my computer died...

[spaceboy]

error reads  Loading PBR for descriptor 3...failed

it's a dell.  i googled this error and not much hope out there, it seems it may be seriously unable to be recovered.  But I know a lot of you techies and "PC"ers might have some ideas.  Most data should have been backed up externally, but of course I'd love to save the data just in case.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.    :(

[PZ]

Sorry to hear about your problem, space.  This is not altogether uncommon in Dells.  The problem is that there are many different versions of Dells, and they don't all do the same thing.  Some have up to 3 partitions - looks like one of yours is corrupt - typically caused by a bad file or more.  Because it is not easy to fix, you could lose all your data.  The first thing I'd do is see if the drive is listed in cmos - hopefully it is - if you can't get it to show after #3 below, the drive is likely dead.  There are a few things I would do in sequence from easiest and safest to desperate and extreme (if one doesn't w@&k, go to the next):

   
• Unplug all of your USB devices except keyboard and mouse - then try to boot.
• Unplug all of your USB devices then try to boot - if you get past the black screen, plug the mouse/keyboard in again
• Unplug and reseat the drive connector from the drive end and the mainboard end
• Set the drive as a slave in another computer - this might get you into the drive (I doubt it) - if not, run a chkdsk/f on the drive (will only w@&k if you see the drive in the disk management tool)

Here are a couple more - personally I'd try these before I took the time to do 3 and 4 above, but hey, I'm a risk taker.

   
• Insert a Windows installation cd
• Boot from the CD (set the CD as the primary boot device or I think you can bring up the boot menu by pressing F12 during boot), press R when asked at initial boot options, wait, press 1 and press enter , type fixboot, then press enter and type y then enter again and reboot your system.  This will hopefully repair the boot flaw.

Another method if you can get at least partial boot into Windows: start your computer and keep pressing F8 before you see the Windows logo, if you are able to get to the options, look and see if there is an option to boot to dos mode, some manufacturers have included this exclusive feature in their windows setup. if it is available, choose that option and follow the steps above from "type fixboot".

[spaceboy]

wow, thanks PZ.  That's very nice detailed steps.  I'll be looking at some fooling around this weekend (I did try the no USB boot already)  I'm less worried about the data per se (although I know not everything I had on there is backed up, the most important stuff is).  But I just was hoping not to have to fork over $$ for a new computer at this time.  Do you think it can be salvaged, or is it a kind of a long shot?  The PC is 5 years old.

[PZ]

You should be fine, space, unless the mainboard is bad.  It is more likely a drive failure - get yourself a cheap drive - one you'd be willing to spend for on an older computer, or you could test the main board using an old drive from another computer just to see if the drive will appear in cmos (that tests the IDE connector and mb).  You'll need the Windows installation CD however.  These days Dell (and many other manufacturers) are supplying a restore function in one of the partitions, and do not supply the consumer with installation cds - if this is the case, contact Dell and tell them you have a failed drive that you need to replace, and need the OS installation cds.

Here's a link to a SATA drive

... and a link to an IDE drive

In each case, the drive is less than $50, so it is probably worth the shot.  When you open the case and look at the drive, you'll be able to read the label to see what you have, and then purchase something similar.

Id you go this route, you'll be amazed at how fast that old computer runs - like it is brand new (which it is).  Don't forget, that you'll need to reinstall all of your programs.

[JRD]

Sorry to hear about your PC, space and...err... welcome to the club  ::)

At least you have an error message to google... I can`t imagine what result I`d get by goggling "Honey, I heard a mini boom and I smell smoke"  :-(

Also, you don`t NEED a PC to game since you are a Playstation-er (  ::) )

Anyway... PZ has good advice, hope it helps!





PS: I actually googled it... something nasty about dogs and honey... don`t even bother...  ;D

[Fiach]

My PC went belly up last year, took me a long time to save up for a decent replacement, hope you can fix it mate :(

[spaceboy]

@PZ - thanks for the links and tips, it definitely should be worth a shot to get it working and save data for $50 before buying a whole new rig.

@JRD - I appreciate the smile I got from that  :-X   ...and yes, thank goodness I can still GAME!  now that would be tragic.  :)

@Fiach - thanks man, yeah my plans were to look at replacing this one after another year, the timing isn't too great.