Re: Deskpro EN Hard Drive Problem I am stumped.

wrote:
> I have a Compaq Desktop model Deskpro EN that I hardly ever use. It sits
> running. I only have one visual basic billing program that I
> periodically use. This morning I went to boot it and got an error
> message that the file windows 2000 root\system32\ntoskrnl.exe was
> corrupted and needed to be reinstalled. I booted off of the Win2K CD and
> tried to repair the disk with no luck. I believe and I/O error message
> accompanied this. So i decided to take the pc apart to clean out all
> dust, make sure all cables are seated, no dust in the contacts, etc and
> then went to reboot. Well now, I get no image on the monitor and the CD
> sounds like it is spinning up and getting warm but all I get is 2 beeps.
> I have retraced my steps, thinking that I reassembled the cables
> incorrectly but I do not think so. I am not sure. There is a separate
> cable going to the HD, the CDR and the floppy drive. is this correct.
> Then each gets power and the CDR gets some smaller connectors. i am
> stumped. I am more of a Mac person so I do not really understand how PCs
> go together as well. I do know that the cable that goes from the board
> to the floppy is of a unique size and cannot have been switched by
> accident. That leaves the CDR and Hard Drive. If anyone can figure out
> what I may have screwed up, please let me know. BTW, I had a couple of
> spare HD lying around and tried both of them with the same 2 beeps. I
> just need to get it running so I can contact Western Digital and see
> where I go from here. Please help if you can.

First, the beeps are a sign that something is causing the computer not
to boot up, and not even to display anything on screen. I would guess
that possibly a memory module is not seated properly in its socket.

Second, the root\system32\ntoskrnl.exe corrupted is most often a sign of
something seriously wrong with the hard drive HARDWARE. A software
oriented repair procedure won't ever fix it. If and when the computer
is alive and well again (as well as can be expected!), you need to run
diagnostics on the hard drive. All the drive manufacturers have free
diagnotic software that tests the hard drive and often attempts to
repair bad data sectors on the drive by replacing them with spare
sectors. Once the drive is "repaired" (and it should be considered a
very temporary repair!), you can then do a Windows repair and perhaps
get the system to boot up and run. If you can do all that, then either
replace the hard drive or replace the computer... Ben Myers

wrote:
> In article <h9hif3$8vd$>,
> Ben Myers <> wrote:
>>
>> Second, the root\system32\ntoskrnl.exe corrupted is most often a sign of
>> something seriously wrong with the hard drive HARDWARE. A software
>> oriented repair procedure won't ever fix it. If and when the computer
>> is alive and well again (as well as can be expected!), you need to run
>> diagnostics on the hard drive. All the drive manufacturers have free
>> diagnotic software that tests the hard drive and often attempts to
>> repair bad data sectors on the drive by replacing them with spare
>> sectors. Once the drive is "repaired" (and it should be considered a
>> very temporary repair!), you can then do a Windows repair and perhaps
>> get the system to boot up and run. If you can do all that, then either
>> replace the hard drive or replace the computer... Ben Myers
>
> I removed and reseated the memory and still get the beeps and no video.

2 short beeps on Compaq BIOS indicate any error not covered by another
beep code. 1 short, 1 long indicates a BIOS checksum error, which can be
caused by a dead RTC battery or a corrupted BIOS ROM.

There's a list of beep codes here:-

http://bioscentral.com/beepcodes/compaqbeep.htm

If you've got no video output at all, then it's possible the video card
isn't fully seated in its slot, or if the video is on the motherboard,
the cable to the video output isn't quite making a connection or the
motherboard is effectively dead. It is quite easy to disturb the card
while you're cleaning the interior.

If you can remember what the error code was last time it tried to boot,
then this list *may* help narrow it down:-

http://bioscentral.com/postcodes/compaqbios.htm

You may well be able to recover your data by mounting the HD in a USB
mount and using another computer.

--
Tciao for Now!

JOhn.