Press TAB to POST or DEL to enter SETUP can anyone tell me what this means?

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by Rurouni Kenshin, May 8, 2006.

  1. Rurouni Kenshin

    Rurouni Kenshin Master Guru

    Messages:
    228
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    evga 6800GT AGP 256MB @416/1179
    Ok yesterday a friend called me because as soon as he would restart his PC he would get this message "Press TAB to POST or DEL to enter SETUP" i went to check it out and when i would press TAB, post would start but it would like stop half way without giving any info or listing of devices. When i would press DEL, well i got into BIOS and from what i saw, the hard drive was not listed in the bios.

    I took out the hard drive and tested it in 1 of my computers and windows would not load on this one either. So my question has the hard drive crashed? or is there something else i could try? i didnt try resetting the BIOS but now that ive tested the hard drive on a different machine, im thinking it has crashed. Anyone got any ideas or suggestions?
     
  2. Pat the Cat

    Pat the Cat Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,107
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    nVidia 6800 Ultra 425/1120
    If BIOS can't see a hard drive at all, it's very sick indeed and is probably beyond hope.

    One dodge is to enter Bios, the press the ENTER key next to "Primary Master". Press it again. If the Cylinders, heads and sector figures appear, the drive is OK but the data is mashed up.

    If they don't appear... so long drive. Electronics are shot on it, would take a professional data recovery company to get the data back off it.
     
  3. llerenaprincipe

    llerenaprincipe Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    7,491
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    DIAMOND X1950XTX 512MB, 650/2000Mhz
    yeah ^^^ i agree
    one hd died on my a while ago, its sad i know
    but did the BIOS recognized it on the other computer??
    then its still there but, its gone
     
  4. Rurouni Kenshin

    Rurouni Kenshin Master Guru

    Messages:
    228
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    evga 6800GT AGP 256MB @416/1179
    I did some more research on this and check the computer again and the Hard drive works. what seems to be the problem is the BIOS itself. i got the windows to load and was working fine for a little while and then it started giving me the same problem again. Then, i removed the CMOS battery and when i put it back on place i noticed that it was a bit loose. i tryed to make it a littler tighter and the computer started to load. So it seems that the BIOS battery is whats causing this issue and gives the error.
     

  5. Pat the Cat

    Pat the Cat Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,107
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    nVidia 6800 Ultra 425/1120
    Nicely diagnosed sir!

    Yeah, battery is there to give a tiny bit of juice so CMOS settings can be remembered - no battery, you get CMOS problems.
     

Share This Page