«

C400 Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 not found
BIOS vA06 displays Primary HArd Drive: as none.

We have a Latitude C400, IBM Travelstar model - ic25n020atcs04-0 HDD,W2K
Pro, that displays the following error message after attempting to boot:
Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 not found.

Is there anything short of replacing the HDD to isolate the problem, eg is a
controller, hdd servo, etc. Tomorrow someone is going to bring in their C400
notebook. If I can't get the unbootable HDD to boot in the other notebook
we'll need a data recovery service. The owner is desparate to recover a file
from the drive. Any recommendations for a data recovery service?

Thanks,
Mike

"Mike" <> wrote in news:cQyZe.2538$211.68@trnddc08:

> C400 Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 not found
> BIOS vA06 displays Primary HArd Drive: as none.
>
> We have a Latitude C400, IBM Travelstar model - ic25n020atcs04-0
> HDD,W2K Pro, that displays the following error message after
> attempting to boot:
> Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 not found.
>
> Is there anything short of replacing the HDD to isolate the problem,
> eg is a controller, hdd servo, etc. Tomorrow someone is going to bring
> in their C400 notebook. If I can't get the unbootable HDD to boot in
> the other notebook we'll need a data recovery service. The owner is
> desparate to recover a file from the drive. Any recommendations for a
> data recovery service?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
>
>

I've seen a number of IBM Travelstars that do this (Not a TREMENDOUS
number, but more than there ought to be). In most cases, there's nothing
really wrong with the drive but the laptop just doesn't see it. Happens
on IBM thinkpads too. I've used several solutions, depending on the
exact circumstance:

1) Disconnect the power, pull out the main battery AND the backup
battery, let it sit for a couple hours (or overnight), then put it all
back together. This has particularly worked for me on CPx models.


2) Get a 2-1/2" to 3-1/2" adapter (available from CompUsa, etc.) and
install it as a second drive in a desktop. Then you can either use the
desktop to read your critical data files, or do further testing such as
#3, #4, and #5


3) Download the "Drive Feature Tool" from Hitachi (Who now owns the IBM
travelstar line), and verify that the ATA speed hasn't somehow gotten
set to a speed the C600 can't handle.

4) Download the "Drive Fitness Test" from Hitachi, and do a 'Quick
Test" to verify that the drive itself is physically good.

5) There is a Data Recovery tool built into the Drive Fitness Test, in
case there really IS a problem with the drive. For me, it has worked
maybe 75% of the time, recovering the drive for at least long enough to
boot and save critical data. If you have to go this far, consider it a
temporary fix, just long ebough to grab the data, and then discard the
drive afterwards.


If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, any reasonably
competent PC Shop should be able to do it. I doubt you'd really need a
specialized "Data Recovery Service".

(Or if you're in the Portland Oregon area, I can do it)

- FM -

Fred Mau <fred-dot-> wrote in
news:Xns96DC64EAFF05Bfreddotmaucomcastnet@216.196. 97.131:

> 2) Get a 2-1/2" to 3-1/2" adapter (available from CompUsa, etc.) and
> install it as a second drive in a desktop. Then you can either use the
> desktop to read your critical data files, or do further testing such


Oh, one more option would be to try to read it from an external USB
enclosure from a known good machine. sometimes the firmware in the USB
enclosure will recognize the travelstars when the laptop itself won't.

This may work for merely reading the data and copying it. But I don't think
you can use the DFT utilities I mentioned via USB.

- FM -

hello Mike,

my sugestion would be:

http://www.aurora.se/dell-data-recovery.htm

Aurora Data Recovery is recomended by Dell themselves, have just over
20 years in the advanced data recovery and data reconstruction business
and ( as you can see by the date ) Aurora have a 7 days a week service
for urgent cases.

Beware of ANY companies using terms such as "Guaranteed Cheapest",
using post boxes or mobile telephone numbers. Be equally cautious of
ANY pay in advance schemes.

As you can probably guess i work for the above company, and hope that
we can assist you and your client. I suggest that you take a look at
our site:

http://www.aurora.se

And then either sent an email or give us a call.

