Ugh, NOT in budget to fix computer...

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

Ok, I know there are some techies out there?
my laptop at home is not able to boot up, I am getting the following:
PXE-E61:Media test failure,check cable AND; PXE-mof
and it keeps looping this message over and over...I googled it and found a website that says I need to change my boot/start up configurations...we tried that...I have also learned that it is not a fatal error <meaning, I HOPE we dont loose everything, as I have over a thousand pictures/recipes, etc that are not replaceable> any suggestions before I take it to a computer place?
~Melissa

 

[TifffanyD]

Ok, I know there are some techies out there?
my laptop at home is not able to boot up, I am getting the following:
PXE-E61:Media test failure,check cable AND; PXE-mof
and it keeps looping this message over and over...I googled it and found a website that says I need to change my boot/start up configurations...we tried that...I have also learned that it is not a fatal error <meaning, I HOPE we dont loose everything, as I have over a thousand pictures/recipes, etc that are not replaceable> any suggestions before I take it to a computer place?
~Melissa

I have used bleepingcomputer.com to fix my computer a few times. It's a forum of volunteer computer gurus who will tell you how to fix your issues.

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

Thanks, Tiffany, I will check that out, too!

 

[darrengs]

Sounds to me like the harddrive. I would suggest Spinrite
http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

Darren, if its the hard drive, can my stuff be saved???

 

[Hooked_on_Mickey]

It sounds to me like you may have your boot order options in the BIOS set to try and maybe boot from something other than your hard drive first. Remove any flash drives, external hard drives, etc. and try to boot again.

If you know how to get into your BIOS and change your boot options, I would try that first though. Usually you see a message on the screen when you turn the computer on telling you how to enter BIOS (or setup). Do that at look for the boot options. Make your internal hard drive the first choice.


GOOD LUCK...

 

[big_red_s]

Did you call the manufacturer?

Sounds like a CMOS or a power supply issue.
You might have to reset the BIOS which needs to be done with care.

 

[CT_Bev&Jeff]

I would try re-seating the hard drive.

Open the compartment, take the hard drive out, and then re-seat it.

Then try the computer again.

CT_Jeff

 

[dfchelbay]

OMG...all I'm hearing is Charlie Brown's teacher.

 

[darrengs]

Darren, if its the hard drive, can my stuff be saved???

Usually you can get your data off of the harddrive. If you know someone knowledgeable about this stuff they can remove the drive and attach it via a USB cable to their system and get the data off (http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-USB-D...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258473989&sr=8-1).

By using Spinrite I am able to recover the drive 99% of the time, the other 1% is due to a mechanical failure where the drive will not spin up.

 

[dseth]

OMG...all I'm hearing is Charlie Brown's teacher.

me too!!

 

[wdwfan16]

Darren, if its the hard drive, can my stuff be saved???

There are ways that the data on a hard drive can be recovered but it is very costly.

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

we have done this, doesnt work

I would try re-seating the hard drive.

Open the compartment, take the hard drive out, and then re-seat it.

Then try the computer again.

CT_Jeff

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

We are trying this now, but doesnt look hopeful

It sounds to me like you may have your boot order options in the BIOS set to try and maybe boot from something other than your hard drive first. Remove any flash drives, external hard drives, etc. and try to boot again.

If you know how to get into your BIOS and change your boot options, I would try that first though. Usually you see a message on the screen when you turn the computer on telling you how to enter BIOS (or setup). Do that at look for the boot options. Make your internal hard drive the first choice.


GOOD LUCK...

 

[gr8leg8]

OMG...all I'm hearing is Charlie Brown's teacher.

I married a programmer

just nod and smile,

eventually they will begin speaking in english again.

I think he feels the same way when I start taking about Disney

 

[Thumper_Man]

Do you have the operating software for the computer? Sounds like you may have lost some of the drivers for the IDE controller. You can boot the computer up from the discs. You will need to change the bios to boot from cd. Then you can repair the system. Do not do a clean install if it asks. This will wipe out your files. You only want to repair it.

 

[mrodgers]

Also sounds to me like the hard drive is failing.

Always, always, ALWAYS have a backup of your important info.

I just went through this. I did not have a backup of my photos. They were on a secondary hard drive and it started going bad. Lucky I was still able to boot to windows on the primary..... so I thought. The evening that I saw my 2nd drive failing, my wife got a virus and it messed up the windows installation (had to format and reinstall.)

I bought an external USB hard drive (500 gb Seagate from Walmart for dirt cheap - $79.) I was able to use a bootable CD with Linux to boot the computer and moved anything important on the primary to the portable. Then reinstalled Windows.

As for the failing hard drive, sometimes it would be recognized and sometimes not. If I reboot and it is recognized, I immediately jump on and try to copy as many files as I can. I don't have them all yet, but I'm close.

Point is, I would bet my money that the drive is failing. They will do that, it is inevitable. You can get a new drive and install your op system on it, then get a USB drive enclosure that you can plug the old drive into. The computer hopefully will see it as an external drive and you may be able to copy your files over. Or you can use a service such as suggested, but I think they are quite costly.

 

[big_red_s]

Also sounds to me like the hard drive is failing.

Always, always, ALWAYS have a backup of your important info.

I just went through this. I did not have a backup of my photos. They were on a secondary hard drive and it started going bad. Lucky I was still able to boot to windows on the primary..... so I thought. The evening that I saw my 2nd drive failing, my wife got a virus and it messed up the windows installation (had to format and reinstall.)

I bought an external USB hard drive (500 gb Seagate from Walmart for dirt cheap - $79.) I was able to use a bootable CD with Linux to boot the computer and moved anything important on the primary to the portable. Then reinstalled Windows.
.

Very sound advice.

You can get a 1 TB external hard drive for around $100.

 

[jsmith]

actually-i doesnt sound like the hard drive is failing at all-at a glance i would say that your BIOS is set to boot from 1) the optical drive and the connector from the mother board to the drive is going bad-resetting the boot order in the BIOS will work around this-you would need to replace the connector but they are not horrendously expensive 2) its set for a network boot and the cable is going bad. There is no reason for a home computer to do a network boot so just reset it in the BIOS-if you use eithernet for internet you might want to get a new cable. or 3) the system is trying to boot to a blank hard drive-if you have more than one SATA drive in the system and its attempting to boot from the one that does not have an operating system installed you will get this message. I have never seen a PXE error for a hard drive that was going bad-that error is generated before the system hits the boot device.