Windows XP WILL NOT boot up.

[Computer_Commando]

It is a Dell Desktop XPS 410

Basically, all I wanna know right now is should I just go out, buy a new HD, and install Windows onto it using my reinstallation CD (if possible), or is there a way I can recover this HD?

Can't find that model number under Dell Support.  http://support.dell.com/
You find it and post the link here.
I usually like to see if there have been any similar issues, first.
I assume the Dell is out of warranty?  Is it a Hitachi hard drive?

If you get another hard drive., you will lose the recovery partition, but if you have the CD's. it either won't need it or will rebuild it from them.  Or you can copy the recovery partition to the new HDD.  I'm not 100% sure it's the hard drive, but if DFT can't find it, it probably is.  Can you see if the HDD is listed in the BIOS?

[durango992007]

Can't find that model number under Dell Support.  http://support.dell.com/
You find it and post the link here.
I usually like to see if there have been any similar issues, first.
I assume the Dell is out of warranty?  Is it a Hitachi hard drive?

If you get another hard drive., you will lose the recovery partition, but if you have the CD's. it either won't need it or will rebuild it from them.  Or you can copy the recovery partition to the new HDD.  I'm not 100% sure it's the hard drive, but if DFT can't find it, it probably is.  Can you see if the HDD is listed in the BIOS?

In my BIOS it lists it has Dell DXP061.  http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=us&l=en&cs=&k=Dell+DXP061&cat=sup

My BIOS does recognize that the HDis there, and yes, it is a Hitachi Desktrack I believe.  It is also out of warranty.

Basically, I have nothing on this HD that is really important.  It's been just games and messengers that I can just download again and not have a problem with it.

[Computer_Commando]

...My BIOS does recognize that the HDis there, and yes, it is a Hitachi Desktrack I believe.  It is also out of warranty...

It may not be dead if the BIOS can see it.  A couple bad spots can give the results you're getting.  Probably best to get a new hard drive, they're only about $50.  PATA or SATA?

Try doing a Repair Install
How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
If it won't install, it's a bad hard drive.

[durango992007]

Ya, I went out and got a new one.  500 GB Western Digital PATA HD @ 7200 RPM.  I think I should have no problem installing Windows on it, even though it will be my first time installing a new HD and an OS onto the computer.  Any words of advice, or is it pretty simple?

Thanks again everyone who helped me out.  Always a great site to go to for computer help.

Edit:  The new HD needs that ribbon wire or whatever, so I can't use the old connections with it.  Is there any way to get by this, or does some place like Best Buy (which I bought the HD from) carry those wires that plug into the MB, or the PSU?

[dahlarbear]

Running the test, it seems to stay on the PCI IDE Controller 0 - Master... during the detect devices portion of the test.

1.  Is the hard drive connected via an IDE interface?  Since the symptoms are so strange, you might want to double check your configuration.  See:  Connecting IDE Hard Drives.
     a.  80 wire vs 40 wire cable
     b.  Correct jumper setting (master, single, cable select, slave)
     c.  Position on cable

2.  It seems odd that the BIOS would see it, but the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test would not (but then again I've only run the test a couple of times on working drives).

Would you mind telling us how the BIOS reports the drive?
     a.  IDE Primary Master (PM), Primary Slave (PS), Secondary Master (SM), Secondary Slave (SS), or something else?
     b.  Identification string reported (basically make/model number) and is it correct?
     c.  Total Capacity reported and is it correct?

If the motherboard/BIOS also supports SATA drives, is there a BIOS parameter to distinguish between IDE only, SATA only, mixed mode.  The parameter might present settings similar to:  Legacy, IDE, IDE Compatible, SATA, AHCI.

3.  Just an Observation.  When the system blue screens on a hard drive boot, you know:
     a.  It found the boot hard drive.
     b.  It found, loaded, and executed the master boot record code.
     c.  It found an "active" primary partition.
     d.  It found, loaded, and executed the partition boot record (of the active primary partition which in this case identified NTLDR as the boot loader program).
     e.  It found, loaded, and began executing the NTLDR program from the system partition of the hard drive (which also puts up Windows Advanced Options menu upon request).
     f.  It probably found, loaded, and began executing NTDetect.com...

The point being, the hard drive had some working functionality (which is why I'm puzzled Drive Fitness Test didn't detect it).

4.  Just Because.  While it probably won't solve your problem; I'd download the iso image for a "free" memory diagnostic, write the iso image to CD (not copy), boot the CD and let the memory diagnostics run thru a couple of complete passes.  Yeah, I know we're looking at the hard drive subsystems, but it wouldn't hurt to find out what still works.  If successful, the test will demonstrate the memory is OK, some basic CPU and motherboard functions work, you can successfully read/load from CD,  and system can run for extended period of time without crashing (power, heat, whatever).  See:  http://www.memtest86.com/ or http://www.memtest.org/.

