Re: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found
On 30/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: I don't think it's the harddrive so much as some other thing.. Some guy on the net with a similar problem said he went out and bought another harddrive, which was fine for 3 days, then the same thing happened.. I'd hate that to be me. It's heartbreaking.. my baby's only 2 years old :( And I fear it's giving me the chance to get in now just to backup stuff and won't be running long. At first I thought it was a virus, but it's not. I never thought I'd say this, but I WISH IT WERE A VIRUS.. cos then the fix would be a simple reformat.. :(( Ryan Ryan, unless someone's already suggested this, have you tried booting up from an OS CD? If the computer will run happily from the CD, will it then access your data on the hard drive? The process, as the Cat In The Hat said, is 'Eliminatus Calculatus. To find out what it is, first you find out what it is not Swapping out a hard drive on a laptop should be relatively easy. Have you got one you could borrow? Clicking sounds can come from a number of sources...hard drives sure...inverter boards can click...speakers can just click away sometimes - if there's a problem. The only correct way to troubleshoot computer hardware is to replace components according to the manufacturer's protocols which will be listed in the Troubleshooting section of the Service Manual for the particular machine. In your case it will go something like: Computer refuses to start up: 1/ Start up from Boot CD 2/ Restart using reset button. 3/ Replace main battery. 4/Try known good power adapter 5/ Replace PRAM battery 6/ Replace hard drive 7/ Replace Power Board 8/ Replace logic Board (obviously this is not meant for your machine or any machine, rather it is a very rough example of how the instructions might look) This is why service centers for computers cost so much, because they have test jigs and zillions of components at hand to try. Testing a Power Board may be too time consuming and labor-intensive when the alternative of trying a 'known good' unit is quick and usually foolproof. Sorry you are having problems, but unless you find a forum where other users of the same machine post quick fix-its (like: 'oh yeah, yer hinge is flapping, superglue it'), then the repair route can be a real PITA. HTH Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
Re: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found
Ryan Lee [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Completely off-topic but I was wondering if anyone's had this problem before on a laptop. Mine's being difficult lately and since yesterday I've turned it on several times only to have a black screen with the words 'Operating System Not Found' after the Compaq boot screen. This symptom's accompanied by a clicking noise from the harddrive. After about a million tries, its finally restarted this morning but I dare not say how long it'll be up for. Sounds like major hard drive trouble brewing. Back up everything NOW! Some research on the net suggests something like a loose IDE connection, which makes the comp not recognise a fixed drive. Not very likely on a laptop but you never know. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
RE: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found
I completely agree. The clicking is likely the read head arm wildly moving back and forth between its stops, trying to align itself. Your HD is giving up the ghost, and if you have data you want to save, save it now! Jeff. -Original Message- From: Mark Roberts [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 3:10 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found Ryan Lee [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Completely off-topic but I was wondering if anyone's had this problem before on a laptop. Mine's being difficult lately and since yesterday I've turned it on several times only to have a black screen with the words 'Operating System Not Found' after the Compaq boot screen. This symptom's accompanied by a clicking noise from the harddrive. After about a million tries, its finally restarted this morning but I dare not say how long it'll be up for. Sounds like major hard drive trouble brewing. Back up everything NOW! Some research on the net suggests something like a loose IDE connection, which makes the comp not recognise a fixed drive. Not very likely on a laptop but you never know. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found
I don't think it's the harddrive so much as some other thing.. Some guy on the net with a similar problem said he went out and bought another harddrive, which was fine for 3 days, then the same thing happened.. I'd hate that to be me. It's heartbreaking.. my baby's only 2 years old :( And I fear it's giving me the chance to get in now just to backup stuff and won't be running long. At first I thought it was a virus, but it's not. I never thought I'd say this, but I WISH IT WERE A VIRUS.. cos then the fix would be a simple reformat.. :(( Ryan - Original Message - From: Mark Roberts [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2004 8:10 AM Subject: Re: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found Sounds like major hard drive trouble brewing. Back up everything NOW! Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found
Hello Ryan, Having just recovered from the 2nd hard drive failure on my Compaq laptop (can I say the word LEMON!), if you have the thing accessing at all, don't turn it off! Back up everything that you can't reload. My first HD failure acted more like yours. I was able to pull everything off before the drive went belly up. The second failure (after a blown motherboard) up and failed big time. I lost everything that wasn't backed up. More than I care to think about but not so much as to put me a real bind. Needless to say, I have gotten a new machine (not a Compaq!) as I don't trust that crappy Compaq as far as I can throw it. I think two drives and a motherboard in less than 1 year justifies my feelings. BACKUP! -- Best regards, Bruce Friday, January 30, 2004, 2:04:59 PM, you wrote: RL Completely off-topic but I was wondering if anyone's had this problem before RL on a laptop. Mine's being difficult lately and since yesterday I've turned RL it on several times only to have a black screen with the words 'Operating RL System Not Found' after the Compaq boot screen. This symptom's accompanied RL by a clicking noise from the harddrive. After about a million tries, its RL finally restarted this morning but I dare not say how long it'll be up for. RL Some research on the net suggests something like a loose IDE connection, RL which makes the comp not recognise a fixed drive. I hope this is the case RL because hardware replacement's going to be ex.. I'll still have to give the RL people at Compaq a call and maybe send it down for servicing, but from past RL experiences, their support department likes to go round in circles. Anyway, RL I was wondering if anyone's had the same problem and how they got around it RL (not counting the solutions involving buying a new one..) RL Regards, RL Ryan
Re: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found
the clicking sounds come from the drive recalibrating. if a second drive dies in the same manner, the IDE controller is bad and your whole laptop is junk. a loose cable will cause no sounds at all. if you have ever disassembled one, you will see that to come loose, the drive has to fall out of the computer. Herb - Original Message - From: Ryan Lee [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 5:31 PM Subject: Re: OT: Notebook Problems :(! Operating System Not Found I don't think it's the harddrive so much as some other thing.. Some guy on the net with a similar problem said he went out and bought another harddrive, which was fine for 3 days, then the same thing happened.. I'd hate that to be me. It's heartbreaking.. my baby's only 2 years old :( And I fear it's giving me the chance to get in now just to backup stuff and won't be running long. At first I thought it was a virus, but it's not. I never thought I'd say this, but I WISH IT WERE A VIRUS.. cos then the fix would be a simple reformat.. :((
