I have a serious problem i need help with on my computer

[Guest]

Ok, My computer has been running perfectly. Then boom out of the blue i go to
turn it on this morning and it cant boot up all the way into windows. It
gives me this message:
Primary drive 0 not found
Strike f1 key to retry boot,f2 for setup utility

so i strike f1 and it does nothing and if i strike f2 i have no idea what to
do
can anyone plz plz plz help me?

 

[Michael T]

If you have one, see if you can boot from your Windows XP installation CD.

 

[Guest]

i dont have my installation disk with me is there anything i can try without
it?

 

[Jerry]

Go into the BIOS and see if the hard drive is still being detected. If you
have a floppy drive and can borrow a boot floppy you can try that too.

 

[Guest]

try shutting it down manually with the on/off switch on the computer....wait
about 10 seconds and try again....if it still happens, try it a third
time...sometimes it will go away and work the second time....or it may take 3
or 4, or maybe even 5 times...but after the 5th time, and it still doesn't
work, you might have a problem...also make sure you don't have a disk in the
floppy drive, you can get that message with that also....I get this same
problem from time to time and have heard of others also....but after shutting
doen manually like I described above it always boots up and I have no problem
until it decides to have a brain fart some other day....hope this helps....

 

[Ron Martell]

Ok, My computer has been running perfectly. Then boom out of the blue i go to
turn it on this morning and it cant boot up all the way into windows. It
gives me this message:
Primary drive 0 not found
Strike f1 key to retry boot,f2 for setup utility

so i strike f1 and it does nothing and if i strike f2 i have no idea what to
do
can anyone plz plz plz help me?

What is the make and model of your computer? The "F2 for setup" part
sounds like it could be a Dell.

Did you remove the cover from the computer for any reason? It may be
that you inadvertently dislodged either the data cable or the power
connector to the hard drive.

Try totally powering off the computer by unplugging the power cord
from the wall. Leave it sit for at least an hour, plug it back in and
turn it on.

If the error persists and you did not have the cover off then it
appears that your hard drive has died. If the computer is still under
warranty then you need to contact the manufacturer/dealer for warranty
service. Otherwise you need to take it to a computer service
technician or have one come to your house.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm