How to Fix Hard Drive Error Code 0146

Theo Lucia

Jan 15, 2024 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

How to Fix Hard Drive Error Code 0146

In this post, I will talk about the Dell error code 2000 0146. A problem related to the integrity of the operating system and the errors that are generated as a result, in addition, I will teach you to solve this problem step by step.

Dell error code 2000 0146 is known to cause failures during startup and use of the operating system as blue screens or freezes. This problem may seem like a serious problem but in most cases, it is a superficial damage that is very easy to solve. In this post you will learn what error 0146 is, how it happens, and how to repair it in just a couple of simple steps, in addition, in case your hard drive is damaged, I will teach you to recover all the information from it.

Part 1: What is Dell PC error code 0146?

Error 0146 is commonly related to operating system boot problems, reading or writing problems, and freezing. The reasons why this problem can be generated are many, however, it is considered that the most common are related to corruption or loss of information necessary for the proper functioning of the operating system.

The proper functioning of your computer depends on the existence of information that tells the hardware how to process and perform their respective functions in an appropriate manner. These procedures have a logistic order, starting with BIOS.

BIOS (basic input/output system) is software integrated into the motherboard of your computer. This software is responsible for giving instructions to the hardware.

When you start your computer, the BIOS sends instructions to the hard disk, and this in turn, together with the BIOS is responsible for finding the operating system and loading it into RAM. Therefore, when the hard disk or the BIOS has corrupted information, it will be impossible to properly boot the operating system. There is a possibility that the operating system will be able to boot, but it will fail during use, causing problems to achieve that virtually any process is performed and that any task could result in complexity because of multiple errors.

Error 0146 may seem like a serious problem, but it is far from it. When the damage or loss of information is superficial, the repair procedures are quite simple to perform, however, when the damage is more serious, the procedure will be a bit more complex, but don’t worry, here I will teach you how to repair it, regardless of the degree of complexity of the damage.

Part 2: What May Cause the Error 0146 in Hard Drives?

As I mentioned before, error 0146 indicates that there is a problem with read or written information, so the cause of the error may be one of the following.

• Bad Sector or fragments: This is a common problem in hard drives (HDD) since they spin an aluminum disk at high speeds (rpm) to write the information through magnetic fields generated by a slider (head). Information is physically divided into sectors and therefore, there is a possibility that only part of the information is illegible. It is necessary to remember that the information on a hard disk is not physically ordered to the extent that it is used and the process of reading information follows a specific reading process, so, regardless of how small the damage or loss of information may be, it will be sufficient to corrupt the integrity of the information and be illegible, generating complications so that the processes won’t be executed in an indicated manner.

• SATA Mode (IDE or AHCI): There is a possibility that the problem is due to a compatibility error of the hard disk configuration in the BIOS, IDE, or AHCI, both are ways of communicating with the storage units. The IDE (Integrated Development Environment) was created for communication with IDE devices, or PATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment); the standard AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) is used in SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) devices. To choose between one of these two modalities you must rely on the recommendations of your motherboard and hard disk, considering that AHCI is the ideal option if your motherboard is compatible with this function.

• BIOS Error: It is important to remember that the BIOS is the software responsible for finding the operating system inside the hard disk and giving the order to start it, relying on RAM, for this reason, an improper configuration in the BIOS may have trouble recognizing any component (hardware), making it impossible to perform the process properly. If your hard drive fails, you can directly check the configuration inside the BIOS to make sure that it is correct so that it recognizes all the components of your computer or laptop.

• Physical Damage (Hard drive parts are broken or damaged): Hard drives are delicate pieces, which depending on the model will be a little more or less resistant, but, even so, they can be physically damaged very easily, due to a hit, sudden movement or even the wear of their components; it is worth mentioning that hard drives have a useful life of 20,000 hours on average, so when this time is exceeded, operating errors may arise at any time. Physical damage to the disk compromises the integrity of the stored information and can generate many errors, including error 0146.

• Virus Infection: A virus is capable of spoiling or altering the information of the operating system. Fortunately, this is not so common thanks to the constant security updates offered by antivirus and Windows. Although the defense against the operating system has been increasingly developed, the malware has also become more sophisticated, so it is convenient to perform a file scan with a certain periodicity.

• Corrupt Registry/System Files: The operating system uses log files to make its use more efficient. These files are important and there is a possibility that these are damaged due to unexpected errors in writing information such as a sudden power outage, a failure caused by the hard disk, or the intervention of a virus. When a log file has a failure, it may be more than enough for the entire operating system to have errors that hinder its operation.

Part 3: How to fix Dell PC error code 0146?

