Disk Boot Failure

Run scan disk from DOS to see if the drive has errors

This may be a master boot sector virus,run the ERD disk from antivirus,check the drive

Insert the start up disk and boot computer,then type sys c: at command prompt,if this is not working and you hear the churning again,backup data and consider the drive as bad

If you have two Ide conectors try with the otherone if dont work you have aproblem with the motherboard. Try with the cmos Automatic ide detection when you connect to second Ide channel.
Another thing you can do is test the hard suspiccios in anothr pc.
good luck.

You may just have lost your BIOS settings. When you next boot your computer, press the DEL key (or whatever your computer says) to enter the BIOS and check the settings for your hard drive. Most recent BIOSes have an auto detect hardware that will help you with this.

Does the drive still spin-up, and run it's POST test (flash the IDE light)?
If no;
Start by disconnecting all other IDE devices in the PC.

See if the hard drive is accessible now.

Next, change IDE cables, and use a different power connector.

I would also recommend checking the voltages with a voltmeter.
At the drive connector, you should have 5 Volts, and 12 Volts DC.
If either is off by more than 0.25 Volts, replace the power supply.
If the voltages are way off, your motherboard may indeed be damaged.

Keep in mind, that if the BIOS settings for the drive were manually set, or locked in by drive detection, everything will look okay on the drive page of BIOS setup.

Does the drive show up on the list of detected devices when the motherboard is going through device enumeration after the POST test?

If not, enter BIOS setup, and select Auto for the HDDs, and see if that makes a difference.

Chas

Churning sounds from a hard disk are an ominous sign. Any unusual sound from a hard disk is not good.

Based upon the information you gave [computer frozen, turned the computer off, then back on] I assume that at one time the hard disk worked, [meaning the HDD was formatted, an operating system installed and everything ran hunky dory. If you boot from a emergency boot disk with Fdisk utility, see if fdisk see's the drive and just what is the bootable partition [if any]. If not, check your IDE cables, ensure they are seated properly. Check the power cable to the hard drive and that has power and is seated properly. If you've done all that [including fdisk to test if the HDD is detectable] and you still can't find a bootable partition, try recreating one. If that doesnt work, trying to trouble shoot a hdd is really more trouble than just buying a new one.

Try putting the drive from the suspect computer into a working PC. If you can get it to boot there, it is either the IDE controller in the suspect PC, or it could also be a portion of the pwr supply that is bad.

If it will not access the drv whenyou test it in another PC(Provided it is set-up properly thru BIOS),
I would say that the drv is bad.

Keep us updated! Thanks.

Bryan

I really appreciate all your help and certainly learned a lot. I am new at hardware issues.

I tried all your suggestions and still could not access the drive.

I was even to told to stop trying because I may be damaging it even more just in case it was sent to a disk recovery company.

So I have come to the conclusion that the drive is unrecoverable by me.

Thanks again and I'm not afraid of hardware anymore because of this site. I will always come here first!

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