RE: Disk read error on new 250GB boot drive

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dzuul/specs.htm#power
Did you use the wattage calculator on your 200w PSU..?
http://wiki.ehow.com/Diagnose-and-Replace-a-Failed-PC-Power-Supply
You may not be able to upgrade the PSU.. I don't see ATX compatible PSU in
the Dell 4100 specs..? Some Dell computers are designed to use an odd
connector..
You say your CPU is a 996mhz, don't see that in the specs either..?
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dzuul/syssetup.htm#boot_screen
I assume you set it up in the BIOS correctly, right..?
The drive was showing the full 250GB's (233.76gb) in disk management, right..?
j;-j

"StephenMCE" wrote:

If I understand correctly, there are 3 possible fixes here, though I'm not
sure if they would address what needs to be addressed. I'm just trying to
eliminate me going on any more wild goose chases in trying to fix this.

1. P4 vs P3 - Would this account for everything working fine with the large
boot drive until the day of the disk read error? Also, I've used other
systems running on a P3 and XP with large hard drives, and I haven't seen any
issues.

2. PSU - Would a too small of a PSU account for everything working fine
until the disk read error? This is something I looked into prior to adding
things on to my PC, but perhaps I made a mistake in the calculations.

3. CMOS battery - This has never been replaced... but would it account for
everything working fine until the disk read error? My system still works
fine if I put the old 40GB boot drive back in.

Thanks for the help,
Stephen


"Jaymon" wrote:

Wow, I didn't see your specs at the bottom of the post, sorry..
Looks like you have loaded that old rig to the max and may need to upgrade
your rig, to a P4.. It may be totally underpowered for all you apparently
want to do with it.. A PIII under 1GB doesn't really have the kick larger
drives may need or that XP was designed for, ie..P4's, not to mention the
rig's PSU, it may be struggling too..
You might try updating the PSU, have you replaced the CMOS battery lately..?
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
Use the above link to calculate the full wattage load on your PSU..
j;-j

"StephenMCE" wrote:

Yes... and I've reinstalled everything including all updates.

Stephen


"Jaymon" wrote:

Have you updated to the latest BIOS for your computer..?
Make sure you have the latest BIOS update from the Dell site for your
specific model.. Might be a good idea to check for other updates too..
j;-j

"StephenMCE" wrote:

I've attempted to troubleshoot this myself by searching KB's at Dell, Western
Digital, Adaptec, and Microsoft... but to no avail. Nothing that I found
that I thought might work has worked.

My operating system and applications had previously been installed on a 40GB
hard drive (WD400BB). About a month ago, I replaced this with a 250GB hard
drive (WD2500JB) and reinstalled everything including all updates.
Everything worked great.

However, last week I transferred GB's of data (video files) back and forth
from this primary 250GB hard drive, another internal 250GB hard drive, and a
hard drive in an external enclosure. There were no problems encountered. At
the end of the day, I shut off everything. Prior to this day, I had about
38GB of data on the primary hard drive. Now I have about 124GB of data.

The next day when I turned on the PC, I received the following error after
the BIOS POST routine... "A disk read error occurred." None of the following
has helped... CHKDSK /R, FIXBOOT, FIXMBR, BOOTCFG /REBUILD

After reading about some sort of 120GB hard drive limit for my system, I
installed an Adaptec ASH-1233 ATA Adapter. However, after the BIOS POST
routine, I just get a black screen and a blinking cursor. I know this new
adapter works since I can swap out the hard drive and boot to the previous
40GB hard drive.

I assume the 250GB hard drive still works since I can access data from it if
I install it as a slave drive.

No virus has been detected (I update my virus definitions daily).

Western Digital's Diagnostics and Microsoft's Disk Management report no
problems with the hard drive.

Can this be an issue with the drivers for the new adapter? I was able to
install the drivers on the 40GB hard drive since I could actually boot to it.
How can I get the drivers installed on to the 250GB hard drive since I
cannot boot to it... or would that even make a difference at this point?
When I boot to the WinXP disk to use Recovery Console, I am able to load the
drivers... but is that actually installing them to the hard drive?

What else can I try?

Is a Windows XP repair install my only hope?

Any assistance would be truly appreciated.

Thanks,
Stephen


Dell Dimension 4100
A11 BIOS
Windows XP Pro, SP 2
Pentium III, 996 MHz
512MB of RAM
NTFS file system

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Windows Xp crash
    ... The Bios is not showing any hard drives. ... Message came up "Disk Boot failure.: ... I tried about a week ago to install Windows 7 on the second hard ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • RE: Disk read error on new 250GB boot drive
    ... Did you use XP's disk management to partition and format the C: ... See how to use the XP install CD to partition & format the hard drive.. ... If the Bios sees the 250gb drive as 137gb and you have the latest Bios ... systems running on a P3 and XP with large hard drives, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: How to install 2nd HD and OS?
    ... Mac OS X 10.2 is ancient. ... and you'll see that the hard drives are installed along the bottom of the case. ... look in the menu bar at the top of the screen for "Disk Utility". ... Then Quit Disk Utility to install Mac OS X 10.3 onto the newly-formatted drive. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.system)
  • Re: windows xp setup not detecting hard drives
    ... windows XP disk was the same one that came with my Dell in 2000. ... Why would I need to install extra ... the Hard drives are being ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.setup_deployment)
  • Re: disk read error
    ... then tried to do a fresh install of XP. ... trying to install Windows on a disk within an enclosure ... think probable they actually were physical bad sectors, ... And back in the 80's with MFM hard drives, you could see all of the errors. ...
    (comp.sys.laptops)