My Computer Stop Seeing The Harddrive

[chevblaz 0]

Monday (4-13) the computer (dell 1749 laptop- core I3 - windows 7 -500gb sata harddrive) at startup stop see the harddrive

 

it gave me a message:

Intel Undi, Pxe- 2-1 (build 083)

copyright © 1009-2000 Intel corporation

 

Patent #'s

 

Realtek Pci Express gigebit ethernet controller serie (090219)

 

pxe0e61 - media test failure , check cable

 

pxe-m0f : existing pxe rom , operating system not found

 

 

The next day:

I booted it again - going into setup - and the harddrive wasn't listed

I exited setup - using exit and save changes - and windows started

 

I check the harddrive with a diagnostice & utilities cd that came with the laptop and it found no error or problems

 

Now I get the same message, as above , when I start the laptop and I have to go to setup to boot the laptop.

 

Any Idea what is happening???????

 

Thanks

 

 

[yordan 10]

looks like  a bad contact problem, have a look for instance her :

http://www.nocrash.com/ncbbs/msgs/3247.shtml

I also would first try booting off a Linux LiveCD and see if Linux detects the Hard Drive. Try it several times, in order to clarify wheter it's a bootlist problem or not.

I would also guess it's a bios saving battering problem, check this too.

And of course several people have seen that tapping or baning the PC or the hard drive or the battery repair the problem. This would simply mean that it's an electrical problem repaired by the main battery removal/reinsert, or a poor cable contact repaired by tapping the cable. However, in my opinion,  tapping or banging a PC is a dangerous solution, because sometimes it repairs the loose contact problem, and sometimes it definitely destroys the thing

[mastercomputers 0]

<p>Hi chevblaz,<br />

 <br />

The pxe (network) boot is just a process that happens after the other boot devices in the list fails. e.g. CD, USB, HDD, etc. You can really ignore that message as it's just failing by not finding a means to boot from a network and I'm sure you do not actually do a network boot.<br />

Your symptoms suggest that the BIOS is not always detecting the hard drive, so we need to figure out why that is. If you do manage to boot into Windows, I <strong>highly recommend you back up</strong> what you need as it sounds like it could go bad and you may lose everything.<br />

So if you do manage to get a back up, these are things that I would get you to try. I hope you are comfortable with removing your hard drive, it is necessary for these tests.<br />

 <br />

So with the laptop powered off and unplugged. Turn it upside down and I would want you to remove the hard drive, usually indicated by a stack of round platters maybe on a lean, or a cylindrical shape. Depending on how old your laptop is, this could be an easy process but newer laptops are now making it difficult to do simple upgrades and it's definitely not in my interest for them to take this approach, as it just makes our job longer and also exposes more than just what we want to work on.<br />

 <br />

So if you get the hard drive off, look at the connector and see if the hard drive is actually fitted to it correctly. You may have to take the hard drive out of it's enclosure to ensure it is fitted to it correctly. Also check to see if there's no visible damage to the connector. Once you are positive it's connected correctly, just push it back into place, secure it and then start the laptop. When you get to the screen to enter your BIOS (setup, CMOS, etc), press the corresponding key to get into it. Check the SATA devices to see if the hard drive is appearing (you may need to go into it), if it is not showing, it still seems like it's having issues with the drive. If it is showing, continuing testing it out and if the problem shows itself again we need to continue with other tests.<br />

 <br />

The other test I would try would be to remove the hard drive again and try it in another SATA laptop or PC, if it's another laptop, you just put the hard drive into the enclosure of the other laptop or if it's the same/similar laptop, just slide it straight in and power it on and enter the BIOS, if it's not being detected there, it's showing signs of a faulty hard drive. If you are testing it in a PC, you will have to remove it from the enclosure and connect the SATA cable and the power cable to the drive and perform the same tests, seeing if it appears in the BIOS.<br />

I don't suggest if you do put it into another computer, letting it run till it gets to the Windows OS, otherwise it will install unnecessary hardware and drives for the computer it is in and just add more bloat that is not required. So instead of saving and exiting from the BIOS, just push or hold the power off button until it shuts down.<br />

 <br />

So depending on the results, if you don't get it showing, the hard drive is failing, which part it could be is really irrelevant and no one usually fixes a hard drive and just usually replaces the whole thing. Now that you know how to take a hard drive out, you can easily do this process yourself and would just need to know how to install the OS again.<br />

 <br />

If it is showing, then the actions you took to fixing it, whether it just wasn't seated properly solved it. If it's showing up in the other laptop/PC, then it would be checking if the connection on the laptop for the hard drive is not damaged, or updating the BIOS to see if that resolves the issue but it's really at a stage where you should seek professional help than if I start asking you to tear open the whole laptop checking components, etc.<br />

 <br />

 <br />

Cheers,<br />

 <br />

MC</p>

[chevblaz 0]

Thanks for the post.

 

I ended up installing a new harddrive. I was thinking the same that the harddrive would go bad So I backup what I needed

found the software cd's  purchase a new harddrive and installed it yesterday (Sat.). Working fine now.

 

Thanks again

[yordan 10]

That's also why I asked you to boot off a LiveCD, as a fast hamful diagnostic

However, the way the computer trying to boot from the network looked like a big hardware problem.

[mastercomputers 0]

The only issue I would have with using a Live Media boot is that the BIOS never saw the hard drive so it may not exist to the Live Media OS as well.

 

It needs to be detected by the BIOS just to make sure that the OS will see it.

 

Cheers,

 

MC

[yordan 10]

The liveCD trick is useful in two funny bug cases.

If Linux boots off the LiveCD and detects the disk, this means that the disk works and only the boot zone disapeared. I had seen this, after an unwanted powerdown, so I know that this sometimes occurs.

Also, sometimes the drive electronic device is rather slow during a cold start, not fast enough for the bios timeouts. In this time, booting off a LiveCD leaves time enough for the detection. This could explain the cold start failure with a successful boot after navigating inside the bios. And in that case alt-ctrl-del would allow boot if the first poweron fails.

Of course, purchasing a new disk is definitely the best solution. However, if I am right, the first disk is not completely lost, it can be used as additional storage in a USB dock.