More Dell (laptop) issues...

[cruiseroutfit]

I know you don't want to hear this, but buy an Apple. I'll even hook you up with a good deal . At the very least, I can get you an enclosure for pretty cheap.

Last time I worked on an Apple I was playing The Oregon Trail in the 3rd grade, I'm not looking to complicate my life more by adding a new system into the equation

I actually did have a Macintosh in middle school, pre power-Mac or whatever the interface model they had. For what I use computers for, I don't need a Mac? Plus I've heard of plenty of Mac failures (EZ and Seth come to mind)

 

[Meat_]

If you get a new laptop you are going to want your old hd in an enclosure for nice portable storage

 

[cruiseroutfit]

If you get a new laptop you are going to want your old hd in an enclosure for nice portable storage

Yes, I plan to do that... the enclosures are pretty cheap, I'll stop by one of the local places in the morning (PC Club has been helpful in the past).



So am I correct in assuming any software I had installed on that computer is a gonner??? There are a couple of programs I had on that computer that I no longer have access too

 

[Stephen]

Last time I worked on an Apple I was playing The Oregon Trail in the 3rd grade, I'm not looking to complicate my life more by adding a new system into the equation

I actually did have a Macintosh in middle school, pre power-Mac or whatever the interface model they had. For what I use computers for, I don't need a Mac? Plus I've heard of plenty of Mac failures (EZ and Seth come to mind)

Sure, Mac's have failures (I work for the largest Apple service facility in the state!) but most people get 6+ years out of their Mac's. You can run Windows on Apples now too, so all the programs that you are running for the business you can still run. Regardless, I'm not going to pitch it anymore than that, I used to think that they were crap, then I used one for awhile and now I sell 'em.
If you need data recovery, we can do that for you too. Let me know.

 

[Meat_]

Yes, I plan to do that... the enclosures are pretty cheap, I'll stop by one of the local places in the morning (PC Club has been helpful in the past).



So am I correct in assuming any software I had installed on that computer is a gonner??? There are a couple of programs I had on that computer that I no longer have access too

Depends, if the HD failed then yeah, if not you could actually get another laptop (works better if it's the same model), put that hd in and pretend nothing has changed. (if it's a different model then you will have to let windows install different drivers and what not)

Oh and if the HD did fail, then you don't want to use it in an enclosure (other than to get the data off of it)

 

[cruiseroutfit]

How do I determine if the HD failed versus a failed motherboard or somthing like that??

I'd be willing to buy another Inspiron 8600 if I knew my software would work. I can get a used Inspiron 8600 for $150-600 on eBay, some with upgraded everything and a warranty? Or if I knew what was wrong with mine I could likely buy the parts, every component is available online it seems...

 

[Meat_]

If the HD wont work in another machine/enclosure. It could also just be your windows install that is dorked. If the drive and windows install is undamaged then you can most defiantly put it in the same model of laptop and continue on your marry way.

Try booting it and pushing F8 until you get to the windows start options. Then choose "Safe mode".... let us know what happens after that.

Bring it with you to Moab, I might just get bored enough at night to look at it

 

[Mr.Chevy]

If you need an eclosure I have one that i am never going to use. It is brand new in box. http://www.mdmm.com/spec.php?productid=33 that is the one i have. I would sell it to you for $20 bucks. Also you can try and boot into safe mode if it is a windows problem. also if you have a windows xp disk you can try and do a windows repair. Some times that works.

 

[GI'sCHICK]

from what you said happened you might just need to flash the bios on your laptop... it sounds like its corrupt and if you flash it the computer might just reboot...

 

[cruiseroutfit]

from what you said happened you might just need to flash the bios on your laptop... it sounds like its corrupt and if you flash it the computer might just reboot...

Like this:

Seriously though, how do I flash the bios?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...Try booting it and pushing F8 until you get to the windows start options. Then choose "Safe mode".... let us know what happens after that....

I got it to start booting in Safe Mode, then it froze with this screen...

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Tried again and I got this, I press enter and it froze up on a black screen again... only way to shut it down was to yank the battery.

 

[Milner]

I know nothing, but the last two times I have had computer problems, it has been bad ram....

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I know nothing, but the last two times I have had computer problems, it has been bad ram....

Could be? I don't even know where my D-Bay is???

EDIT: More and more its looking like my Hardrive took a dump

 

[78mitsu]

it's the cdrom bay, The cdrom and the HDD share the same IDE Channel, if the cdrom goes bad it can cause problems with the ide bus. Try removing the CDROM. Also, there is a NVR clear function on dell laptops, remove power/battery push and hold the power key for 20 continuous seconds, it forces a hard re-set of all the hardware on the system board.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

it's the cdrom bay, The cdrom and the HDD share the same IDE Channel, if the cdrom goes bad it can cause problems with the ide bus. Try removing the CDROM.

No change....

Also, there is a NVR clear function on dell laptops, remove power/battery push and hold the power key for 20 continuous seconds, it forces a hard re-set of all the hardware on the system board.

Will this erase anything or cause any issues??

EDIT tried, didn't seem to change anything...




It will only boot about 1/20 attempts, and in every case it stalls amidst the boot. However I do have it in safe mode right now, I'm trying to pull off everthing I can onto a USB

 

[78mitsu]

do you have the disks that came with your laptop, there is a disk labled dirivers & utilities, boot from it then go through the diagnostics, they're pretty reliable. It may not be a bad HDD, it may be a corrupted file in windows. The diagnostic will test the disk for failure(as best it can, there's no way to truely test a disk unless you can write/read every bit).

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Yes, I have the discs somewhere... I'll give that a try.

I've now gotten it to boot in Safe Mode twice now, but it won't let me access the internet (to transfer the files) or transfer them to a USB (doesn't recognize the USB)

 

[cruiseroutfit]

SHE'S ALIVE

After literally 100 attempts it booted in normal mode, I've snagged all files I had updated or created since my last backup, as well as my GPS logs. Anything else I should consider offloading?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

So is there no point in copying the program files?? I'm assuming they won't work if I copy/paste them onto another computer? There is only one program that I am worried about, it was a legit copy from school, but I no longer have the install discs