primary hard disk drive 1 not found

[primusbhg]

when i turn the pc on, it beeps 2x and the message 'primary hard disk drive 1 not found' comes up.  ive tried hitting f2 and messing with the setup utility but i don't know what i'm doing.  i put in a bootup disk and hit f1, but the a:\> comes up and i don't know any dos.  as you can tell, i'm lost here - please help!  thanks - brad

[merlin_2]

sounds like dell? have you played with the ide cables?or it just happened...how old is this pc ...why you ask..the cmos battery may have gone flat..

[primusbhg]

yeah, it's a dell; no - haven't tried messing with the ide cables; the pc's about 4 years old, but it's been left on for long stretches of time...........thanks for the reply

[merlin_2]

no problem..try changing the cmos battery ...some last only  three years ? this keeps the bios alive?

[Raptor]

Computer CMOS Information

May be useful.