Dell Dimension 8100 - P4 1.3 GHz dating to 2001. Sys refuses to boot and apparently can't see the HD or DVD. BIOS set to AUTO and checked for Boot sequence; CD/DVD, HD, 3.5 floppy.

Sys was used for son at college...no telling where it's been! Tried to reload XP but can't see any periph device. Onboard battery checks ok.

I suspect that HD is dead. HD is IBM/Hitachi Deskstar 20GB. How can I test the HD to be sure? What is the next step? Do I possibly have a dead motherboard?

Thanks

Al

first welcome to SysChat.

Have you made any modifications to the case in the last few days that makes you question the drive?
Do you have more than 1 hdd? if not, how do you know the dvd drive is not recognized?
Are there any noises when the computer starts? or perhaps any fans turning on? These sorts of things will limit the number of items that could possibly be wrong.

*nice avatar

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-William. § (marvin_gohan)

No mods to case. Only one HD. When trying to bot the startup request F1 to retry or F2 to setup. Looking at setup nothing change, but nothing specific to the HD or DVD; just AUTO. Tried to boot with OP Sys CD in drive. Startup gets a green light on DVD but again goes to F1 retry F2 to setup presented on the screen.

Allen

well that means that the dvd drive is probably fine if the light turned on, atleast power is getting to it.
Also your mobo is fine if it is displaying anything, if your mobo goes, you will get nothing, but a little reaction out of anything connected by power then a sudden stop.

Did your harddrive spin at all? It certainly does sound like a dead drive.

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-William. § (marvin_gohan)

The HD and DVD connected on the same IDE cable? If so check to make sure the jumpers are set properly. If both drives are set as master then thats the problem. A bad HD is should make a clicking noise. I hope this helps.

most often a drive will click, but not always i've had dozens go without any warning or noise.
If it is displaying anything it's passing the drive test, but not necessarily meaning the drive is any good.

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</Dream In Code>
-William. § (marvin_gohan)