Error messages on startup.

[Frank Martin]

I have WindowsXP

Recently I am having trouble starting up the
computer at the beginning of the day.

The night before I have to shut it down by
turning off the main power switch because if
I use the Windows method the computer starts
up again all by itself.


Now when I try to start it up the following
morning I turn on the power again and press
the start switch, but it takes about 1/2 hour
for the computer to start, which it does all
by itself.

On starting, the black-and-white screen
pauses for a long time at "Detecting IDE
drives", then on proceeding is freezes and
gives the message "Disk Boot Failure", and
"Insert System Disk and Press ENTER".

I then turn off the computer and start it
again and if I do this several times the
start-up will proceed to the Windows start-up
screen and all is OK.


Can someone help me to fix this.

Regards, Frank

 

[Malke]

I have WindowsXP

Recently I am having trouble starting up the
computer at the beginning of the day.

The night before I have to shut it down by
turning off the main power switch because if
I use the Windows method the computer starts
up again all by itself.


Now when I try to start it up the following
morning I turn on the power again and press
the start switch, but it takes about 1/2 hour
for the computer to start, which it does all
by itself.

On starting, the black-and-white screen
pauses for a long time at "Detecting IDE
drives", then on proceeding is freezes and
gives the message "Disk Boot Failure", and
"Insert System Disk and Press ENTER".

I then turn off the computer and start it
again and if I do this several times the
start-up will proceed to the Windows start-up
screen and all is OK.

You have hardware failure. It could be as simple as a bad power supply, or
more components could be involved. There is no way anyone reading your post
can tell. You'll need to do systematic and thorough hardware
troubleshooting or take the machine to a qualified computer professional.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself, so these are
just suggestions based on many years of being a professional computer tech;
suggestions based on what you've written. You should not take my
suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing hardware failures often
involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't
do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer,
take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data
backed up before you take the machine into a shop.

Malke

 

[Frank Martin]

message

You have hardware failure. It could be as
simple as a bad power supply, or
more components could be involved. There is
no way anyone reading your post
can tell. You'll need to do systematic and
thorough hardware
troubleshooting or take the machine to a
qualified computer professional.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test
your computer myself, so these are
just suggestions based on many years of
being a professional computer tech;
suggestions based on what you've written.
You should not take my
suggestions as a definitive diagnosis.
Testing hardware failures often
involves swapping out suspected parts with
known-good parts. If you can't
do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer,
take the machine to a professional computer
repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad).
If possible, have all your data
backed up before you take the machine into
a shop.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

Alas I am starting to panic.

The problem turned out to be both the Power
Supply AND the HDD, this latter being a
"Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500Gb".

I have bought and installed a new Power
Supply (with a greater rating this time), and
a new Seagate HDD as above.

Fortunately I had done an image backup 2 days
previously (on a portable HDD) with the
Norton V12 Ghost for the C: drive and the D:
drive, and I have now successfully recovered
all the content on these two partitions.

Sadly, I neglected to do an equivalent backup
for the E: partition (because it's so large)
and this now lost on the old damaged Seagate
HDD.

There is a great deal of data on this E:
drive in the form of photos & movies &
e-books, and I want it all back.

The old damaged drive seems to be damaged on
the printed-circuit cover plate (judging by
the burnt-Bakelite smell) and this is
removable by undoing 6 screws.

Therefore I ask: can these printed-circuit
cover plates be acquired separately from the
HDD, or can I buy another cover plate and
exchange it with the damaged one. The old
HDD seems to be spinning OK?

I am loath to take the damaged unit to some
specialist HDD-recovery firm because of the
sensitive data it contains.

Please help,
Frank

 

[Malke]

There is a great deal of data on this E:
drive in the form of photos & movies &
e-books, and I want it all back.

The old damaged drive seems to be damaged on
the printed-circuit cover plate (judging by
the burnt-Bakelite smell) and this is
removable by undoing 6 screws.

Therefore I ask: can these printed-circuit
cover plates be acquired separately from the
HDD, or can I buy another cover plate and
exchange it with the damaged one. The old
HDD seems to be spinning OK?

I am loath to take the damaged unit to some
specialist HDD-recovery firm because of the
sensitive data it contains.

The only way to reliably get data off that drive is to send it to a
professional data recovery company such as Drive Savers (my preference) or
Seagate Data Recovery or the like. General prices run from $500USD on up.
Drive Savers recovered all the data on a failed laptop drive for one of my
clients and it cost $2,700. He thought it was worth the money; only you
know what your data is worth. I understand that some insurance companies
are now covering data recovery charges so check with yours.

