I have a 3 year old Dell laptop. It takes me anywhere from 2 to 10 boots
before it finds the operating system and starts up. I re-installed the
battery (in case of a static problem, ran antivirus scan, did defrag, and
check for volume errors. Problem still not fixed.

My computer is out of warantee with Dell, and they recommend replacing the
hard drive.

Before I do this, might there be some hardware repair software solutions
that I should investigate? Might this be an operating system problem, and is
there os repair software I should also look at. Anything free?

Steve

Thanks,

Steve wrote:

> I have a 3 year old Dell laptop. It takes me anywhere from 2 to 10
> boots
> before it finds the operating system and starts up. I re-installed
> the battery (in case of a static problem, ran antivirus scan, did
> defrag, and
> check for volume errors. Problem still not fixed.
>
> My computer is out of warantee with Dell, and they recommend replacing
> the hard drive.
>
> Before I do this, might there be some hardware repair software
> solutions
> that I should investigate? Might this be an operating system problem,
> and is
> there os repair software I should also look at. Anything free?
>

It doesn't sound like a software problem. Even though Dell has
diagnostic tests, I recommend getting a diagnostic utility from the
drive mftr.'s website (or just use SeaTools from Seagate). Depending on
the laptop configuration, you'll need to make a bootable floppy or cd
with the file you download. Then boot with the utility and do a
thorough test of the hard drive. If it fails with physical errors, then
it is worth replacing the drive.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Before you change the HD, it is your worthwhile re-installing the OS
from scratch. My HD is 5 years old and it works fine!!!

What has happened is that the files are defragmented (easy to resolve)
and lots of clutter has built up (difficult to resolve).

If you want to re-install the OS, you need to prepare yourself to avoid
any frustration unless you have done it before. Let us know if this is
what you want to do so that we can provide a checklist and/or links for
further info.


Steve wrote:
>
> I have a 3 year old Dell laptop. It takes me anywhere from 2 to 10 boots
> before it finds the operating system and starts up. I re-installed the
> battery (in case of a static problem, ran antivirus scan, did defrag, and
> check for volume errors. Problem still not fixed.
>
> My computer is out of warantee with Dell, and they recommend replacing the
> hard drive.
>
> Before I do this, might there be some hardware repair software solutions
> that I should investigate? Might this be an operating system problem, and is
> there os repair software I should also look at. Anything free?
>
> Steve
>
> Thanks,

Malke,

Thanks, I will also look at the Seagate site.

Steve

"Malke" wrote:

> Steve wrote:
>
> > I have a 3 year old Dell laptop. It takes me anywhere from 2 to 10
> > boots
> > before it finds the operating system and starts up. I re-installed
> > the battery (in case of a static problem, ran antivirus scan, did
> > defrag, and
> > check for volume errors. Problem still not fixed.
> >
> > My computer is out of warantee with Dell, and they recommend replacing
> > the hard drive.
> >
> > Before I do this, might there be some hardware repair software
> > solutions
> > that I should investigate? Might this be an operating system problem,
> > and is
> > there os repair software I should also look at. Anything free?
> >
>
> It doesn't sound like a software problem. Even though Dell has
> diagnostic tests, I recommend getting a diagnostic utility from the
> drive mftr.'s website (or just use SeaTools from Seagate). Depending on
> the laptop configuration, you'll need to make a bootable floppy or cd
> with the file you download. Then boot with the utility and do a
> thorough test of the hard drive. If it fails with physical errors, then
> it is worth replacing the drive.
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>