[parman]

I have this Acer Aspire 5552 laptop that continues this loop of:

PXE-E61 : Media test failure, check cable
PXE-MOF: Exiting Broadcom PXE ROM
No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key

I tried a ide/sata adapter on the HDD to see if I could copy files to another hard drive but got nothing but a intermitting buzzing noise from the HDD.
So, I ordered another HDD of the same and installed it today. Had to order the E-Recovery discs which contained the System Disc, 2 Recovery Discs, and a Language Disc.
Checked in the BIOS for boot order and made sure the dvd drive was first and started the process of installing system files.
Everything seemed to install correctly. After all of that, I went back into BIOS and changed the boot order for the HDD to be first and then saved changes and re-booted.
But I got the same message that I got before I installed the new HDD.
When this laptop started this message, it was at startup one day. Nothing had shown up before that.
The specs for this laptop are:
AMD Athlon II X2 P340
15.6 HD LED LCD
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250
4 GB DDR3 Memory
250GB WDC WD2500BEVT-00A23TO
DVD-Super Multi DL drive
Windows 7 operating system

Can someone help me with this? I've tried about everything that I know. Yes, the HDD is showing up in the BIOS

Keith

[lunarlander]

2 things: a) try setting bios so that your dvd drive starts first. If that setting has worked before, why not try it again?

b) it may be hard drive controller error.

[parman]

No luck. Same message.

Lunarlander, by hard drive controller error, you mean motherboard gone?

[Elvandil]

Did the machine reboot successfully during setup?

[parman]

No, it never rebooted until it finished installing the system files and recovery discs. When it did reboot, I got the same message:
PXE-E61 Media test failure, check cable
PXE-M0F: Exiting broadcom PXE ROM
No bootable device-- insert boot disk and press any key

[parman]

Does anyone have any ideas for me? I bought this hdd and ordered these e-recovery discs but no luck booting up.

[lunarlander]

when it says "no bootable device" it means either the HD is gone or the HD controller is gone or the HD cable is bad. Your HD is new, so that leaves the hard drive controller ( on the motherboard ) or the HD cable.

[parman]

Let me ask you one thing. If it only shows to "check cable" instead of anything with the hard drive controller, wouldn't it make sense that it would have to be with the cable? This hdd just slides in to place on the board. It shows in the BIOS where the old drive does not. I ran the system disk and then both recovery disks but when it rebooted, I got the same message again.
lunarlander, I am just trying to understand if the controller is bad, then why don't I get some message about faulty controller?

[parman]

Reformatted drive and reinstalled. Ran system,recovery,language, disks. Took about 40 minutes. Computer rebooted and gave me the same as before:
No bootable device-- insert boot disk and press any key
I thought this would be quick and easy by replacing crashed hard drive with new hard drive and loading all files with e-recovery disks but it didn't work that way.
don't really know what to do now. Is a new motherboard the only way now?

[lunarlander]

The error message depends on what kinds of diagnostics that bios can do. Usually, the diagnostic is not in depth, and won't be able to distinguish between a cable failure, hard drive failure or a controller failure. All it knows is that it no OS was found to complete the boot up.

[parman]

Thanks lunarlander for posting back to me. I hooked up the hdd to my adapter and plugged into another computer and checked in My Computer and seen that all files loaded fine on drive. If no diagnostic can distinguish between hdd, hdd cable, and hdd controller, that means it is a process of elimination in determining problem. I understand controller could have gone bad but a sata drive cable I don't quite understand with this laptop. I don't see a cable. It is just snap into slot. Is there something I am missing here?
I've worked on many desktops but not that many laptops. I hate giving up on this laptop. It pains me to not fix something once I start working on it. Thx again lunarlander for all your help.

Keith

[DoubleHelix]

It's a generic error messages. If BIOS's, operating systems, and programs could report back exactly what every problem with a completely solution, there'd be no need for this forum. "Check cable" means check the connection between the hard drive and the motherboard because the two components aren't communicating. You already replaced the drive. The next step is replacing the motherboard. That's rarely worth it on standard consumer laptops more than a year or two old.

[parman]

If a complete solution was reported back from the BIOS, operating system, or programs there would still be a need for this forum. Not everyone would know what to do with the information. This laptop is 14 months old so I will have to ask this lady if it is worth it to her to replace the motherboard.