you only have one hard drive and/or partition, there may be only one selection to mount.
• USB Flash Drives usually automatically mount upon boot, but click the "usbdrv" tab and make sure it is mounted.
• If using an external hard drive for the data recovery, do this under the "drive" tab. Mount it now.

3b. Transfer Files.

• At the bottom left of your desktop a list of all hard drives/partitions, USB Drives, and Optical Drives are listed with a familiar looking hard drive icon.
• Open your old hard drive i.e. sda1
• Next, open your USB Flash Drive or External Drive. i.e. sdc or sdb1
• If you open the wrong drive, simply X out at the top right corner of the window that opens. (Just like in Windows)
• From your old hard drive, drag and drop whatever files/folders you wish to transfer to your USB Drive's Window.

For The Novice: The common path to your pictures, music, video, and documents folders is: Documents and Settings >> All Users (or each idividual name of each user. CHECK All Names!) >> Documents >> You will now see My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos.

Remember to only click once! No double clicking! Once you drag and drop your first folder, you will notice a small menu will appear giving you the option to move or copy. Choose COPY each time you drag and drop.

YOU ARE DONE!!! Simply click Menu >> Mouse Over Shutdown >> Reboot/Turn Off Computer. Be sure to plug your USB Drive into another working windows machine to verify all data is there and transferred without corruption. Congratulations!





If you're doing this to recovery from a virus or malware infection, (or even if you're not), DO NOT copy executable files (.exe, .scr. etc...) if any of these files are infected you could be copying the corruption over to any new device/computer. just copy documents, pictures, music, or videos.

[rshaffer61]

i can access my bios,at "Main> Ide Devices" is listed as primary IDE Master my hdd: "Maxtor N40P"

This would indicate that the bios can still read the firmware of the drive and that is why it still identifies the drive.

I tried also booting through CD (because when i press F1 i can do this)and it showed 0 Mb to format. after this i tried using a HDD Regenerator and it showed up with a message "No HDD detected"!!! which is strange because in BIOS my HDD is listed.

This would indicate the HD has failed.
Please try the steps below and let me know if it is identified and accessible.

Use Puppy Linux Live CD to Recover Your Data:

===================
***Required Hardware***
CD Burner (CDRW) Drive,
Blank CD,
Extra Storage Device (USB Flash Drive, External Hard Drive)
===================

1. Save these files to your Desktop/Burn Your Live CD:

• Download Latest Puppy Linux ISO (i.e.: lupu-520.iso)
  Download BurnCDCC ISO Burning Software
  
  
• Open BurnCDCC with Windows Explorer
• Extract All files to a location you can remember
• Double Click BurnCDCC
• Click Browse and navigate to the Puppy Linux ISO file you just downloaded
• Open/Double Click that file
  IMPORTANT: Adjust the speed bar to CD: 4x DVD: 1x
• Click Start
• Your CD Burner Tray will open automatically
• Insert a blank CD and close the tray
• Click OK

Puppy Linux Live CD will now be created
2. Set your boot priority in the BIOS to CD-ROM first, Hard Drive Second

• Start the computer/press the power button
• Immediately start tapping the appropriate key to enter the BIOS, aka "Setup"
  (Usually shown during the "Dell" screen, or "Gateway" Screen)
• Once in the BIOS, under Advanced BIOS Options change boot priority to:
  CD-ROM 1st, Hard Drive 2nd
• Open your ROM drive and insert the disk
• Press F10 to save and exit
• Agree with "Y" to continue
• Your computer will restart and boot from the Puppy Linux Live CD
  
  

3. Recover Your Data

• Once Puppy Linux has loaded, it is actually running in your computer's Memory (RAM). You will see a fully functioning Graphical User Interface similar to what you normally call "your computer". Internet access may or may not be available depending on your machine, so it is recommended you print these instructions before beginning. Also, double clicking is not needed in Puppy. To expand, or open folders/icons, just click once. Puppy is very light on resources, so you will quickly notice it is much speedier than you are used to. This is normal. Ready? Let's get started.
  
  3a. Mount Drives
• Click the Mount Icon located at the top left of your desktop.
• A Window will open. By default, the "drive" tab will be forward/highlighted. Click on Mount for your hard drive.
• Assuming you only have one hard drive and/or partition, there may be only one selection to mount.
• USB Flash Drives usually automatically mount upon boot, but click the "usbdrv" tab and make sure it is mounted.
• If using an external hard drive for the data recovery, do this under the "drive" tab. Mount it now.

3b. Transfer Files.

• At the bottom left of your desktop a list of all hard drives/partitions, USB Drives, and Optical Drives are listed with a familiar looking hard drive icon.
• Open your old hard drive i.e. sda1
• Next, open your USB Flash Drive or External Drive. i.e. sdc or sdb1
• If you open the wrong drive, simply X out at the top right corner of the window that opens. (Just like in Windows)
• From your old hard drive, drag and drop whatever files/folders you wish to transfer to your USB Drive's Window.

For The Novice: The common path to your pictures, music, video, and documents folders is: Documents and Settings >> All Users (or each idividual name of each user. CHECK All Names!) >> Documents >> You will now see My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos.

Remember to only click once! No double clicking! Once you drag and drop your first folder, you will notice a small menu will appear giving you the option to move or copy. Choose COPY each time you drag and drop.

YOU ARE DONE!!! Simply click Menu >> Mouse Over Shutdown >> Reboot/Turn Off Computer. Be sure to plug your USB Drive into another working windows machine to verify all data is there and transferred without corruption. Congratulations!





If you're doing this to recovery from a virus or malware infection, (or even if you're not), DO NOT copy executable files (.exe, .scr. etc...) if any of these files are infected you could be copying the corruption over to any new device/computer. just copy documents, pictures, music, or videos.

[erbegu]

I tried using Ubuntu as i had it ready on CD and i can't mount the HDD, what do u suggest?

[rshaffer61]

It sounds like the HD is dead then.
Replacing is the option you have. Since even a Linux Live cd can not access the drive the only way to get any info would be a professional service which could cost hundreds of dollars. They also don't guarantee how much info they could save.

[erbegu]

It sounds like the HD is dead then.

OK thank you for your support however, but is still only one thing that i can't understand. how is it possible that my HDD is listed in BIOS Menu ?!
if it is dead should it not to be able to send any information on BIOS or whatever? Anyway thanks again!

[rshaffer61]

Not really as the first sector first point of info on the drive could be defective but the firmware can still be read in the bios.
Another way you can test it is to remove it from the system and put it in a external enclosure and then connect it to a working system. If it can be seen then I would suggest backing up all your data you need.

Do you have a OS disk for your system? If so try the below:


How To Run Chkdsk /r from Recovery Console:


How to run checkdisk from recovery console (Windows xp). (Courtesy dsenette)

• Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.
  Note:Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
• When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
  Note:If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console.
• When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
• At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following then press Enter:
  

  chkdsk /r

• Allow this to run UNDISTURBED until completed (45 min or so)
• Report any errors

[erbegu]

Do you have a OS disk for your system?
[/list]

Yes i tried that too but still nothing resolved, i think the HDD is dead definitely, thank you for your support! :-)

[rshaffer61]

Do you have a place to purchase a new hd or do you have any questions on a replacement drive? I will be happy to suggest or offer any help I can.

[rshaffer61]

Are you still having problems with your issue?
It has been 10 days since your last response and I was wondering if the issue has been resolved?
If so can you explain how it was resolved so others may be able to fix it if they have the same issue.
If not please let us know and we can continue with helping you to resolve the issue.