a computer i have been handed to fix for free (yay!) has what i believe to be a hard drive problem. sometimes i can turn it on and it will boot up just fine. other times it will say: "strike f1 to reboot, f2 for boot center". and if i leave the computer on for a while, it will suddenly beep and go to that screen. like all of the sudden it can't find an os.

is this a hard drive, heat, cable, etc. problem? or am i totally missing the mark and it needs a format? i don't think its the latter but i'm open to suggestions.

thanks

8/7/2005 11:10:58 PM

could be a ribbon cable wiggled loose(i've seen it repeatedly before) but more than likely it's crashing or lost too many clusters

try the cable, try a format, then try the trashcan

it's what I'd do anyway

8/7/2005 11:18:08 PM

might be a dead batt

8/7/2005 11:31:40 PM

more than likely crashing hard drive

8/7/2005 11:52:18 PM

maybe be a MB problem as well, check the SMART attributes on your HD and you should get a good start.

8/8/2005 12:20:10 AM

^true

8/8/2005 12:40:10 AM