HP Pavilion a6228x Boot Disk Failure

[kartraider]

I recently came home to find a black screen on my computer with the following error:

"Boot Disk Failure. Insert Startup System CD and press enter to continue..."

Every time I try to restart the computer the same error appears prior to Vista loading up.  I can access the BIOS Setup and Boot Drive Menu but am unable to get the computer to start in safe mode or even run system restore.  Unfortunately, I do not have the computer start up disk.  Has anyone heard of this problem or have any troubleshooting techniques?  From what I have read, it seems my hard drive may have failed.

The computer was running fine earlier in the day and I had left it at the desktop.  There were no programs running in the background at the time.

[1badGuard]

To get the easy stuff out of the way.Unplug the computer and open the case and remove and reinstall the memory and cmos battery.

If that does not help follow the steps in the first lengthy ANSWER in this thread.

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10149_102-0.html?threadID=257993

[kartraider]

I removed and reinstalled both the memory and cmos battery.  The BIOS is not recognizing the hard drive and I have already tried resetting to default settings.  The boot drive menu also does not recognize the HD.  I checked and reconnected all cables to the drive and will be trying another IDE cable tonight.  The computer is 18 months old.

[dbiggest]

I have the same issue on a Pavillion I purchased 18 months ago.  Fearing the hard drive was gone, I took the machine to the Geek (EEK!) Squad for help.  They were able to recover my files (which I hadn't backed up), and wanted to replace the drive.  I said no, brought the machine home, and was able to get it up and running again (random?).  With my old files in hand, I took the drastic step of system recovery, which I think wipes most of the drive.  The machine ran normally for a week, and then I got the dreaded "BOOT DISK FAILURE..." screen again tonight.  I'm going to take the advice of the former HP tech and check the physical connections inside, and then go from there.  This is an annoyance, and not something I would expect for such a young machine from HP.

[CherylG]

Hard drives die. Most last 3-5 years but it is not uncommon to have one fail at 18 months.HP does not make the hdd, but uses hdds from Seagate,Maxtor,etc. They are the same hdd you can buy off the shelf and replace yourself.

Just be sure you have made a Recovery Disk set using HP Recovery Manager  before the hdd dies completely or you will have to order from HP.

[kartraider]

Just to update my original issue, my hdd died.  I ended up just buying a new 500gb Western Dig Sata2 for $50 (Amazon) and the computer has been working fine.  The failed hard drive was a Hitachi and the motor was basically fried.  Strangly this model hdd was one of the higher rated hard drives in consumer reports.  Anyhow, it would not even spin and the estimates I recieved to recover my hard drive were everywhere from $500-$1000.  So if you still have access to your data I'd recommend backing it up now.