I keep getting PXE-E61 Media test failure error on laptop start up
I’m having a problem with my Toshiba Satelite P20.
I believe that my HDD has finally worn out. Over the past few months, it used to take several attempts to boot up windows XP. Sometimes, the hard drive failed to load and sometimes the HDD light used to hang on, and I would receive a disk-read error has occurred. The message which I also used to get, and which I keep getting now is:
PXE-E61 Media test failure, check cable
Exiting PXE ROM
I tried booting up from a CD, and it failed to detect the hard drive.
I’m almost positive that you have a bad hard drive. PXE means Pre-Boot Execution Environment. You see this message when the laptop trying to boot from a remote server using the network card. If you didn’t see the PXE-E61 message before, it means that the network card was listed after the hard drive in the boot order (you can set the order in BIOS) and the laptop booted directly from the hard drive. Now, when the hard drive has failed, the laptop cannot detect it and tries to boot from the next available device – the network card. Your laptop is not configured to boot from a remote server using the network card, that’s why you are getting PXE-E61 Media test failure error. You have to replace the hard drive and reinstall the operating system.
Do you need spare parts for your laptop? Search here by the laptop model and part description.
May 20th, 2009 at 6:01 am
I get the pxe-e61 media test failure , check cable ,i dont have the bios password how do i get this
May 3rd, 2009 at 11:56 am
1. go to your bios system by pressing F10 when first boot
2. go to Advanced and then go down by arrow to boot order
3. press F9 to reset default
4. go to hard drive and press Enter. if you see Exclamation mark that means your HD is disabled, press Shift + 1 to enable it
5. restart your computer
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:05 am
Reply to Sue about losing her data on her HDD. Tigerdirect sells what is called a Hard Drive hub to which you can attack a 2.5 HD or 3.5Hd and use is as you wou;d a flash drive since it connects to your system with a USB. This would allow you to transfer your data to a new hard drive or continue to use the data as a usb flash drive. They retail for less than $40.
April 15th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
In reply to some of the previous things about the HP pavillion, if your getting the
PXE-E61 Media test failure, check cable
Exiting PXE ROM
error message, it may seem silly, but actually try checking the cable or the mountings, my hard drive had came lose and once i secured it firmly, it worked fine.
April 15th, 2009 at 5:49 am
I bought Acer 9920G laptop 3.5 months ago and was generally quite pleased with it so far.
However, last week and switched it on and got this message upon load up:
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable.
PXE-M0F: Exiting Broadcom PXE ROM.
Operating System not found.
Well, I got a bit worries, googled this on my other computer, some other forums mentioned that it could be due to the Hard Disk failure.
Anyway, I took it back to the shop where I brought it from, the techy guy powered the laptop and it worked fine (???). He said it might be due to some loose wire inside that got back into place whilst I was carrying it to the shop.
I was quite relieved, took the laptop back home, powered it and got the same error message as before!!! I unplugged the whole thing again, carried it around the house and it was working again (just).
I then called Acer support line and spoke to the rudest man on Earth. I explained what happened and he said it was due to the loose hard drive. I asked if I could send the laptop back to them so someone could have a look at it and fix the loose hard drive. He said I would have to pay for this because the laptop was working at this current moment. I told him that the laptop was only 3.5 months old and still under warranty and I should not pay for fixing any manufacturing defects. He then said that it was not Acer’s fault because I did not buy the laptop from them but from the shop. When I said how it was shop’s fault that they receive faulty products from the manufacturer, he told me that he could not help me because “operating system going missing” is a software issue and nothing to do with Acer.
This is the most appalling customer service I have ever witnessed – it’s absolutely shocking!
April 14th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Trying to find out how to replace RAM in a “Toshiba Satellite A45-S250″. I can’t seem to find out where the RAM is. Any Help?
