Problem with my old DELL

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

When I recently retired from my job, I took with me (legally, of course) my old DELL Optiplex GX260, that has served me so faithfully for more than 7 years. It has many of my own programs on it, and I was looking forward to continue to use it at home.

It has two HDs in it - the first, smaller one, has multiboot Windows partitions on it (English and Japanese XP), the second one contains lots of data and free space.

Now, trying to start it at home, I found that it wouldn't boot!

I then created a Windows rescue disk (you know, the 6 floppy disks that can be used to install or repair Windows), and started the Recovery Console.

Using the MAP command, I could see only one HD; the 2nd one, but not the one with Windows on it.

Opening the thing up, I could see both disks, all connections firmly. But I have no idea what to do next.

I am so helpless when it comes to hardware...

[Seshomaru Samma]

when you say "it wouldn't boot" - did you get any errors?

did you see the bios screen?

can you see the hard discs in the bios?

does the machine have a CD ROM?

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Thank you for your reply.

when you say "it wouldn't boot" - did you get any errors?

-> only Strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility

did you see the bios screen?

-> Yes

can you see the hard discs in the bios?

-> I see

  Primary Drive 0 ........................ Hard Drive

  Primary Drive 1 ........................ Hard Drive

  Secondary Drive 0 ................... CD-ROM Reader

  Secondary Drive 1 ................... OFF

does the machine have a CD ROM?

-> Yes

[MANEMAN]

Now, trying to start it at home, I found that it wouldn't boot!

Hi Pat,

Just a few things come to mind off of the top of my head. So I will reel them off.

CMOS Battery gone flat. - (But you can usually get them to boot by pressing one of the "F" buttons if this is the case)

Master Boot Record (MBR) Gone corrupt. - (A bugger to fix, but it can be done)

Try not to have anything plugged into USB ports when booting. - (Some external USB apps have a habit of stopping boot sometimes)

(Shouldn't have to mention this but: Dont leave a floppy in the drive when booting !!!!)

It is useful to have the documentation for the machine. You can find that here: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx260/en/index.htm

Ideal situation would be to have the original XP Install Disk/s, but I doubt if this a probability ?

Take it slow and easy with diagnosis. Dont do anything rash with third party software just yet ! :(

Worst case scenario if you cannot get it up and running is at least to recover data on the second drive.

You can do this by booting from a Linux live CD, and reading/copying the folders and files.

See here for a suitable Linux Distro download: Knoppix

Or put the second drive into another machine and read it from there.

As soon as I post this I will come up with another bright idea. Sods law. :P

Let us know how you get on.

John.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Hi John,

Thank you for your reply, and thank you for the link to the GX260 documentation - very useful!

Regarding the battery: I have never replaced the battery in almost 8 years, so this is something I will do sometime later today.

Regarding the MBR: I wanted to run FIXMBR from the Recovery Console, but I cannot see Device 0 from here - only Device 1.

Regarding USB: I have tried to boot with a PS/2 keyboard & mouse instead of USB - no change. I have also disconnected all other USB devices - no change.

Regarding original Windows install disk: amazingly I still have it, but since the HD is invisible, I won't be able to install it.

I also have a recent Acronis backup of the C: drive, but I can't restore it (because the device is invisible).

(Funny that the BIOS can "see" the device; what does that mean?)

Next step: I will try to create a Linux disk, although the only other computer I have that can burn a CD also has a problem...

[MANEMAN]

Hi again Pat.

I also have a recent Acronis backup of the C: drive

Aaah ! That is heartening news. That means that at least you can be a bit more brutal with the Hard Disk if you wish.

The only time That I have had a disk displaying the properties you describe was from a friends computer whose electrical mains supply suffered frequent power outages. These cause spikes on the mains supply, which in turn gave bad sectors on the disk. The disk then for some reason was not recognised. I am not suggesting that this is the case. Just another line of thought for you to follow.

With an Acronis backup already done you could now format the disk, run chkdsk etc, and it could also be a good idea to download the manufacturers diagnostic disk for the HDD. Seatools do a diagnostic / tools disk which will suit almost all drives.: http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=SeaTools&vgnextoid=720bd20cacdec010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD and there is a list here for other disks.: http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=SeaTools&vgnextoid=720bd20cacdec010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD

Formatted and partitioned you may be able to "see" the disk, and could reload XP (with Acronis) as long as the Disk is not ruined.

Keep on going Pat. It's what retirement is for.

John.

[MANEMAN]

Duplicated the link by mistake.

Here is what the second link should be : http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Thanks, John, for the additional suggestions.

This topic will go slowly, as I also have a few other things to do - preparing the move to a new mansion* next week.

*) a "mansion" in Japan has a slightly different meaning than in Europe or the US; Google translates it to "condo"; another dictionary gives the British term "owner-occupied flat".

[MANEMAN]

Hi Pat, Hope the move went well.

It sounds as though it is carpet slippers, feet up, and reading books already.

If you have not yet sorted the trouble out with the Dell computer/s, I came across a website that may be useful to you. (And others reading here too of course.) Lots of useful information and some good free downloads.

Clicky Here: *** HDD GURU ***

John.

(Cornish flag by the way.)

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Thanks, John - very useful site!

I haven't even unpacked that computer yet, but two others are already working. Still a lot to do, but I'm not in a hurry. Right now getting ready for a little walk in the beautiful spring sunshine.

[Dencandy]

Pat W, just a thought: have you ever used TweakUI on that laptop? I remember TweakUI has the ability to make drives invisible and inaccessible as one of its options. I think it comes up on the same menu as Prevent Auto-run on a drive. Something like that may have happened. Unfortunately, I can't be more precise because I no longer have it installed (I found it caused too many problems - like accidentally making my drives invisible!).