Having fun yet ?...Fatal error...NEED help...

Dear Person….

I haven't been here in ages because my computer was working marvelous !!!!
Until recently…
I must fess up that I went to another website….
I'm not getting the help I need over "there" so I decided to come back "home" here….
Now for my problem with my computer….

Here is most of what I posted elsewhere;=>…

Dear Person;…

My computer has been acting strange for the last week or so…
First I was getting some white pages where the website would not load up…
Then I was starting to get a message that said the webpage could not be found…
Downhill on a greased sled from there….
When I went to a forum to help someone with their TV problem , the "reply box" vanished…
The outline was there but I had no curser…
Also the smiley icons were gone….
Then offline I went to use my "search box" & the "text box" where you type in the item you are searching for was GONE…
To try to fix this I restored the computer to an earlier date (1 week ago)
NO help…
I also used Erunt & NO help there…
Last night I noticed that some of my desktop icons changed appearance….
I ran full system scans for trojans , viruses etc , using MBAM , SpyBot & Avast…Also some legit online scans…
Every scan came up clean , NO infections…
Today I thought I'd try booting up to "Last known good Configuration"…
Immediately after it attempted to boot up I got "Fatal System Error" "c000021a"
With 0x00000080 (0x00000000 0x00000000) "System Shut Down" immediately after it…
I have NOT been able to reboot in safe or ANY other mode…
I tried a system repair with a certified authentic Windows CD & it will not complete the setup…
F2 & F12 ARE working but I still can not boot up…
My computer is a Dell GX280 SFF with Win XP Pro SP3…
It is currently a large paperweight taking up a LOT of nonproductive space on my table…
ANY & ALL help that works & I'll see if I can get you a "Gate Pass" at St Peter's Gates…
THANK you VERRRY much for your anticipated help….

Since then , the new developments are;=>…
The Hard Drive is suspected bad…
NOT proved yet…
SO…
I was advised to get "UBCD" & give that a shot….
Well , I'm about to unload my .38 into it….
Looks VERY complicated to convert etc….
In the meantime;=>…
Dell has some "F" button you push during start-up & it alledgedly sends the computer into a self diagnosis mode..
Any idea how that goes ???
And;=>….
I have a WORKING Gateway computer about the same age as the Dell GX280…
I was thinking of swapping the hard drives & see what happens…|
Problem is… I can't figure out how to open up the Gateway…
There are 2 large silver screws on the back when removed appear to be of no help…
It appears to be the same age (2003) as the Dell (2005) , so I hope I can just switch them…
I'm hoping that they both have SATA Hard Drives…
I can take a pix & post a link or give you a model number if that would be of any help…

In summary…
IF the "F" button would work , it might shed some light on the problem…
IF the Gateway has a SATA Hard Drive & I get help to open the thing up , I'll switch the Drives & see what happens there…
So what I NEED to know at this point is which "F" button do I push at start-up & how do I get the cover off the Gateway ????


MANY,MANY,MANY THANKS for your anticipated help….

Have a GREAT day & week….


Later…Ron.M…. …

Hi Ron. It's been awhile and that's good!

Take a look here: Troubleshooting Tools and Utilities . It tells you how to run the built in diagnostics.

From your description, I also suspect the hard drive.

You may want to Run manufacturers hard drive diagnostic tool, Windows XP, Vista and 7

Hi Ron.M, Nice to see you, though I wish it was better circumstances for you. It appears that Ztruker has you on track for diagnostics. Best Regards, Doug

Ron.M

Your statement:

I must fess up that I went to another website because I was asked to donate because I had over 300 posts & not donated…

This is very troubling to me.
We are a volunteer community dedicated to enjoying the activity of offering our knowledge and skills without expectation of compensation.
If someone approached you with the expectation of "donation", they were in error and wrongly representing the policy and intentions of WTT.

Please accept my apology which I extend in behalf of WTT Forums and our wonderful volunteers.

Best Regards,

Doug

Ztruker; …

GREAT to see you are STILL alive & kicking…
Went to the Dell link….
EXCELLENT info…THANKS !!!!
Will try it & let you know what happens…
This link , however is defective;=>…
"Run manufacturers hard drive diagnostic tool, Windows XP, Vista and 7"
Click on it & you get;…"""Sorry, the link that brought you to this page seems to be out of date or broken."""

Doug;…
As I said in the PM ""GOOD to see you are STILL with us… . ..
NO apology needed….
We will handle the "donation" thing privately in PMs…


Ztruker,Doug or anyone…

What would be a big help is if I can get into the Gateway computer without using a sledge hammer or crowbar to remove
& try the Hard drive in the Dell (IF it's a SATA Drive)…
Anyone know the secret code (Open Sesame) to get into it ???
Again , I can provide pix &/or model numbers…
THANK you VERY much for your help…

Have a GREAT day & week…

Later…Ron.M…. …

Ztruker; …

GREAT to see you are STILL alive & kicking…
Went to the Dell link….
EXCELLENT info…THANKS !!!!
Will try it & let you know what happens…
This link , however is defective;=>…
"Run manufacturers hard drive diagnostic tool, Windows XP, Vista and 7"
Click on it & you get;…"""Sorry, the link that brought you to this page seems to be out of date or broken."""

