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I REALLY SCREWED UP-PC WONT BOOT AND WONT GO TO BIOS


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#31
ColleenB

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IMG_0262.JPG Last night for the heck of it I went ahead and tried to reinstall the OS, but it came up that it couldn't access the hard drive cuz there was a driver missing that allows you to access it.  Have you ever heard of that? If so where do I find it?  Also I tried to remove the hard drive and I cant figure out how to do that.  I am attaching a pic and maybe you could tell me..Thanks again.  I am going to Best Buy this morning to get a new hard drive.  Here is the picture.  Thanks             Colleen


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#32
ColleenB

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Ok Thanks iammykyl......... I will check on that before I go to Best Buy.   I will let you know       Colleen


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#33
ColleenB

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ok In the link you gave me for the BIOS settings it says native is enhanced.  My only gives me a choice of native or legacy.  What do I choose?  But I did notice my hard drive is a sata hook up and in the BIOS it says configure SATA as IDE.  Should it be that way?


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#34
terry1966

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the legacy or native mode i assume is related to a drives files system mbr (legacy) gpt (native.) i'd leave it on native. older operating systems like xp would need legacy mode but with windows 7 both can be used and from win 8 only native will work.

 

edit:- i really should look at pics to see what you were talking about first. both legacy and native can be used only difference is in legacy mode the controller uses dedicated irq's (it's a technical thing), you want it to be native since it's more efficient and any os from xp up uses it this way.

 

the sata controller setting can be ide, ahci or raid usually and will work on each, if installing a new os then i'd set it to ahci but ide will work too, the main difference with this setting is if the windows os was installed in ide mode then if you change it to ahci mode the windows os will not boot any more and vice versa if memory serves.

 

none of those settings though would stop the drive being seen as attached in bios, they only make a difference when it comes time to install the os and boot the hard drive so once set that is where they'd need to stay after the os has been installed so it will boot.

 

now to get your hard drive out, sorry to say depends on each case and how many screws were used, usually though you need to take both sides off the case to gain access to the screws on the opposite side of the drive, when all screws are taken out it should just slide out easily.

by the looks of it in your case you may need to either remove the whole drive cage to get to the rear screws (near front of case.) because of that metal bit on the bottom or somehow remove it to gain access, that's if the builder even used screws behind that bit but usually you'd either expect 4 screws to be used or none at all depending on if the drive was in a tool less drive bay (which of course yours is not.) .

so sorry no instructions except trial and error and don't force anything, if you need a lot of force then usually your not doing something correctly.

 

:popcorn:


Edited by terry1966, 13 April 2015 - 08:58 PM.

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#35
ColleenB

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terry1966 Thank you for getting back to me.  I tried to talk to the guy who built this for me today but he only texted me and said that he doesnt feel its the hard drive but he told me to check the SATA cable.  He said that it sounds more like the cable than the drive.  He also said that for the hard drive to fail it would have started acting up prior to this which it didnt.  He told me to check the event log in BIOS and see if it had any errors.  It did not.  Is he information correct or is he screwing with me.  The hard drive should have been under a 1 year warrenty and it hasnt been a year.  He isnt wanting to do anything for us and wont give me much info.  I almost bought a new tower today for my son.  This is so frustrating and I have spent so much time that I feel like I need to see this through.      Please let me know what you think.............................  Colleen 


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#36
terry1966

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i think he's just fobbing you off, yes the data cable could be the problem as i mentioned before but if he was reputable he'd ask you to take it to him so he could check things for you, it takes 2 minutes to change the cable to see if that's the problem or if it's the hard drive itself and is a cheap $5 part at most i'd think.

 

my opinion is that he built the system for you and if he had any integrity he'd offer to look at it seeing how it has hardly been used and failed already in just 9 months of ownership, seeing how he hasn't text him for a new data cable so you can change the one installed and see what he says.

 

with luck he'll send you one and it'll fix all your problems. :D

 

do you hear or can you feel if the drive is actually spinning when powered on? if not then that would be another sign the hard drive is the problem and nothing else, even if it is spinning though that doesn't mean it's working correctly but it's a lot more likely it could be a problem elsewhere.

 

if you can get it out then you could spend money on a way to connect it to your laptop to test, but that would mean buying an adaptor or caddy of some type. like this :- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16812232002

or this :- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817182307

 

:popcorn:


Edited by terry1966, 13 April 2015 - 09:48 PM.

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#37
ColleenB

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okay...... Let me get back to you.  I will text him about the cable and other stuff and i will work on getting the drive out......................  Colleen


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#38
terry1966

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you could always buy a cheap hard drive and install that above the hard drive in there and just use the power and data cables from the installed hard drive, it should be seen in bios and you should be able to install an os to it then, it would also prove the problem was with the hard drive and not the cable.

