PC Problem?

Azumangaman

Azumangaman

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Hey guys,

Ive been wondering about an issue thats been going on with my computer for a while. I have a DELL XPS 600 by the way.

When I boot up, I get a notification that says:
"SATA Drive 1-Not Found" or something along these lines. I'm pretty sure thats what it says.
I think this could be a factor as to why my computer takes SO long to startup. I really am not very knowledgeable in computer hardware or anything so I'd love it if you guys can help.

Thanks,
Azumangaman
 
I looked up your specs and the only thing connected by SATA is the hard drive. Did you install any other dvd drives or hard drives?

It does read your hard drive as being there though, right?
 
Well all my info comes up when I boot up the computer.
But when I boot up, it tells me my drive isn't found. I have no idea what that means though.
Nope I've never installed other drives.
 
When you boot the computer hit F2 at the very first screen (to enter setup ... normally the key for dells) Find the boot options, I believe dell has it in it's own section actually, and set it to fast boot if it isn't. Search around if you have to ... it's hard to change settings without knowing so don't worry.

We'll go from there :D
 
Is it a new drive? In my experience Dell and IBM boards are very particular about what brand of drives they will accept. Certain brands will play the "hide and seek" game with motherboard BIOS.
 
[quote name='Azumangaman']Well all my info comes up when I boot up the computer.
But when I boot up, it tells me my drive isn't found. I have no idea what that means though.
Nope I've never installed other drives.[/quote]


Open up your pc, try reconnecting your hard drive SATA to another SATA.

It should have 4 satas, maybe 2.
 
Its already set to fast boot. My brother and dad both have the exact same computer (well mines a year newer than theirs circa 2006) and their bootup takes 1-2 minutes and mine takes a solid 10 minutes before I can do anything...

My RAM is 1 gig and runs at 533mhz... Is that why it goes slowly? My harddrive is around the 350 GIG..

Also, how do I change my SATA drive location? Do I have to do it by LITERALLY opening the computer and moving the drive? There's no way I can do that without pics. If you could walk me through it, Id really appreciate it!
 
you just have to change where the cable is plugged if you open up your machine and follow the cords one will lead to a powersupply the other will lead to a small port on your motherboard... there should be about 4 ports all in a line that all look like the one your HD is plugged into... unplug it and pick one of the other ones.

also does your HD make any squeeling noises or the like while spinning?
 
So I opened it up and wow I have no idea what anything is. I think I see my hardrive and its labelled HDD 0. I also see a label that say HDD 1 which isn't plugged into anything! Do I switch the 0 and 1 cables?
 
[quote name='Azumangaman']So I opened it up and wow I have no idea what anything is. I think I see my hardrive and its labelled HDD 0. I also see a label that say HDD 1 which isn't plugged into anything! Do I switch the 0 and 1 cables?[/quote]

http://www.hardwarezone.com/img/data/articles/2007/2212/gb-p35-ds3p.jpg

the three yellow plugs, bottom left above the green thing, those are where you harddrive should be plugged into, plugs that appear similar to that.

simply unplug the 1 cord thats there and move it to another.
 
[quote name='Azumangaman']My motherboard looks absolutely NOTHING like that. There is no colour anywhere! Is there a picture of a Dell XPS 600 motherboard?[/quote]

can you take a picture and post it?

your harddrive, should have two plugs going into it. Just two, follow them where they lead.

one should lead you to your powersupply (which is where you have your plug from the wall into) and the other should lead to the motherboard plug.

there *should* be another plug similar to what its plugged into, just move it over.
 
Picture is a no go, because my camera is broken. I wouldn't be able to upload the image anyway. I'm communicating through my iPod.
So there is a blue cord and a red cord. I haven't looked at the red one yet, but the blue one connects to the motherboard and there are for black inputs in a little square to the bottom right. Of the 4 squares it was plugged into the bottom right. I moved it to the top left...
 
[quote name='Azumangaman']Picture is a no go, because my camera is broken. I wouldn't be able to upload the image anyway. I'm communicating through my iPod.
So there is a blue cord and a red cord. I haven't looked at the red one yet, but the blue one connects to the motherboard and there are for black inputs in a little square to the bottom right. Of the 4 squares it was plugged into the bottom right. I moved it to the top left...[/quote]

in your BIOS, there should be a setting specifically made for your harddrive,

perform the diagonostic on your harddrive, to see if it reports any errors.
 
I think you need to grab the Dell owner's manual/hardware guide from their support site. It's misery trying to diagnose computer problems without some type of guides or schematics.
 
There should be two cables coming from the hard drive. One that looks like this

http://www.acscontrol.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/311_18inchSataCableRed.jpg

Which is the sata cable. This plugs directly into your motherboard. Unplug and plug it into another sata slot.

