Bad hard drive?

[woody02]

Here is my problem. I have a Compaq CQ 2009F Desktop PC running Windows XP. When I turn it on the hard drive spins but the monitor reads "no signal". The hard drive is a Western Digital WD Caviar Blue SATA. I took the hard drive out and put in my Dell Dimension 8300 and get the following error message: NO BOOTABLE PARTITION IN TABLE. This PC is less than one year old. Is my hard drive toast? If not how do I fix this? Thanks in advance for any assistance or ideas.

[Allan]

The original "no signal" message has nothing to do with the hd. It means the display is not getting a signal from the video card. Check your connections.

[woody02]

Ok that makes sense but what about the "no bootable partition in table" message?

[BC_Programmer]

Ok that makes sense but what about the "no bootable partition in table" message?

probably due to a configuration issue regarding SATA on the Dimension.

The error only appears on the Dimension- not on the original PC.

[patio]

And the other issue would be moving an XP drive from 1 machine to the next...this rarely produces good results.

[woody02]

Ok I have an update. I put the hard drive back into the original computer. The monitor is working now. (probably do to a loose connection) When I started it back up it did not recognize the drive. I inserted my Linux Defender CD and it ran through all the processes and when it got to the point where it looks for the AGP modules it locked up and the screen went blank. I believe my hard drive is toast. Any other ideas?

[Allan]

Well, you can download and run the hd diagnostics from WD

[woody02]

Hey never thought of that thanks. I will let you know how it turns out.

[woody02]

This is one of the things that I hate the most,
I have come to the conclusion that my hard drive is toast.


Tried the WD Diagnostics CD to no avail. It is a non-bootable CD. I'm done.

[Allan]

If you have an XP CD you can boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r
If you don't have an XP CD you can download the recovery console .iso and create a bootable cd, then do the above (http://forums.pcpitstop.com/index.php?showtopic=150212)

I've got to tell you though, it's very hard to believe the WD diagnostic cd is not bootable.

[Allan]

I just checked the WD Support link and that diagnostic disc IS bootable:

http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=606&sid=30&lang=en

# Diagnostics Bootable CD:  Download the Diag504fCD.zip or Diag504fCD.iso file to your desktop.
# Extract the Diag504fCD.zip file to your desktop with a file extraction utility. (Alternately you have the option to download the iso version of the file which does not require extraction with a zip utility).
# You will see a new file named Diag504fCD.iso on your desktop.
# You must use a CD burning program (such as Nero Burning Rom or EZ-CD Creator) to burn a CD from the .ISO image.
# You can now boot the computer to the diagnostics CD. Make sure your boot order in your BIOS is set to boot to the CD-ROM drive first.
# You will see the following options:

    * SELECT DRIVE - Always choose this option first, as it determines which drive you will be working on.
    * QUICK TEST - This option tests your drive quickly for any major physical problems. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
    * EXTENDED TEST - This option checks your drive thoroughly and it can repair any correctable errors. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, some data loss may occur, depending on the errors found and the errors corrected. Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
    * WRITE ZEROS TO DRIVE - The Write Zeros option, wipes any and all data off your drive. This option used when your data is no longer usable or recoverable. If you no longer need any data from your drive and would like to start over, run this option to set your drive to an as new condition. NOTE: Please make sure that you have selected the correct drive to perform this function on as once ran, no data will be recoverable.
    * VIEW TEST RESULTS - You can see the results of the test you just performed
    * PRINT TEST RESULTS - Test results can be printed with this option. USB printers are not supported
    * LOG FILE OPEN/CLOSE - You can access the log file which is generated automatically
    * ENTER AND PRINT RMA INFORMATION - Information pertaining to each drive tested can be customized and printed with this option.
    * HELP - Brief descriptions of each option in addition to explanations of error codes are available in this option.
    * QUIT - Reboot your system once you have completed the selected tasks

# Select the task you wish to perform.

[woody02]

I'll try it again. Thanks Allan for all your help it is greatly appreciated. Will the diagnostics work even though the BIOS doesn't recognize the drive? I tried the Windows XP installation CD and when I tried to use the recovery console and used the dir command it said something like no  drive available.

[Allan]

I really don't know. Very possibly not.

[dvdreplication]

Check out the connection and your drive as well, i think there is some fault in them.