Doug;…
As I said in the PM ""GOOD to see you are STILL with us… . ..
NO apology needed….
We will handle the "donation" thing privately in PMs…


Ztruker,Doug or anyone…

What would be a big help is if I can get into the Gateway computer without using a sledge hammer or crowbar to remove
& try the Hard drive in the Dell (IF it's a SATA Drive)…
Anyone know the secret code (Open Sesame) to get into it ???
Again , I can provide pix &/or model numbers…
THANK you VERY much for your help…

Have a GREAT day & week…

Later…Ron.M…. …

Hiya Ron.M and back good to see you here.

If possible can you give the model number of the gateway so I can try and find the info for you of how to open up the case.

Jimbo1

Jimbo1;…

Thank you VERRRY much for your lightning fast reply….
The model number is;….MFATXNIN ES2 300X….
It was made in 4/09/03…
This unit has curved sides from front to back (across the front being narrower than the back) & not
curved down on the sides as others are…
An unusual body style…
It's really a nice computer tho…(So far)….
If you want pix , just ask…
Allow some time for me to take them , upload them to imageshack & post them here…
Be glad to do it…

THANK you again….


Later…Ron.M….. …

Thanks Ron.M,

Here is a link that may help you open up the case, let us know if this did the trick or not.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi…09091436AA4QVTG or these 2 below:

http://support.gateway.com/s/CASES/3501241…1241faq24.shtml

http://support.gateway.com/support/allsyst…p?sn=0027784777

Jimbo1

Jimbo1;….


THANK YOU ,THANK YOU,THANK YOU !!!!

You da man !!!!
Obviously GOOD news here but some bad news also…
GOOD news;…
The cover has a hidden latch..
Got it off OK…(The cover !!)

BAD news…
The Hard Drive is IDE..
So after all of that , I can not sub the Hard Drive as I hoped….

MANY,MANY THANKS again ,Jimbo1….
You have a GREAT day & weekend…


Later…Ron.M…. …

Ron,my mistake. he link I gave you is to a private area of WTT where we keep our stuff. Here is what I should have given you.

Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
HD Diagnostic

OK Folks:…

New info…..

I used the F12 button info that I got from a link graciously provided by Ztruker & got into
the Hard Drive Diagnostics & ran it…

When it completed here is what it posted;=>….

Hard Drive Diagnostics (Results)
Drive 0; ST340014AS-Passed
Drive 1; No device
Drive 2; HL-DT-ST GCR 8240N
Diagnostics not supported
Drive 3; No device

I'm not sure what that means….
Methinks that Drive #2 is my Hard Drive & I'm not sure if the Hard Drive
will not work with the diagnostic program or if there is no
diagnostic system in my computer…

HEEELLLPPP!!!!….

Any definitive info there ,enough to make a conclusion ???


The UBCD is going to be a nightmare for me to image on a CD & run it…


THANK YOU….. ….


Later…Ron.M….. …

Drive 0; ST340014AS-Passed <– is most likely a Seagate SATA Hard Drive and is probably your C:\ Drive 2; HL-DT-ST GCR 8240N <– is most likely your optical drive (CD/DVD) and would not be expected to be diagnosed

Doug;….

Technical screw-up…
PLEASE see full post below….
THANK you….


Later…Ron.M….

Doug;….

You are 100% correct…THANKS…
That was the good news….
Bad news is ????
IF the Hard Drive passed the Dell Diagnostic test , that means it IS OK , right ????
If so , then what is the problem ??…..
Here we go again !!!!
Nutin's simple anymore !!!….
I have a ginormous UBCD iso file (301 MBs) that needs to be converted to an image CD…
You think I can get lucky with that & find the problem ???
Or do you have other more practical ideas ????
I'm listening….


Ztruker;…

Thanks for the "new" link…
I went there & downloaded "SeaTools for DOS (ISO CD-ROM Image)"….
Is that the right one ???
If so , I will convert that to a image iso CD as it seems to be explicitly for my Hard Drive…
OR is it already an iso image ???
And it's a LOT smaller file…
The UBCD file is a ginormous 301 MBs !!!!
This one is about 8.5 MBs..

I will decide which way I'm going after I hear back….




Later…Ron.M…. ….

Ron, it's already an iso image: SeaToolsDOS223ALL.ISO

I use ImgBurn for all work with iso files. It's easy to use and has never failed me. I always burn at 4X speed (or as low a speed as the drive supports) as that seems to be much more successful that at higher speeds. Takes longer but the end result is worth the extra time.