How to Troubleshoot a Disk That Is Spinning but With No Power in a Dell C840
The hard disk drive (HDD), or hard disk, installed to the Dell Latitude C840 is made up of circular platters where data is stored. When the C840 powers on, the platters in the hard drive begin to spin, and the computer boots to the operating system (OS). If the hard disk comes on, but the computer doesn't load the OS, check the system settings and reinstall, the disk to troubleshoot the issue.
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Instructions
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Open the CD/DVD drive tray, and remove any discs from the drive. Turn on the Dell C840, and press "F2" on the startup screen to go to system setup.
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Press "Alt" and "P" to go to the "Boot Order" page. Scroll to "Internal HDD," then press the spacebar if the device is not active.
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Press "U" to move the hard disk to the top of the list, then press "Alt" and "P" until you get to the "System Security" screen.
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Scroll to "System Primary," located beneath "Hard Disk Drive Password." Press the left- and right-arrow keys to change the option to "Disabled."
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Press "Esc," then highlight "Yes," and press "Enter" to save the changes and exit. If the Latitude C840 fails to boot to the hard disk, turn off the computer, and disconnect all devices.
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Remove the power adapter, close the lid and turn the Dell C840 over. Slide the battery release latch, and remove the battery from the computer.
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Put on an antistatic wristband, then locate the hard disk compartment on the right side of the notebook. Loosen the screw securing the drive to the computer.
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Reinstall the hard disk to confirm that the interface on the end of the drive is properly connected to the notebook. Screw the disk back into place.
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Reassemble the notebook. If the hard disk spins, but still fails to power up, the disk could be defective.
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Tips & Warnings
If you need to boot from a floppy disk or CD/DVD at any point, you must return to system setup, highlight the floppy drive or disc drive option, and press "U" to place the device at the top of the boot list.