Run a full system scan

Step 1 Open the Start menu and select "Settings"

Step 2 Navigate to "Update & Security", then go to "Windows Security".

Step 3 Click on "Virus & threat protection".

Step 4 Under "Current threads", select "Scan options".

Step 5 On the next page, select "Windows Defender Offline scan".

Step 6 Select "Scan now" and Windows will prompt you to save any work before restarting the computer.

Run Disk Checkup

Step 1 To start, open a new File Explorer window (click Windows key + E) then click on "This PC". Right-click on the drive that you wish to scan, most commonly this will be your C: Drive or D: Drive, then click on "Properties".

Step 2 The Properties window for the selected drive will now open. Here, click on the "Tools" tab and then click on "Check" under the "Error-checking" section.

Step 3 It will show a window stating that you don't need to scan the drive at all. However, if you'd prefer to run a CHKDSK scan, you can proceed by clicking on "Scan drive" below this.

Step 4 The CHKDSK function will begin its checks. Depending on the size of your selected drive, and the amount of data stored on it, this process could take anything from a few minutes to half an hour.

Step 5 If all is well, you'll receive the good news that the drive has been completed and no errors were found. However, if the CHKDSK scan does find errors, it will attempt to fix what it can.

Repair PC Registry

Step 1: Click on the Windows start button

Step 2: Type "cmd" in the search box and hit enter

Step 3: Right-click on the command prompt in the list

Step 4: Click on run as administrator

Step 5: Enter sfc /scannow command

Step 6: Reboot your PC.

Run PSA Diagnostics

Step 1: Reboot your Dell computer

Step 2: Hit the F12 key of the keyboard until the Dell logo appears.

Step 3: Wait for the "One Time Boot" Menu

Step 4: Press the "Down Arrow" key of your keyword to select "PSA Diagnostic"

Step 5: Press Enter Button

Step 6: Now, PSA will automatically start. Just follow the on-screen prompts to solve the problem.

Reset BIOS Settings

Step 1 Reboot your PC, when the Dell logo appears, go to the BIOS setup.

Step 2 Go to the "Exit" section, here you will be able to restore the original configuration. Then click on "Save Changes" and hit F10 to exit.

Run System Restore in safe mode>

Step 1 To enter the safe mode, you must press "shift" while clicking on the "Restart" option.

Step 2 Now you must click on "Troubleshoot".

Step 3 Click on "Advanced Options".

Step 4 Click on "Startup Settings".

Step 5 Click on "Restart".

Step 6 Select "option 4" (Enable Safe Mode).

Step 7 Go to the start menu and type "Recovery".

Step 8 Click on "Open System Restore".

Step 9 Select a restore point and click on "Next".

Run your PC in Safe Mode and Clean Boot

Step 1 Go to "Start", then press "Windows" and "R" keys, type "msconfig", and hit "Enter" to open "System Configuration Utility".

Step 2 Click on "Services", tick the "hide all Microsoft services" box and disable all.

Recover your information

If with the previous steps, you could not solve error 0146, it is possible that your hard disk is physically damaged and you need to replace it with a new one, however, then I will explain how to recover the information you need from your damaged disk from simple way with the help of Recoverit.

The physically damaged hard drives are usually unpredictable at the time of use, since they can be turned off at any time, they may not boot or take too long to process the information, hindering the execution of any task. Because of this, it is advisable to get a new drive, connect it to your motherboard, install the Windows operating system on it, and then connect the damaged drive to perform the information recovery procedure.

Download and install Recoverit software on your new hard drive and follow the next steps that are easy to do.

Step 1 Select a Drive

Launch Recoverit and investigate "Hard Disk Drives". Your drive will be there. Select and click on "Start".

Step 2 Scan Your Drive

Recoverit will initiate a scan on the drive. You'll have great features you can use to streamline the scan and recovery process. For instance, you can simply tick the file types you want to recover instead of each one.

Step 3 Preview and Recover Drive Data

The conclusion of the scan will reveal a long list of the files the software found. Recovering them is just a matter of you selecting all the files or specific ones and clicking "Recover". The files will all be retrieved and saved in any location of your choice. Just be cautious and don't save the files on the damaged drive.

See how simple using Recoverit is? You just launch it, make a few clicks and your lost files will be reunited with you once more!

Closing Words

Error 0146 may seem like a serious matter, but it is far from it. There are many tools that you can use to solve it and as you have noticed, although this error is related to corruption or loss of important information from the operating system, it is not complicated to solve it, however, if the problem is related to physical damage in your hard drive, you must replace it with a new one. Fortunately, this does not mean that you will lose your information since, thanks to Recoverit, recovering your information will take just a couple of clicks and a few minutes.