Dell Hard Drive Error 0146

jer18 said:

Ah, in another computer, the hard drive boots with no issue.

Hi jer18,

Thanks for your reply. This confirms there are no issues with the new harddrive. Kindly connect this harddrive back on the system and then load the BIOS defaults on the system.

Loading BIOS defaults
Keep tapping F2 key on the keyboard while starting the system at Dell logo.
In BIOS select Maintenance at the left and hit enter. Then select load defaults and press enter.
Select continue and hit enter. Press save/exit and boot the system.

Check if system is able to boot now. If the issue occurs again then we need to isolate if it is a fault with the cable or the SATA port.

You must have a optical drive that also uses SATA connection. Swap the SATA cables. Connect the optical drive cable to the harddrive and restart the system.

Check this manual link for your reference:

Manual Link

Keep us posted with the results so we can advise you further.

jer18 said:

Made the BIOS change to load defaults.
It's booting up!

(I have already checked another cable and sata port).

Now.. I'll just need to repeat the process to updgrade from Windows XP. If it holds and reboots after updates successfully I know this was the fix. Thanks!! I'll post back with reply and rep to your post. I should be able to work more on this PC within the next couple days to know for sure.

Hi jer18,

Its great to hear that system is booting fine after loading the BIOS update. Please check the system at your convenience and let us know if you require further assistance.

Also, let us know if you are planning to upgrade to Windows 7 or updating XP to SP3.

Keep us posted with the results so we can advise you further.

jer18 said:

The defaults have been loaded and quite sure that resolved it. Thanks!

Hi jer18,

Great to hear the same. Glad that we were able to resolve this issue for you. If you have any queries in future feel free to reach out to us.