Member Avatar for groucho1062

The hard drive on my Presario R3000 crashed last night, and I'm trying to get a handle on how screwed I am.
Compaq's sending me a new drive, but I'm going to try to recover what I can, first.
The error when booting is PXE-E61, and it says to check the cable.
I can boot from CD ROM, and - just to see if the hard drive was visible - tried to install Linux (Lindows). During the installation attempt, I could see the hard drive light on quite a bit, and I got my hopes up. But the installation reported that there was no usable hard drive found. Obviously, the PC itself is seeing the drive, otherwise the light wouldn't go on (right?).
I've ordered & downloaded GRC's Spinrite, but so far have had no success making a bootable CD (I'd welcome instruction on that, but I'm waiting for a response from GRC tech support).
Anyone else have any thoughts on something I can try?
TIA,
Mark

  • 3 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 101 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

Dani AI

Generated

A compact, practical plan for based on the thread so far: the machine boots from CD but the BIOS does not present a usable HDD. Before trying any low-level repair utilities, narrow whether the problem is the drive itself, the laptop’s connector/controller, or just a corrupted filesystem/partition table. was right to suggest trying the drive in another system; ’s note about SpinRite needing BIOS visibility is also important—software fixes come after hardware checks.

Suggested safe troubleshooting sequence

  • Check warranty/service first. If the Presario is under warranty or Compaq/HP is handling a replacement, opening the case may affect coverage.
  • Power down, remove battery/AC, remove the drive and visually inspect connectors for bent pins, broken plastic, or scorch marks. Note the connector type (PATA ribbon/44-pin, SATA L-shape, or a thin ZIF ribbon) so the correct adapter/test cable can be used.
  • Test the drive externally using a 2.5" IDE/SATA-to-USB adapter, powered dock, or by temporarily fitting it into a desktop with the appropriate adapter. Do not attempt repairs on the original laptop until the drive’s behavior is known.
  • Listen to the drive when powered: steady spin is OK; intermittent clicking or repeated “click of death” sounds indicate mechanical failure — stop powering it and use a professional recovery service.
  • If the drive is detected on another machine, make a sector-by-sector image immediately and work from the image rather than the original. Recommended tools: GNU ddrescue for imaging and TestDisk/PhotoRec for partition and file recovery.

Example ddrescue workflow (run from a Linux rescue environment; replace device and paths as appropriate):

# fast first pass (avoid retries to collect good data quickly)
ddrescue -n /dev/sdX /media/recovery/image.dd /media/recovery/rescue.log

# try bad sectors with retries
ddrescue -r3 /dev/sdX /media/recovery/image.dd /media/recovery/rescue.log

Useful references: GNU ddrescue (https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/) and TestDisk/PhotoRec (https://www.cgsecurity.org/). If the drive is not detected externally or produces mechanical noises, stop further DIY attempts and seek professional recovery; repeated power cycles make mechanical failures worse.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for viperman224

Well first off, I'm not really sure if you are trying to run linux on the cd or trying to install it. If your trying to install it, it's probably not a good idea especially if you data on the hard drive that you want. Never try to reinstall an OS on a hard drive you think is failed and has important data on it. It just defeats the purpose. Other tools you may try are nortons ghost 9.0 or 2003 (depending on your version of windows. For XP use 9.0 and for windows 2000 and lower use 2003.) You can buy both at compusa or a similar store for i've seen anywhere from 20 to 70$. You can then boot from the Nortons cd and use the file restore software that's built in. Spinrite just beats up on the drive and tells you if there are any errors. Becareful with it because it can earse (sp?) your hard drive if you perform a certain test (I believe its the 1's and 0's test but don't qoute me lol) Have you tried removing the hard drive and putting it in another computer? I would also try changing your hard drive cable and then checking the bios (press either the f1, f2 or the delete key at start up). If your bios sees the hard drive, chances are it may be ok. Also, check the jumper settings on the back of the hard drive and make sure that it is set to the "master" setting if it is the only drive on the cable. Make sure your power cord from the power supply unit is pluged in firmly. If you have any other questions let me know. Good luck

Member Avatar for groucho1062

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't actually going to install Linux - I just wanted to see if I could, because of the harddrive. And - worst case, if I wound up with a reformatted hard drive, I'd be no worse off than I am now, which is with no access to anything on the drive.
The BIOS is reporting no hard drive, and (probably because it's a laptop) isn't letting me change any settings.
Spinrite was downloadable last night and has a money back guarantee, so it seemed worth a shot. I've tried booting from Norton SystemWorks and that booted, but found no hard drive, so it couldn't try to fix it. I was hoping at least it would tell me that it was a bad format.
I haven't yet tried the drive in another PC, though it occurred to me. I was wondering about compatibility - are all laptop drives the same (physical) size?
I'd welcome any other thoughts.
Thanks.

Well first off, I'm not really sure if you are trying to run linux on the cd or trying to install it. If your trying to install it, it's probably not a good idea especially if you data on the hard drive that you want. Never try to reinstall an OS on a hard drive you think is failed and has important data on it. It just defeats the purpose. Other tools you may try are nortons ghost 9.0 or 2003 (depending on your version of windows. For XP use 9.0 and for windows 2000 and lower use 2003.) You can buy both at compusa or a similar store for i've seen anywhere from 20 to 70$. You can then boot from the Nortons cd and use the file restore software that's built in. Spinrite just beats up on the drive and tells you if there are any errors. Becareful with it because it can earse (sp?) your hard drive if you perform a certain test (I believe its the 1's and 0's test but don't qoute me lol) Have you tried removing the hard drive and putting it in another computer? I would also try changing your hard drive cable and then checking the bios (press either the f1, f2 or the delete key at start up). If your bios sees the hard drive, chances are it may be ok. Also, check the jumper settings on the back of the hard drive and make sure that it is set to the "master" setting if it is the only drive on the cable. Make sure your power cord from the power supply unit is pluged in firmly. If you have any other questions let me know. Good luck

Member Avatar for viperman224

Laptop hard drives are the same physical size. But this depends on the age of them to. I have an old pentium 1 toshiba which I scraped for parts but the hard drive was still good. I decided to make it an external hard drive so I could save school work etc. Unfortunatly, when I bought the external case, the hard drive was just a little to big to fit inside. So, I have to buy a new hard drive to fit in the case. But most newer laptop hard drives are the same physical size. Most likely, if your BIOS can't see your hard drive, the hard drive is probably done. But I still recomend trying it in another machine. Now, if you get your new hard drive in from compaq and it doesn't work in your laptop your probably looking at a motherboard issues. In which case, you need to call compaq. Good Luck.

Member Avatar for caperjack

I've ordered & downloaded GRC's Spinrite, but so far have had no success making a bootable CD (I'd welcome instruction on that, but I'm waiting for a response from GRC tech support).
Anyone else have any thoughts on something I can try?
TIA,
Mark

Hi ,I use spinrite ,have been using it for about 7 yrs now .,I think I used Nero burning roms option to make a bootable cd ,and copied and burned spinrite.exe to it .
Also if you bios doesn't see the hard drive ,Spinrites not going to detect it either .

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.