DST Short Test Fail

[slaws1]

I have a Dell Vostro 1000 that no longer loads Vista Basic. I have run diagnostics and gotten the above error message (Error Code 0000-0146). I am unable to get to the command prompt. All attempts at starting Vista in safe modes have failed.

Thanks.

 

[house70]

Drive Self Test Fail... Sounds like you might need a new HDD.
You can try taking the HDD out, using an external enclosure for it and mounting it as an external drive on another PC. There you can run
Chkdsk x: /f/r
where x is the letter assigned to it on that other PC. This will run a checkdisk and attempt to repair bad sectors. Then do a defrag on it and try re-installing on that Dell.
Be aware that even a good chkdsk result could mean impending failure of the HDD if the message re-appears. Get a replacement handy, just in case.
And, while the HDD is outside, you can go ahead and explore it, save all the data that you want from it.