[dahlarbear]

Ya, I went out and got a new one.  500 GB Western Digital PATA HD @ 7200 RPM.  I think I should have no problem installing Windows on it, even though it will be my first time installing a new HD and an OS onto the computer.  Any words of advice, or is it pretty simple?

Edit:  The new HD needs that ribbon wire or whatever, so I can't use the old connections with it.  Is there any way to get by this, or does some place like Best Buy (which I bought the HD from) carry those wires that plug into the MB, or the PSU?

0.  There's absolutely no stopping you...  Can't even slow you down... 

1.  Partitions.  Main rule.  Resist the urge to create a single 500 GB partition.  It limits what you can do in the future and makes disk maintenance difficult.  Perhaps others have an opinion on this.  Never attempt to change location or size of a partition without backing up the "data" first.

     a.  Get some basic Windows disk management knowledge/skills.  Start with windows Help/Support function.

     b.  Think about how you want to use the system and layout the disk partitions/volumes to support it.
          (1)  Single, dual, or multiboot operating systems
          (2)  Music, movies, photographs, eBooks, work projects, encrypted data
          (3)  What do you need to backup, how, and where

Let the purpose dictate the disk layout.  Some people like to separate the operating system installation(s) from the data.  That permits you to blow away the operating system partition without destroying the data.  Others like to organize it for ease of backup.  Most home users have a single large partition (which totally sucks for repair/maintenance).

     c.  Don't allocate more space than you need in the for seeable future.  Create new partitions (or volumes) as the need arises.  Hint:  You can relocate "My Documents" folder off the system/boot partition.  That way you don't lose the data if you need to blow away the operating system partition and reinstall it.

     d.  Reserve a second partition for a parallel installation of the operating system if the primary operating system no longer boots.

2.  Ribbon Cable.  If it's a new PATA drive, you'll need the 80 wire ribbon cable with 40 pin (well, really 39 pin) connectors.  I'm a little concerned that you're asking about "wires that plug into the MB, or the PSU".  Something seems off here...

You can't (shouldn't) use an old 40 wire cable.  Was the old hard drive a PATA or SATA interface?

[durango992007]

I actually went and exchanged for a SATA HD.  Same brand (except it went green, consumes less power) and an extra 140GB to have a total of 640GB.

BIOS recognizes it, so now is it just a deal of putting in the Windows XP reinstallation CD into the CD/DVD drive and having at it?

I will also look into organizing things the way you said.  I don't think I really paid attention to that on the other HD, but I had seperate files for stuff like music, pictures, video etc..  If that's what you were talking about?

[dahlarbear]

1.  SATA Drive.  You might have to load a SATA driver using the F6 function key during setup (never had a SATA drive).  Also may depend upon your motherboard and BIOS settings.  During this period of transition from IDE/EIDE drives to SATA, the motherboard designers are challenged to support different configurations of IDE/SATA drives.
     a.  Which SATA standard does the drive support (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA)?
     b.  Which SATA standard does your motherboard support?
     c.  What does motherboard documentation say about BIOS support and/or settings for IDE/SATA?

2.  Windows XP CD.  What service pack level is the CD at (RTM, SP1, SP2, SP3)?

3.  Dell Model Number.  Can you provide information from the service tag:  model name/number, part number, or even serial number?  I think someone needs to pull the documentation to see what hard drive configurations the motherboard supports (and whether any BIOS parameters need to be reset).

4.  Partitions versus File Directories.  No, I was not talking about organizing the files by directory (although that's always a good thing).  I was talking about creating separate partitions and/or logical volumes within the hard drive.  The challenge there is Windows usually doesn't permit you to change the size of a partition/logical volume after it's initial creation.  This isn't anything you're going to understand or figure out in one day (which is why most home users have a single large partition).

[durango992007]

I went ahead and got XP installed.  Without any drivers for the HD, it doesn't seem to be acting up, then again, I'm not sure of what the acting up would be. 

It is Windows XP Service Pack 2

The model number is Dell DXP061   http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=us&l=en&cs=&k=Dell+DXP061&cat=sup

I just left it at one partition.  From what I can remember, or know for that matter, the other HD was also only one partition.  Also, from the looks of it, I can go back and create another partition if so desired, as well as getting the drivers for motherboad/BIOS if I start to notice anything different happening (even though it is pretty bland right now)?

Also, when I was trying to setup a network, nothing seemed to be happening, and I couldn't figure anything out.  My ISP is Comcast, and I do believe I have all the necessary stuff to get it going.

Is there a certain site that you have that gives a fairly detailed explanation of what to do after you get Windows XP installed and all you see is the recycle bin on the screen?  I've tried looking some up, but everything else seems to be the same thing.

One more thing, if I am able to do this, if I do decide to add another partition for another OS (possibly Windows 7 in the near future) will I be able to do this?

