I'm getting "Primary Master Hard Disk Fail" Error

The system is a Dell 2350, Wind XP, Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 HD.
I had to do a restart because I just loaded a software. When restarting as it got to the point where you choose the user you want to get in as, it froze. I could not do anything for a while. I did Ctrl+Alt+Del and then had to turn it off manually. Upon starting it again it told me that a certain Kernell file was in error or missing. Had to manually start again. From this point on every time I start it I get "Primary Master Hard Disk Fail" It gives me the option of F2 for setup or F1 to continue. F1 does not get me anywhere, and ultimately I get back at the same spot.
-I have tried on a different cable, hoping that was it. I have tried every jumper position on the HD.
-I have tried a HD auto-detection but it does not detect it. However at the screen where I get the error it lists the HD as Maxtor N40P
-I have tried to boot from floppy (I made a diskette form bootdisk.com) and that does not work either.
I did some research on this HD and according to some similar symptoms have been experienced before by other users. (http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/maxtor-hard-disk-recovery.htm)
Everything seems to indicate that the HD is gone pretty much, unless one of you guys can help with any idea or previous experience you may have had.
I would like to connect this HD to my other computer as a primary slave to see if I can recover the data but I am worried if that could do something to the other comp.
Can I run some kind of diagnostics? Any idea?
Thank you!

 

I have an older Maxtor DiamondMax (8GB) that fails to initialize every once in a while, and reports itself as a Maxtor Millenium -- whatever that is. I've no idea why the Maxtors misidentify themselves under those circumstances.

In my case, it seems to have been a flaky cable connection -- removing and re-seating the cables attached to the drive seems to have made the problem go away. At least for the time being, anyway.

Does that mean you were unable to access the drive in any way after booting from the floppy?

If the drive is not recognized by the BIOS on boot-up, that would be what I would expect. If that's the case, you might try making sure that your BIOS has the appropriate settings for that drive, then booting from a floppy. I'm not optimistic, but I think it's worth a try.

I suspect you may be right -- but keep trying.

I doubt that you need worry. The other drive will be supplying the controller circuitry. That might allow you to access the drive if its controller circuitry is what's packed it in.

Maxtor has some diagnostics on its site -- or it used to. I haven't been there recently. It'd be worth a try -- especially if the drive is still under warranty.

 

Thanks Rob!

Unfortunately teh drive is not under warranty.
As for: "Does that mean you were unable to access the drive in any way after booting from the floppy?
If the drive is not recognized by the BIOS on boot-up, that would be what I would expect. If that's the case, you might try making sure that your BIOS has the appropriate settings for that drive, then booting from a floppy. I'm not optimistic, but I think it's worth a try."

I could not boot at all from floppy either. I get "Wind. could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware"
In the BIOS I have set up where Floppy is first then CD-ROM, and the HD.
Is that what you meant?
Thanks again!

 

Maxtor was crossed off my 'list' many years ago...too much failure. But that info isn't of much use to you now...lol. More problems with 'failing' than any other drive. BTW...sometimes Maxtor will replace the drive even if it's out of warranty. Give them a call.

Have you tried 'Spinrite' on it?
http://grc.com/spinrite.htm

Spinrite has gotten me through many a hd problem.

 

Stg, thanks! I do not have any previous experience with SpinRite. Is it easy to figure out and would it work although I can not boot at all?

 

Spinrite works on the machine level. It is copied over to a floppy or cd and runs from there. Very easy to use. It just reads the drive and will tell you what to do.

 

Sounds like your system was still trying to start Windows from the hard drive. What was on the floppy disk you used?

The idea of using a floppy (or CD-ROM) to boot from is to load an operating system that does not rely on the hard drive to provide any system files. This lets you start a system without access to the hard drive. A Windows 98 boot disk (Microsoft calls it a "Startup Disk") would be good (if the hard drive is not carrying a NTFS format) because it includes several utilities for setting up, accessing, and fixing a hard drive.

Download Maxtor's PowerMax utility here. Read and follow the directions on that page carefully. PowerMax creates a boot floppy with a proprietary operating system that doesn't get in the way of the diagnostics like Windows will. If that can't access the drive, it's probably toast.

 

if its not the cable, and your bios setup is good, id use it as slave, get what you want from it. and then get the hammer from the garage and smash it to pieces!


thats what i did when my old drive gave me a headache,

it really feels good, and highly recommended. then you can spend several hrs considering buying two raptors! and deciding instead to get one larger capacity drive for a fraction of the cost

happy smashing

 

I hate dell anything. I've got a much similar problem with my dell, except it works. The drive is a Seagate, but I'm anxious to get my better one again, before this one goes out completely.