Looking to repair an old dell desktop

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 21, 2014

Hello, I have an old dell desktop I'm looking to repair, but there's not a lot I know about this kind of thing and I don't know where to start.

Model: MTC2
Mfg date: 10-30-02
I opened it up and the hard drive is a Western Digital 300 Enhanced IDE Model WD300BB-75DEA0

Any help is appreciated

EDIT: It runs Windows XP

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

Depends if you want to spend money for a new one. What does this one do or dont do when you turn it on?

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 21, 2014

Paul NZ :

I get a blue screen when i start it up, and I'm not looking to buy a new one or spend a lot if money on this one

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

What does it say? What comes after the 0x bit? And does it say the name of a file?

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 21, 2014

Paul NZ :

It's saying no boot device detected. This isn't the first time I've encountered this and it usually only says it once or twice, but it keeps...

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

Make sure the hdd is the bootdisk in the BIOS. Try replacing the CMOS battery it maybe flat

smorizio · Sep 21, 2014

try and see if the os is just damaged first. try making from another pc a hirem boot cd and try booting into mini xp. if the system boots fine look to see what was installed on the old hard drive. on some of the newer dells the restore partion is on the hard drive to put the unit back to factory new. any personal data would be lost. if you dont have the disk look at the model lable and the windows oem lable on the side of the pc and pick up a set of disks from ebay. if not dell might still have them for a small fee. with the hirem boot cd you can run memtest86 see if the system has bad ram stick. if it does look on crucial memory sight for ram that will work in your dell. some dells have 2g memory limits and the crucail memory advisior will tell you if your pc mb has this limit.

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 21, 2014

I have some similar looking batteries (from a few laptop parts i had) is it ok if i use those? And im not sure what the BIOS is

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

The BIOS most pcs you can get into it by pressing del, or f1 f2, maybe esc. After you reboot

Its where you should configure the settings like what the bootdisk is (like a cd or hdd). So it knows what to do.

It sounds like this isnt on the hdd, it maybe on dvd as the bootdisk. And if there's nothing in the dvd you'll get that message you're seeing. It cant boot

I would also open the case and see if there is a hdd in it. If it's there, make sure its connected properly

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 21, 2014

OK so im in the BIOS under the "boot" tab and heres what i see

Quiet Boot [Enabled]
Quick Boot [Enabled]

1st Boot device [Floppy]
2nd Boot device [CDROM]
3rd Boot device [CDROM]
4th Boot device [None]

Under that is "Hard Disk Boot Priority" and in there is:
1. Pri. M WDC WD300BB

There is a HDD in there and its connected

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

Thats why the 1st boot device change it to hard drive. Then save settings then see if it boots

If it doesnt have a floppy drive in it or if no disk is in it, it wont or cant boot. Thats what that message means. So its not a blue screen like its crashing

That message comes up because there's nothing to boot from to get into windows, if it's on floppy

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 21, 2014

odd thing is theres only three settings

Floppy, CDROM, and Disabled

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

Go into boot priority where the hdd is select then it may let you select it under boot device

Or change disabled if it shows the hdd select it

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 21, 2014

OK so its letting me select "Hard Disk" as a boot device but then says "No boot device detected"

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

Something must be wrong with it then. Or theres nothing on it. Remove it put it on a working system. See if theres anything on it

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 21, 2014

I dont have another system that uses IDE hard drives, if theres a way to put it on a laptop, please tell me.

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

Make sure the IDE cables are on the mobo properly. Or replace the cables if you've got some

Paul NZ · Sep 21, 2014

And see if theres an IDE option in the BIOS. See if its enabled. It maybe disabled

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 22, 2014

OK so it is letting me select the hdd but when i start it up all if get is a blank screen with a flashing white line at the top left. I'm pretty sure the hard drive no longer works

Paul NZ · Sep 22, 2014

Try safe mode if that doesnt work it maybe dead. Or theres nothing on it

It maybe the IDE cable/ribbon or something. Something maybe broken or kinked

smorizio · Sep 23, 2014

if they wiped the hard drive safe yourself some pain look on ebay for the factory restore cd and driver disk for the dell you have.

TheAnonymousGuy · Sep 28, 2014

smorizio :

I might try that, because no matter what i do, i either get the flashing white underscore or "no boot device"

christopherjames · Sep 28, 2014

TheAnonymousGuy :

I would not go crazy. At best this old machine will be an exercise in futility. The processor is most likely a dog slow P4. At best. And it will be ram starved. Very few people had 4 gigs or ram in 2002 and that is about the minimum requirement these days to even surf the web. Your hard drive will be paging like crazy.

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