Trying to reinstall Windows

[ladyjane]

First of all I know nothing about the inside of a computer. So having said that. My laptop Dell Latitude D640, Windows XP Professional, says I have no disk to boot off of. I changed the bios to boot off the CD I got for my Operating System. Once all the info was loaded, it said to hit R for recovery (do not have a recovery disk) or hit continue. I hit continue and it still tells me I have no disk. This computer was refurbished and worked for 4 months and then I got an error message that said A disk read error occured. I was told to get a reinstallation CD and use it. I changed the bios, everything is fine until I get ready to reboot. Nothing. What am I doing wrong. Is it time to call in the calvary or throw it out. I hate it because not having the money to spend on a new one, I purchased a refurbished on. Please help me. Thanks,

I just got done reinstalling from the disk and when I hit enter it says Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. Now what does that mean and how can I fix it. Thank you.

 

[mailpup]

I hope you mean Latitude C640. I couldn't find any info on a D640. Anyway, it appears that you have an EIDE hard drive and as such the Windows reinstallation should have worked. It sounds like the hard drive has failed.

 

[ladyjane]

Reply to Re-Install

Yes sorry it is a C640. So how do I fix the hard drive.

 

[mailpup]

You generally don't fix hard drives, you replace them. Once the new drive is in place, let Setup format the drive and then install Windows.

 

[ladyjane]

How much do they cost - I have already spent $232.50 for the laptop 3 months ago and another $13 for the reinstall disk.

 

[mailpup]

It depends on the capacity of the drive. Generally they aren't too expensive. Check Newegg for examples of what's available. Even if you don't live in the USA or Canada, Newegg is a good place to check out examples.

Make sure you don't buy a SATA hard drive as that is incompatible with your laptop. Look at the ATA-6 models.

 

[captaincranky]

Here's the Newegg search page for ATA-6 Laptop Hard Drives; http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150380 1035907889&name=ATA-6

This so you can get a feel for type, price, capacity, and manufacturers.

 

[ladyjane]

Thanks - I live in Michigan. Maybe I'll sell it for parts instead.

 

[captaincranky]

Best Buy is selling a Toshiba L-305 laptop for @299.99! it is granted a single core Celeron. But 300 bucks, hey! Walmart is supposed to begin a hawking laptop which is a step up from the L305, for $348.00. It;s still the same Celeron 900, but there is a bigger screen, with higher resolution, and other goodies.

Link to the Walmart blurb here; https://www.techspot.com/news/35820-walmart-to-sell-17-toshiba-notebook-for-348.html

The Best Buy model is on sale this week. @$300.00. It comes and goes from the sale ad.

I bought one of these, and I really like it. That said, since it's the only laptop I've ever owned, I may not know any better.

 

[strategic]

IMHO, I would buy a new HDD for $40-$50 and keep using it. That will give you time to shop around for a new one, which you won't need for quite a while...

 

[ladyjane]

But then I would have to pay someone to put it in which would cost extra $$$ that I don't have. I have already spent $250.

 

[strategic]

I see your point.
Be careful with your old HDD though, if you have anything confidential on it, someone, somehow can retrieve the info from it.

 

[ladyjane]

Thanks for the heads up.