Internal hard drive making beeping noise, laptop won't start up

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  1. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
       #1

    Internal hard drive making beeping noise, laptop won't start up


    Hi,
    I am using a Dell Inspiron 14 laptop. A few days ago, I noticed that my laptop has become incredibly slow (the system will hang sometimes, and continue as per normal after a while), and this coincided with my laptop beginning to make this weird, sharp beeping sound. At first I did not pay much attention to it, but later this was joined by several BSODs, and my laptop became even slower (games that usually did not lag was now hanging halfway through, and continuing as per normal after a lengthy period of 1 minute or so). I tried to find the origin of the noise, and I think it came from my Internal hard drive sector, and thus decided to open the sector up (in hindsight I probably should not have). After I replaced it, without doing much (just doing the usual IT-amateur stuff, wiping it and blowing it a few times), my situation has now worsened to the point that startup takes a much longer time, and finally now it hangs at the "Starting Windows" screen, but without the Windows 7 logo showing, and my screen later turns black. Any help is appreciated.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 6,285
    Windows 10 Pro X64
       #2

    Install a new drive. Use the recovery discs you created when you first bought the computer to restore it to factory new state. If you didn't create the discs then you can order a recovery disc from Dell, just go to their support site at http:/support.dell.com.

    You can download a legal copy with SP1 integrated from here: Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Digital River.
    Make sure you get the same version you have, Home Premium, Pro or Ultimate and 32 or 64 bit. Note that Basic or Starter is not available.

    I recommend using ImgBurn at 4X speed (or the slowest available) to create the DVD from the downloaded .iso file.

    You can do this on any computer capable of burning a DVD.

    For techies or folks who work on computers: Create Windows 7 Universal ISO With All Editions Selection On Install with ei.cfg Removal Utility.
    This will fit on a 6GB flash drive or can be burned to a DVD.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I upgraded it from Home Basic to Ultimate. So do I still get the Ultimate version?

    Btw, I ran the pre boot system assessment on my laptop, and when it reached the hard drive - dst short test, it failed, with an error code of 2000-0146, and an error message of hard drive 0 - self test log contains previous errors. Any cause for concern?
      My Computer

  4.    #4

    Is the HD detected in BIOS setup? If so run the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan to confirm it's condition.

    Beep tones coming from inside are most often codes given by your mobo for failing parts as detailed here: Documentation

    If you need to replace your HDD, google the model for video on how to reinstall HD.

    You'll need to install the licensed version first to activate with Product Key on COA sticker: Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

    Then you can run Anytime Upgrade if that's what you did to change to Ultimate: Windows Anytime Upgrade - How to - Windows 7 Forums

    If you bought a Win7 retail Upgrade disk you can Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version .

    In the future make a WIn7 backup image of the completed Ultimate install so you can reimage the HD or its replacement in 20 minutes instead of reinstalling.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    I don't think the beeping is a code. The sound coming out from my laptop is random, like, the whizzing sound from the cooling fan, but this "beep" is from the hard drive sector, so there's no particular pattern to it.

    Thanks, I'll check out the options you listed above, after my laptop runs the startup repair (my laptop won't even get to the "Starting Windows" screen now, it just goes straight to the "Windows is Loading Files" screen and straight to startup repair, and now it says it's checking disk for errors and may need 1over 1 hour to complete.)
      My Computer

  6.    #6

    We see it regularly that Startup Repair when attempting to Disk Check a bad HD may get lost and never report back..

    I gave you the way to check on the HD condition with certainty. If it passes diagnosis then run Disk Check from System Recovery Options Command line.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    yeah, it seems that you are right..
    so how do i do this maker's HD diagnostic? i'm still unclear.. do I download the tool into a CD/DVD and insert it into my laptop?
      My Computer

  8.    #8

    Do you know your HD brand? If so download the HD Diagnostic DOS CD ISO file from the link provided and burn to CD using Windows Image Burner. Boot disk to run Extended Scan.

    If you don't know your HD brand, enter BIOS setup by tapping the key given on first screen - which on Dells is F2 I believe. Look under Storage/HD's to see if HD is detected. It should be listed by it's name or Serial Number which you can google to find out the maker.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    When I unscrewed my internal hard drive (as mentioned above), I took note of its brand. It's seagate and I'm running the tool on my faulty laptop now. Unfortunately, after running the "short" test, Seagate's tool says that my hard drive indeed has problems, quote; "bad sectors found" and I'm now following it's instructions by running the Long test in attempt to fix the problems. Hopefully it will succeed. Thanks for your help.
    Btw, I have loads of stuff inside my current HDD, which I took a long time to download, and I was wondering if there was any other way I could backup those stuff into a separate drive, as it would be very annoying to need to spend days re-downloading my movies/games/programs if my HDD indeed fails to be fixed. My laptop fails to even show the start in Safe Mode option.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1,379
    Win7 Pro 32-bit, Win8 Pro 32-bit
       #10

    The Seagate tool is not going to be able to "fix" the bad sectors problem, at least, the way you would want. It's most likely only going to mark those sectors as bad, thus make the data in them inaccessible after that.

    Your better bet would be to try to recover the data BEFORE you do anything against the drive, as even running CHKDSK can make those sectors unusable. You would need to be able to connect this drive to another PC to be able to do some data recovery.

    Also, from my experience, drive do not "beep", which means that the beeping noise was an error detected in the system, which might have been drive failures, but unlikely.
      My Computer


 
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