 

the cheap drives are refurbished but only cost about $15 :- http://www.newegg.co...=9SIA5AD2C48633

http://www.newegg.co...-14?Order=PRICE

 

just another option and may not be the cheapest over the long term because these drives will have limited warranty and may fail a lot earlier than a new drive would or the problem may well be the cable.

 

:popcorn:


Edited by terry1966, 13 April 2015 - 10:14 PM.

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#39
iammykyl

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If you are going to Bestbuy, the WD 1TB Blue or Black are a good price, > http://www.bestbuy.c..._facet=Brand~WD


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#40
ColleenB

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okay Ive had a busy day.  I got a cable and desktop from a friend and this is what i tried.  First I used her SATA cable in my computer and no difference.  Then I removed my hard drive and hers and hooked up my hard drive to her system.  It didnt work as far as I know because someone put a password on her BIOS and she doesn't know who did or what it is. but it didnt boot up.   So then I decided to try the windows 7 OS disk.  It took me as far as ready to install and asked what drive  to install it on instead of a list of where to install it said  "No Drives Found:  Click load drivers to provide a mass storage driver for installation"  Then you can look for the driver on her windows OS or my OS windows 7 disk but I dont know where to find them.   Also I restart the computer and it gave me an option for running a diagnostics so I did and this is what it said.                                                                                                                 TESTING:       Boot Path

 

                                                                                                                                                                  Error Code:    BIOHD2

                                                                                                                                                                  Warning:        No drives detected

                                                                                                                                                                  Suggestion:  Turn off PC and verify that cables are attached 

                                                                                                                                                                  Suggestion:    If problems persist, contact HP for support

                                                                                                                                                                                                   Press any key to continue 

 

What do you think?                  Colleen


Edited by ColleenB, 14 April 2015 - 07:36 PM.

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#41
iammykyl

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Connecting a HDD directly to a a different computer will not work and is a bad idea.  Your HDD has drivers loaded for the hardware of your computer and is firstly controlled by your BIOS.   A BIOS on a different compute will tell the OS to load drivers for hardware that may not be there or not compatible, result is no Boot.

You can test a HDD by placing it in a Dock, or HDD encloser, > Booting into the working OS, > connecting the external device containing the HDD, > then you are able to search and manipulate the HDD, if seen as present. 

 

Your HDD is not seen in the BIOS.  Did you try connecting the HDD with a different SATA cable, on your compute? if yes, and still not working, you need a new drive.    


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#42
ColleenB

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Yes I used a different SATA cable on my hard drive and with my computer first.  It made no difference.  The BIOS still didnt detect it.  I swear one of you guys, I think it was terry1966, told me to hook my hard drive into another computer and see if it worked.  I must have misunderstood.   I'm sorry.  Her computer is fine by the way and mine is still the same.  So what do u think I should do from here. 

Colleen


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#43
iammykyl

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Yes, you can hook up another HDD as a secondary one, but you need to have the original hooked up as well and boot to that one, (the original OS) then search/manupulate that secondary drive from the running OS.

Sorry that we did not make that clear.

 

I just noticed you mentioned HP.   If your computer is a branded one, HP? please give the model, i.e. Optiplex769.   Why?   You may not have been provided with a Driver/utilities disc, so will need to download them form the manufacturers Web site.

Your OS installation CD, is it a Microsoft one? or a branded HP one?

 

You will need to buy a new Hard Drive.   If you are going to Bestbuy, the WD 1TB Blue or Black are a good price, ring them first to make sure you can pick up streight away, > http://www.bestbuy.c..._facet=Brand~WD


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#44
terry1966

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it shows the hard drive is the problem and it's not recognised even on the other pc.

 

there was no harm trying to run it on the other pc but like iammykyl said even if the drive was good it wouldn't have booted to the os because of software already installed in the os to work with the hardware in your pc.

 

when you tried to do the install on that pc if the drive was good then it would have installed and ran fine but as soon as you took it out of that pc and put it back in yours of course the same driver issue would be encountered and it wouldn't run on your pc and would need the os reinstalling again.

 

so the good news is you have proved the hard drive is kaput so now you need to buy a new hard drive install that in your pc then run the install cd and install the os on it and you should be good to go.  ;) 

 

:popcorn:


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#45
ColleenB

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Thank you terry1966.  I will purchase a new hard drive.  I think I will take iammykyl's suggestion and buy a cheap one for now.  Then if things are back to normal then I can buy a bigger one.  As soon as it arrives may I get your advice on how to correctly set it up?  Thank you for all your time and patience with me.  I do so appreciate it.  Thanks again both of you.          

Colleen


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