I guess one more thing now, I went to install the drivers for my video card (NVidia 8300 GS), but as some, I'm guessing, were installing, after if went through the installation wizard, I'm guessing, the screen went black, and nothing happened.  It's a CD that has drivers for the 8300 GS, and the 8600 GT for, what looks like XP and Vista.  I was able to find the XP drivers, I think, for my 8300, and that's what I went to install, and that's when the screen went black after the "wizard".

[Allan]

You can slave the hd on another system and run a virus scan - AND recover any data you need (http://www.ehow.com/how_6031_change-master-slave-designation.html)

[durango992007]

Well, I did a search of the jumper settings for the old Hitachi, and it says the SATA does not use Jumper settings.  http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/T7k500/T7k500jum.htm

Both of my drives are SATA drivers, so how am I supposed to make the Hitachi drive (old drive) into a slave.  I have a computer I can possibly put it in to, but it does not have a SATA connection to the MB, just the power connection.  This computer is an old Dell Dimmension 2400 that has a PATA Western Digital HD in it.  How am I to go about getting the Hitachi to work on it, or is there a way to buy a SATA connection for it to make it work on it?  I didn't see a SATA connection on the Motherboard.

[Computer_Commando]

The Hitachi link you provided shows a PATA drive.  I don't know what you have.  First you say PATA, then you say SATA, then PATA, then SATA.  PATA's need to be configured by jumper to Master, Slave or Cable Select.  SATA's have no jumper settings for this.  You've already been given enough information to figure it out.

[durango992007]

The link was just there to show that SATA HD's does not have jumpers.  The model HD in that link is the one I have, in SATA form, and it also shows how to do the jumpers, I'm guessing, for a PATA HD. 

I was told that I could hook up the Hitachi (SATA) HD to another computer as a "slave" and run a virus scan on it.  However, the only other computer I have, has a PATA Western Digital HD, with no SATA connections on the MB, that I can see, if that makes sense.  http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim2400/en/sm_en/specs.htm
Those are the technical specs. for the other computer I have, Dell Dimmension 2400.  So, what I was wondering, is there a certain cable that would allow me to hook the Hitachi SATA HD up to that MB?

Sorry if it's confusing, there is some things I know about computers, and hard drivers really is not one of them, and knowing the different connections for HD's.  I do know the difference between a SATA connection and a PATA connection, though.

[Computer_Commando]

1.  The link was just there to show that SATA HD's does not have jumpers.
2.  it also shows how to do the jumpers, I'm guessing, for a PATA HD. 
3.  I was told that I could hook up the Hitachi (SATA) HD to another computer as a "slave" and run a virus scan on it.  However, the only other computer I have, has a PATA Western Digital HD, with no SATA connections on the MB, ...for the other computer I have, Dell Dimmension 2400.  So, what I was wondering, is there a certain cable that would allow me to hook the Hitachi SATA HD up to that MB?...

OK.  You have a Dell XPS 410 with SATA (and maybe a PATA connection inside) and a Dell Dimension 2400 with PATA only.
1.  Actually, SATA does have some jumpers, just not for M/S/CS.
2.  All diagrams are for PATA.
3.  They do make adapters, but I have had no success with them.  Forget connecting the SATA HDD to the Dimension 2400.  SATA was created in 2003, drives hit the market a year or two later.  You could connect it to the XPS 410.  Whether it's a Master or Slave is determined by the connector on the motherboard.  1 & 3 are Master, 2 & 4 are Slave.  In this situation, Slave infers the non-boot drive.  You configure 1st Boot Drive in BIOS.

[durango992007]

OK.  You have a Dell XPS 410 with SATA (and maybe a PATA connection inside) and a Dell Dimension 2400 with PATA only.
1.  Actually, SATA does have some jumpers, just not for M/S/CS.
2.  All diagrams are for PATA.
3.  They do make adapters, but I have had no success with them.  Forget connecting the SATA HDD to the Dimension 2400.  SATA was created in 2003, drives hit the market a year or two later.  You could connect it to the XPS 410.  Whether it's a Master or Slave is determined by the connector on the motherboard.  1 & 3 are Master, 2 & 4 are Slave.  In this situation, Slave infers the non-boot drive.  You configure 1st Boot Drive in BIOS.

OK, I think I understand what you are saying.  From the looks of it, the motherboard has 6 (six) SATA ports.  The HD is connected to SATA 0, the CD/DVD drive is connected to SATA 1.  So, would 2 and 4 still be the slave ports?  So, do I plug the Hitachi drive into the slave port, and boot the WD as the main, and I should be able to access the files on the Hitachi?  Or should Ibe doing something else?

EDIT:  I found a reinstallation CD of McAfee that came with my coomputer when I got it, should I install that onto the new HD, then, if I can, put the old HD back in, have McAfee run a virus scan on that drive?