Dell Dimension 4550 Desktop Hard Disk Not Found
Hi,
I read a similar thread in this forum which described a situation when a hard disk was not detected and was wondering if you could help with a similar, yet not identical issue.
I was using my Dimension 4550 desktop (listening to music, playing a game) when suddenly the hard drive started spinning but the whole PC locked up. The music continued to play but died shortly after. The computer would not respond to any commands and I turned it off. When I restarted the computer after 30 seconds, the machine sat at the Dell screen for about 20-30 seconds and then said "primary hard disk 0 not found." I opened the case and the drive was spinning and the machine was beeping every couple of spins.
It sounded as though my main hard disk (30 GB, came with the machine) had gone bad, so I took it out. Upon removal, it sounded as though the drive had a loose mechanism in it. I switched my secondary hard drive, a 70 GB from my previous PC, into the primary one. I re-jumpered the drive as Master.
With this completed, I plugged the computer in and started it back up. Still, the computer was unable to locate the primary hard drive 0. It is jumpered correctly as master and on the end of the cable. Also, when I run Windows XP setup utility, and use the repair utility, the drive can be read through the old DOS interface.
My question is: Is this an issue where both hard disks are damaged (even though the 70GB can still be read), a motherboard issue (even though it still detects the DVD-ROM drive and lets me boot Windows Setup off of it), an IDE cable issue, or something else? Any help would be much appreciated.
EDIT: I don't think the hard disk has a CS (cable select) jumper on the back of it- if it does, does this need to be jumpered for the PC to work properly?
I read a similar thread in this forum which described a situation when a hard disk was not detected and was wondering if you could help with a similar, yet not identical issue.
I was using my Dimension 4550 desktop (listening to music, playing a game) when suddenly the hard drive started spinning but the whole PC locked up. The music continued to play but died shortly after. The computer would not respond to any commands and I turned it off. When I restarted the computer after 30 seconds, the machine sat at the Dell screen for about 20-30 seconds and then said "primary hard disk 0 not found." I opened the case and the drive was spinning and the machine was beeping every couple of spins.
It sounded as though my main hard disk (30 GB, came with the machine) had gone bad, so I took it out. Upon removal, it sounded as though the drive had a loose mechanism in it. I switched my secondary hard drive, a 70 GB from my previous PC, into the primary one. I re-jumpered the drive as Master.
With this completed, I plugged the computer in and started it back up. Still, the computer was unable to locate the primary hard drive 0. It is jumpered correctly as master and on the end of the cable. Also, when I run Windows XP setup utility, and use the repair utility, the drive can be read through the old DOS interface.
My question is: Is this an issue where both hard disks are damaged (even though the 70GB can still be read), a motherboard issue (even though it still detects the DVD-ROM drive and lets me boot Windows Setup off of it), an IDE cable issue, or something else? Any help would be much appreciated.
EDIT: I don't think the hard disk has a CS (cable select) jumper on the back of it- if it does, does this need to be jumpered for the PC to work properly?
0
Comments
Personally, I don't like cable select, I always go for slave/ master settings.
This has happened suddenly with no software changes?
I would suggest a run on Memtest as a first thought
Good hunting
Crypto
I'm sure one of the clever bods will be along later to help out as well.
Cheers
Crypto
Thanks for the welcome. Basically, I just got a new HD and am starting from scratch. Was able to salvage all the data on the alternate hard disk but it would not let me jumper it as master or run an OS off it. Confusing but at least I have a working machine now.