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laptop help please

Hi

My laptop seems to have given up the ghost.

It was working fine and the next time I switched it on a blue screen came up asking me to choose which boot device to boot from. I chose the hard drive and it just came back to this screen. I don't have any disks or anything to boot from and I'm not sure what to do. I'm not a techno whizz but want to fix this problem myself as I can't afford to replace it.

It's an RM CL51.

Hoping someone can help!

lc99
14 projects in 2014: 3/14
«13

Comments

  • aliEnRIK
    aliEnRIK Posts: 17,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Keep pressing F8 at bootup. Asuming it DOES come up with the SAFE MODE SELECTION screen then go into SAFE MODE WITH NETWORKING
    If it WONT then you need to run a REPAIR using the operating disc (IF you have one)
    :idea:
  • luckycat99
    luckycat99 Posts: 318 Forumite
    Thanks.

    I just tried F8 and it didn't work and I don't have any of the discs.

    When I turned it on I noticed an error message 'pxe e61 - media test failure, check cable' - does anyone know what this means?
    14 projects in 2014: 3/14
  • damo24
    damo24 Posts: 299 Forumite
    From the description of the fault it sounds like the hard drive has failed. The laptop is trying to boot from it but for whatever reason it's not working.

    Without using boot discs or something similar you will not be able to diagnose the fault yourself.

    Your best option is to take it to a local independant computer shop (ie NOT PC World) and ask them to have a look at it for you. They may charge a small fee (less than £20) to inspect it and will be able to give you a price to repair it.

    Once you know what the fault is you can decide whether it's worth repairing it and if it is whether you want to do it yourself or leave it to the shop.
  • gaming_guy
    gaming_guy Posts: 6,128 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    the pxe media check message is nothing to worry about as its trying to find a PXE server to install an operating system over a network. the media check bit just means that a network cable isnt plugged into the machine.

    you just need to set it to boot from the hard drive to get rid of pxe message.

    is the hard drive detected in the bios? (most of the RM machines use f2 to boot into the bios i think)
  • luckycat99
    luckycat99 Posts: 318 Forumite
    I can't tell. I tried to get into BIOS but it asked for a password and I don't know it.
    14 projects in 2014: 3/14
  • gaming_guy
    gaming_guy Posts: 6,128 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    luckycat99 wrote: »
    I can't tell. I tried to get into BIOS but it asked for a password and I don't know it.
    if its still left as the default, it should be 'rm' (without quotes)
  • luckycat99
    luckycat99 Posts: 318 Forumite
    That's great, thanks - it's worked!

    It says in the BIOS screen that there isn't a HDD!?
    14 projects in 2014: 3/14
  • posted_2
    posted_2 Posts: 514 Forumite
    That isn't great, your hard disk is probably dead, about £30 to replace.
  • luckycat99
    luckycat99 Posts: 318 Forumite
    Are they easy to replace? Would it just slot in or would I need to solder?
    14 projects in 2014: 3/14
  • posted_2
    posted_2 Posts: 514 Forumite
    Slot in easily (usually), but you will have to reinstall the operating system, and your data will be gone. Can you hear any stranging ticking noises?
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