boot problems

[tina]

Can anyone help? During the boot-up process, the PC says 'Ultra DMA mode-2, SMART capable but command failed'. It then goes on to say 'Primary Hard disk : SMART command failed' and then it just stops. I tried booting up from the Master CD boot floppy, but it doesn't work. I don't know if it is because the floppy maybe faulty or if the fault with the booting up process is causing the disk not to work? Any suggestions would be helpful, and does anyone know where I can get another copy of the boot floppy so I can see if mine is faulty?

[johnnyg]

Originally posted by tina:
Can anyone help? During the boot-up process, the PC says 'Ultra DMA mode-2, SMART capable but command failed'. It then goes on to say 'Primary Hard disk : SMART command failed' and then it just stops. I tried booting up from the Master CD boot floppy, but it doesn't work. I don't know if it is because the floppy maybe faulty or if the fault with the booting up process is causing the disk not to work? Any suggestions would be helpful, and does anyone know where I can get another copy of the boot floppy so I can see if mine is faulty?

What happens when you say "it doesn't work" when you boot off a floppy? What os are you running? Try putting in another hd and see if that boots. Let me know how you make out.



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Peace is in the mind,not the situation "unless you're in a fire fight"

[bassvax]

Welcome Tina & Johnny...
Tina the S.M.A.R.T. feature of your hard drive is one of those things that is supposed to tell you when your hard drive is going south. There should be an option in you BIOS setup to enable/disable this feature. Check there first to see whether it is or not.
As Johnny pointed out, we will need a great deal more info about your system like what operating system, motherboard (& BIOS date) and of course hard drive info (like GB, RPM, ATA) would be nice. This will help us to get an idea of where your components are in the technological evolution process. Could be your BIOS doesn't support SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis & Report Technology).
Has your system been altered recently? Like an upgrade or anyone opened the case?
As far as a boot disk...of course if you can't boot up to even get into the BIOS, you will need one. You can have a friend make you one from there pc by going to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Add Remove Programs and then select the Startup Tab. If you have Win 95, 98 or Win Me you should be able to use a Win 98 startup disk...at least to get you into your BIOS. Once there you can check to make sure your hard drive is detected correctly and check on the SMART option as well. Another option for a boot disk is to go to www.bootdisk.com (http://www.bootdisk.com) and download an appropriate one from there.
If you do get into the BIOS you can check your boot order and set it to Floppy, CD-ROM and then Hard drive if that is the order (for troubleshooting purposes) you prefer.

Post back...there are other things to consider depending the additional info we have requested.
Again, welcome to the PC Guide..I'm sure someone here can guide you in the right direction http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Warning: The info vacuum is ON

[Adam Pintar]

About the statup disk needed to get into the bios(cmos) is unnecessary just hit the delete key while startup a couple times when you first boot and that will bring you into your cmos. Most likely the hard drive is not smart compliant and you need to disable this function.

An other way of finding out if smart is enabled is while the post which happens when you first start up your computer. It wil tell you if it is enabled. If the post goes to fast and you are unable to read it you can hit the pause button to stop it and if you want to continue on with the post hit the escape key.

Also but it is recommended that you find out specifics before doing this. If you have a jumperless motherboard that is pretty new then you can hold down the insert key startup computer then let go of insert key and startup again.

This will reset your cmos back to default without you having to go into the case itself.

I would proceed with caution with doing the above and really know your motherboard and this will not work on all motherboards.

Hope this helps

Adam http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by Adam Pintar (edited 04-17-2001).]

[bassvax]

Adam...Thanks for helping me get that huge chunk of whatever outta my throat...you know, the one I was choking on...Plus, I had accidentally washed and dried my thinking cap and it was too tight, thus squeezing all the data in my grey cells together http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif You're are correct sir, you don't need a boot disk to access bios.

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One of these days I'm gonna cut you into little pieces...