Drive Savers - http://www.drivesavers.com
Seagate Data Recovery Services - https://www.seagatedatarecovery.com/

Companies like DriveSavers deal with sensitive data all the time so unless
it is data that will get you sent to prison - and I'm not suggesting it is
- I wouldn't worry about it if you want to get that data back.

You cannot fix this yourself. There have been instances of people purchasing
an identical hard drive and swapping out the control boards, but that is
tricksy and unless you have very strong skills I don't suggest you try. The
boards must be exactly identical and there is no way to determine what is
really wrong with the drive. Every time you spin that drive up you run the
very high risk that you are destroying data. If the data is important, send
it to a professional.

Malke

 

[Frank Martin]

message

The only way to reliably get data off that
drive is to send it to a
professional data recovery company such as
Drive Savers (my preference) or
Seagate Data Recovery or the like. General
prices run from $500USD on up.
Drive Savers recovered all the data on a
failed laptop drive for one of my
clients and it cost $2,700. He thought it
was worth the money; only you
know what your data is worth. I understand
that some insurance companies
are now covering data recovery charges so
check with yours.

Drive Savers - http://www.drivesavers.com
Seagate Data Recovery Services -
https://www.seagatedatarecovery.com/

Companies like DriveSavers deal with
sensitive data all the time so unless
it is data that will get you sent to
prison - and I'm not suggesting it is
- I wouldn't worry about it if you want to
get that data back.

You cannot fix this yourself. There have
been instances of people purchasing
an identical hard drive and swapping out
the control boards, but that is
tricksy and unless you have very strong
skills I don't suggest you try. The
boards must be exactly identical and there
is no way to determine what is
really wrong with the drive. Every time you
spin that drive up you run the
very high risk that you are destroying
data. If the data is important, send
it to a professional.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

I had to buy a new HDD, the same type and
model as the failed one, and then I changed
over the control card of this to the old one.


This worked, and I was able to retrieve all
the data. It was a burned-out control card
on the HDD.

I had the computer tested and I was told that
the HDD control-card burnout was caused by a
faulty power supply, and, also, that this
was causing the curious
start-up-after-shutdown problem.

I had a new larger-capacity power supply
installed (way over capacity) and all is well
now.

I went to the expense of installing an extra
identical HDD and I use this to do routine
complete backups with Norton12.0. This is
cheaper than stuffing around if the same
thing happens again.

I have extra portable pocket-sized HDDs for
off-site backups too.

Someone might benefit from these experiences.

Regards, Frank

PS. I did contact Seagate about the problem
but they were not specific in their help;
rather they gave what amounted to a sales
pitch of the "send-it-in-and-we'll-try" for
which they were going to charge over $1500.00
succeed or fail.

 

[Paul]

message





I had to buy a new HDD, the same type and
model as the failed one, and then I changed
over the control card of this to the old one.


This worked, and I was able to retrieve all
the data. It was a burned-out control card
on the HDD.

I had the computer tested and I was told that
the HDD control-card burnout was caused by a
faulty power supply, and, also, that this
was causing the curious
start-up-after-shutdown problem.

I had a new larger-capacity power supply
installed (way over capacity) and all is well
now.

I went to the expense of installing an extra
identical HDD and I use this to do routine
complete backups with Norton12.0. This is
cheaper than stuffing around if the same
thing happens again.

I have extra portable pocket-sized HDDs for
off-site backups too.

Someone might benefit from these experiences.

Regards, Frank

PS. I did contact Seagate about the problem
but they were not specific in their help;
rather they gave what amounted to a sales
pitch of the "send-it-in-and-we'll-try" for
which they were going to charge over $1500.00
succeed or fail.

It's refreshing to know the method can work. A couple
posters have tried to fix their hard drives, by
replacing the controller with an exact substitute,
with no luck. Your success story is a nice change.

Paul

 

[Frank Martin]

It's refreshing to know the method can
work. A couple
posters have tried to fix their hard
drives, by
replacing the controller with an exact
substitute,
with no luck. Your success story is a nice
change.

Paul

It may depend on the character of the
control-card fault. I know nothing of these
things except that my failed card gave a
typical burnt-Bakelite smell. Also the
failed HDD was fairly new (18Mo old) and the
technician at the shop had a very close match
on the shelf.