April 5th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I was just fixing a computer with this problem Toshiba Satellite A70, checked in BIOS, and the HDD had been disabled completely (You can expand the HDD field) and yep sure enough enabled it worked fine
March 24th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
[...] You can get this message if the hard dive is bad OR there is no operating system installed. Didn’t you forget to reimage the hard drive using the recovery disc which usually comes with a laptop? This process will reinstall the operating system and software back to factory defaults. [...]
March 23rd, 2009 at 7:56 am
I have a Toshiba M40X that I just bought secondhand with a wiped HDD. Kept getting PXE-E61 message and would not boot. After trying Dave’s post suggestion (below) It booted first time.
# Dave Says:
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:42 am
In BIOS set up under the boot sequence, do you see any asterisk’s (!) beside the hard drive. It may appear there and if so, remove it. Hope it helps, Dave…
Short answer.
Check in BIOS to see if there is an asterisk (!) in front of the hard drive name. This can happen when the BIOS receives certain messages, if there is, it disables the hard drive. Select the hard drive and press shift+1. This removes the (!) and enables the computer to see the hard drive.
Hope this helps someone, had to figure this out myself
March 4th, 2009 at 3:22 am
hi im having the same problem before so i decided to bought a new HDD, seagate 160 (IDE) but im still getting the same message what would i do? i really dont know what to do and im stuct with this problem… i really need some help here please…
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:43 am
Why PXE error appears:
PXE error appears, since it is, typically, the last boot device in the boot order. For example, if the BIOS cannot find a bootable floppy, CD, or HDD, then, if enabled, it looks to boot from the Network Controller. If it cannot boot from the Network Controller, it generates the “PXE-E61…” error as its final shoulder shrug before it hangs the PC.
This explains why the most common solution to remedy this misleading error message is related to fixing or replacing the PC’s bootable device–usually the Hard Disk Drive.
The bigger task is discovering what caused the hard disk failure…
February 25th, 2009 at 1:14 am
I need help on my toshiba sattelite, I did a factory restore and now its showing me a bios PXE error!!! HELP!!!
February 4th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Daniel R,
I think you are right and it means the hard drive is not function properly and have to be replaced.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:25 am
I looked this problem up a few months ago but not for a laptop, but a desktop…
I found this out after time passed:
The PXE error happens to me when the room temperature is too high. Perhaps my fan is shot. I am not sure…
I do know that as long as it is freezing cold in my computer room, the computer runs fine, but close the windows and turn the house heater on and the computer, in a matter of minutes, goes to the blue screen of death. Then after restart, goes to the PXE error start up screen. After cooling the system down, it runs fine until its warm in my room again.
My educated guess is this: After calling in to Tech Support and decoding what Aladdin and his pet Monkey try to speak in English about how the hard drive is fried or the cables are shot, I have come to the conclusion that the Hard Drive is over heating; expanding from the heat as metal does and not functioning properly. Therefore, I must cool it down for it to work.
While this is not going to be the solution to all of the complaints from this string, I thin it might help 1 or two of you peeps.
Let me know.
red_idol_AT_sbcglobal.net (replaced _AT_ with @)
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Here is a wierd one that I just encountered. I was dowloading the new Internet Explorer 8 off of the Microsoft Website and the pc rebooted, as does everyhting that Microsoft installs requires a reboot, and got the PXE-MOF error. I came here to find the answer. I did the typical helpdesk routeen (on,off,change settings) when I removed and replaced the SATA connedtion and changed the BOIS to preformance it came back up like normal. I have restarted twice, backed up my disc and still no issue. I am not sure if it was a loose cable or dumb luck, but I will take both.
January 29th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Hi there. I hope you can help me ease my notebook problem. I owned a NEC notebook VERSA 3100-1804DR almost coming to 3 years in early June this year. I have encountered some software error & this happened last wk. Basically when I start the notebook it appear the NEC screen then it came to a black screen which states as follows:
1) Windows could not start because of an error in the software. Please report problem as: load needed DLLs for kernel.
After I start up my laptop, I press F12 which is to Boot on Network but these errors pop-out
2) PXE-E61: Media Test Failure. Check cable.
