A disk read error occurred

I have a hp compaq nx7400 with Windows XP installed. I put a new hd in shortly after new years and everything has been working fine. Recently while in use the machine shut down and when it rebooted it said "a disk read error occurred press ctrl+alt+Del to restart". I can't get to where it tries to boot Windows to try safe mode--message appears right after post. I've tried several things in the recovery console from CD: fixboot, chkdsk, fixmbr, bootcfg and also did check hdd and test memory from the bios. All checks run fine without errors, but still wont boot. I also ran through the "Repairing Windows XP in Eight Commands" (http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp/).
I was able to put the hd into an enclosure and work with it on another computer (backup some files, etc).
Any other ideas for me? I don't think the drive is actually bad, but seems to be a problem with finding XP or something...
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

you might check to make sure there's not a floppy in the drive...this will give an access error too...but if not I'd say your hdd is toast...

 

no floppy drive even on the machine, but if the drive were bad I shouldn't be able to access it from another computer, right?

 

So when you have the HD connected to the laptop and run Recovery Console off CD it sees the Windows installation and lets you sign into it to run commands such as fixboot and fixmbr?

 

Looking over your issue led me on an epic google-hunt, which led me to this. Further on towards the bottom are some interesting theories as to why this error occurs so much. On the bright side, your HDD is probably okay. Good Luck! :major

 

I had seen that post as well. One thing it didn't mention was try booting to your laptop without the HD connected. Then boot again with it connected. (This would force BIOS to re-recognize the drive. Not sure it will make any difference but it can't hurt.)

 

that's a good idea, sometimes the user doing it through BIOS just doesn't cut it. Bet if you disconnect for 5 minutes or so it trips something.

 

Sorry for not posting sooner, emails weren't coming through correctly, so I didn't think there had been any more action on this thread. I'm trying some of the things in the post, but so far, no go. Yes, Recovery console can see the Windows partition/log in, etc, so I know it is there. And I would think this would eliminate problems like the cable being bad, etc. As a side note this machine did have "water damage" which is why the old drive was switched out in January, but since it has been running fine until now, I wouldn't think that would be the issue--especially since things seem fine in the recovery console. Am I wrong on this?
I also tried booting without the drive, but no change.

Here's what I haven't tried yet:
5. Changing the drives from cable select to Master/Slave may fix it. (have to lookup hd specs)
6. Replacing the data cable may fix it, but usually not. (don't have extra)
8. Changing the BIOS drive settings from auto to user-specified, ensuring that LBA is selected may fix it. (HP has an odd bios on this...not sure where to specify this--I did try the restore defaults)
9. Pulling the CMOS battery to let the BIOS lose it settings may work. (need to look up manual to find which case panels to remove, etc)

I'm wondering if I just backup data and try to reinstall Windows (are over the top ones allowed anymore??) The drive was just installed in January, and there are not many programs installed, so it wouldn't take much to start it again.

Thanks again for the help and any additional help yet to come.
Natalie

 

The reinstall will work, and if its the simplest solution then by means go for it. Might wanna find a tool that does a deep level format, might help hold off a re-occurrence. sach2 mentioned one on another thread, I'll have to try and dig it up.

 

I just fixed/found the solution for a friends compaq nx7400 which did this. Upgraded the bios and the problem completely went away. I tried everything in this column before that. I think depending on the drive and computer this same error can show up under different situations. I've seen it before on lenovo laptop when I worked in IT and chkdsk /f would fix it...but it didn't work on this one.