Insert System Disk!

[idiot_savant]

hello everyone! I'm just starting to learn fixing PCs.....I just want to ask any of you who might encounter the same problem. When I start the computer, after showing, "Verifying DMI Pool", the screen would then display please insert system disk. My first suspect is maybe a loose IDE. So I turned-off the PC unplug it then tighten the IDE. Then I started the computer and then it turned on. Then again....last night the same problem happened again. At first I did the first thing I did when I encountered that same problem but when I started the PC it still says please insert system disk. Then I opened the CPU case and I tried to detach and then again attach the IDE to the motherboard and the HDD. I started the PC again and then it boots.
Now, my question is........is the IDE cable really the problem here? Could it be the HDD? I hope someone could help me on this. Thanks people!

 

[Bryce W]

Do you have a floppy disk in the floppy drive when your booting it up? If so, eject it and try booting up. That could be the problem.

The computer has been told to look for information to boot from. In most cases it will check the floppy first, then the CD, then the harddrive until it finds boot information. If you had a floppy disk in the drive that is NOT a boot disk that contains boot information, the computer will say "please insert system disk".

 

[idiot_savant]

no there's no floppy in the drive.........the PCs now working alright so could it really be the IDE cable?

Do you have a floppy disk in the floppy drive when your booting it up? If so, eject it and try booting up. That could be the problem.

The computer has been told to look for information to boot from. In most cases it will check the floppy first, then the CD, then the harddrive until it finds boot information. If you had a floppy disk in the drive that is NOT a boot disk that contains boot information, the computer will say "please insert system disk".

 

[Bryce W]

Did you change anything from when it wasn't working to when it was?

 

[idiot_savant]

i changed nothing......ah....just the IDE cable. then after it worked I scanned the PC for viruses...it found 1 spyware and 1 adware......cleaned it up....and until now the PC's working fine........could it be the spyware and the adware? or could it be a loose IDE cable?

Did you change anything from when it wasn't working to when it was?

 

[Bryce W]

Most likely it was a loose or dead IDE cable.

 

[Andy-Always]

I was just wondering if you got the "eye dee ten tee" error?

 

[idiot_savant]

nope.....

I was just wondering if you got the "eye dee ten tee" error?

 

[Bryce W]

I was just wondering if you got the "eye dee ten tee" error?

I hate that error ;_;

 

[TorontoRepair]

It is your hard drive

One of my hard drive (maxtor) works the way you described it. Most of the time it is recognized and works perfectly but sometimes it is not even recognized in the POST.
I have done all the troubleshooting that you can think of, (use a different HD, low level format, reinstall windows, erase partitions...) and I came to the conclusion that the hard drive is defective and that it will die soon.

 

[Bryce W]

One of my hard drive (maxtor) works the way you described it. Most of the time it is recognized and works perfectly but sometimes it is not even recognized in the POST.

I have seen Maxtors behave like this as well, at LAN Parties. When the Maxtors get hot they tend to disappear from the operating system. If they are near other Maxtors they all heat eachother up and multiple drives will go missing.

The first time I saw this I thought it was just someones crappy computer setup, however I have seen this multiple times so it seems to be a common problem.