PXE-M0F: Exiting Broadcom PXE ROM. Operating System not found.
FYI, I have not backup my HDD & there’re important stuffs that I need for school & work purposes. How can I retrieved & backup those files.
Thank you for your time. I hope to get a speedy response from you.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Well I just disabled the network from the boot sequence so no more error message, but just a black screen with a blinking underscore in the top left hand side.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:20 am
Ok, so I’m trying to fix my girlfriends HP Pavilion DV8000 laptop since the HDD crashed. So I get a new HDD and pop it in and it starts with the PXE-E61 message and what not telling me to check my ethernet cable and seeming to be booting from the LAN first. Well I’ve tried force booting from the CD drive, still comes up with the same message; tried changing the boot order, still same crap; disabled the wireless LAN just in case, still no luck; tried plugging in an ethernet cable like someone suggested above, still in the same situation. The HDD passed the HDD test and is all good, I just need to boot up my Windows CD and get the HDD formatted and installed with Windows and get her running again. Any other ways I could fix the problem???
January 26th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Oh yeah, don’t forget to set your OS drive as ACTIVE, this is important.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Okay people, I’ve got the exactly same problem “Media test failure” and it took me 6 hours or more to figure it out after screwing around with BIOS and such… So here is my resolution and I would like to share with everyone.
Sure, check your BIOS. Usually, no one mess with it. So you shouldn’t have a problem with it.
For my case, Partition Magic was the caused. It corrupted my SeaGate hard drive somehow. I’ve used partition magic for a long time and this is the only time it messed up a hard drive. Maybe Seagate is not a good hard drive. I had to use Seagate tool and Erase my entired hard drive. It took more than 60 minutes to do that. Once that done, I used a different partition utility (forgot the name, I was very tired) to partition my drive. After that, I was able to restore my backed up ghost image and the laptop up and running again…
So I would strongly suggest that you find a tool from your Hard Drive maker and fix it first, then do whatever next.
Hope this helps, if it does, then don’t thank me, instead copy this message and post it every where else. Spread the good news friends…
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:42 am
In BIOS set up under the boot sequence, do you see any asterisk’s (!) beside the hard drive. It may appear there and if so, remove it. Hope it helps, Dave…
Short answer.
Check in BIOS to see if there is an asterisk (!) in front of the hard drive name. This can happen when the BIOS receives certain messages, if there is, it disables the hard drive. Select the hard drive and press shift+1. This removes the (!) and enables the computer to see the hard drive.
Hope this helps someone, had to figure this out myself
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:13 am
IF YOU DROPPED YOUR NOTEBOOK AND GOT THE “PXE ERROR” MESSAGE OR “BCD ERROR” MESSAGE READ MY FIX BELOW.
_____________________________________________________
I had dropped my Toshiba laptop while it was still running and had the very same messages:
‘PXE-E61: Media test Failure, Check Cable.’
‘PXE-MOF: Exiting Intel PXE ROM’
I was able to get into the Bios by hitting F2 on startup. The Bios did not show any ‘Hard Disk’ at all.
After trying to reboot with a recovery CD several times with no luck, I figured it had to be a hard drive failure. The system would not show any hard drive at all.
An usual clicking noise can be heard from the hard drive which was not a good sign. I opened up the notebook and tried plugging and unplugging the hard drive several times and rechecked to see if the BIOS would read the hard drive. No luck.
After exhausting all recommended methods to ensure it was actually the hard drive, I went down to FRY’s electronics and purchased a new hard drive for $80.
With the new hard drive installed I turned on the notebook and the recovery CD automatically initiated the recovery procedure.
The recovery CD reformatted the new hard drive and after 2 hours the notebook was factory fresh and working fine. I was surprised and happy I did not have to purchase a new operating system.
At the moment I am working on extracting the content of the broken hard drive. If you are mechanically inclined and have some patients you can fix it yourself.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:05 am
HERE’S WHAT WORKED FOR ME!
