primary master hard disk fail -help

babiebeany

Our PC came up with this yesterday whilst booting up - we did manage to restart it again normally by switching it off then on again. But this morning it is definitely not working properly and says: PRIMARY MASTER HARD DISK FAIL

Of course it couldn't be just a normal day could it!! My son's A level coursework is on it which needs to be handed in today. He did some work on his laptop so most is OK but he needs to get his graphs etc off our PC now - does anyone know what we need to do?

nickmack

Firstly, don't panic just yet, nearly always some or more data is recoverable from Hard Disks that seem to be broken.

Does the BIOS detect the disk drive? Watch carefully when your PC first boots, it should tell you which key to press to enter the BIOS. It's usually an F (function) key at the top of the keyboard or the Delete key.

When you have entered the BIOS, look for the IDE disks menu. Can you see the disk drive listed?

Exit the BIOS by pressing whichever key it tells you to, but opt to discard any changes.

babiebeany

thanks for your quick reply nickmack

The only option i've been given was to press del for setup which i've dones and gone into advanced bios features which doesnt give the info you mentioned - any other ideas

babiebeany

Just let it try to boot up again as normal and the screen says:

Diskette drive a none
diskette drive b none
Pri master disk none
Pri slave disk none
Sec mawster disk dvd dma 2
Sec slave disk cd rw dma 2

Does this help??

nickmack

OK, it sounds like the drive is not being detected by the BIOS.

When you press DEL, you should see a BIOS menu that has options such as 'Standard CMOS features' and 'Advanced BIOS features', can you see that?

babiebeany

Yes I can see both of those

nickmack

OK, use the arrow keys to make sure 'Standard CMOS setup' is highlighted and then press Enter.

You should find yourself in a new set of menu options. One of these should be called 'IDE Primary Master' or very similar. Use the arrow keys to move over this option. Press Enter and it should attempt to detect the drive.

Let me know what happens.

babiebeany

I went into that and it listed

idE hdd AUTO DETECTION

AND

ide PRIMARY MASTER AUTO

I have tried both - the first said it was detecting hard drive and then just went back to the same screen again with no info and the 2nd one did nothing either

Getting a bit desperate now - my son's just texted me to say he will get an automatic fail - its a bit harse even though i have sent him in with a letter to explain

nickmack

The BIOS is failing to recognise the drive.

The next steps you need to take will depend on your confidence in opening up your PC and also any other resources you have available.

If you do not feel comfortable continuing, then you should seek assistance from a local professional who should be able to help.

Otherwise, what we need to do is establish whether the cable connecting the Hard Disk to the motherboard is securely plugged in. There is also a power cable that plugs into the drive that may be loose. Only by opening up the PC can we check this and listen whether the drive is spinning up at all.

Let me know how you feel about continuing.

babiebeany

Thanks for your support nickmack

Yes I would like to continue, I've opened up a computer a few years ago when on the phone to a techie help line, so i'm s4re 5 can do it with some help

nickmack

Firstly then, you should unplug all the cables from your PC. Make a note of where they go if you're not sure. Then place it somewhere you can get at it easily.

If you've opened it before, hopefully you can remember how to do it. Usually, there is a clip that enables one side of the case to slide off. You may need to undo a couple of screws at the back that hold the side on.

Hold a metal part of the case for a second before you touch anything inside the PC, this should discharge any static you have built up on you.

Look inside the PC, the Hard Disk most likely has a grey ribbon type cable connecting it to a port on the mainboard (the large board with chips and resistors on), it should also have a power cable which has a white plastic end. Make sure these are all firmly connected at both ends. You may need to carefully nudge other cables aside to see the connection on the motherboard. Be careful not to disturb any other connections.

Next, plug your mains power cable into the PC. Switch it on and put your ear next to the Hard Disk. Can you hear it spinning up?