Tony

Thanks for the very useful information.
Tomorrow, I'm going to try it in an identical C400 notebook.
If that doesn;t work I'll pick up a 2-1/2" to 3-1/2 adzpter from CompUSA.

Mike

"Fred Mau" <fred-dot-> wrote in message
news:Xns96DC64EAFF05Bfreddotmaucomcastnet@216.196. 97.131...
> "Mike" <> wrote in news:cQyZe.2538$211.68@trnddc08:
>
>> C400 Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 not found
>> BIOS vA06 displays Primary HArd Drive: as none.
>>
>> We have a Latitude C400, IBM Travelstar model - ic25n020atcs04-0
>> HDD,W2K Pro, that displays the following error message after
>> attempting to boot:
>> Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 not found.
>>
>> Is there anything short of replacing the HDD to isolate the problem,
>> eg is a controller, hdd servo, etc. Tomorrow someone is going to bring
>> in their C400 notebook. If I can't get the unbootable HDD to boot in
>> the other notebook we'll need a data recovery service. The owner is
>> desparate to recover a file from the drive. Any recommendations for a
>> data recovery service?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mike
>>
>>
>>
>
> I've seen a number of IBM Travelstars that do this (Not a TREMENDOUS
> number, but more than there ought to be). In most cases, there's nothing
> really wrong with the drive but the laptop just doesn't see it. Happens
> on IBM thinkpads too. I've used several solutions, depending on the
> exact circumstance:
>
> 1) Disconnect the power, pull out the main battery AND the backup
> battery, let it sit for a couple hours (or overnight), then put it all
> back together. This has particularly worked for me on CPx models.
>
>
> 2) Get a 2-1/2" to 3-1/2" adapter (available from CompUsa, etc.) and
> install it as a second drive in a desktop. Then you can either use the
> desktop to read your critical data files, or do further testing such as
> #3, #4, and #5
>
>
> 3) Download the "Drive Feature Tool" from Hitachi (Who now owns the IBM
> travelstar line), and verify that the ATA speed hasn't somehow gotten
> set to a speed the C600 can't handle.
>
> 4) Download the "Drive Fitness Test" from Hitachi, and do a 'Quick
> Test" to verify that the drive itself is physically good.
>
> 5) There is a Data Recovery tool built into the Drive Fitness Test, in
> case there really IS a problem with the drive. For me, it has worked
> maybe 75% of the time, recovering the drive for at least long enough to
> boot and save critical data. If you have to go this far, consider it a
> temporary fix, just long ebough to grab the data, and then discard the
> drive afterwards.
>
>
> If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, any reasonably
> competent PC Shop should be able to do it. I doubt you'd really need a
> specialized "Data Recovery Service".
>
> (Or if you're in the Portland Oregon area, I can do it)
>
> - FM -

Where can I get an external enclosure for the drive?

Mike

"Fred Mau" <fred-dot-> wrote in message
news:Xns96DC6684949F7freddotmaucomcastnet@216.196. 97.131...
> Fred Mau <fred-dot-> wrote in
> news:Xns96DC64EAFF05Bfreddotmaucomcastnet@216.196. 97.131:
>
>> 2) Get a 2-1/2" to 3-1/2" adapter (available from CompUsa, etc.) and
>> install it as a second drive in a desktop. Then you can either use the
>> desktop to read your critical data files, or do further testing such
>
>
> Oh, one more option would be to try to read it from an external USB
> enclosure from a known good machine. sometimes the firmware in the USB
> enclosure will recognize the travelstars when the laptop itself won't.
>
> This may work for merely reading the data and copying it. But I don't
> think
> you can use the DFT utilities I mentioned via USB.
>
> - FM -

Yesterday I call several data recovery companies and only one... one. . .
answered to phone. aurora.se didnot answer the phone or at least
the company recommeded by Dell tech support and dell website didn't answer
the phone. Will call them again tomorrow if needed.

