Invalid Drive Specification

[buttwhacker]

here is the problem, when i boot the pc in safe mode.......... it works!
when I reboot the pc in normal mode...... It gives an error msg. "Invalid Drive Specification" tried reloading the OS, it went on fine till it had to restart in normal mode...... same msg.
what can be done?
is the RAM, HDD problematic or the MOBO?

 

[birdpup]

It sounds like something is wrong with your hard drive.

Physical Connections
Ensure the cable connectors are firmly placed in the motherboard and in the hard drive.
Ensure the hard drive jumper(s) are properly placed.

Software Based
Ensure the drive is properly recognized by the bios.
Obtain the drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility and test the drive. You may need to purchase a new hard drive and copy your data over to your new drive before the current drive fails.

Heat Related
Check if the drive is overheating. If it feels very hot, then rig a fan in the case to blow air over the drive for cooling.

Power Supply - hard drives are extremely vulnerable to power variations. I recommend a UPS battery backup with undervoltage protection to locally regulate power supplied to your system. Also, read Power Supply 101 for more information.

EDIT: if you wish to check your RAM, you can use memtest86 or memtest86+.