Hard Drive failure in Dell XPS M170

[Zerhyn]

1. Overview of the problem
   When attempting to book up WinXP on a Dell XPS M170 an error message is recieved. "Read failure on internal hard drive. No Bootable devices."
   
   This is my friends notebook and I am doing a little research about the problem but the situation appears to be fairly simple. One day he simply wasn't able to boot up his computer.
   
   The Error message suggests to either hit F1 to restart or F2 to go into setup. But when he attempts both of the options he is unable to resolve his issue. He also claims that he can sense that the Hard Drive attempts to start but the spindle doesn't actually continuing spinning.
   
   So I am going to assume that his hard drive is dead and that he should should just get a new hard drive. Is there anything that is likely to cause the Hard Drive to fail.
   
   He also would like to upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium if he gets a new hard drive (because he doesn't own a hard copy of WinXP). So I would assume that it would be wise for him to get additional RAM. The dell spec site claims that the max it can hold is 2GB.
   
   So I am going to recommend that he gets items similar to these:
   
   Vista Home Premium
   G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Laptop Memory Model F2-4200PHU2-2GBSA - Retail Link
   
   Western Digital Scorpio WD1600BEVE 160GB 5400 RPM ATA-6 Notebook Hard Drive - OEM Link
   
   Does this seem resonable?
   
   And before I order these and install them. Is there anything else I should check for that may be wrong with the laptop other than its Hard Drive?
   
   And is the ATA-6 the same as Ultra ATA?
   
2. My hardware
   • 
     I don't know the specifics of his setup but I am assuming it has to be similar to the setup that is described HERE.
     WinXP
     Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2.00GHz, 2MB Cache, 533MHz FSB)
     1 GB of 533MHz DDR2
     256MB NVIDIA® GeForceTM Go 6800
     80GB Ultra ATA hard drive

Thanks!

 

[robisbell]

okay, did some research, there are reports of the Hard Drive controller failing on that model of laptop. I'd hold off any upgrades till it's been 100% determined that the HDD is bad and not the motherboard. you'll need a external enclosure and adapter to hook up the HDD to a regular PC and run the HDD manufacturer diagnostics on the drive in question. if the drive passes, then the motherboard is at issue. I checked a motherboard alone will run from $250-500. a refurbished unit runs about $350-600 with 90 day warranty.

 

[Zerhyn]

That is the kind of thing I was looking for. Thank you for the information. Though it looks that is probably the least desired problem. Probably would be better if it was the HD problem. Oh well. Time to get to fiddling.

Thanks again for the information.

 

[Zerhyn]

He has also complained that the laptop runs extremely hot(which I also assume that is also common) but is there anything one can do to help with the heat managment other than those notebook docking stations?

Thanks.

 

[robisbell]

those laptops ran unusually hot and that's what lead to the motherboards failing in them. I'd focus on checking the HDD 1st before doing anything else, like I said, if the drive passes the diagnostics, then the laptop is shot. I hope he's got money aside for a replacement laptop.

 

[Billb2]

Sometimes. just sometimes, you can put a HD in a freezer for a few hours and then quickly reinstall it. Sometimes it will then work for 5-20 minutes. If it works, then you would know that everything else in the laptop is OK.

 

[jackschmittusa]

I'd also check with Dell to make sure they have Vista drivers before buying Vista.

You can buy an internal adapter kit for a few bucks to test the drive too. I've seen cheap external enclosures that can't seem to draw enough power from usb. The one I use on the bench is an external adapter that supports 2½" and 3½" ide drives and sata drives, and it has a powerbrick so it does not rely on usb power.

 

[Zerhyn]

It appears that Dell does offer drivers for Vista 32-bit .

But I will pick up an enclosure so I can test the drive later on today.

So if it is the motherboard, what can one do with a M170 that has a dead mother board?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Originally posted by: Zerhyn
It appears that Dell does offer drivers for Vista 32-bit .

But I will pick up an enclosure so I can test the drive later on today.

So if it is the motherboard, what can one do with a M170 that has a dead mother board?

I accept donations

 

[Zerhyn]

Ok. After putting the drive into a USB enclosure on a different machine with WINXP, the drive began to spin but made this distinct click/clack sound that reverberated throughout the entire drive. I assume this is not normal for a drive to do. It felt as if the drive was lopsided.

So I would now assume that the drive so far is indeed the cause for the laptop malfunction. The next step i would like to take is to go buy another drive from mwave.com and pickup and attempt to install XP Pro on the new hard drive.

 

[rasczak]

yes, it's dead. does the owner still have a warranty? you can probably go that route, or at the very least get a hdd and call dell for replacement recovery disks (for free hopefully) but at the very least not as expensive as paying for the oem.

 

[Zerhyn]

I'm not sure why I forgot to mention this but, the battery in the M170 had failed a while ago and he has been using AC since.

Do you think Dell would still send him a new battery along with a new hard drive? Though this could be rather difficult since he is not the original owner. He may still be able to get in contact with the original owner.

Though I should just ask him how much crap he wants to deal with.

 

[Zerhyn]

Wow. I entered the service tag on Dells webpage and it appears he has service till 2010.
It appears this is the way to go for this one. Not sure why I didn't look this up before.