"a disk read error occurred, press ctrl, alt, del to restart"

Run the hard drive diagnostics utility. Reboot your computer. At the Dell blue logo screen, press the Ctrl + Alt + D keys at the same time. The computer beeps once to acknowledge that the hard drive diagnostics have been initiated. Follow the on-screen instructions.

I would suggest putting the drive as a slave in another machine and trying to recover your data ASAP. Trying to boot from it may destroy what is there if the drive is failing (with bad writes).

Peter

Just to clarify, the 90-90 diagnostics program does not try to boot the OS from that drive.

Alright...heres a quick question. Can I reinstall Windows XP without deleting the files I have on my hard drive now?

Drive 0 - Error attempting Diagnostics

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@daneau wrote:

How can I tell if my hard drive is dead and I need to get a new one?

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Reboot and hit F12 to run Dell diagnostics.  If that comes back with hard drive failed, it's dead.

Yes, if the HD is good. You can use the repair install. I think you should focused on trying to salvage your data (if there is anything left).

Trying to reinstall Windows on a dying disk is asking for disaster.

Peter

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@daneau wrote:

Dumb question I guess, but if it is dead will I still be able to salvage anything?

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Unlikely.

If it's dead, you can not get anything except with one of the expensive services that can try to salvage a dead drive. They are fairly successful, I think.

Sometimes drives are failing and you can read some areas but not others. Trying to install and OS on such a drive might trash it, but you might be able to read some of the files.

It sounds like your drive might be gone already. I would try it as a slave and then run diagnostics and if possible salvage any data. You never know, maybe the disk controller is bad, so trying it in another machine might bring it back to life.

One suggestion I have heard but never tried is to put it in a sealed bag in the freezer for a couple of hours and then try to salvage the data right after it comes out of the freezer.

Peter