So I am finally getting around to trying to fix my desktop computer. It works fine, but when it starts up it it says "Diskette drive 0 seek failure. Press F1 to continue, F2 to enter SETUP". This wouldn't be a problem except that I use this as a media PC and to monitor a reef controller (for my fish tank), so if it restarts, I want it to log right in and be back up and running. I don't want to baby sit it.

The computer is a Dell Dimension E521. It came with XP (I've got the disc), a Vista upgrade, and I've got Windows 7 which I intend to install in the end once I get this working correctly.

I've tried to get into the boot order and BIOS, but when I hit F2 at the screen to enter setup, it just restarts. On the first start up screen I try to enter F12 for boot menu, I hear a beep, then it just goes to the "Diskette drive 0 seek failure" screen essentially doing nothing.

I've tried to reinstall different operating systems to see if that some how affected it... no dice. I know the BIOS is associated with the hard drive, so it should have never disappeared, but for whatever reason I cannot access it to tell it that I don't have an 3.5" floppy drive.



Please Help!

5/8/2011 12:29:04 AM

are the drive cables plugged in snuggly? if you're able, try installing the drive into another PC and see if either 1) it boots as the primary drive or 2) is visible to an existing OS as a secondary drive. that'll help tell you whether the drive itself is bad or whether it's just a configuration issue

[Edited on May 8, 2011 at 12:36 AM. Reason : .]

5/8/2011 12:35:53 AM

so it's potentially an issue with the hard drive that prevents from entering BIOS setup or boot menu?

I don't have another desktop readily available, but I might be able to find something.

[Edited on May 8, 2011 at 12:41 AM. Reason : i can't spell good]

5/8/2011 12:40:29 AM

if not a physical mechanical problem with the drive, it could just be the boot record got corrupted

i had a very similar problem happen to me a few weeks ago. i was able to put the drive into an external drive bay, hook it up to my laptop via USB, and copy all the stuff on the drive to the laptop and eventually to a new drive. painful and time consuming, but if you have data on it you want to get off, it's worth a shot. if you don't care about the data, just go ahead and try to install win7 on it

[Edited on May 8, 2011 at 12:52 AM. Reason : .]

5/8/2011 12:50:14 AM

BIOS is not associated with the hard drive, but rather with the motherboard.

5/8/2011 1:19:54 AM

Quote :

"if not a physical mechanical problem with the drive, it could just be the boot record got corrupted i had a very similar problem happen to me a few weeks ago. i was able to put the drive into an external drive bay, hook it up to my laptop via USB, and copy all the stuff on the drive to the laptop and eventually to a new drive. painful and time consuming, but if you have data on it you want to get off, it's worth a shot. if you don't care about the data, just go ahead and try to install win7 on it"

that's no problem. I've tried to format and reinstall the OS 3 times, still have the same error. The problem lies in the BIOS I think.

Quote :

"BIOS is not associated with the hard drive, but rather with the motherboard."

that's what I was thinking... so how am I supposed to fix this? I have no idea why it won't load the boot menu or setup when starting up... really really annoying

5/8/2011 4:14:07 AM

You've pretty much worked it out as a bad BIOS. I would just get a new mobo and call it a day because there's not much else you can do.

5/8/2011 7:58:08 AM

bummer. so I'll either need to get a replacement dell mobo or just retire this computer

It's not my main desktop. I barely use it, I was just trying to get something that could show movies and music on my tv network. I'll have to look into this.

Any chance it's the battery on the mobo? I've heard something about BIOS not saving or loading due to a bad battery which saves the settings on the mobo. I have yet to crack it open and look inside yet.

5/8/2011 4:03:25 PM

Quote :

"I have yet to crack it open and look inside yet."

5/8/2011 4:47:14 PM

doesn't help if I don't know what's wrong with it or what to look for...

5/8/2011 5:28:04 PM

there are companies that will sell you a replacement EEPROM that already has your specific BIOS flashed to it

5/8/2011 5:42:45 PM

you could try ultimatebootcd.com

5/8/2011 6:26:25 PM

^^^look for a little battery compartment; it looks like a watch battery IIRC

5/8/2011 7:35:18 PM

yeah might be the BIOS' battery

5/8/2011 7:48:21 PM