Dell Error Code 0142 (Error Code 2000-0142): What It Is & How to Fix It
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What is Dell Error Code 0142 (Dell Error Code 2000-0142)?
A Dell Error Code 0142 is one of the many ominous, obtuse, indecipherable boot menu error messages you might end up seeing if your PC isn’t cooperating with you. Unfortunately, a Dell error code 2000-0142 can have dire consequences. If you encounter this problem, you may end up needing to replace your computer’s hard disk drive (Dell support will provide a replacement if your computer is still under warranty; contact Dell support to see if your system is under warranty).
Error 0142 is the Problem, Gillware is the Solution
What Causes Dell Hard Drive Error Code 2000-0142?
When you encounter a Dell ePSA error code, Dell’s PSA (pre-startup assessment) tool help Dell PC owners figure out which hardware components are causing a PC to fail. Depending on where the point of failure is, the tool will spit out a specific error code related to the failure. These failures can be related to corrupted memory, CPU failure, or an inability of your hard drive to pass a self-test.
This third example is what the Dell error code 2000-0142, sometimes also seen as “error code 2000:0142,” means. Occasionally, a Dell error 0142 can simply be fixed by adjusting the SATA cables connecting the hard drive to the motherboard. Make sure this fix is the first thing you try if you encounter an ePSA code, such as error code 2000-0142.
Unfortunately, the most likely cause of the Dell ePSA error code 2000-0142 is a hard disk failure. If you hear your hard drive making strange noises (clicking, beeping, grinding) or failing to spin up, you’ll know for sure that your hard drive is dead. However, your hard disk drive may also die on your without making any obvious or strange noises.
It’s a big hassle getting a new hard drive on your system, reinstalling your operating system, and getting everything set back up the way you like it, but it isn’t hard. What is hard is dealing with any irreplaceable files, like family photos or business documents, you need to have retrieved from your broken hard drive.
There are two likely causes of Dell Error Code 0142:
Loose SATA connection cables
Failed Short DST
A short DST is brief disk self-test in which your hard disk evaluates its own performance. If your drive is broken or damaged, it will not pass the DST.
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Gillware’s data recovery lab has a special partnership with Dell. If you are a Dell user and can’t retrieve the files from your system due to a hard drive failure or logical issue like diagnostic error code 2000-0142, get in touch with us. Whether you’ve encountered this Dell error code 2000-0142 on your system, or if you have a different issue, we are more than happy to provide you with our financially risk-free data recovery services.
Dell Error Code 0142: How Gillware Fixes the Problem
Here’s a data recovery case study from our lab where we were able to fix Dell error code 0142.
Dell Error Code 0142 Data Recovery Case Study: Samsung ST1000DL004 with Failed Read/Write Heads
Drive Model: Samsung ST1000DL004
Drive Capacity: 1 TB
Operating/File System: Windows
Data Loss Situation: Dell hard drive error code 2000:0142 error code in PSA diagnostic error tool – Hard disk failed, self-test unsuccessful
Type of Data Recovered: Business Documents, Quickbooks file
Binary Read: 8,4%
Gillware Data Recovery Case Rating: 9
- In this case, our client found that they could not start up their Dell PC due to boot failure.
- Using Dell’s PSA hardware diagnostic error tools, they encountered the Dell PSA error code 2000-0142.
- This particular PSA error code told the client that the 1 TB Samsung HDD inside their PC had failed – in this case, the code indicated a hard drive diagnostic error.
- The client took their hard drive to a local computer repair shop to see if anyone could salvage their data. The repair technicians then directed the client to us for our data recovery services.
After the hard drive arrived in our facility, it went straight over to our cleanroom for evaluation. Our cleanroom hard drive recovery engineers inspected the Samsung HDD to find the cause of its failure.
What they found, upon inspection, was that this 0142 error code had been caused by a failure of the magnetic read/write heads. The read/write heads are the hardest working components inside a hard drive. As such, they are also often the first components to fail.
The read/write heads themselves are tiny coils of copper resting on the ends of comparatively giant metal arms. A voice coil allows these arms to move up and down, carrying the heads just above the radius of the spinning disk platters. You will almost always find several heads in a modern HDD, stacked together to form a head stack array.
During normal operation, these heads float only a few nanometers above the platters. Electrical currents travel back and forth across the head stack arrays. This current can transmit and alter the magnetic field on small sectors of the platters. This process is how the heads perform both read and write operations to the hard drive.
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Replacing Read/Write Heads to Fix Dell Error Code 0142
Replacing a hard drive’s failed read/write heads is a difficult and delicate procedure. Only professional hard drive data recovery experts should attempt it. Our engineers were able to find a compatible donor in our facility’s HDD donor library.
Sometimes it can take many sets of donor’s heads before our engineers find one that matches. This problem arises because individual hard drive calibrations are so unique that even donor heads from the same model of HDD may not perform adequately. Fortunately, it took only one set of read/write heads to get this Samsung hard drive into working condition.
Read/Write Heads Data Recovery Aftermath
After one set of replacement heads, our engineers could start reading data from the client’s HDD. The Samsung ST1000DL004 drive then went over to our logical imaging technicians. Using our proprietary data recovery tools, we made a forensic write-blocked image of the drive. We could perform logical analysis on this drive during the imaging process.
With the healthy replacement heads, we could read all of the hard drive’s file definitions. Once we had done that, we knew about all of the files on the disk the client needed recovering. We took advantage of the drive’s bitmap file so that we wouldn’t have to image the entire drive. By only imaging the used areas on the disk, we could save time and get the client their files faster.
Dell Error Code 0142: The Recovery Results
This data recovery case turned out to be a success. 99.9% of the client’s files on their hard drive lived inside only 8.4% of the device’s total capacity. There were a few unreadable sectors on the platters that got in the way of a perfect recovery. However, the client’s important business documents, including their most recent Quickbooks file, were pristine.
Our data recovery engineers then tested these files to make sure there was no corruption. After a request from the client, we presented them with a list of recovered files to look over. Our engineers rated this Dell error code 0142 data recovery case a high nine on our ten-point data recovery case rating scale.