The other should look like this (sata power connector)

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/17-139-001-09.jpg

Or like this

http://atechfabrication.com/images/htpc/products/SATA_Cable_power_splitter.jpg

make sure that these are plugged in properly. The power connector runs to the power supply while the sata cable goes directly to the hard drive.
 
Ok, so what I did was turn on all SATA slots. (0,1,2,3) Then I got a notification that (0,1,3) couldn't be found. SO then I turned those off and left 2 on and it seemed to work. Thank you guys, changing the SATA location helped!

So now I'm on to a new issue of making my computer run faster. It just seems, really slow. I don't think I have a virus. My AVG and Macafee are always scanning automatically.

I'll let you guys know if the Drive problem comes back.

So if you guys can help me speed up my computer (fast boot is ON) let me know.
Thanks,
Azumangaman
 
[quote name='Azumangaman']Ok, so what I did was turn on all SATA slots. (0,1,2,3) Then I got a notification that (0,1,3) couldn't be found. SO then I turned those off and left 2 on and it seemed to work. Thank you guys, changing the SATA location helped!

So now I'm on to a new issue of making my computer run faster. It just seems, really slow. I don't think I have a virus. My AVG and Macafee are always scanning automatically.

I'll let you guys know if the Drive problem comes back.

So if you guys can help me speed up my computer (fast boot is ON) let me know.
Thanks,
Azumangaman[/quote]

mcaffee sucks, thats what probably is slowing down your computer.
but, the fact that they are scanning can seriously slow down your computer.

Try downloading adaware, and spybot search and destroy.

Also, right click on my computer go to properties and disk cleanup.

Delete temporary internet files...and a few more, just pick which you want cleaned up.

Afterwards, defragment your harddrive, this can take a long time so be prepared for it, if you dont keep up with it it can take anywhere from 6 - 16 hours.

Generally though, it usually takes me 2 or 3 but I do it pretty often.


Hope this helps.
 
Do you think I should just get rid of it? It did cost $$ money I think it is expiring soon. Think its also a good move to get rid of AVG? I already have Spybot and Adaware.
 
First boot your PC up in Safe Mode. To do that, just restart your computer and hammer F8 while the computer is booting up. You'll get an option menu that allows you to boot into several different modes, one of which is Safe Mode.

(I'm not sure that's necessary for everyone, but since any disk activity interrupts the defrag process, it's just easier in my experience.)

Next go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter

Select your drive and start the defrag process. It will take several hours, so be prepared for that. It's a good idea to delete/uninstall whatever you need to before this whole process.
 
Wait...you have 3 dead SATA sockets??? Dude, I would worry about diagnosing that first. Again, hop on Dell's support site and see if there are common problems with your motherboard. Also check to see if they have a BIOS reflash, that may solve your problem. You could also check for a "reset to optimized/failsafe defaults" command in your BIOS.
 
[quote name='TwistedBishop']Have you noticed a lot of crashing or BSoD errors?[/quote]
Nope, never.

My computer is now running at perfect speed with the removal of AVG/McAfee. I have adaware and Spybot, so its all good.

And yeah, I'm really concerned about this SATA nonsense (even though I don't really know what they are).
 
[quote name='Azumangaman']Nope, never.

My computer is now running at perfect speed with the removal of AVG/McAfee. I have adaware and Spybot, so its all good.

And yeah, I'm really concerned about this SATA nonsense (even though I don't really know what they are).[/quote]


Redownload AVG, you need at least one virus scanner, spybot and adaware are just spyware removal.
 
[quote name='Richard Longfellow']Wait...you have 3 dead SATA sockets??? Dude, I would worry about diagnosing that first. Again, hop on Dell's support site and see if there are common problems with your motherboard. Also check to see if they have a BIOS reflash, that may solve your problem. You could also check for a "reset to optimized/failsafe defaults" command in your BIOS.[/quote]

He doesn't have three dead SATA ports, he just only has one harddrive. The BIOS is stating that it could not find drives on the other ports because they do not exist. This is just how certain versions of the DELL BIOS work. All he needs to do is disable them in the BIOS and it will be fine.

My only real concern would be the FAN2 error. Make sure that when you have the computer powered on that all fans are indeed spinning. Again, this may also be another situation in which your computer does not have as many case fans as are allowed on the motherboard, but it doesn't hurt to check. Also, make sure that when you are opening your case, that you touch a metal part of it to discharge any static electricity. If you were to accidentally zap the computer, you can damage the components. Also make sure and wear shoes if you have 70's shag carpet.

On a side note for the original poster, I would try a virus program called NOD32. It is really big in enterprise and hardcore computer enthusiast circles as the best detection with the least resources used. I have been running it for the past 2 years on three computers and have nothing but praise for the program.

-Noise
 
The Fan 2 error only appeared once, I opened the computer again and then closed it and the alert went away. It actually seems a lot quieter now.
I'll try the NOD32 program.
 
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