Dell Latitude 610 HDD problem

An elderly but perfectly functional laptop stopped working this morning.

It was running XP just fine and then suddenly came up with an HDD error.

Trying to reboot produces a faint whistling sound and after a couple of minutes or so a message A disc read error occurred, press Ctrl-Alt-Del to restart. Other boot attempts produce other HDD error messages.

I've successfully booted mini-XP from a Hirens boot CD, but Windows Explorer doesn't see the HDD.

So it looks as if the HDD has died. I can get another to replace and rebuild the, very basic, Windows system.

The HDD is a Seagate Momentus 5400.2 60GB, Model ST960822A

My question is how can I be sure that it's the HDD that has failed - rather than something else in the PC - and buying a replacement would not be a waste of money?

In reply to a post by cheshire_man:

An elderly but perfectly functional laptop stopped working this morning.

It was running XP just fine and then suddenly came up with an HDD error.

Trying to reboot produces a faint whistling sound and after a couple of minutes or so a message A disc read error occurred, press Ctrl-Alt-Del to restart. Other boot attempts produce other HDD error messages.

I've successfully booted mini-XP from a Hirens boot CD, but Windows Explorer doesn't see the HDD.

So it looks as if the HDD has died. I can get another to replace and rebuild the, very basic, Windows system.

The HDD is a Seagate Momentus 5400.2 60GB, Model ST960822A

My question is how can I be sure that it's the HDD that has failed - rather than something else in the PC - and buying a replacement would not be a waste of money?

Have you done a full power down and removed the drive and reinserted it a few times? Could be as simple as corrosion on a pin or two. I use a D620 and removal is a 2 second task - a minute if the single retaining screw has to be undone

You should be able to get an interface that will allow the drive itself to be connected to either a SATA or USB port on another PC. I have one for IDE drives that costs just a few pounds from Maplin. You could use it to test whether the drive works - if it does not then you can assume the drive has failed. If the drive does work you can use the interface to pull any data from the drive. Or even check to see if your desktop can take the drive

If it is the drive and you are going for a replacement - be aware that there could be a size limit for the 610 of around 137GB - so you will need to stay below that. Check the Dell support website to check.

What I will try to remember to do is power up the 610 I have - currently inaccessible but can get to it in the morning and see what happens if the drive is removed before power up.

Thanks.

Yes, I've removed and reinserted the drive 2 or 3 times. No difference. Also that's how I got the drive details.

There's a few UK suppliers of a replacement drive, including one less than 5 miles away, so it would seem possible to get a suitable drive. There's only about 15GB used on the HDD so realistically any replacement needs only be 30-40GB.

The only 2.5" IDE interfaces, for USB connection, I can see on Maplin are £40 or more. Much the same as a replacement drive.

Next week I'll go and talk to our local PC shop, I have a very good relationship with them, and see if I can 'borrow' a test drive .

I would have lent you my interface or drive but London to Cheshire - a fair way to drive.

Just going to see what happens on my 610 with no drive.

The one here is a 600 - my 610 is up in my Scottish house.


Powered up without the HDD installed:

After around 10 seconds it comes up with:
Invalid Configuration, Run setup - could be because the battery has failed.

It then progresses and gives 2 Beeps and reports:

Primary HDD0 not found; no bootable devices

Hope that may be useful.

Thanks - and thanks for the 'offer'

The fact that it boots from the Hirens CD, and is able to load mini-XP suggests it's mainly OK, unless it's some circuitry that's only used for the HDD.