IDE drive. Jumper settings are correct. Haven't tried changing cables. The one I thought was bad was Western digital I think. The one I just bought is a maxtor both are 320.
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Disc Read Error
I Keep getting a disc read error on a pc. It started after I tried to do a clean install of windows xp professional. After it ran through the initial setup the computer restarts and I get this error message
A disc read error occurred
Press ctrl+alt+del to restart
It will not go past this point no matter what I try. I assumed the hard drive went bad so I purchased a new one and still get the same message. Please help!
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Answers
Also, make sure in the bios that the settings for the drive are on Auto, and that the drive is in fact being detected. Ok...the reason I asked about the jumpers is on some of the Western Digital drives if you have a single drive "Master" and you put the jump on Master it will cause the error that you are referring to. This is because Western Digital "Master" setting is actually Master with Slave attached. Hope this helps.
Justin
Just to re-verify, this new HDD that you bought, you were able to get windows completely installed on it, but when it rebooted it started doing this correct??
Unplug everything that absolutely does not have to be plugged into the computer. In other words the only thing you should have hooked up it is the CPU Fan, Power To Motherboard, Ram, and HDD in Primary Master Configuration. If that does not work leave everything the same, but hook the HDD up to the Secondary Master Controller and try that.
Also, if you have another computer try to pop that HDD into it and see if it will try to load windows. It will get hung in a constant reboot, but that is ok that will tell you what you need to know, just cut the computer back off and remove the drive, and then we will go from there. Hope this helps.
Justin
i abandonded that computer and put the drive into another one where I am installing windows xp without any errors. I have a small pc repair shop but still run into hangups like this every once in a while. So to answer your question
I originally tried to wipe the original hard drive and do a clean install of windows xp. That's when the problem started. When I did some research everything kept pointing to a bad hard drive so I purchased the new maxtor drive. I hooked it up and again tried a clean install of windows xp. After running the setup disc (where the blue screen shows the yellow bar filling up) it produces the same error. It will boot from the disc and when the setup is finished there is a restart of the computer. It is at this point the problems start. To put it another way if I allow it to boot from the hard drive I get this error.
Ok, that sounds like Windows is not installing completely, which sometimes can be caused by bad ram. Have you run MemTest86 (See Link Below). I would try running that and let it make at least 3 passes (unless it finds the bad ram pretty quickly). This will take a few hours to run. Hope this helps.
http://www.memtest.org/#do
Justin
No problem...It probably is not the ram then...You said (i abandoned that computer and put the drive into another one where I am installing windows xp without any errors), and if you take that drive out of that computer immediately after XP is installed and working and place it in the gateway, you are getting the error message correct?? It won't boot completely into windows but should get hung in a constant reboot loop, which of course is due to the different boards and drivers.
It is looking like the controllers, or something on the bad is gone bad. Can you check the capacitors on the board and make sure none of them are "Leaking/Swelled/Cracked At Top"
Also, it sounds like you are getting this error message right after the bios check is complete and before you could get to the Safemode options correct??
Lastly, if you have a spare PCI/IDE controller laying around you might pop it in the computer and hook the HDD up to it and give that a shot.
Justin
well when I took the drive out and put it in the other computer it was to give back to a customer. I do have another drive laying around here that I can do an install on then check to see if it will work in the gateway pc. haven't investigated the board enough yet to see any errors. The computer was working but had a virus on it. When I pulled the data off I put the xp install disc in, deleted the partition, and tried reinstalling the os. That's when the problems began. I know its probably coincidental that it occurred at this time because I did nothing to any of the hardware. I may just scrap this computer for parts since my customer is pleased with their 'new' computer. That may be the best course of action to take and we can call this case closed. First, however I want to try installing xp on a separate drive and stick it in the gateway to see what happens. More to follow...
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by: justinmoore14Posted on 2009-11-03 at 12:41:48ID: 25733367
Hello Advancetech,
Is this a SATA or an IDE HDD?? Have you tried plugging the drive into a different available either SATA or IDE port on the motherboard?? Also, who makes this HDD. You may want to check your Jumper Settings. Hope this helps.
Justin