Hard Drive "Fried or not"?

[zee3b]

Hey guys,
My little brother was using the other pc and a blue screen popped up so he shut it down, neva told me.
I checked the computer and it doesnt boot from hard drive. It just gets stuck on the dell window, I checked the setup utility and I only see cd-rom there next to Hard drive it says (not present)... I cleared the cmos battery still the same.
What do I do? Is the hard drive fried? (I hope not) or not( I WISH )
I tried putting a xp cd in and tried booting off the cd rom it said couldnt load some file.
it might be the cable or what not? any suggestions how to fix it?
Thanks.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Try replacing the data cable, use another PSU connector and perhaps attach it to different motherboard host adapter.

If you still can't get the BIOS to recognize it, try tossing it in another system if possible.

 

[gamerex]

Try to see if the cables are plugged in firmly too.

 

[raybay]

You might be able to recover the data by using an external 3.5" enclosure. Then attempt a reformat of the drive when all has been saved.