You have far more patience than I do; at this point this Dell 2400 would be getting the Heather LaCroix treatment (please see link at ~3.00 minute mark) with her 10 gauge shotgun about now.
You have far more patience than I do; at this point this Dell 2400 would be getting the Heather LaCroix treatment (please see link at ~3.00 minute mark) with her 10 gauge shotgun about now.
Last edited by STMahlberg; 11-07-10 at 02:56 PM.
"My god! Do we really suck, or is this guy really that good?" - Mr Hertz - Shoot 'Em Up
Beat me to it. I was about to suggest items 1 and 2. If none of that works, I'd consider looking far a firmware update. I was able to find firmware for my Inspiron 530, so it stands to reason there is firmware for that Dell. I don't know if it makes a difference, but also check the system time and make sure you have a fresh CMOS battery.
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Duh!!! Can't believe I overlooked that one. Excellent suggestion trigggl.
I would suggest making sure the BIOS can detect the HDD. Most BIOS's default to autodetect. Go through the IDE settings to see if the HDD make and model is listed. Also examine the pins of the IDE port on the motherboard. Look for oxidized or bent/broken pins. And lastly, try a different IDE cable as the current one may have a faulty connection.
Used a real XP install disk, and am making progress. The computer freezes rightafter the screen with the MS window...
I have half a mind to just do what STM suggested and locate a shot gun...
I've had another break-through. I made myself bleed. This usually doesn't happen on a project unless I'm nearing a successful conclusion...
Note: I didn't make myself bleed doing anything software related. Pulling out the heatsink and CPU to clean and reseat got me.
You might try changing the RAM as well.. I had an old rig once that gave me that error until I changed the RAM. memtest86+ revealed that there was a faulty stick..
In my days working on helicopter radios in the Army I found that a hammer is a great diagnostic tool. Just keep hitting things until it stops working and then you'll know what the problem is. This method is most effective when you use a rubber mallet. Metal hammers tend to produce false positives.
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