Mike

"aurora_forensics" <> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> hello Mike,
>
> my sugestion would be:
>
> http://www.aurora.se/dell-data-recovery.htm
>
> Aurora Data Recovery is recomended by Dell themselves, have just over
> 20 years in the advanced data recovery and data reconstruction business
> and ( as you can see by the date ) Aurora have a 7 days a week service
> for urgent cases.
>
> Beware of ANY companies using terms such as "Guaranteed Cheapest",
> using post boxes or mobile telephone numbers. Be equally cautious of
> ANY pay in advance schemes.
>
> As you can probably guess i work for the above company, and hope that
> we can assist you and your client. I suggest that you take a look at
> our site:
>
> http://www.aurora.se
>
> And then either sent an email or give us a call.
>
> Tony
>

Mike wrote:

> "Fred Mau" <fred-dot-> wrote in message
> news:Xns96DC6684949F7freddotmaucomcastnet@216.196. 97.131...
>> Fred Mau <fred-dot-> wrote in
>> news:Xns96DC64EAFF05Bfreddotmaucomcastnet@216.196. 97.131:
>>
>>> 2) Get a 2-1/2" to 3-1/2" adapter (available from CompUsa, etc.) and
>>> install it as a second drive in a desktop. Then you can either use
>>> the desktop to read your critical data files, or do further testing
>>> such
>>
>>
>> Oh, one more option would be to try to read it from an external USB
>> enclosure from a known good machine. sometimes the firmware in the
>> USB enclosure will recognize the travelstars when the laptop itself
>> won't. This may work for merely reading the data and copying it. But I
>> don't
>> think
>> you can use the DFT utilities I mentioned via USB.
>>
>> - FM -
>
> Where can I get an external enclosure for the drive?
>
> Mike
>

Ebay. Less than a dozen US dollars.

Oh - when people are posting at the BOTTOM of a thread, please do so as
well. It makes the thread easier to follow. I've corrected it this time.
Next time I may get grumpy <g>

--
Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.

If some data wasn't needed now I'd use Ebay. No time for Ebay.

I reply to the message using Reply to Group in OE. MY OE dissplays messages
and my reply below the message I responded to.

Mike



"Toolman Tim" <> wrote in message
news:NcEZe.14640$...
> Mike wrote:
>
>> "Fred Mau" <fred-dot-> wrote in message
>> news:Xns96DC6684949F7freddotmaucomcastnet@216.196. 97.131...
>>> Fred Mau <fred-dot-> wrote in
>>> news:Xns96DC64EAFF05Bfreddotmaucomcastnet@216.196. 97.131:
>>>
>>>> 2) Get a 2-1/2" to 3-1/2" adapter (available from CompUsa, etc.) and
>>>> install it as a second drive in a desktop. Then you can either use
>>>> the desktop to read your critical data files, or do further testing
>>>> such
>>>
>>>
>>> Oh, one more option would be to try to read it from an external USB
>>> enclosure from a known good machine. sometimes the firmware in the
>>> USB enclosure will recognize the travelstars when the laptop itself
>>> won't. This may work for merely reading the data and copying it. But I
>>> don't
>>> think
>>> you can use the DFT utilities I mentioned via USB.
>>>
>>> - FM -
>>
>> Where can I get an external enclosure for the drive?
>>
>> Mike
>>
>
> Ebay. Less than a dozen US dollars.
>
> Oh - when people are posting at the BOTTOM of a thread, please do so as
> well. It makes the thread easier to follow. I've corrected it this time.
> Next time I may get grumpy <g>
>
> --
> Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.
>

BIOS is vA06 ver A12 is on the Dell web site. There is a FD option to
upgrade BIOS is it worth while installing BIOS update?

Mike

"Mike" <> wrote in message
news:cQyZe.2538$211.68@trnddc08...
> C400 Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 not found
> BIOS vA06 displays Primary HArd Drive: as none.
>
> We have a Latitude C400, IBM Travelstar model - ic25n020atcs04-0 HDD,W2K
> Pro, that displays the following error message after attempting to boot:
> Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 not found.
>
> Is there anything short of replacing the HDD to isolate the problem, eg is
> a controller, hdd servo, etc. Tomorrow someone is going to bring in their
> C400 notebook. If I can't get the unbootable HDD to boot in the other
> notebook we'll need a data recovery service. The owner is desparate to
> recover a file from the drive. Any recommendations for a data recovery
> service?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>