Dell Insiron 4000 Laptop hard drive 10gb failed, installed 120GB hard drive but it's not recognised in BIOS.

[Derek]

Dear Group,

I am trying to fix a laptop for a friend. It's a DELL Inspiron 4000 with a
10GB hard drive. Date of latop is 2001, Intel P3 700MHz, 128MB RAM,
original OS is Windows ME.

This HD failed completely, making rattling noises and a "phutttt" type sound
at boot. BIOS doesn't see it. I tried it in another laptop, that also
didn't see the hard drive. So bought a new hard drive of 120GB, smallest
size in pcworld.

I fitted the new 120GB and it doesn't show up in BIOS of the laptop. I
tried the new 120GB in another laptop just to make sure it works, it worked
fine in other laptop. I made an 8GB partition in the hope that the Dell
laptop might see the hard drive, but it still doesn't see it.

80GB hard drive, I also tried one of these. It didn't see this either.

I've looked on the dell forum and it's possible that the laptop might not
support 120GB drive, but dell won't say what hard drive it will support, or
where the limit is. So without a response from DELL I'm stuck.

I'm guessing it's a BIOS or motherboard limit.

BIOS version 15, the newest is in 2002 and it's ver 23. I'm going to flash
this and see if it helps.

Does anyone know what hard drive will fit this laptop? Can you help me get
this working?

Thanks.

[Derek]

Update:
I've flashed the BIOS to the latest A23, it still doesn't see the hard
drive.

Any ideas?

FYI Windows ME was working ok 2 days ago on this laptop, now the original
hard drive makes bad noises at startup and after a while it says that it
doesn't see the hard drive. It also doesn't see the new hard drive.

Old Drive 10GB
New Driver 120GB
Also tried 80GB drive.

"Derek" <noema...@noemailhere.com> wrote in message
news:OAsGgzmE...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[Dave Patrick]

What is the service tag?

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Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

[David B.]

It is highly unlikely that a laptop that shipped with a 10GB hard drive will
be able to use a 120GB hard drive without installing drive overlay software,
if it all. Many machines of that era had a 32GB limit.

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"Derek" <noema...@noemailhere.com> wrote in message
news:OAsGgzmE...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[Mart]

As a matter of interest, have you tried FDISK (using your WinMe Startup
[floppy] Disk), to see if it recognises your new HD?

Can't speak for this particular model but it sounds like your failed HD
*may* have taken out the IDE controller as well, as even if the BIOS doesn't
support large drives, it should normally at least recognise your new drive.

Mart

"Derek" <noema...@noemailhere.com> wrote in message
news:OAsGgzmE...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[BigJim]

it is real simple you need to try a hard drive that is less than 32 gig in
size.
If that doesn't work, the board is probably bad.
go to ebay for a used drive

"Derek" <noema...@noemailhere.com> wrote in message
news:OAsGgzmE...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[Shenan Stanley]

No - it won't work. While it is POSSIBLE some drive overlay might get you
going - those are historically troublesome. You would either need to find a
drive 40GB or less (I would bet it would support up to that) or - better
yet - find a nice refurbished laptop online and purchase it for less than
$500-$600 and know that the usefu life would be much longer than the one you
are trying to revive.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
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How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
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[Derek]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I have tried a 30GB hard drive as suggested, this also was not recognised by
the BIOS. It's from a 4 year old sony laptop so I had hopes it might work.

I also tried installing Windows XP and Ubuntu, it won't work without a hard
drive recognised in the BIOS.

I can only guess that there is also a problem with the motherboard, or that
modern hard drives are different to older ones.

The service tag is 151150J.
Dell Inspiron 4000, Windows ME, Pentium 3-700MHz, 128MB RAM, 10GB HDD, 56k
modem.

Is there anything else that I could try to repair this that is cheap?

Is here a spec for the DELL that says the hard drives that it does support?

Thanks.

"Shenan Stanley" <newsh...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:uo9qrEqE...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[Derek]

Hi,

the service tag is 151150J

Thanks.

"Dave Patrick" <DSPa...@nospam.gmail.com> wrote in message
news:OU0pICoE...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[DL]

Usually you would be able to enter the HD details manually in the bios eg
cylinders etc.
But I also suspect you would have to use drive overlay software, with a
large hd.
Seagate site 'may' have such software.
Or try sourcing a hd on Ebay or similar, which is probably your best bet.

"Derek" <noema...@noemailhere.com> wrote in message

news:%23Dm5JJz...@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

[Shenan Stanley]

Derek wrote:
> Thanks everyone for your replies.
>
> I have tried a 30GB hard drive as suggested, this also was not
> recognised by the BIOS. It's from a 4 year old sony laptop so I
> had hopes it might work.
> I also tried installing Windows XP and Ubuntu, it won't work
> without a hard drive recognised in the BIOS.
>
> I can only guess that there is also a problem with the motherboard,
> or that modern hard drives are different to older ones.
>
> The service tag is 151150J.
> Dell Inspiron 4000, Windows ME, Pentium 3-700MHz, 128MB RAM, 10GB
> HDD, 56k modem.
>
> Is there anything else that I could try to repair this that is
> cheap?
> Is here a spec for the DELL that says the hard drives that it does
> support?

That particular system (bought in 2001, warranty ran out in May 2004) has
long outlived support. Dell doesn't even list parts for it anymore it
seems.

Here is the manual:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins4000/

I like this for hard disk issues:
"Click the Start button, point to Programs—> Accessories—> System Tools, and
then click ScanDisk."
haha

They do tell you how to remove the hard disk drive:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins4000/en/sm_en/remove.htm#1025004

Beyond that....
It seems difficult to find laptop ATA-100 drives that fit the Inspiron 4000
(likely because of age.) Any I did found cost about $150 - and were out of
stock. The $399 laptop I saw the other day seemed like a wiser choice.

[Derek]

Thanks again everyone. It looks like unless I happen to see a 10-30GB hard
drive from 2001-2003 at a car boot sale then this laptop is going in the bin
that is ebay spares or repair.

Thanks all of you.

"Shenan Stanley" <newsh...@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:u10Baf0...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> Derek wrote:
>> Thanks everyone for your replies.
>>
>> I have tried a 30GB hard drive as suggested, this also was not
>> recognised by the BIOS. It's from a 4 year old sony laptop so I
>> had hopes it might work.
>> I also tried installing Windows XP and Ubuntu, it won't work
>> without a hard drive recognised in the BIOS.
>>
>> I can only guess that there is also a problem with the motherboard,
>> or that modern hard drives are different to older ones.
>>
>> The service tag is 151150J.
>> Dell Inspiron 4000, Windows ME, Pentium 3-700MHz, 128MB RAM, 10GB
>> HDD, 56k modem.
>>
>> Is there anything else that I could try to repair this that is
>> cheap?
>> Is here a spec for the DELL that says the hard drives that it does
>> support?
>
> That particular system (bought in 2001, warranty ran out in May 2004) has
> long outlived support. Dell doesn't even list parts for it anymore it
> seems.
>
> Here is the manual:
> http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins4000/
>
> I like this for hard disk issues:

> "Click the Start button, point to Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools,