Originally Posted by
HDhandyman
That's intresting. I just had a client with a nightmare Dell scenario. Not to contend, but since I spend about 15 hours a week on the phone with tech support from various companies, I can safely say that they are all mostly crap.
Getting back to the subject at hand, you may be completely tech savvy (owning 3 puters and all) but if you are willing to listen, I have a few suggestions.
"operating system faild to load, or not found" usually means that the hard disk is f**ked. Have you taken out the hard drive and tested it independently? Should be held by a screw or clip somewhere on the back. The other things to try are disconnecting the drive from the ATapi and blowing some compressed air (canned) through the pins. I'd also probably disconnect the CMOS battery (looks like big watch battery in another compartment on the back with a screw) and letting the Bios drain for about 2 minutes. Make sure the heat sink is cool before you start all of this. Then put it all back together and check to see if Windex Xpediant will load. If not, take the drive to a shop (probably an Indy if you have a local college near you) and have them test it. If it's crap, tell your sister she owes you 110 bucks and good thing you having plenty of OS copies!
Cheers,
Stephen
P.S. finally, a problem I can solve.