Boot probs...................

We have a Dell 2400 with XP home. 1 GB ram, 40 GB hd Dr (over half still unused). Here's the situation...........Lately it has periodically been making a kinda grinding noise. thought at first it was the power supply fan, but may be the Hd DR. The noise comes and goes. One other symptom....When booting up it sometimes shows the Dell logo and then the Window XP logo and the canned accompanying music plays and then the screen goes blank. Waiting doesn't help. Have to downpower (maybe several times), then the desktop opens normally. No prob as long as we don't downpower, However, the noise I describes comes and goes. What you think? Need more info? Just ask. Thanks in advance........

Jack

 

The hard drive is starting to die. It's a good thing you paid attention. Many people ignore the sounds of a dying hard drive thinking it's a fan or not a big deal, then one day, all their stuff is gone and the PC doesn't boot. I STRONGLY recommend that you back up anything you don't want to lose. DO IT NOW. Then run out and buy a new hard drive. The Dell Dimension 2400 uses IDE hard drives, and HD prices are really low right now. You should be able to get a new 250gb HD for under $80.00 at any PC store, even less on line.
Here's two:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148143