Computer wont boot up

[Richard]

Have XP Home Editon. Get Messages Primary Hard Drive Not
Found and Fixed Optical Drive Not Found. After numerous
attempts to power up, it boots and XP opens. Ran a virus
check with Norton and nothing detected. Afraid to shut
down computer. Can someone help explain what is happening?

 

[Sharon F]

Have XP Home Editon. Get Messages Primary Hard Drive Not
Found and Fixed Optical Drive Not Found. After numerous
attempts to power up, it boots and XP opens. Ran a virus
check with Norton and nothing detected. Afraid to shut
down computer. Can someone help explain what is happening?

Sounds like a hardware problem somewhere. Just some general thoughts about
the matter...

o Are the messages coming from BIOS? Do you have any settings in BIOS to
"wait" for detection of drives before proceeding with POST?

o Cables for drives are in good shape and firmly connected on both ends?

o May be a low battery on the motherboard that powers the store for system
settings too. The repeated startups may be sending enough trickle to the
store to complete auto detect and hold the settings to accomplish a
startup.