Error message on startup:
‘PXE-E61: Media test Failure, Check Cable.’
‘PXE-MOF: Exiting Intel PXE ROM’
That was the message I kept getting. Turns out PXE means it is trying to boot from the network. So I went into BIOS and put that at the bottom of the booting order. No difference.
Then I went back into BIOS and DISABLED network from the boot order. As soon as I did that everything started booting normally again. Intel has some info on the PXE error.
December 29th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
THE answer seems to be diferent for everyone; almost seems like an annoying virus that has created this problem. Can anyone recommend basic troubleshooting procedures in a logical order and what to test? Although SATA HDs are cheap and OS isn’t and I’d hate to replace it if it happens to be a battery, adator, cable or something else that is bad.
December 25th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Short answer.
Check in BIOS to see if there is an asterisk (!) in front of the hard drive name. This can happen when the BIOS receives certain messages, if there is, it disables the hard drive. Select the hard drive and press shift+1. This removes the (!) and enables the computer to see the hard drive.
Hope this helps someone, had to figure this out myself
December 25th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Mike,
I too was so surprised to see how common this PXE problem is. I did notice that many of these PXE errors began with the same wording but ended with differnt error line. Some had MOF 61 added, others had INTEL AGENT, etc. Not all were the same.
I still think this problem has to do with some unknown part of the pc that makes it power up.
For myself it turned out to be the a/c adapter.
Should you figure yours out, post back.
I would love to know the answer.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:41 am
What a string, I never figured my problem was so widespread!
A lot of good advice from what I can tell this morning, but before I start gooning things up on my daughter’s laptop, I thought I’d share some data to see if anything stood out like a sore thumb to anyone.
THANKS in advance to all who reply and answers and/or advice!
So far, multiple attempts to start up with the same error message (either with a battery and without).
Can’t find any discs that came with the Acer 5315 and I’m only able to get into the InsydeH20 Setup Utility:
INFORMATION PAGE
CPU type and speed listed
HDD Model name and ser # (NOT INSTALLED)
ATAPI Model name – CDW/DVD listed
BIOS INFO – listed
Product name – listed
MAIN PAGE
System time/date/memory – listed
Quick boot/network boot/D2D Recovery – enabled
F12 Boot Menu – disabled
SATA Mode – AHCI Mode
Password on boot enabled – all other passwords clear
BOOT PAGE
1 IDE 0:
2 IDE 1: CDW/DVD
3 USB FDD:
4 Network Boot: MBA v10.0.9 Slot 0500
5 USB HDD:
6 USB CDROM:
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:16 am
I forgot to add in that 6 weeks, I did replace the HD and the memory but it was not them, nor was it the LAN in my BIOS.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:13 am
After 6 weeks, I finally figured out why I got this PXE error to the point where I bought a new pc, so I returned the new pc after fixing mine.
For the first 2 weeks I got the error off & on and at times I was able to get into windows off and on, but the laptop would go off after a few moments. Then my a/c power adapter started going bad. So now I had 2 problems. I knew this because my Gateway M675 has a fan in the a/c adapter and it started making a funny noise. After 1 week of this, the adapter finally stopped. Finally found a genuine Gateway adapter on ebay and 6 weeks later my problems was solved.
My thoughts are there must have been a short or broken wire buried somewhere within the wiring of the adapter that I could not see. I knew this because when I jiggled the adapter line, the pc would go off. BTW, my pc would stay on with my battery but I didn’t realize the PXE problem as being the adapter because I only had 20 minutes of battery left and once the battery was dead I could not charge it without having the ac adapter. This PXE problem must have something to do with the electric power NOT getting through the pc. My problem was in the adapter but if yours is not, I would bet its got something to do with yours too. The PC must not be able to maintain its power on at some point from the adapter to the motherboard.
Hope this helps.
December 20th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
These three error messages showed up on my Gateway laptop today. I tried making the HD the first bootable but it still didn’t work. What should I try next? Will I be losing all my data from my laptop? Please any help would be greatly appreciated!