My Computer is stuck in the startup screen (Black with white lettering) See details below.?

Question

Help

My computer locked when I was using it earlier today and when I restarted it it starts BIOS, checks the system (message that is OK) then I get the following

WAIT

Pri Master: QP100-06 SV4002H

Ultra DMA Mode-4, S.M.A.R.T. capable but disabled


Everything just stops then but the hard drive light is still permanently lit.

When I restart I get the message "to enter setup press ESC" key but when I do this just carries on to the WAIt message above.

Grateful for anything I can do.

Thanks

Answer 1

It sounds like the harddrive has gone to Silicon Heaven* to be with all the calculators - this happened to me. I bought a new PC then as wasn't sure what was faulty as I'd built it a bit too detailed and wasn't sure if graphics, motherboard etc without testing/spending money on products.

Only later, when I had my new machine did I rebuild my previous main simpler with bits from the secondary pc and primary pc (to get the best setup) did I prove the drive was dead. The old drive then showed up faulty on doing stage 3.

If you can access the drive via attaching to another with Windows and putting yours as a Slave, Everest can tell you the SMART status of it. Ie any errors on the drive. http://www.lavalys.com/

1. Try enabling SMART in the BIOS see if says anything on booting...
2. Try re-attaching harddrive cables. Though, it sounds like the main harddrive has died to me. Very annoying and has happened to me in the past.
3. This will lose Windows and have to reinstall, but try and format the drive under DOS (use Windows Me boot disk) with FDISK/FORMAT if around 80GB-120GB or so. If it is the drive, it will show up a fault most probably doing this. If it is a virus taking out Windows, will fix that also.
4. If believe is a damaged harddrive, try replacing harddrive, noting jumpers; will probably be a Master setup.
Reinstall Windows. Smash old drive into bits: a) great fun and cheers you up b) stops others retrieving data from it if they can access it as a Slave.

Answer 2

Without actually being there it sounds like a cable inside the computer has become disconnected from the hard drive or the motherboard. While fixing this problem is fairly simple it should be done by somebody with computer repair skills to prevent any problems. If the cable is still connected then a broken wire in the cable could also be the problem. last but not least could be a short in the system board. get a tech to look into the problem for the best results.

Answer 3

I sounds like your HD has been disabled in BIOS. Are you quite sure you weren't mucking around in there? If not, you might have a virus. Or your HD is going bad.

If the problem is the first, you have to reset your BIOS settings. That is not easy to explain without looking at the screen. See if you have an automatic detection option or if there is some obvious-looking way to enable the drive.

If it's the second, you may be in trouble. If you have the ability/tools, you can boot from a clean, write-protected os diskette or cd and run a virus scanner, which may work. Or, you can try reformatting and reinstalling Windows.

If it's the latter, sorry, you'll likely have to replace it. You can try taking the case off the machine and removing/reattaching the cables in case one has come loose.

Answer 4

Your computer is unable to read the "boot" sector on the HD.

It may be a boot virus has "corrupted" this sector, or your HD may have "died."

Try "booting" from a CD.

If that doesn't work have someone knowledgeable "reset" the CMOS. (BIOS programming chip)

If that doesn't get you beyond the start screen, and into the BIOS you have a severe problem and need a computer repair shop.

If it does, set the BIOS using "default", and save changes.

If your HD STILL won't boot, try the CD again. If it starts use the "repair" option.

If it WON'T start with EITHER, see a repair shop.

Answer 5

Losing data on a hard drive is the worst nightmare of any computer owner. However, some hard drive problems can be easily fixed yourself by using easily available tools. I found the info at http://fixit.in useful

Answer 6

Just a question. If your comp. is frozen, how are you typing this question? Anyway, this usually means one of two things. 1. You need to reinstall windows. -OR- 2. Your hard drive has crashed and you need to buy a new one.

Answer 7

you didnt leave a bootable disk in the cd-rom drive maybe?

Answer 8

i think your ment to press F9 or F12 or one of those - give it a try