Windows 7 Problem

Did you not say that when you ran Dell diagnostics it said your HD had an 0146 error?

This means the HD is about to fail, as you can easily find out by googling it. You should back up your data immediately and replace HD.

If you're under warranty contact Dell tech support for replacement. Otherwise you can google your model for HD replacement, and for a video how to do this.

marsmimar said:

I showed you the other thread for information only about the Peppermint3 emergency boot disk. Let's just concentrate on a repair install. If it works you won't have to worry about anything else. :)

You will need a Windows 7 Ultimate x86 installation disk because that is what is installed on the computer. You will also need the official 25-digit Product Key to reactivate the Windows 7 during the repair install. The Product Key is on a label usually on the bottom of the laptop or under the battery in the battery compartment.

You can get the official Windows 7 Ultimate ISO file in Step 4 of the repair install tutorial.

Repair Install

Download the ISO file to your desktop. It's about 3GB so the download will take a while. When the download is finished, right-click the ISO file and select Burn To Disk. You will need a blank DVD. Windows 7 should be able to do the burn. If it doesn't, you can use the free ImgBurn.

The Official ImgBurn Website

The laptop BIOS needs to be set up so it boots from the CD/DVD optical drive as the first choice. When you click the power button, immediately start clicking the F2 key and keep clicking until the setup screen appears. You'll need to use the left/right and up/down arrow keys to select the BIOS tab and select the CD/DVD drive as first boot choice. Save the selection and close the setup screen. Insert the Ultimate installation DVD into the CD/DVD tray and turn off the computer.

The next time you start the computer it will boot from the Ultimate DVD. Please note: you will probably see a prompt to "press any key to boot from CD/DVD." You must press a key or the computer will boot from the hard drive. You do not want that to happen. Once your computer boots from the DVD, follow the steps in the repair install tutorial. It might be a good idea to print them out so you can follow along.

Thanx for replying.Actually he had Windows 7 Home Basic preinstalled,he got Windows 7 Ultimate installed from their service centre last year.Will surely try to select the repair 1st and see what happens.How is that the HDD is down?I mean he didnt install any malicious software and the laptop never fell or anything.Is it true that Dell provides the CD/DVD of the OS along with the laptop,the same version which is installed in the laptop?


I was googling and found this

Remove and reinstall the Hard Drive for the error codes:

• 1000-0141
• 2000-0141
• 1000-0142
• 2000-0142
• 1000-0143
• 2000-0143
• 1000-0144
• 2000-0144
• 1000-0145
• 2000-0145
• 1000-0146
• 2000-0146
• 2000-0151

Run the Drive Self Test (DST) from the Utility Partition also
known as the 32 bit diagnostics to determine if the previous error has been corrected.


If the DST from the Utility Partition does not indicate a failure of the drive,consider the error to have been corrected and the drive does not need to be replaced.

• 1000-0146
• 2000-0146

So that means the HDD still has a chance?

Britton30 said:

Try this too Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool
sometimes it will require downloading the iso again.

Thanx for replying.Will try it for sure

gregrocker said:

Did you not say that when you ran Dell diagnostics it said your HD had an 0146 error?

This means the HD is about to fail, as you can easily find out by googling it. You should back up your data immediately and replace HD.

If you're under warranty contact Dell tech support for replacement. Otherwise you can google your model for HD replacement, and for a video how to do this.

Thanx for replying.How is that the HDD is down?I mean he didnt install any malicious software and the laptop never fell or anything.

The HD fails for many reasons. Dell Diagnostics said its failing so you can either run the diagnostics again to reconfirm but its not really debatable.

gregrocker said:

The HD fails for many reasons. Dell Diagnostics said its failing so you can either run the diagnostics again to reconfirm but its not really debatable.

I am only asking for a few of them.Sorry if that's a silly question

You can change the cable and test it again to see if that might be the problem, but I believe the diagnostics has a way to rule that out during testing.

Mostly with a HD is is parts wear or defective. Unlike the new SSD's which are actual chips, the HD has old-school moving parts that are subject to all the laws of physics.

If your HD is less than a year old, it still has its replacement warranty from the PC or drive manufacturer. Contact their tech support to replace it. They will likely walk you through more tests.

Otherwise asking google can help you replace it for your model, both shopping-wise and help videos showing how it's done on your model or similar.

Some of the common reasons for hard drive failure:

Factors that May Cause Hard Disk Failure

Hard disk drive failure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia