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Dell Inspiron Boot Problem
Hi All... I've got a Dell Inspiron Laptop with a boot problem. On boot-up I get the Dell logo...then some text appears for a flash at the top. I caught it with my digital camera. It says "Loading PBR for discriptor 2...." then the screen stays dark. I think the "PBR" stands for Partition Boot Record...What kind of fix am I looking at. The laptop belongs to a friends college student daughter...of course she dosen't want to loose anything on the machine.......Thanks for any help Don
Windows XP
Last Comment
Oklahawkfan
Is USB drive plugged onto the USB port while restarting the PC.... try to remove that and then restart.
give this a try too:
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&docid=289265
give this a try too:
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&docid=289265
As the link from macentrap describes if making the USB changes doesn't work it may require restoring the OS but remember that this will wipe the personal files that are on the laptop.
ASKER
Hi Ya ...
Thanks for the quick answers. There are no peripherals plugged in. I got into the BIOS and there is no USB Controller under Onboard Devices to disable. Could be a different BIOS version....So, I think Im looking at a complete system restore.............bummer
Don
Thanks for the quick answers. There are no peripherals plugged in. I got into the BIOS and there is no USB Controller under Onboard Devices to disable. Could be a different BIOS version....So, I think Im looking at a complete system restore.............bummer
Don
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ASKER
Time to do some thinking on this.....
ASKER
I have the ability to connect (USB) the laptop drive to another computer to recover data if needed...
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ASKER
Ok peeps!
Thanks for the responses. I finally talked to the owner last night...we are on hold until they can find the installation disks from Dell. This computer doesn't have the Restore partition...
Thanks .... Don
Thanks for the responses. I finally talked to the owner last night...we are on hold until they can find the installation disks from Dell. This computer doesn't have the Restore partition...
Thanks .... Don
ASKER
Ok...the owner gave me the wrong disk....the disk he gave me is an OEM XP Home from an EMachine. They have no idea where the Dell Disks are and could not remember if they even created any recovery disk. I did create the UBCD Disk but Im not sure what to do with it. I will boot with it and look for the disk utilities to run.....help..lol
Thanks Don
Thanks Don
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ASKER
Can the PBR be rebuilt to fix this?
You can rebuild the PBR using the UBCD but no guarantee that this is going to work.
But first use the UBCD to test the hard disk and see if it is OK.
If the disk is OK then use TestDisk to check that the file system is OK. TestDisk can also rebuild the PBR or MBR.
If you need help or guidance then post.
But first use the UBCD to test the hard disk and see if it is OK.
If the disk is OK then use TestDisk to check that the file system is OK. TestDisk can also rebuild the PBR or MBR.
If you need help or guidance then post.
best test your disk first -before trying to fix...it makes things worse then..
ASKER
Thanks...I've got TestDisk up and going ...not real sure what to do with it....lol. I'm going to look online for a tutorial
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Happy Thanksgiving Experts!
Well........I ran HD scan and the drive passed....I ran CHKDSK...no luck. FIXBOOT...no luck. FIXMBR....no luck. However, I did find the Restore Partition....so I Restored back to factory. Then I ran Recuva and got most of the pictures, music and documents back. So all is good there. I had been trying to contact the owner for 4 days...when he finally called back and told me not to worry about it, they decided to buy her a new laptop, I was a little PO'd.......Thank you all for your time and knowledge. Don
Well........I ran HD scan and the drive passed....I ran CHKDSK...no luck. FIXBOOT...no luck. FIXMBR....no luck. However, I did find the Restore Partition....so I Restored back to factory. Then I ran Recuva and got most of the pictures, music and documents back. So all is good there. I had been trying to contact the owner for 4 days...when he finally called back and told me not to worry about it, they decided to buy her a new laptop, I was a little PO'd.......Thank you all for your time and knowledge. Don
ASKER
Excellent advice as usual
Unplug all peripherals and try to boot up. USB drives plugged into Dells have been reported to do this.
Otherwise this may be the Dell trying to load the Image Restore Partition if the OS partition is damaged.