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Question

Error Code 0146 for Dell XPS 9000

Apr 14, 2014 5:58AM PDT

After contacting a Dell technician, I explained to him my screen kept blacking out sporadically, sometimes leaving only a fragment of the screen visible. I had to manually shut it down, in order to reboot. He ran a test of the hard drive and the error code of 0146 came up. He told the my main hard drive was shot and provided me with a data recovery service. I explained to him that I was still able to reboot and access all my data, which btw was backed up on a second hard drive that I installed several years back. He then told me he would find the problem causing the error message 0146 and then removed a bunch of windows updates that he deemed unnecessary. He never did find what was causing the error code, but said there was still an issue with the hard drive, since the error code still comes up, and it could crash within hours or even months; there's no way of knowing.

My question is if my computer is operating "normally" is it possible to discover what exactly is causing the error and regardless, should I purchase and install a new hard drive? Thank you in advance!

-Dell XPS 9000
-Windows 7
-Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz 2.67 GHz
-6 GB RAM
-64-bit Operating System

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Two things I'd do
Apr 14, 2014 6:06AM PDT

First thing I'd do would be to run chkdsk and let it check for and attempt to repair any bad sectors. Note that this will require a reboot and can run for several hours. After that I'd download disk diagnostics from Seagate or Western Digital and run them. That will give you an indication of the state of your hard drive. Keep those backups current and be ready to replace that hard drive if need be. Note that you can buy a 1 TB hard drive for around $60 these days, so they're not that expensive. Be sure you have either a complete system image backup or all the discs and drivers you need to restore a new hard drive.
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Good luck.

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Good Suggestions
Apr 14, 2014 6:20AM PDT

Thanks wpgwpg! I will follow through with your suggestions and hope for the best. I will also mention your suggestions to the Dell technician who is calling back tonight for a follow up. Thanks again Happy

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Answer
I agree with other poster
Apr 14, 2014 3:15PM PDT

It makes sense to back-up ASAP your current data or critical data you deem so, while the HD is up and running. Replacing the HD itself shouldn't be that costly and one thing you can do compared to tech services. Further, if you buy a "retail kit" one with all included items, generally that provides the s/w in order to swap data from old >>> new HD. However, many HD makers provide transfer s/w or instructions to do this at their support website. I would think the XPS models are well cooled, but there is still the "hot spot" area between drives, so be sure that is looked at. As for error codes, often enough its available by a google search. Dell's own support forum offers some fixes.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19342733.aspx

Take action ASAP because being a HD error it won't be accessible at a later time.

tada -----Willy Happy

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Data back up, etc...
Apr 15, 2014 11:33AM PDT

Thanks Willy. Since I was still able to access my data in "normal" fashion despite the error code, I was able to preserve all my data. Haven't decided what new hard drive to purchase, but I'm going to find something soon! Guess I should start with Dell's website to see what's compatible with my computer. The technician btw never called back for a follow up as promised. Thanks again for your insight Happy