OS has disappeared

[raj_head]

I was using my laptop (Fujitsu Siemens Amillo Pro) and for no apparent reason a black DOS like screen came up stating some fault which stupidly i did not read. After trying to reboot, i get the message the it can no longer find an OS (which was XP).

 

I can still enter the BIOS screen and boot menu (of which i have no CD) but nothing else. What the hell has happened? I had only recently done a thorough virus check that revealed nothing.

 

This is very worrying as my finals are in 2 weeks and all my work was on the laptop. Any help would be great. Thanks.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Hi Raj

 

Go into the bios and check that your primary hard drive is being detected, if not check that all cables are secure.

[raj_head]

Im in the bios screen but im afraid i have no idea what im looking for! Where would it say whether my hard drive is being detected?

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Here is an example of a post screen Raj where the main (primary hard drive) shows.

 

Tell me if you see that on boot up.

 

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z144/Wolfeymoles-Pics/FPCH%20files/post.jpg

[raj_head]

No nothing like that comes up. It displays the Fujitsu Siemens logo and options to enter BIOS or boot menu then straight to a black screen stating that there is no OS.

 

In bios, its says there is no IDE channel 1 master but there is IDE channel 2 master which is [PBDS DS-8A1P-(SM)] if that has any relavance at all?

[Guest Wolfeymole]

It sounds to me like your hard drive has died Raj.

 

Tap F8 on boot up to get into Safe Mode and tell me if you can get Last Known Good Configuration.

[raj_head]

That was my assumption also. What an absolute disaster. Tapping F8 doesnt seem to do anything im afraid. Can i enter safe mode through bios?

[Guest Wolfeymole]

I think we both agree on this.

Can you make sure that the hard drive is fully inserted if it's on a slide out.

[raj_head]

Gutted. Thanks very much for the help Wolfey. Will start the search for a new laptop...

[Guest Wolfeymole]

If you have a mate with a desktop pc then you could try slaving it with a laptop IDE converter.

 

There's no guarantees on being able to retrieve any files but it's always worth a shot.

 

If you hook it up correctly and it's still not seen then it's dead.