My Compaq computer all of a sudden gives me this error
PXE-E61 Media Test Failure check Cable
PXE-E61 Exiting Intel Boot Agent, and then the screen goes away and I get a message:
Non-system disk or disk error
replace and strike any key when ready, I am checking the hard drive connections right now but everything looks good, I have alot of trouble disconnecting the P3 cable which I believe is power, any advise on how to take it off? the other cable i removed it and put it back, there is no way no lock in place right?, because maybe I am putting it wrong, Also, the hadr drive is not even being detected in BIOS, Every other system information shows fine but no HARD DRIVE!!!! At least I do not see it, it probably went bad, any advise guys? thank you
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Sounds like its time to replace the HD
P3 is the power cable and it can sometimes be a tight fit. Either listen to or put your hand on top of the drive when you power on. If you don't hear/feel it spin up your first move is to unplug the P3 and use a different power connector. If there is still no sign of the drive spinning up you have a probable blown circuit board on the drive itself. All the data and software are still there. You would need an identical circuit board to make it work.
If you pull the drive out, run your finger tips over all the IC's looking for a bump in the middle of one. That's the culprit.
This sounds like 'hard drive failure'. There is the possiblity that it's not, but it's actually worse than the hard. I've had 2 Dell Inspirion 8600 laptops produce the same results in 2007. After doing my homework I discovered that this was common for this type of laptop. It only happens once the laptop is really warm. To prove that it was heat realated I actually put one in the freezer here at work. The one in the freezer started up. The other didn't.
I also have 2 Dell Inspirion 8500. The look generally the same, but neither one has given me any trouble to date.
I hope this helps.
If your new computer is extremely new, it may be using UEFI rather than the 'standard' BIOS. If this is the case, it may be that it won't allow Ubuntu to boot (although I am only basing this flicktarded statement on all the hullabaloo that I've seen online about the issue of 'SecureBoot' on the UEFI platform). If your new computer is using the 'standard' BIOS, then you should just make sure that all of the cables are connected and snug between the the mobo and the CD/DVD Drive and between the mobo and the HDD. After you've read this rubbish I've written, you'll probably find that Aqeel's answer is the correct one; go with that answer first because it's more than likely spot on.
How old is the hard drive? Sadly "it probably went bad."
You can ignore all the PXE stuff. Because it can't boot from the hard drive it's trying to "fall back" to booting from a network server, but unless you are in a big corporation setup for that it fails. The hard drive is the culprit here. Especially since BIOS "lost" it. Not a good sign. :(
Definately sounds like a dead Harddrive.
If there is really important data on the drive, there are ways to try and recover it, but it's often not that cheap. (only you can determine if the cost is worth recovering the data).
either way, would probably need to replace the HDD.